This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Back at work borisjohnson warns that the uk is at the moment of maximum risk and urges the public not to lose patience with the coronavirus lockdown. I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people, and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. Italys Prime Minister outlines plans to ease the countrys strict coronavirus lockdown in stages after seven weeks. The Prime Minister of new zealand says coronavirus has been eliminated in the country for now. A warning that people with autism have been forgotten in the pandemic. Families say many are struggling
to access the care they need. Its been this terrible, terrible. I mean, probably the most stressful week of my life because. Oh, sorry i dont know whats wrong with him. And the british formula one grand prix will be held behind closed doors after organisers say a race under normal conditions is just not going to be possible. Borisjohnson is back at work a month after he was diagnosed
with coronavirus, which ultimately led to treatment in intensive care. Speaking outside number ten in the last hour, the Prime Minister urged people in the uk not to lose patience with the lockdown, saying the country is at the moment of maximum risk. He acknowledged life has been tough for people in the uk over the past month but said, i refuse to throw away the sacrifice of the british people and risk a second peak. Boris johnson has been under pressure to map out an exit strategy from lockdown restrictions. After seven weeks of restrictions in italy, officials there have outlined plans to ease the lockdown. Parks, factories and Building Sites will re open, and people are allowed to visit relatives in small numbers. In switzerland, hairdressers, Garden Centres, massage parlours and florists are among the businesses allowed to open their doors today. Swiss schools are to follow over the next fortnight. New zealand says it has effectively eliminated coronavirus, by stopping Community Transmission of the disease. Prime Ministerjacinda Ardern
says she will be opening up the countrys economy, but not peoples social lives. Here, Airline Industry bosses have written to the chancellor, rishi sunak, asking him to extend hisjob retention scheme beyond june. The treasury is currently paying most of the wages of nearly four million staff, working across the economy, whove been put on temporary leave. Lets hear what borisjohnson had to say a little while ago. I entirely share your urgency, it is the governments urgency. And yet we must also recognise the risk of a second spike, the risk of losing control of that virus and letting the reproduction rate go back over one. Because that would mean not only a new wave of death and disease, but also an economic disaster. And we would be forced once again to slam on the brakes across the whole country and the whole economy, and re impose restrictions in such a way as to do more and lasting damage. And so i know it is tough, and i want to get this economy moving as fast as i can, but i refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people, and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. And i ask you to contain your impatience, because i believe we are coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict, and in spite of all the suffering we have so nearly succeeded. We defied so many predictions, we did not run out of ventilators or icu beds, we did not allow our nhs to collapse, and on the contrary we have so far collectively shielded our nhs
so that our incredible doctors and nurses and Health Care Staff have been able to shield all of us from an outbreak that would have been far worse. And we collectively flattened the peak, and so when we are sure that this first phase is over and that we are meeting our five tests deaths falling, nhs protected, rate of infection down, really sorting out the challenges of testing and ppe, avoiding a second peak then that will be the time to move on to the second phase, in which we continue to suppress the disease and keep the reproduction rate, the r rate, down, but begin gradually to refine the economic and social restrictions and, one by one, to fire up the engines of this vast uk economy. Lets get more from our assistant political editor, norman smith. Lets ta ke lets take that last bit, fire up the engines one by one, what clues does that give us . I expected means different sectors of the economy will get the green light before others, one by one, so some sectors where it is frankly easier to social distance customers and staff, you know, the obvious examples of things like Garden Centres, more likely to get the go ahead before hairdressers. I think that is what he is mooting. That is an idea which has been doing the rounds for some time, that you would segment the economy, so time, that you would segment the economy, so only some sections would be allowed to return to work and then gradually you would expand that. And that may be reflected in other areas too, and has been talk
about segmenting the population in terms of age groups, may be segmenting in terms of geography some areas where the virus isnt so prevalent might have a greater easing of restrictions. But clearly borisjohnson does easing of restrictions. But clearly Boris Johnson does not easing of restrictions. But clearly borisjohnson does not want to easing of restrictions. But clearly Boris Johnson does not want to spell that out now. His message was pretty clear, i thought it was pretty firm pushback for all those business people, tory backbenchers, tory donors, newspapers who basically have been urging him to get on with ease in the lockdown. His response no, now is not the time, now is the moment of maximum risk, and not very telling phrase i will not sacrifice, i will not throw away all the sacrifices of the british people. I take it from that he has no intention of taking any risks whatsoever with a possible further outbreak of this disease, which means we are going to carry on with the lockdown for the foreseeable future, albeit, he said in the coming days, the government will
speu coming days, the government will spell out more detail about its thinking. So i think we will begin to get the outlines of a plan, even if that plan does not kick in for some time to come. And the reason the plan may not kick in for some time to come, he said, was because if we risk a second despite, then that would be, he said, economic disaster. Yes, there is obviously the healthier if you have a second spike, that many more people will die unnecessarily, but it is his view, and that of a large section of the cabinet, that if you have a second spike and more people are ill, that in itself will require another lockdown, which would be even more damaging to businesses, because they would have to go back to square one. So in terms of what is in the best interests of the economy, as smooth exit from infections and the lockdown is by far the safest strategy, rather than to go early and risk a second lockdown, which could in turn
require further restrictions and you are starting all over again quite apart from the psychological impact, it is questionable, you know, whether people would be prepared to wear another lockdown if they had gone through weeks of this only to be told later, sorry, we have to start again, we bungled the plan for exiting the lockdown. So Boris Johnsons mine site is incredibly cautious, and we should expect the current restrictions, by and large, to continue for some time yet, albeit there is clearly going to be the start of a debate about how, in time, we might move beyond this. Thank you very much, norman, thank you. Italy has outlined plans to ease the lockdown in place for the last seven weeks to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The move comes just a day after spanish children were allowed to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks, following changes to their lockdown conditions. Rich preston reports. Much of the focus in europe is on italy, the continents worst hit country, with
more than 26,500 deaths. But the number of new cases every day has been falling. Italy was the first country to invoke lockdown measures seven weeks ago. Now, Officials Say its time to allow italians some freedom. We are managing to contain the pandemic, there are moments in which it seemed to be out of control. As of next week, parks will be opened, restaurants will start selling takeaway food, and people will be able to visit their family. Some businesses, like manufacturing and construction, can start up again. Two weeks after that, libraries and museums will open, sports teams will be able to train together, and from june, youll be able to eat in a restaurant. Hairdressers and beauty
salons will also open. Spain has had one of europes strictest lockdowns. Now those restrictions are easing. Over the weekend, children under the age of 14 were allowed to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks. Theyre now allowed outside for an hour a day. But parks remain closed and schools shut. The rate of infections in spain is on the way down. If that continues, the Prime Minister says restrictions here will be relaxed even more. France has had strict measures in place since mid march, but is expected to announce in the coming days how it will start easing these. Europes first reported death from coronavirus was in the middle of february. Injust ten weeks, more than 100,000 people have died. Now, flickers of hope for the future and a way out for this continent in lockdown. Rich preston, bbc news. More now on the lockdown restrctions in italy you heard about in that report. Though life will start to look more normal in the coming weeks, schools will remain shut, and social distancing will be in force for months. Heres our correspondent in rome, mark lowen. Europes first lockdown is now set to ease in a weaks time. There is a road map to reopen in that Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte laid out. From monday the 4th of may, one week from now, take away will be offered at bars and restaurants, they will be able to swing back into action for that service. Parks will reopen, people will be able to exercise again outdoors. They will be able to move within their own region, visit family and relatives. But Wearing Masks and no large social gatherings will be allowed. Athletes will be able to train again on their own. People will be able to attend funerals again, although there will bea funerals again, although there will be a Maximum Capacity of 15 people, and they will all have to wear
masks. Manufacturing and construction and wholesale companies will be allowed to restart activity. Two weeks after that, may the 18th, the date that libraries and museums will be allowed to open, sports teams will be able to practice on their own again. Smaller Construction Companies will also be allowed to restart. 0n the 1st of june, that is the planned date for restau ra nts, june, that is the planned date for restaurants, bars, cafe is, hairdressers and beauty salons to reopen. Schools, though, will remain shut until september. So this is an attempt by the Italian Government to tell people that their sacrifices are paying off, that the infection rate is at a manageable level, and negligible rise in infections now every day, and yesterday, sunday, so the smallest rise in deaths since march the 14th. But the italian Prime Minister is stressed in his address that this is not returning to normal, that social distancing will be enforced for many months ahead, probably until a vaccine is
found, and that the government will maintain powers to intervene, to reimpose restrictions if the infection rate spikes again. This is some light at the end of the tunnel, this is a taste of freedom for italians, who have endured so much, but the country could take years to recover. New zealands Prime Minister, jacinda ardern, says the coronavirus has in effect been eliminated there. The country recorded fewer than 1,500 cases during the pandemic, with 19 deaths. Ms ardern told reporters there was currently no more Community Transmission of the virus but said people should still be cautious. It is not and cannot be a return to pre covid 19 life. That day will come, but it is not here yet. To get there, our team of five million needs to have zero tolerance for cases to complete our goal of eliminating the virus at level three. If youre unwell, stay home. If you have a runny nose, a sore throat, a cough, get a test. Lets make sure that we keep
those testing rates up, we continue with our Contact Tracing and isolation. Thats how we will finish this job. Michael baker is a professor of Public Health at the university of 0tago. He worked on the Prime Ministers elimination strategy, and says new zealands approach has paid off. New zealand change direction about six weeks ago. I mean, before that, we we re six weeks ago. I mean, before that, we were on the mitigation path, which is common for influenza pandemic, but when we looked at the success of china, particularly taiwan, we realised it was possible to eliminate the virus, and i think the big turning point was going into this very intense lockdown, which we have now had one half weeks. During that time, transmission of the virus has vanished in the community. The other day in border control, so like taiwan, and unlike australia, you cant come into new zealand. The
boat is not entirely closed, but you cant come into new zealand without two weeks of quarantine, so that is the critical element. We have also got a Contact Tracing and we have ramped up testing in the community and a lot more surveillance. We have and a lot more surveillance. We have a four level lockdown or response framework, and we went into the highest level, containment, partly to suppress the chains of transmission but also to give us time to ramp up all the other credible measures, like Contact Tracing and a lot of testing, and that has happened. 0n the other thing, it was to explain to all of us thing, it was to explain to all of us what physical distancing is all about, so this is a very intense lockdown, and people in new zealand, we havent lived through a pandemic before, we were barely affected by sars, so we had to understand what was involved in this intense physical distancing. In switzerland, the first slow steps have been taken to ease the countrys lockdown. 0ur correspondent Imogen Foulkes is in bern. Well, the things that people are most focused on, because its kind of a cheerer
upper, is that their Garden Centres are going to open today, and the hairdressers. Because people here have been only really able to go out and buy essentials supermarkets, food stores for the last six weeks, and nothing else. Nothing else that were used to doing in our daily lives. Everybody has been working from home. Its a first tiny step towards easing switzerlands lockdown. The government says its going to take this very gradually. Schools will not open until may 11th. Bigger shops, non food shops, june 8th. No date for cafes and restaurants. Were going to be looking longingly to italy. It sounds like their bars a nd restau ra nts will be open before ours. But the borders remain closed. The assault on the Health Services, the overwhelmed Health Services, did not quite materialise. But it is early days. Switzerland banned really big gatherings already at the end of april, then gradually started tightening the screw closed schools march 13th, two days later closed basically everything else. That was the middle of march. Some had been saying it should have been done sooner. Businesses saying you need to ease up faster. The government has a very clear plan of how to get out of this. And each step rests on the success of the one before. So if cases start to rise again because hairdressers and, you know, flower shops re open, then there may be a pause on the plan to re open schools and other big shops. I think were going to wait a good few weeks before we get a date for bars and restaurants. But that sector of the swiss economy, and the tourist sector is quietly screaming now for some date, because obviously theyre really worried about their future in the business. Borisjohnson warns the uk is at the moment of maximum risk and urges the public not to lose patience with the coronavirus lockdown. Italys Prime Minister outlines plans to ease the countrys Strict Lockdown in stages after seven weeks. The Prime Minister of new zealand says coronavirus has been eliminated in her country for now. There are now 32,000 confirmed cases of covid 19 across africa with more than 11100 deaths recorded so far. Experience of dealing with illnesses including ebola, yellow fever and malaria has forced scientists there to innovate. The outbreak of ebola between 2014 and 2016 hit the west african region hard. There were over 28,500 cases, and over 11,000 deaths. Hiv is highly virulent in eastern and southern africa, with more than 20 Million People in the region living with the disease. And yellow fever, which is transmitted by mosquitos, is estimated to cause up to 60,000 deaths annually. The bbcs senior africa correspondent, anne soy, looks at whether the Health Emergencies of the past have put the continent in a stronger position to tackle covid 19. Ebola in the democratic republic of the congo has had her neighbours on high alert for months. This was the routine at the arrival lounges in many african countries. Then came covid 19, and screening at the ports of entry continued. On this front, africa had a head start, and the lag in the arrival of the disease helped many to prepare. I think africans had the gift of time, being able to see the way
different parts of the western world, different parts of the world in asia have reacted, and i have been struck that there has been less of the denialism that has been prevalent in the west and in china, i have seen less of that in africa, which is encouraging. I see many african countries taking it very seriously. Habits are also changing rapidly in communities across africa, like they had to during outbreaks of ebola. Movement across countries is now limited to cargo. And even here, there is caution. In the 80s and 90s, this highway from the port of mombasa to kigali became a route through which hiv spread into rural areas, centres where Truck Drivers stopped and parked for the night became hotspots of infection. And with covid 19, countries have quickly identified them as a high risk group, and here in kenya they are being screened. But in uganda,
its been taken a notch higher. They are testing every truck driver arriving in the country, and so far theyve identified cases even when theyre asymptomatic. South africa has the largest outbreak on the continent, but a Massive Community Health Response is under way. Tuberculosis testing equipment has been repurposed, set up in dozens of mobile laboratories, and sent to townships and villages for mass testing. The west has commandeered most of the materials for this testing, because they are facing crisis, and we are sort of further back in the queue asking for these sort of things, so for us to try to get access to it, we are probably going to have to develop a lot of the technology ourselves. Ill open the door for the next one, right . Thats what scientists are trying to do at
the desmond tutu laboratory. 0ngoing research into a possible test for tb where samples are collected from breath are now looking at covid 19. It is the race to find Home Grown Solutions for a global problem. The continents chances of averting a major disaster lie in the success of its swift and hard response to the pandemic, but it is still too early to say if it is working. Anne soy, bbc news, nairobi. In spite of the relatively low number of infections across africa, some Health Professionals have sounded the alarm over the capacity to test people for the virus and there are concerns that many people are not coming forward for treatment. With me is dr norman matara. Hes a medical doctor and hes with the Zimbabwe Association of doctors for human rights. And im alsojoined by Kimberly Brown from the british red cross. Good morning, both of you. 31
confirmed cases and four deaths in zimbabwe, but it must be more than that in reality. Yeah, definitely we fear that we might be having a lot of undetected cases in the country, because we have not been testing as much people as who they want as doctors, and we have been calling for the government to increase the number of testing, they seem to have heeded the call, when they put up a new testing strategy that widens at the criteria for testing, and we thought that was a very good move. But on the ground, the testing has not increased, it is not satisfactory, and up to now we have tested less than 7000 people, and we think that number should increase if we are to correctly detect covid 19 pandemic levels in this country. So what is the criteria . Who is being tested . What is the criteria . Who is being tested . Well, at the beginning, we used to test using the who
guidelines, where we were testing people who were symptomatic to the disease. But around the 15th of april, the ministry put out a new strategy where they widened the criteria to include a lot of people, including police officers, health ca re including police officers, Health Care Workers, people who work in supermarkets, old people with comorbidities and the elderly. But on the ground we have not seen that being put into good use. The people that have been tested, they remain low, and the strategy is not being used at all. Kimberly, you are head of humanitarian policy at the british red cross, what were you doing across the continent . The red cross and Red Crescent Movement words in a coordinated way across africa and the world, and is pandemic needs a coordinated response. Specifically, we have been looking in the past week at west africa, a region where there is food insecurity, nutrition crises, and
also experience with academics, and these vulnerabilities make it so that the population in communities are struggling to deal with the rise in cases and combating this virus, but we are also able to rely on our experience, such as responding to ebola, that enables us to be sure we have responded in the most efficient and fastest way that we can to protect vulnerable communities. What have you learned from the Ebola Outbreak that is helping you with this virus . Well, we have learned that sharing information, basic information, such as about hygiene, hand washing, and now in this instance social distancing. We know that hand washing is a basic, but it isa that hand washing is a basic, but it is a life saving thing that people are able to do, and red cross and red crescent staff, volunteers, are able to be in communities and share that information and also share the
basic things like water and soap so that people are able to perform those acts so that they can save lives in the community. Dr matara, there is also a malaria outbreak in zimbabwe, i wonder if coronavirus is stopping people from coming forward for treatment who might have malaria. Yeah, definitely we are in the malaria season in the country, and we have witnessed those malaria cases in the country. At the moment, the Health System is working what we call emergency mode, where people are mainly responding to emergencies, we have closed many wards, and we also fear that because we are telling people that if you get symptoms of coronavirus, do not visit Health Care Facilities but call the number. So we also created
some people might actually have malaria, but they are staying at home and also coming when they malaria complicated, which might increase the mortality from malaria. Kimberly, how much work do you do thatis kimberly, how much work do you do that is around getting the facts across to people . I know meths and miscommunication was an issue with ebola, wasnt it . Absolutely. Communication with communities through staff and volunteers is very important, and we also want to make sure that we reach the most vulnerable groups. So some of our key concerns are people that are displays, refugees and migrants who are caught in border areas, that they receive the support they need. Unaccompanied children, women and girls who might be at risk of sexual and gender based violence. We have seen these existing vulnerabilities, and we work in a coordinated way across the region through these red cross and Red Crescent National societies to make sure that we reach
those groups. Thank you both very much, thank you for coming on the programme to talk to us. Boris johnson warns the uk this is the moment of maximum risk and urges the public not to lose patience with the coronavirus lockdown. I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people. And to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. Italys Prime Minister outlines plans to ease the countrys strict coronavirus lockdown in stages after seven weeks the Prime Minister of new zealand says coronavirus has been eliminated in the country for now. And the british formula one grand prix will be held behind closed doors after organisers say a race under normal conditions is just not going to be possible
more than 50,000 people have died of coronavirus in the us, in what is the worlds deadliest outbreak of the disease. Donald trump has come underfire for the handling of the pandemic with medical experts criticising his suggestions that sunlight, uv rays and disinfectants might be used to treat patients battling the virus. Speaking on the American Tv Network cbs, the republican governor of maryland said he has raised concerns about the white house briefings and said it was critical President Trump stuck to facts. I mean, the mixed messaging, ive raised concerns multiple times about conflicting messages. We had hundreds of calls in our hotline here in maryland about people asking about injecting or ingesting these disinfectants, which is, you know, hard to imagine that people thought that was serious. But people actually were thinking about this, was this something you could do
to protect yourself . We can speak now to tara smith, a professor of epidemiology at Kent State University in wbr id wbr18680 ohio and peter chowka, a freelance political journalist who is in seattle. Thank you for talking to us. Regarding those comments at the end of last week, peter, how did you respond . Well, the comments were mainly in response to the White House Coronavirus Task Force Meeting on thursday, which President Trump got into musing out loud, back and forth with several of his experts on the stage. He had apparently seen a new study by the department of Homeland Security which found that ultraviolet light, a component of sunlight, played a positive role and destroyed the coronavirus in two minutes when it normally takes, normally lasts on a service for about 18 hours and by the way, there was another study along these lines b
put out by the university of liverpool, heres the news release from it last tuesday and ive read the wbrid wbr19280 entire study and it also suggests that sunlight and vitamin d from sunlight has a Critical Role so President Trump is, in his inelegant talking out loud, which is what he does after all, he was pointing to perhaps, some leading Edge Research and he did not, by the way, suggest that people should drink any substances, he was talking out loud in the transcript bears that out. Why did he then said, if thats the case, that he was being sarcastic . That was his explanation the next day and of course, President Trump has been known not to stick to the truth 100 of the time. So im certainly not going to defend him there. But you know, these allegations that poison control hotline is in the United States have
been ringing off the hook because people are drinking toxic substances because of what President Trump says, this has been debunked. Sure, we just heard the governor of maryland saying his administration had taken maryland saying his administration had ta ken calls maryland saying his administration had taken calls from people who are asking if it was a possibility to do that . But not that they had actually taken it. That . But not that they had actually ta ken it. People that . But not that they had actually taken it. People call poison control centres all the time, the articles ive read. More so when the president of the country at. E small number, but that remains to be seen, the facts will come out eventually as hopefully they will in this whole crisis. Do you not believe the governor of maryland . Thats the first time ive heard his coat, i have no reason to question him buti coat, i have no reason to question him but i read an article before we came out from reason magazine, the researcher, the writer, had done a tremendous amount of research calling poison control hotline is all of the country so i suggest maybe that be an additional source of information in dry to nail this down. Right, are you going to defend the president potentially suggesting
infecting injecting disinfectant into the body . Again, i dont see reading the transcript he suggested that, im not here to defend the president , im here to report on what is going on in the United States and this is absolutely a controversy, if you would like to hear my opinion i think President Trump should get his act together and try, if he continues these press briefings, to stick to the facts and let the experts talk so i not shielding President Trump. Tara, how did you react to his comments . Right, so there is a big difference between what is effective in killing a virus outside the body versus what is effective internally. And i think thats whats getting lost here, absolutely, ultraviolet can kill a virus on a service, it can kill a virus on a service, it can kill a virus outside and in the air and disinfectants of course can kill a virus very easily on surfaces. But thats the whole problem with trying
to create antiviral drugs, is that everything that works outside the body doesnt necessarily work inside the body and of course, if you try to use disinfectants, ingest them or inject them, that will poison your own cells as well as kill the virus. Sol own cells as well as kill the virus. So i think we need to be very careful about messaging in this case and just because something works externally, to kill a virus, has really no relevance in what could happen inside a body. Can i ask you about states like georgia . Who are starting to ease restrictions, what do you think of that . Yes, i think thats a really bad idea right now. We are close to a million cases in the United States, we will probably write that today or tomorrow, 55,000 deaths, those are the ones recorded, we know cases are probably under countered by a factor of ten or more so countered by a factor of ten or more soi countered by a factor of ten or more so i think easing those lock downs right now, when we are really close toa right now, when we are really close to a peak is a bad idea. I think we
are going to see additional cases that are starting to come as these lock downs are released and we have more people that are becoming potentially exposed to this virus. Are you worried potentially about a second wave of it, then . |j are you worried potentially about a second wave of it, then . I dont think we are out of the first wave. 0k. Think we are out of the first wave. Ok. I think we are still seeing increases in cases in every state. In some places that rate of increase is slowing down a little bit. But especially in georgia, its not so i think we are going to see a continual increase in those cases andl continual increase in those cases and i dont even think we are ready for a second wave yet. We havent ended the first one. Peter, how do americans feel, broadly speaking, about how President Trump has handled this pandemic . Well, his base continues to support him and the democrats, his opposition party, will use anything against him, as theyve been doing since day one, theyve been doing since day one,
the day after he was inaugurated. But in terms of the reopening of the country, people are increasingly frustrated because the estimates, a month and a half ago, of why we needed to severely lock everything down and crash the economy, were suggesting that 2 million or more americans would die of covid 19. Now, of course, any death is tragic, we have just over now, of course, any death is tragic, we havejust over 50,000 now now, of course, any death is tragic, we have just over 50,000 now and now, of course, any death is tragic, we havejust over 50,000 now and it may top out at 100,000, u nfortu nately. May top out at 100,000, unfortunately. But this is 20 times fewer than what was predicted and moreover, there have been several recent credible studies of random samples which have come to the conclusion that the prevalence of the covid 19 in the population has been under counted by a factor of 5085, been under counted by a factor of 50 85, which means that millions of people are exposed, therefore, the death rate, compared to this larger number, will be close to 0. 1, between 0. 1 and 0. 4 , close to the
seasonal flu. So people between 0. 1 and 0. 4 , close to the seasonalflu. So people are wondering why the economy is locked down, the worst and great worse than the Great Depression and this has health costs as well. People are not seeking medical care because they are afraid, for cancer, strokes, heart disease, accidents and injuries, because they are afraid and because the hospitals are largely off limits except to potential coronavirus patients. So, you know, its a risk benefit ratio that has to be considered here and weve been given a lot of misinformation and wrong information, not wittingly, but thats just the way its been. And i think the governors, including some democratic governors in these states who have the power to reopen their states and they are no friends of President Trump, they are responding to the pressure of their citizens to get things moving again or we are going to be in very, very deep trouble. Deeper than we are now. Tara, there are trade offs, consequences to the lockdown, although it may be preventing potentially a second wave, which is what National Governments want to do, there are knock on effects, as peter has just outlined. Do, there are knock on effects, as peter hasjust outlined. Absolutely. And i want to make one correction. That 2 million cases one unmitigated, thats why we have seen cases, unmitigated, thats why we have seen cases, so many unmitigated, thats why we have seen cases, so many states have done, sheltered at home, put in restrictions on movement, thats why weve seen so many fewer cases than was predicted in the model, that was the worst case scenario. And also, some of those, those studies that have suggested more cases are not exactly random, they were from facebook recruit so in some cases there were e mails sent out to certain groups of people to enrol. Inaudible. Although it is under counter. There are trade offs indubitably but the economy would still be stressed regardless,
because there are so many people who are getting ill and had we not gone to mitigation measures you would have even more so you cannot have an economy running with so many people sick either, and an increased number of death so ultimately, it is a trade off. I knowl of death so ultimately, it is a trade off. I know i am getting tired of it, my children are getting tired of it, my children are getting tired of it, my children are getting tired of it but, you know, the alternative really is a massively increased numberof really is a massively increased number of deaths so we have to be careful of anything that we do, that we want to open up the economy, we would prefer to do it slowly, with additional testing, so that we can doa additional testing, so that we can do a more targeted lockdown of individuals who have been exposed to the virus. At this point we dont have enough testing so we really have enough testing so we really have to continue to keep more people at home which is not what any scientist would like to do, ultimately. Thank you both very much. In china, more schools have allowed pupils to return today, including some students in the capital, beijing, and in the city of shanghai. The first case of coronavirus
in the country was in december last year, and china entered a state of lockdown on january 20th, which was then extended a month later. Some classes returning is a sign that the country the original epicentre of the outbreak is gradually starting to ease restrictions in certain areas. 0ur china correspondent, Stephen Mcdonell says authorities are keen for students to take upcoming exams. Its all part of what is a gradual and cautious, step by step return to some sort of normality in china. So what we have today are the final Year High School students in beijing, guangdong and shanghai returning, they are actually amongst the last two go back from that age group. So the reason they are keen to get the students back to school is in the coming months, they have this big exam, this is their
University Entrance exam, very important part of peoples lives here in china. So if they are going to get anyone back to school quickly they are prioritising those students. In Hubei Province where the coronavirus outbreak all kicked off, there are, we still have more than a week, i think now more days until those students go back. But nevertheless, each one of these steps nevertheless, each one of these ste ps ta kes nevertheless, each one of these steps takes us some weight back towards normal life but, just to give an indication of how on normal it is, you still cannot go into another person apartment block to have dinner in pitching. You cannot even enter some neighbourhoods u nless even enter some neighbourhoods unless you live there. The reason they are being especially careful in beijing is because the authorities are trying to make sure this city is free of cases so they can have this very important annual political meeting, the National Peoples congress, its already been put off, we havent had a date yet for when
its supposed to have happened, it was supposed to happen in march, when it might be held, there was some talk of may, still no date. But, you know, this is why here, there are so many social distancing measures still in place, restaurants are capping the number of diners. If you come into the city, you still had to do compulsory quarantine and the like. But elsewhere, places like the like. But elsewhere, places like the middle of china, its already much more relaxed. Here in the uk the families of people with autism have told the bbc they are being forgotten about in the coronavirus crisis. Some say they are struggling to access tests for the disease. Others have lost support as their care workers are forced to self isolate. Jim reed reports. Hi, simon. How are you feeling today . This is the only contact andrea can have with her son, a video sent by his care home. You feeling a bit better . Got a message from mum and ali, they want to say that they miss you and love you lots. Simon is 52 and severely autistic. A few months ago he started to develop a cough and fever. I felt sick with worry, because i was just thinking the worst. My god. What on earth is going to happen to him if he is so ill he has to go to hospital . Andrea says her son, whose speech is limited, would be terrified in a hospital ward. She has only praise for the care home staff but says he hasnt seen a doctor or been offered a test for the virus. That is the whole problem, we dont know what were dealing with and it has been this terrible, terrible, probably the most stressful week of my life, because. Sorry. I dont know whats wrong with him. It must be very, very concerning as a mum to go through Something Like this. It is. Very. Do you think he understands whats going on . No. No, he doesnt. He wouldnt have any idea at all. I cant imagine what is going. Since we filmed, simons condition has started improving. He is one of 700,000 people on the autism spectrum in the uk. Charities say it is a group that is at risk of being forgotten. Unfortunately lots of autistic people and disabled adults in general, feel that they are at the bottom of the pecking order. It is also extraordinarily difficult for care workers and Family Carers who are living in their own homes to know how to support people through this crisis and we havent had enough guidance from government. The government has said all care home residents with symptoms will get tested as capacity increases. It says it is continuing to develop autism specific guidance and to create access
for online support. Chris has a less severe form of autism. He lives by himself but the virus means he has lost both his long term carers, one for health reasons, the other to look after her children. His motherjane says her son is struggling. He gets very confused and frustrated with any form of change to his timetable or his daily routine. When situations like this arise, you get a lot of anxiety from him. The family are rallying around as best they can, dropping food at his door, but jane lives with another Vulnerable Person so she has to keep her distance. What is the biggest fear for you . Is it the virus itself or the lockdown and everything that goes along with it . I think its the lockdown and everything that goes with that. For him not to have contact, hes safe, but at what expense . This crisis, then, is about more than the virus. The impact of the lockdown on Public Health may be felt for many years to come. The uk government is being asked to put together a strategy to deal with Domestic Abuse during the lockdown, and after its lifted. Police and Charities Say theyve seen a large increase in calls for help in recent weeks. The Home Affairs Select Committee Says that without action families would be dealing with the devastating consequences of Domestic Violence for a generation to come. The home office says its increasing funding for helplines and Online Services. The headlines on bbc news. Borisjohnson warns the uk is at the moment of maximum risk, and urges the public not to lose patience with the coronavirus lockdown. Italys Prime Minister outlines plans to ease the countrys strict coronavirus lockdown in stages after seven weeks the Prime Minister of new zealand says coronavirus has been eliminated in the country for now. 0rganisers of the british formula one grand prix have confirmed that the event will go ahead in july. However, it will take place behind closed doors with no spectators attending. Meanwhile, the french grand prix, which was scheduled for the end ofjune, has been cancelled. 0ur sports presenter sally nugent has more. The race which was due to go ahead on the 19th ofjuly, will not go ahead in front of the fans. It says they will be unable to stage the grand prix in advance, it was abundantly clear given the conditions in the country, the grand prix under normal conditions is just not going to be possible. Thats what we know. We know its not going to happen in front of fans but also, you have to question at this point, is it going to go ahead at all . They say they are working behind closed doors with the government on the viability of an event. But even the fa ct viability of an event. But even the fact that its going to go ahead, we cannot say for certain. I can tell
you that fans are going to be able to claim transfer for their ticket to claim transfer for their ticket to the event for next year, should it actually be cancelled in its entirety this year. But it would have gone ahead in the 19th ofjuly. At the moment, they are saying just not in front of fans. There is news about the rest of the formula one season . Whats the plan . The first nine races of the season had been cancelled or postponed but weve heard this morning from the french grand prix, that was due to happen before the british grand prix. Thats been cancelled, it was scheduled for the 28th ofjune, that race simply will not go ahead. President macron in france has been specific about big events, nothing happening he says until mid july, so that would have come under that time frame. Thats simply not going to happen. The calendar now is due to begin with the austrian grand prix, that would have been the 5th of july. They hope to stage two races, but of course, there is already speculation that might not happen at
all. The current plan is that is due to go ahead but we do of course know that we are awaiting now an announcement for the rest of the season. I think formula one have been hoping they might be able to salvage some kind of season and some races without fans. But at this point, they are not even able to confirm that they can do that yet. Across the uk and the world many businesses have been forced to close, and those that have stayed open have had to adapt to social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. Its not been all bad news though some businesses are booming as phil mackie reports. Fresh leeks, butternut squash, sweet potato. This farm shop has never been busier. The phone hardly ever stops ringing. It looks idyllic, but normally churchfield farm in worcestershire would be heaving. It would be pretty busy on a sunny day like this. As you can see there, all the tables and chairs are stacked up. Thered be Young Children playing
on the furniture there, and on the old tractor at the back. We would normally have a really nice buzz about the place here, but sadly at the moment were not a cafe, were a click and collect farm shop. Staff have been furloughed and the future of the business was under threat, but theyve adapted to be lockdown to keep going. Its given people an alternative to supermarket shopping. They can order online or phone up and place an order, pay online, and then we take it to the carpark, which really does mean its contactless traffic. Lockdown has had unexpected consequences for other businesses. With Council Sites shut, this private Waste Collection firm is booming. Flat out. Were doing 12 to 1a hour days, quite easily. Normally wed kind of do ten hour days, were quite busy anyway. But its just really, really pushed it on. In fact, were pretty fully booked pretty much for a week in advance now. But for many businesses the outlook is bleak. Retailers have really struggled. Clothes shops in particular have seen sales fall by 30 , even though Online Shopping has got busier. The sad thing is when lockdown does eventually end, a lot of familiar names on the high street wont be there any more. These are plants which had been destined for Garden Centres. So long as they stay shut, many of these flowers will be given or thrown away. It has cost this nursery millions of pounds. Wed like to see Garden Centres get the green light to open their plant areas and start selling some plants. Diy stores are doing that at the moment, and we cant see the difference. As long as Garden Centres practice social distancing everything should be ok. If they were open, theyd be incredibly busy. This Delivery Service was set up a few weeks ago, and has already sent out nearly 10,000 plants. This is a gardening country. The english love to garden. And the combination of the nursery needing to get rid of their stock, and then the British Public wanting to get into their gardens when the weather was so beautiful. Back at churchfields farm the orders keep coming. I have an orderfor alistair bird. Its best known for its ice cream, but with most of its customers shut these cows will remain furloughed for a bit longer. Phil mackie, bbc news, worcestershire. When the pandemic struck, one group of dutch schoolchildren found themselves with a problem. They had been on a sailing expedition around the caribbean but all flights home were cancelled, leaving them stranded. So, the group decided to continue with their adventure. They travelled 7,000 kilometres across the atlantic until finally they reached the netherlands as tim allman explains. Its fair to say school trips dont normally end like this. Akin to a conquering hero, the wild swan sailed into port. 0n conquering hero, the wild swan sailed into port. On board, 25 children aged between 1a and 17, who
had journeyed across the high seas. An extraordinary trip for them, and their teachers. I was planning to marry next month, but thats not going to happen yes yes, i dont know, i will see. Going to happen yes yes, i dont know, iwill see. Yes. Ithink thats what most children learnt chair. 0n thats what most children learnt chair. On board. The plans change all the time. They have got a band with subject to change on it. The pupils were taking part in a six week Study Programme on board the ship when the virus hit. There are flights from cuba were cancelled so it was decided they would sell back across the atlantic. A 7000 kilometre journey that took them five weeks. 0n kilometre journey that took them five weeks. On board the vessel kept up five weeks. On board the vessel kept up their lessons, made sure everything was shipshape and bristol fashion. Its difficult, in a boat you are in very tight space and with a lot of people, its difficult, you
can get annoyed very easily, you we re very can get annoyed very easily, you were very close to each other so yes, there is a lot of friction and sometimes fights something. But its very quickly solved because you are in sucha very quickly solved because you are in such a small place, you have to solve it quickly. After docking, the children were let off one at a time to be reunited with their families. Life on the high seas is all well and good. But there is no place like home. In the uk, a 99 year old war veteran has been honoured with a special postmark, to acknowledge the £29 million thats 36 million hes raised for Nhs Charities. Captain tom moore, who turns 100 on thursday, raised the money by walking 100 laps of his garden. All british post up until friday will be marked with the words happy 100th birthday captain thomas moore, nhs fundraising hero. The queen is expected to send him a personal message
to mark his birthday. Youve been watching bbc news now its time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. Hello. In western scotland you might get through the week dry and to what weve seen over the last week or so, lots more cloud around, feeling cooler than it has done and particularly for england and wales, the return of rain. The rain courtesy of low pressure systems, each one bringing a bout of rain across the southern half of the uk in particular. Because in the north weve got largely easterly winds, that tends to put western parts of scotland in shelter. Lets deal with today first. Across scotland there will be a few heavy showers around, not too many of them but where they come they will be on the sharp side, spreading south. Much of Northern Ireland, Northern England staying
dry and bright after a cloudy start for some in the north of england. Compared to last temperatures where they should be, a cloudy from the south west through to lincolnshire with patchy rain and drizzle. Sunshine just about holding on for some in the south, highs of 21, high pollen levels, pollen levels dropping to a level relative of late. This evening and overnight, showers to begin with, fading, the return of rain which could put a bit of a smile on the faces of gardeners and farmers. Keeping temperatures up to 9 10d, frost across the north, clear skies and sunny weather taking us through tuesday. Due to come across the north, low pressure system in the south bringing outbreaks of rain. The rain becoming persistent across some southern counties, spreading to the midlands through the day. How far north it gets, little bit of a question, could get as far as the m62 corridor but generally north of that, brighterskies, one ortwo sharp showers, most dry and temperatures again, like today, maybe down a little bit perhaps across the north but more substantially through the midlands and the south east, around 10 degrees compared to last week. That first weather system clears as we go through tuesday and wednesday, frost in the north, the next one waiting in the wings. This one set to push further north, starting the day dry and bright in the north and east, cloud and rain spreading northwards, followed by sunshine and heavy showers, the rain lasting for a few hours, maybe reaching the far south of scotland and into Northern Ireland as we head through this afternoon. Temperatures close to where they should be at this stage in the year. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Back at work borisjohnson warns that the uk is at the moment of maximum risk, and urges the public not to lose patience with the coronavirus lockdown. I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people. And to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. Italys Prime Minister outlines plans to ease the countrys strict coronavirus lockdown in stages after seven weeks. The Prime Minister of new zealand says coronavirus has been eliminated in the country for now. The British Medical Association says nhs Health Care Workers need greater access to testing facilities,
after many struggle to access them. And the british formula one grand prix will be held behind closed doors after organisers say a race under normal conditions is just not going to be possible. Borisjohnson is back at work a month after he was diagnosed with coronavirus, which ultimately led to treatment in intensive care. Speaking outside number 10 in the last hour, the Prime Minister urged people in the uk not to lose patience with the lockdown, saying the country is at the moment of maximum risk. He acknowledged life has been tough over the past month, but said, i refuse to throw away the sacrifice of the british people and risk a second peak. Mrjohnson has been under pressure to map out an exit strategy from lockdown restrictions. After seven weeks of restrictions in italy, officials there have outlined plans to ease the lockdown. Parks, factories and Building Sites will re open, and people are allowed to visit relatives in small numbers. In switzerland, hairdressers, Garden Centres, massage parlours and florists are among the businesses allowed to open their doors today. Swiss schools are to follow over the next fortnight. New zealand says it has effectively eliminated coronavirus by stopping Community Transmission of the disease. Prime Ministerjacinda Ardern says she will be opening up the countrys economy, but not peoples social lives. Here in the uk, Airline Industry bosses have written to the chancellor, rishi sunak, asking him to extend hisjob retention scheme beyond june. The treasury is paying most of the wages of nearly four million staff working across the economy whove been put on temporary leave. Lets hear first what Boris Johnson
had to say a short time ago. I entirely share your urgency, it is the governments urgency. And yet we must also recognise the risk of a second spike, the risk of losing control of that virus and letting the reproduction rate go back over one. Because that would mean not only a new wave of death and disease, but also an economic disaster. And we would be forced once again to slam on the brakes across the whole country and the whole economy, and re impose restrictions in such a way as to do more and lasting damage. And so i know it is tough, and i want to get this economy moving as fast as i can, but i refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people,
and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. And i ask you to contain your impatience, because i believe we are coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict, and in spite of all the suffering we have so nearly succeeded. We defied so many predictions, we did not run out of ventilators or icu beds, we did not allow our nhs to collapse, and on the contrary we have so far collectively shielded our nhs so that our incredible doctors and nurses and Health Care Staff have been able to shield all of us from an outbreak that would have been far worse. And we collectively flattened the peak, and so when we are sure
that this first phase is over and that we are meeting our five tests deaths falling, nhs protected, rate of infection down, really sorting out the challenges of testing and ppe, avoiding a second peak then that will be the time to move on to the second phase, in which we continue to suppress the disease and keep the reproduction rate the r rate down, but begin gradually to refine the economic and social restrictions and, one by one, to fire up the engines of this vast uk economy. Lets get more from our assistant political editor, norman smith. First political editor, norman smith. Day back at work a illness first day back at work after the illness and underlining back in charge with that address outside number10. Charge with that address outside number 10. I think charge with that address outside number10. I think that charge with that address outside number 10. I think that was part of
it, a visual demonstration that he is well, he has recovered, he is getting a grip after eight days when it seemed really that ministers were shying away from taking difficult decisions on the lockdown and almost waiting for borisjohnson to return. I think it was a classic piece of boris boosterism. He compared the virus to a mugger who had now been wrestled to the ground, but his message was a pretty clear rebuff to those in his party and in the Business Community and in some newspapers who had been pressing him to start to ease the lockdown, saying pretty clearly, i thought, now is not the time. Saying that he will not put at risk the sacrifices made by the british people and risk another outbreak of the disease, which in any case he said would be
disastrous for the economy if there then had to be a subsequent lockdown. That fits with everything we know about Boris Johnsons mindset from the briefings weve had, the meetings hes had at chequers with dominic raab. He believes the absolute priority is trying to make sure there is no second outbreak. In other words, getting the level of infection is right, right down before there is any easing in the economy has to come first. However, we are going to get a debate. That is clear. It is not, we carry on and i wont tell you what im going to do. There is going to be a debate stop he said in the next few days the government will start to sketch out its thinking. He wants to involve the public, the opposition parties, and i think that is because there is a growing awareness at number 10 that if you dont give people some sense of light at the end of the tunnel, frankly they get fed up and the lockdown begins to fray anyway. Up to now the argument has always been,
we cant talk about the lockdown because it sends out a confusing message. Now the fear is if you dont talk about the lockdown, frankly people will start giving up and defy it anyway. We will get that debate in the next few days, at least the start of it. It cannot be ignored that out there, publicly, being reported are all sorts of suggestions about what is going on behind the scenes, what the planning might be. There was a Traffic Light system that seemed to be floated a week or so ago. Reports in the newspapers this morning that Boris Johnson was going to somehow alter the intensity of the lockdown. But obviously we have now heard from him very clearly that that is not going to happen. So how does what we are reading and hearing reported tally with what we are hearing when we hear directly from Boris Johnson and other ministers at the briefings . think we will get ideas floated in a sort of general sense. You heard in
that statement Boris Johnson talking about firing up the engines of the economy one by one. I take it from this one by one he means some parts of the economy will get the go ahead before other parts, and that is not hugely surprising. It has already been widely discussed about those retail outlets which can observe effective social distancing, such as Garden Centres. Yes, they might well get the go ahead before other areas where it is much harder. Amongst the ha rd est, where it is much harder. Amongst the hardest, i would think, pubs and restau ra nts, hardest, i would think, pubs and restaurants, much, much harderfor them. Already beginning to moot ideas. We had similar thoughts from dominic raab yesterday talking about some shops perhaps being allowed to go ahead. We have had this sort of debate already beginning in scotland. Nicola sturgeon has even mooted the idea of different parts of scotla nd mooted the idea of different parts of scotland perhaps even getting the go ahead before others. Less infected areas being given white relaxation than areas which are heavily affected. She also floated the idea, as others have, of whether
you have to segment the population in terms of age, whether perhaps older people dont enjoy the same restrictions as younger people. I think we will see that sort of debate beginning to materialise and interestingly when Boris Johnson talked about involving the public, we now learn that the daily downing street news conference, a member of the public, a Single Member of the public, will get a chance to ask a question. If you go on the www. Gov. Uk ask website, you can put ina www. Gov. Uk ask website, you can put in a question you would like to ask. Iam in a question you would like to ask. I am told that the government will not select the question, it is being sifted by an independent polling organisation. If you are chosen then you will be asked before 3pm on the releva nt you will be asked before 3pm on the relevant day to record a short video statement asking your question. If you dont want to, they will read it out at the news conference. But one member of the public will get a chance to ask a question. That was
www. Gov. Uk ask. Chance to ask a question. That was www. Gov. Uk ask. I chance to ask a question. That was www. Gov. Uk ask. I think thats right, yes. There might be a uk in there, as well. We are broadcasting around the world, they will get loads, wont they . It will be interesting to see how they pick the person. Thank you very much. Italy has outlined plans to ease the lockdown in place for the last seven weeks to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The move comes just a day after spanish children were allowed to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks following changes to their lockdown conditions. The number of daily fatalities in spain rose by 331 overnight, taking the number of deaths to over 23,500. Rich preston has the latest from spain, france and italy. Much of the focus in europe is on italy, the continents worst hit country, with more than 26,500 deaths. The number of new cases every day has been falling. Italy was the first country to invoke lockdown measures seven weeks ago. Now Officials Say it is time
to allow italians some freedom. Translation thanks to the sacrifices made so far, we are managing to contain the spreading of the pandemic and this is a great result. There have been moments in which the epidemic seemed to be out of control. As of next week, parks will be opened, restaurants will start selling takeaway food, and people will be able to visit their family. Some businesses, like manufacturing and construction, can start up again. Two weeks after that, libraries and museums will open, sports teams will be able to train together, and from june, you will be able to eat in a restaurant. Hairdressers and beauty salons will also open. Spain has had one of europes strictest lockdown. Now those restrictions are easing. Over the weekend, children under
the age of 1a were able to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks. They are now allowed outside for an hour a day, but parks remain closed and schools shut. The rate of infections in spain is on the way down. If that continues, the Prime Minister says restrictions here will be relaxed even more. France has had strict measures in place since mid march, but is expected to announce in the coming days how it will start easing these. Europes first reported death from coronavirus was in the middle of february. In just ten weeks, more than 100,000 people have died. Now, flickers of hope for the future and a way out for this continent in lockdown. Rich preston, bbc news. Though life in italy will start to look more normal in the coming weeks, schools will remain shut, and social distancing will be in force for months. Heres our correspondent
in rome, mark lowen. Europes first lockdown is now set to ease in a weeks time. There is a road map to reopening that Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte laid out. From monday the 11th of may, one week from now, takeaway will be offered at bars and restaurants, they will be able to swing back into action for that service. Parks will reopen, people will be able to exercise again outdoors. They will be able to move within their own region, visit family and relatives. But Wearing Masks, and no large social gatherings will be allowed. Athletes will be able to train again on their own. People will be able to attend funerals again, although there will be a Maximum Capacity of 15 people, and they will all have to wear masks. Manufacturing and construction and wholesale companies will be allowed to restart activity. Two weeks after that, may the 18th, is the date that libraries and museums will be allowed to reopen,
sports teams will be able to practise on their own again. Smaller Construction Companies will also be allowed to restart. 0n the 1st ofjune, that is the planned date for restaurants, bars, cafes, hairdressers and beauty salons to reopen. Schools, though, will remain shut until september. So this is an attempt by the Italian Government to tell people that their sacrifices are paying off, that the infection rate is at a manageable level a negligible rise in infections now every day and yesterday, sunday, so the smallest rise in deaths since march the 14th. But the italian Prime Minister stressed in his address that this is not returning life to normal, that social distancing will be enforced for many months ahead, probably until a vaccine is found, and that the government will maintain powers to intervene, to reimpose restrictions if the infection rate spikes again. This is some light at the end of the tunnel, this is a taste of freedom for italians, who have endured so much, but the country could
take years to recover. The British Medical Association, which represents doctors and medical staff in the uk, says testing for healthcare workers should not be on a first come, first served basis. Slots offered to key workers on sunday ran out for the third day in a row. More than 10 million essential workers and their households are now eligible for covid 19 checks as officials race to hit their 100,000 a day testing target. But as of 10am on sunday, home testing kits for england were listed as unavailable on the governments website two hours after booking slots reopened. Dr Chaand Nagpaul is the Council Chair of the bma. Thank you very much forjoining us. What are your concerns about the way this is working in practice . what are your concerns about the way this is working in practice . I think the problem is it is not working in the problem is it is not working in the way that im sure the government had intended because we know, and we
have argued for a long time, and the governorate has agreed, that we need to be able to test Health Care Workers so that they know whether they are infected with the virus or not. And if they are well and not infected then they can return to work. The Online System in theory is good, it allows Health Care Workers to book a test themselves, including a home kit, but if you find after an hour that all the slots have been taken and all the kits have run out, thenit taken and all the kits have run out, then it isnt providing a service to all of those who cant access it. It is theoretically available but it is not in practical terms delivering on what we really need and that really boils down to capacity, ultimately. Because if we dont have the capacity at the moment, we are not offering 100,000 tests, but even if we were, at any one time, based around the governments own statistics of the numbers of health ca re statistics of the numbers of Health Care Workers who are off work, self isolating, about 7 , that would be
nearly 90 odd thousand Health Care Workers self isolating, let alone theirfamily. You workers self isolating, let alone their family. You are workers self isolating, let alone theirfamily. You are not able workers self isolating, let alone their family. You are not able to provide that capacity unless you are testing more than 100,000. That is the problem, the mismatch between capacity and demand. The government in response to these concerns has said that, actually, Health Care Workers can get tests through their hospitals. Does that change things for Health Workers . No, because the overall capacity for testing is not sufficient for the demand, which is why we are seeing all these are slots ta ke n why we are seeing all these are slots ta ken up why we are seeing all these are slots taken up within the first hour. Remember, it is not about being tested in hospital. People who are at home, they are self isolating for a reason. Some of them may be ill but they need to know whether they have covid 19 or whether it is another illness. That is important information. The difficulty is that an Online Service has been offered, it is running out after one hour,
meaning anyone who is trying to access the service afterwards and get tested, they are being told it is too late. They will then have to try the next day. That has to change because it will not achieve its aim if days go by and Health Care Workers are waiting to secure a slot to be tested. So previously health ca re to be tested. So previously Health Care Workers where the only category that could really get these tests on demand as needed and the spectrum of people who can get them has now been broadened. What do you think is a practical answer to this situation we are in now . The practical answer is very simple. We must have the capacity for testing. We have been talking about this for a while, so although the initial target of 100,000 was mentioned sometime back, as speak now, we are not anywhere near that. Sorry to interrupt you. If the capacity is not there, at the moment, that is a situation we are in and that is obviously the aspiration, but right now, how should this be managed as far as you are concerned . If you dont have enough capacity then first be open with Health Care Workers, rather than saying that there is availability and then finding in practical terms you cannot book for a test. Be open. When you are open you have to prioritise those health ca re you have to prioritise those Health Care Workers or keep workers that are the most critical to enable our Health Service to function. That is what the government started with and thatis what the government started with and that is what would have to happen in any situation where the demand is greater than supply. The problem we have got is we have been told there is supply, an Online Service we can all access, and that is not a reality at the moment. What i think needs to be happening is to be honest and open so we can prioritise those who need testing. So how would you organise the priority list . 0bviously you organise the priority list . Obviously you are saying Health Workers first and foremost. Yes. Yeah, those who are working in patient facing environments, where their absence is such that, should they be able to work, would have maximum benefit for the service. That does mean, of course, that doctors, nurses and those essential ca re rs doctors, nurses and those essential carers in care homes, etc. So where their absence would have a significant disadvantage to the delivery of care to patients. What the government is saying, as i come back too, is that there is now availability to 10 million key workers. There isnt really availability and i think that is the problem. I think the government has to change its language, to be clear what is available and what level of availability is actually a reality for us. When you look at the figures arent, as you say, potentially around 90,000 Health Care Workers
who are currently isolating at home with suspected symptoms, and that obviously impact on their families, as well, when we look at what the actual capacity is, those numbers could be got through pretty quickly if they were prioritised. What difference would that make if that we re difference would that make if that were to happen, to the whole health ca re system . Were to happen, to the whole Health Care System . What it would mean. I cant give you an exact figure, but they would be a significant proportion of those Health Care Workers who are either self isolating because a member of their family has symptoms and they may be perfectly well and if that Family Member was tested negative they could go back to work. 0r member was tested negative they could go back to work. Or they may have had symptoms they are not sure about and they get better after two or three days and they feel fit to return. Tens of thousands of health ca re return. Tens of thousands of Health Care Workers could go back to work and stuff, gp practices, hospitals, and stuff, gp practices, hospitals, and makea and stuff, gp practices, hospitals, and make a real difference to patient care. That is what this is about and that is why we think it is
important to test i should say that the second stage of testing should have the capacity that many other nations have employed, which is to do more testing within the community and of Health Care Workers more generally, notjust those who have symptoms. Because there are concerns that this illness is spreading through asymptomatic individuals and especially through having a conversation about the possibility of ending a lockdown, we need to have testing well beyond Health Care Workers that really by the community so that we understand, what is the level of infection out there, and what is the risk to the population in those individuals who may be carrying the virus but not knowing about it, and hence transmitting it. Thank you very much indeed for joining us, dr Chaand Nagpaul. Council chair of the British Medical Association. New zealands Prime Minister, jacinda ardern, says the coronavirus has
in effect been eliminated there. The country recorded fewer than 1,500 cases during the pandemic, with 19 deaths. Ms ardern told reporters there was currently no more Community Transmission of the virus but said people should still be cautious. It is not and cannot be a return to pre covid 19 life. That day will come, but it is not here yet. To get there, our team of five million needs to have zero tolerance for cases to complete our goal of eliminating the virus at level three. If youre unwell, stay home. If you have a runny nose, a sore throat, a cough, get a test. Lets make sure that we keep those testing rates up, we continue with our Contact Tracing and isolation. Thats how we will finish this job. Michael baker is a professor of Public Health at the university of 0tago. He worked on the Prime Ministers strategy, and says the approach is paying off. New zealand change direction about six weeks ago. I mean, before that,
we were on the mitigation path, which is common for influenza pandemics, then when we looked at the success of china, particularly taiwan, we realised it was possible to eliminate the virus, and i think the big turning point was going into this very intense lockdown, which we have now had for four and a half weeks. During that time, transmission of the virus has vanished in the community. The other element is tight border control, so like taiwan, and like australia, you cant come into new zealand. The border is not entirely closed, but you cant come into new zealand without two weeks of quarantine, so that is the other critical element. We have also got a Contact Tracing and we have ramped up testing in the community and a lot more surveillance. We have a four level lockdown or response framework, and we went into the highest level, containment, partly to suppress chains of transmission but also to give us time to ramp up
all the other credible measures, like Contact Tracing and a lot of testing, and that has happened. The other thing, it was also to explain to all of us what physical distancing is all about, so this is a very intense lockdown, and people in new zealand, we havent lived through a pandemic before, we were barely affected by sars, so we had to understand what was involved in this intense physical distancing. Human trials of a vaccine for the coronavirus, developed by oxford university, began last week. Its the first human trial in europe with more than 800 recruits half will receive the covid 19 vaccine and the rest a control vaccine which protects against meningitis but not coronavirus. How do Clinical Trials work and how soon will we know any meaningful results . Professor Gillian Lancaster is the director of the Clinical Trials unit at keele university. Thank you forjoining us. Probably rarely has the entire world been desperately racing to do the same
thing all at once, which is obviously finding a vaccine. Getting to human trials at this stage seems relatively quick stop what happens from here and how difficult is it . Clinical trials are basically scientific experiments to allow us to test whether new treatments will work well or not. They are the Gold Standard method to help the nhs decide whether new therapies should be adopted into routine clinical practice. They basically work best when they are large and well conducted studies, which is why the National Institute for health and research has invested a lot of money in the network of Clinical Trials across the country. A Clinical Trial basically works by randomly allocating people with a certain condition to two groups. One group will get the intervention and the other will get a control or existing
treatment. And then they are followed up for a time and that depends on the trial itself as to how long the follow up is required for. I think the new vaccine trials is aiming at 18 months of follow up at the moment and then at the end of the trial we will see how many people have got covert macro and how many people havent, due to the vaccine. If it is an 18 month follow up and human trials, the first human trials are just happening now, we are at least 18 months away from a vaccine, i we . For the results of this particular trial. Yes. They need to be tested in humans to make sure they are safe, so we need to wait for the results of these trials. And is that even the end point . You said to wait and see if they are safe. If thats 18 months hence. What we all want to know obviously is what is the tightest timeframe possible for the vaccine to be available in the scale it would need to be for covid 19 . It
sounds like it is possibly a lot longer await than sometimes has been suggested. Yes. In order to conduct a trial in the right way, in order to put into place all the proper procedures and protect the patients and make sure everything is working properly, they do need the time to be able to follow people up and find some results. I am not an expert in what is happening in these trials, i am not involved in these trials. I am not involved in these trials. I am not involved in these trials. I am not sure if they have planned any preliminary looks or not, but certainly the trial, the full trial is following people up for 18 months. It is obvious with the development of any vaccine, the safety is paramount, vital, because what you cannot have is a situation where something that purports to be protecting the life causes unseen damage. Unforeseen damage. Particular in this context, because of the scale of what we are facing and the number of vaccines that potentially would be administered, does it make the concerns around any side effects, no matter how minimal, even greater . All Clinical Trials are designed to be careful with at the side effects and to monitor what is going on. In this particular case, i think they are building on what they already know, so they will have had experienced before. I think the team at oxford has already been involved in vaccines for ebola, for example. So they will have some knowledge of what the potential outcome of these vaccines and how safe they are and all these things are taken into consideration when these trials i set up. I do think they are building on existing knowledge in this case. You mentioned working on vaccines for ebola. There are things for which no vaccine has been found. Malaria. Is it possible we never get a vaccine for this . Iam not i am not the right person to talk to in terms of developing vaccines. I do not know if vaccines will become available. Many people around the world a re available. Many people around the world are working to develop a vaccine. Because this is a global initiative, and i would hope at least one country has a breakthrough, not just to least one country has a breakthrough, notjust to do with the uk but global. Lots of scientists over the world are trying to develop vaccines. That is a plus point in this case. Working globally, you work in a Clinical Trials unit. Different countries have different scales of what needs to be. The rigorous testing that needs to be carried out before something goes to market. Could that potentially be an issue in this come up potentially be an issue in this come up with something being acceptable in one environment but not another . Potentially these things are possible. Scientists do watch each other doing work across the world. Youd hope these things are being taken into consideration. People have worked already on vaccines for other types of diseases of the same type. You would hope that things will be carried out in a proper way. Certainly to publish results in a journal they will be scrutinised and there are certain standards that people have to maintain. We are eagerly watching what is happening with the human trials at oxford university. Do you know what the rate of su ccesses university. Do you know what the rate of successes once the vaccine gets to human trial stage . No. I know very little about vaccine development, so i cannot comment on that. Good to hear your thoughts. Thank you very much. This is bbc news. The headlines. Borisjohnson warns the uk this is the moment of maximum risk and urges the public not to lose patience with the coronavirus lockdown. I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people, and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. Italys Prime Minister outlines plans to ease the countrys strict coronavirus lockdown in stages after seven weeks. The Prime Minister of new zealand says coronavirus has been eliminated in the country for now. The British Medical Association says nhs healthcare workers need greater access to testing facilities, after many struggle to access them. And the british formula one grand prix will be held behind closed doors after organisers say a race under normal conditions is just not going to be possible. In china, more schools have allowed pupils to return today, including some students in the capital, beijing, and in the city of shanghai. The first case of coronavirus in the country was in december last year, and china entered a state of lockdown on january 20th, which was then extended a month later. The country where the pandemic began is gradually starting to ease restrictions. 0ur china correspondent, Stephen Mcdonell, has more. Its all part of what is a gradual and cautious step by step return to some sort of normality in china. So what we have today are the final Year High School students in beijing, guangdong and shanghai returning they are actually amongst the last to go back from that age group. So the reason they are keen to get the students back to school
is that in the coming months, they have this big exam, the gaokao this is their University Entrance exam, a very important part of peoples lives here in china. So if they are going to get anyone back to school quickly they are prioritising those students. In Hubei Province, where the coronavirus outbreak all kicked off, there, we still have more than a week i think nine more days until those students go back. But nevertheless, each one of these steps takes us some way back towards normal life but, just to give an indication of how un normal it is, you still cannot go into another persons apartment block to have dinner in beijing. You cannot even enter some neighbourhoods unless you live there. The reason they are being especially careful in beijing is that the authorities are trying to make sure this city is free of cases so they can have this very important annual political meeting the National Peoples congress its already been put off, we havent had a date yet for when its supposed. It was supposed to have happened in march. Weve had no date of when it might be held, there was some talk of may, but still no date. But, you know, this is why here, there are so many social distancing measures still in place restaurants are capping the number of diners, if you come into this city, you still have to do compulsory quarantine and the like. But elsewhere, places like chengdu in the middle of china, its already much more relaxed. There are now 32,000 confirmed cases of covid 19 across africa with more than 11100 deaths recorded so far. Experience of dealing with illnesses including ebola, yellow fever and malaria has prompted scientists there to innovate. The outbreak of ebola between 2014 2016 hit the west african region hard. There were over 28,500 cases, and over 11,000 deaths. Hiv is highly virulent in eastern and southern africa,
with more than 20 Million People in the region living with the disease. And yellow fever, which is transmitted by mosquitos, is estimated to cause up to 60,000 deaths annually. The bbcs senior africa correspondent, anne soy, looks at whether the Health Emergencies of the past have put the continent in a stronger position to tackle covid 19. Ebola in the democratic republic of the congo has had neighbours on high alert for months. This was the routine at the arrival lounges in many african countries. In came covid 19, and screening at the ports of entry continued. On this front, africa had a head start, and the lag in the arrival of the disease helped many to prepare. I think africans had the gift of time, being able to see the way different parts of the western
world, different parts of the world in asia have reacted, and i have been struck that there has been less of the denialism that has been prevalent in the west and in china, i have seen less of that in africa which is encouraging. I see many african countries taking it very seriously. Habits are also changing rapidly in communities across africa, like they had to during outbreaks of ebola. Movement across countries is now limited to cargo. And even here, there is caution. In the 80s and 90s, this highway from the port of mombasa to kigali became a route through which hiv spread into rural areas, centres where Truck Drivers stopped and parked for the night became hotspots of infection. And with covid 19, countries have quickly identified them as a high risk group, and here in kenya they are being screened. But in uganda, its been taken a notch higher. They are testing every truck driver arriving in the country, and so far,
theyve identified cases even when theyre asymptomatic. South africa has the largest outbreak on the continent, but a Massive Community Health Response is under way. Tuberculosis testing equipment has been repurposed, set up in dozens of mobile laboratories and sent to townships and villages for mass testing. The west has commandeered most of the materials for this testing because they are facing crisis, and we are sort of further back in the queue asking for these sort of things, so for us to try to get access to it, we are probably going to have to develop a lot of the technology ourselves. Ill open the door for the next one, right . That is what scientists are trying to do at the desmond tutu laboratory. 0ngoing research into a possible test for tb where samples
are collected from breath are now looking at covid 19. It is the race to find Home Grown Solutions for a global problem. The continents chances of averting a major disaster lie in the success of its swift and hard response to the pandemic, but it is still too early to say if it is working. Anne soy, bbc news, nairobi. Dr peter drobac is a specialist in global medicine and infectious diseases. Thank you forjoining us. What is your assessment of africa is with covid 19 at the moment . The confirmed number of cases and deaths is relatively low compared with elsewhere. 32,000 cases is certainly lower than we have seen elsewhere in the world. Just over the last week, the world. Just over the last week, the total number of cases has
increased by 15 so we are starting to see a quickening and the terms of numbers of reported cases. It may be that parts of africa are earlier in the epidemic curve and we may see a surge in infections. I believe the early and swift response, as your earlier report pointed out has been effective in making it difficult for covid 19 to gain a foothold in africa but the question is whether that will hold. There are two important elements when looking at africa. 0ne important elements when looking at africa. One is, as we were experience when dealing with other infectious diseases, like ebola, which was brought under control. People live in poverty with little access to sanitation and underdeveloped Health Care Systems. That is right. Being able to re purpose epidemiological systems of testing, tracing and isolation has been really important in a
number of settings and trying to trace transmission and prevent Community Spread. Many countries have moved into a number of settings and trying to trace transmission and prevent Community Spread. Many countries have moved quite early. That means Something Different in settings of extreme poverty where, if someone is unable to work, they are unable to eat that day. One thing we face is if it gets worse, even the consequences of the kinds of social distancing we are very significant. There are predictions that up to 250 Million People living in extreme poverty around the world could face food and security. We do have a delicate balance between facing lives with covid 19 only to see people dying of starvation. What is your expectation of how this may go in africa . You mentioned the number of cases, although still relatively low, went up 50 in a
week. Is it inevitable that it does effectively run through populations . Not necessarily. This is a heterogeneous continent. In rwanda, there have been fewer than 200 cases was that they have had an extraordinary response, notjust in terms of social distancing but being able to test my trace and isolate and they can track changes in transmission. You can figure out where the person was infected in every case. Where we are starting to see more so called Community Spread ora see more so called Community Spread or a pacey cannot identify where they were infected from, that suggests you are having silent spread through the community and that would be more difficult. I am trying to remain hopeful and im really impressed with effort thus far. You cannot contain it in one country and had containment sale in other countries nearby and it will spread regionally. Istill think
there is a high risk that africa may yet become a new epicentre for covid 19. Yet become a new epicentre for covid19. I read a statistic that gave some cause for optimism, which is across the continent of africa there is a relatively young population, only 3 of the population, only 3 of the population is over 65 compared with 20 in the eu. We do know that covid 19 is particularly lethal in the older population and less so the gang there. Could that potentially mitigate the impact in africa . Having fewer elderly people might mean the overall fatality rate might be lower if it is predominantly affecting the largely younger population. We do know that co morbid medical conditions are also a cause for higher risk of severe disease and death. We do not know so much about whether hiv is
one of the conditions, whether malnutrition is one of the conditions. There are a lot of co morbid illness, chronic infected diseases and others affecting people in africa. That may blunt any impact of the population. You mentioned the very real prospect that africa becomes the epicentre for covid 19 as it hits different parts of the world at different times. It has been a bit of a domino. It has been a bit of a domino. It has been a bit of a domino. It has been a domino effect so far. What happens when other countries are cleared and the tail continues elsewhere . How do we stop it becoming a perpetual cycle . Elsewhere . How do we stop it becoming a perpetual cycle . M elsewhere . How do we stop it becoming a perpetual cycle . If we can succeed in containing it here and it is going to morass, it will only mean there is a risk that it can be reimported. That is why Global Cooperation is so important. Many african countries have done a
brilliantjob in many african countries have done a brilliant job in flattening many african countries have done a brilliantjob in flattening the curve and trying to mitigate the early spread of covid 19. That has brought us some time that we would be wise as a global community, particularly in wealthy countries, to look at how we can help africa in the next phase of its response in the next phase of its response in the future. It will keep us all safer in the end. Thank you for joining us. The headlines on bbc news. Borisjohnson warns the uk is at the moment of maximum risk, and urges the public not to lose patience with the coronavirus lockdown. Italys Prime Minister outlines plans to ease the countrys strict coronavirus lockdown in stages after seven weeks. The Prime Minister of new zealand says coronavirus has been eliminated in the country for now. The south korean government has downplayed rumours that the leader
of neighbouring north korea kim jong un is seriously unwell. Its now been two weeks since kimjong un has made a public appearance, missing a series of Important National celebrations. 0ur correspondent laura bicker has the latest. What is the latest about working ebola might be . Today the Unification Ministry has said it can say with some certainty there was no unusual activity in north korea. What does that tell us . It certainly does not confirm nor deny any rumours that kim jong un may be dead, gravely ill, recovering from heart surgery are hiding from covid 19 at his resort. These are many of the rumours that are currently circulating around the world. It does not confirm nor deny those. What they are trying to do is downplay the swell of speculation surrounding kim jong un. When
downplay the swell of speculation surrounding kimjong un. When it comes to the south korean president ial adviser, he has gone even further, saying that kim jong un is alive and well and at his resort. It is worth noting he is not a member of the president ial team and he is not privy to any intelligence briefings. Where has all of this come from . Why are we talking about the whereabouts of the north Korean Leader . He has gone missing. He was last seen on april the 11th. April the 15th is a huge sta ke the 11th. April the 15th is a huge stake ina the 11th. April the 15th is a huge stake in a day to celebrate his grandfather, founder of north korea and he was not there. Unprecedented. That started the rumours. Then came an unverified single sourced report here to our website claiming they had spoken to someone in north korea, he said that kim jong un had spoken to someone in north
korea, he said that kimjong un had undergone a heart procedure and was recovering. There was no way of verifying this. This prompted a swell of speculation which came from the United States, which certainly one network claimed he was gravely ill. It has gone on from there. What do we actually know . The truth is, even though i am sitting here in seoul, no one really knows. It could well be that kim jong un is quite happily at his residence but when it comes to state media, they would never talk about his health. 0rganisers of the british formula one grand prix have confirmed that the event will go ahead in july. However, it will take place behind closed doors with no spectators attending. Meanwhile, the french grand prix which was scheduled for the end ofjune has been cancelled. 0ur sports presenter, sally nugent, has more. The race which was due to go ahead
on the 19th ofjuly, will not go ahead in front of the fans. It says they will be unable to stage the british grand prix in front of fans. It was abundantly clear given the conditions in the country, the grand prix under normal conditions is just not going to be possible. Thats what we know. We know its not going to happen in front of fans but also, you have to question at this point, is it going to go ahead at all . They say they are working behind closed doors with the government on the viability of an event. But even the fact that its going to go ahead, we cannot say for certain. I can tell you that fans are going to be able to claim transfer for their ticket to the event for next year, should it actually be cancelled in its entirety this year. But it would have gone ahead in the 19th ofjuly. At the moment, they are saying just not in front of fans. There is news about the rest of the formula one season . Whats the plan . We have had a couple of formula one stories coming through this morning. The first nine races of the season had been cancelled or postponed but weve heard this morning from the french grand prix, that was due to happen before the british grand prix. Thats been cancelled, it was scheduled for the 28th ofjune, that race simply will not go ahead. President macron in france has been specific about big events, nothing happening he says until mid july, so that would have come under that time frame. Thats simply not going to happen. The calendar now is due to begin with the austrian grand prix, that would have been the 5th ofjuly. They hope to stage two races, but of course, there is already speculation that might not happen at all. The current plan is that is due to go ahead but we do of course know that we are awaiting now an announcement for the rest of the season. I think formula one have been hoping they might be able to salvage some kind of season and some races without fans. But at this point, they are not even able to confirm that they can do that yet. In the uk, the families of people
with autism have told the bbc they are being forgotten about in the coronavirus crisis. Some say they are struggling to access tests for the disease. Others have lost support as their care workers are forced to self isolate. Jim reed reports. Hi, simon. How are you feeling today . This is the only contact andrea can have with her son, a video sent by his care home. Ive got a message from mum and ali, they want to say that they miss you and love you lots. Simon is 52 and severely autistic. Two weeks ago, he started to develop a cough and fever. I felt sick with worry, because i was just thinking the worst. Oh, my god. What on earth is going to happen to him if he is so ill he has to go to hospital . Andrea says her son, whose speech is limited, would be terrified in a hospital ward. She has only praise
for the care home staff but says he hasnt seen a doctor or been offered a test for the virus. That is the whole problem, we dont know what were dealing with and it has been this terrible, terrible, probably the most stressful week of my life, because. Sorry. I dont know whats wrong with him. It must be very, very concerning as a mum to go through Something Like this. It is. Very. Do you think he understands whats going on . No. No, he doesnt. He wouldnt have any idea at all. I cant imagine what is going. Since we filmed, simons condition has started improving. He is one of 700,000 people on the autism spectrum in the uk. Charities say it is a group
that is at risk of being forgotten. Unfortunately, lots of autistic people and disabled adults in general, feel that they are at the bottom of the pecking order. It is also extraordinarily difficult for care workers and Family Carers, who are living in their own homes to know how to support people through this crisis and we havent had enough guidance from government. The government has said all care home residents with symptoms will get tested as capacity increases. It says it is continuing to develop autism specific guidance and to create access for online support. Chris has a less severe form of autism. He lives by himself but the virus means he has lost both his long term carers, one for health reasons, the other to look after her children. His motherjane says her son is struggling. He gets very confused and frustrated with any form of change to his timetable or his daily routine. When situations like this arise, you get a lot of anxiety from him. The family are rallying around as best they can, dropping food at his door, but jane lives with another Vulnerable Person so she has to keep her distance. What is the biggest fear for you . Is it the virus itself or the lockdown and everything that goes along with it . I think its the lockdown and everything that goes with that. For him not to have contact, hes safe, but at what expense . This crisis, then, is about more than the virus. The impact of the lockdown on Public Health may be felt for many years to come. A 99 year old british war veteran has been honoured with a special postmark, to acknowledge the £29 million hes raised for Nhs Charities. Captain tom moore, who will be 100 on thursday, raised the money by walking up and down his garden. All british post up until friday will be marked with the words happy 100th birthday captain thomas moore, nhs fundraising hero. The queen is expected to send him a personal message to mark his birthday. I bet he never expected his 99th year to be like that. Goodbye to viewers on bbc world. You are watching bbc news. The weather this week will be very different to last week. It has been extremely dry and sunny for the time of year. This week heavy rain on the way. On the satellite picture we are seeing signs of the weather systems. Rain clouds gathering in the south and rain clouds to the west. In all these directions we will see bouts of rain heading our way and by the end of their week some spots in the south could see an inch of rain, 25 millimetres more, posted double that perhaps across the higher ground. 0ne perhaps across the higher ground. One thing the rain will do is continue to lower the pollen levels. They are still pretty high on monday but after that they will be lower. 0ne weather front across the country right now. To the north of it is quite sunny. Northern england, scotland, parts of Northern Ireland. Temperatures in belfast of 12 degrees at 5pm. Elsewhere still some warmth left in the far south of the country. This evening you can see the first signs of rain across france moving into the channel. By six oclock in the morning, reading anywhere from plymouth to london and inland as well. 10 degrees in the south with the cloud and rain. In the north having a clear night the temperature is close to freezing. Tomorrow, across some southern parts of the uk, a cloudy, chilly and wet day. The breeze is also coming out of the north and north east. The
temperatures really will struggle. 9 degrees potentially in the midlands. For Northern England, scotland and Northern Ireland, tomorrow is actually a mixture of sunshine and showers and it will feel a little less cold. Tuesday and wednesday, for the rest of the week, low pressure for the rest of the week, low pressure heading our way. The difference with this one as it will move more swiftly. I think we are talking about an hour or twos worth of rain. The north of scotland is staying dry and sunny most of the time. That is it. Goodbye. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Back at work borisjohnson warns that the uk is at the moment of maximum risk, and urges the public not to lose patience with the coronavirus lockdown. I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people, and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. Italys Prime Minister outlines plans to ease the countrys strict coronavirus lockdown in stages after seven weeks. The Prime Minister of new zealand says coronavirus has been eliminated in the country for now. The British Medical Association says nhs Health Care Workers need faster access to testing facilities. And the british formula one grand prix will be held behind closed doors after organisers say a race under normal conditions is just not going to be possible. Borisjohnson is back at work a month after he was diagnosed with coronavirus. Speaking outside number 10, the Prime Minister urged people in the uk not to lose patience with the lockdown, saying the country is at the moment of maximum risk. He acknowledged life has been tough over the past month, but said, i refuse to throw away the sacrifice of the british people and risk a second peak. Mrjohnson has been under pressure to map out an exit strategy from lockdown restrictions. After seven weeks of restrictions in italy, officials there have outlined plans to ease the lockdown. Parks, factories and Building Sites will re open, and people are allowed to visit relatives in small numbers. In switzerland, hairdressers, Garden Centres, massage parlours and florists are among the businesses allowed to open their doors today. Swiss schools are to follow over the next fortnight. New zealand says it has effectively eliminated coronavirus, by stopping Community Transmission of the disease. Prime Ministerjacinda Ardern says she will be opening up the countrys economy, but not peoples social lives. Here in the uk, Airline Industry bosses have written to the chancellor, rishi sunak, asking him to extend hisjob retention scheme beyond june. The treasury is paying most of the wages of nearly four million staff working across the economy whove been put on temporary leave. Lets hear first what borisjohnson had to say. I entirely share your urgency, it is the governments urgency. And yet we must also recognise
the risk of a second spike, the risk of losing control of that virus and letting the reproduction rate go back over one. Because that would mean not only a new wave of death and disease, but also an economic disaster. And we would be forced once again to slam on the brakes across the whole country and the whole economy, and re impose restrictions in such a way as to do more and lasting damage. And so i know it is tough, and i want to get this economy moving as fast as i can, but i refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people, and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. And i ask you to contain your
impatience, because i believe we are coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict, and in spite of all the suffering we have so nearly succeeded. We defied so many predictions we did not run out of ventilators or icu beds, we did not allow our nhs to collapse, and on the contrary we have so far collectively shielded our nhs so that our incredible doctors and nurses and Health Care Staff have been able to shield all of us from an outbreak that would have been far worse. And we collectively flattened the peak, and so when we are sure that this first phase is over and that we are meeting our five tests deaths falling, nhs protected, rate of infection down, really sorting out the challenges of testing and ppe, avoiding a second peak
then that will be the time to move on to the second phase, in which we continue to suppress the disease and keep the reproduction rate the r rate down, but begin gradually to refine the economic and social restrictions and, one by one, to fire up the engines of this vast uk economy. Borisjohnson Boris Johnson speaking earlier on his return to work after his illness. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster and gave us this update. A visual demonstration that he is well, he has recovered, he is getting a grip after days when it seemed really that ministers were shying away from taking difficult decisions on the lockdown and almost waiting for borisjohnson to return. I think it was a classic piece of boris boosterism. Trying to just give people a bit of a pick me up, saying we are now at this stage, we are turning the corner. He compared the virus to a mugger who had now been wrestled to the ground, but his message was a pretty clear rebuff to those in his party and in the Business Community and in some newspapers who had been pressing him to start to ease the lockdown, saying pretty clearly, i thought, now is not the time. Saying that he will not put at risk the sacrifices made by the british people and risk another outbreak of the disease, which in any case he said would be disastrous for the economy if there then had to be a subsequent lockdown. That fits with everything we know about borisjohnsons mindset from the briefings weve had, the meetings hes had at chequers with dominic raab. He believes the absolute priority
is trying to make sure there is no second outbreak. In other words, getting the level of infections right, right down before there is any easing in the economy has to come first. However, we are going to get a debate. That is clear. It is not, we carry on and i wont tell you what im going to do. There is going to be a debate. He said in the next few days the government will start to sketch out its thinking. He wants to involve the public, the opposition parties, and i think that is because there is a growing awareness in number 10 that if you dont give people some sense of light at the end of the tunnel, frankly they get fed up and the lockdown begins to fray anyway. Up to now the argument has always been, we cant talk about the lockdown because it sends out a confusing message. Now the fear is if you dont talk about the lockdown, frankly people will start giving up and defy it anyway. We will get that debate in the next few days, at least the start of it. Lets speak now to the conservative mp, sir bernard jenkin. He is also nominated to be chair of the house of commons liaison committee. Thank you forjoining us. What did you think of borisjohnson this morning out publicly underlining he is back in charge . Well, it was a cheering sight for all of us who are fond of him and he is the undoubted leader of this government and we needed him back. What i hope is that he will pace himself, get plenty of rest, because by all accounts a period in intensive care is exhausting, particularly with this virus. He will have to pace himself, that is my advice. In terms of the message, obviously a different personality delivers it differently but the underlying message was absolutely the same from him as we have been hearing, which is that it is not the
right time now to ease the lockdown restrictions. I published an article on the website conservative home last week, setting out how to resolve this dilemma because it is not about, shall we open up or continue the lockdown . The question is how we come out of the lockdown without reigniting the pandemic and we have to keep that reinfection rate, the r number below one. Other countries have shown us how to do it. Taiwan, singapore, south korea. Which is, im afraid, likely to be very different while we live with this virus until we have a vaccine. We will need tonnes and tonnes of ppe on an absolutely industrial scale, they will need to be a wartime like effort to produce ppe, and with testing, and there will be and with testing, and there will be a tracking and tracing system which will take time to put up, but we will take time to put up, but we will need everyone to log in with
their mobile phone, everyone to carry a mobile phone. I expect in this country it will be voluntary but as many people as possible. Up to 80 or 90 of the population. We can find out who you have met, when you have met and who you have been with. If someone turns out to have been infected, then you will be tracked down and asked to isolate yourself in order to prevent any possibility of the virus spreading. Sorry, just to come in there, what you are saying is obviously what the government is saying, there are those five tests. The death have to be following, the nhs must be protected, the number of cases coming down, testing and ppe supplies robust and you are saying there that that needs to be a wartime like effort. In terms of how far off those things being met, how far off those things being met, how far off those things being met, how faroff do far off those things being met, how far off do you think we are . Because that then becomes the part where people kind of want to know where the progress is, what the targets are. I certainly understand that,
but lets be absolutely clear. Freeze and fix, that is going to be economically ruinous. It cannot happen. Nor can we surrender to the virus because that would not only cost our latest estimate of 500,000 lives, from niall ferguson, but it would also be ruinously expensive economically and it would be a breakdown of our Health System. What we need to do is create a Public Health infrastructure in the space of two to three months which a country like south korea has spent five years building up since the sars outbreak. This hybrid paper that i cite in my article, it is described as transition and mobilise. We need to mobilise a. Described as transition and mobilise. We need to mobilise am that actually happening with white out the the question is, is it being done . It is beginning to happen, i think. We have been climbing the learning curve perhaps as quickly as we could but i think a lot of this sterile period during the lockdown, a lot of work has been going on in the background because there is no other way out of this. There is not a way out of this but we will have to live with this virus until there is a vaccine. The question is how we adapt our society, our systems and processes and how we work in order to live with the virus without reigniting the pandemic, that is the dilemma. In terms of the testing, we are seeing that obviously now the possibility of being tested has been opened up to 10 million key workers, but the systems are not able to cope with the numbers calling in and the systems a re with the numbers calling in and the systems are basically after a couple of hours in the morning just turning away anybody else trying to access testing. What do you think. How should that be managed . We are still
not at the capacity of the government promised at the end of the month. We are seeing the beginning of a transition towards. The Public Health england and the nhs. This the Public Health england and the nhs. This is the Public Health england and the nhs. This is the kind of operation thatis nhs. This is the kind of operation that is just absolutely beyond the imagination of anything they thought they would have to deal with. To bring in external capacity, notably the armed forces, who have got very, very good logistics, planning, supply chain capability, and they are being brought in to support ppe, testing, and we will be seeing that mmp testing, and we will be seeing that ramp up. We were ready to build the nightingale hospitals and that shows how impressive our capability can be, but we were not ready for this massive mobilisation of testing, tracking and tracing and ppe, and thatis
tracking and tracing and ppe, and that is going to take some time. But i see more and that is going to take some time. But i see more and more that is going to take some time. But i see more and more Army Uniforms on the tv screens and that suggests to me that the armed forces are being engaged in the planning and increasing capability generation which is what is required. You say we we re which is what is required. You say we were not ready for testing, tracing and isolating in the scale that it became required, in the same way as with ppe. Was it a result of a lack of planning or was it a deliberate strategy . Either way, was it just deliberate strategy . Either way, was itjust a deliberate strategy . Either way, was it just a mistake, deliberate strategy . Either way, was itjust a mistake, the wrong thing to do . Because everyone is now talking, you are talking of that being the way out. South korea was cited as the textbook example of this. But we went a different way. Its not that we chose essentially to go its not that we chose essentially togoa its not that we chose essentially to go a different way. We were planning on a different basis. If you look at the Cabinet Office papers for pandemic flu planning, it was never envisaged that there would bea was never envisaged that there would be a lockdown. I heard one academic saying on the bbc that if anybody
recommended in an academic paper before this outbreak that they should be a lockdown, they would have been Peer Reviewed out. It was never conceived that we would have a lockdown at this stage. Why . When you look back to the spanish flu in 1918, a lockdown is not a new strategy. Yes, but these are very Big Questions about what is the strategic failure of planning at the height of the vast majority of countries across the western world. The countries dealing with this a1 are few and far between. Most countries i caught on the hop. We have seen those countries dealing with saris previously, the countries that were responding sars. Its not like we couldnt see it coming. There are an awful lot of people,
including, darei there are an awful lot of people, including, dare i say, people in the media, who say we should have been wiser and the answer is, yes, we should. The real question is, why wont we . Why would so many countries unprepared . France wont we . Why would so many countries unprepared . France is not a stupid country. They are injust a bad situation as we are and possibly worse. I think it is human nature, people contemplate very bad things happening. Some things are so awful to contemplate that you carry on doing something normal and familiar rather than something so unfamiliar, and it does underline why we need in our systems of government bite deeper strategic thinking. It is something i have been going on about for about ten years. We all knew a pandemic threat was a top threat, we just hoped it wasnt going to happen. We made plans which we thought would be adequate and, of course, they werent. But they will come a time to look at all this. Now is not the time to start a blame game. What we need to do is learn
from the present situation, learn from the present situation, learn from the present situation, learn from the truth that is coming out about these things, and put these truths into practice so we can help the government make better decisions. That is what mps should be doing. Bernard jenkin, thank you very much. Italy has outlined plans to ease the lockdown in place for the last seven weeks. Yesterday, spanish children were allowed to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks. The number of daily fatalities in spain rose by 331 overnight, taking the numbers of deaths to over 23,500. Rich preston has the latest from spain, france and italy. Much of the focus in europe is on italy, the continents worst hit country, with more than 26,500 deaths. But the number of new cases every day has been falling. Italy was the first country to invoke lockdown measures seven weeks ago. Now Officials Say its time to allow italians some freedom. Translation thanks
to the sacrifices made so far, we are managing to contain the spreading of the pandemic and this is a great result. There have been moments in which the epidemic seemed to be out of control. As of next week, parks will be opened, restaurants will start selling takeaway food, and people will be able to visit their family. Some businesses, like manufacturing and construction, can start up again. Two weeks after that, libraries and museums will open, sports teams will be able to train together, and from june, you will be able to eat in a restaurant. Hairdressers and beauty salons will also open. Spain has had one of europes strictest lockdowns. Now those restrictions are easing. Over the weekend, children under the age of 1a were able to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks. They are now allowed outside for an hour a day,
but parks remain closed and schools shut. The rate of infections in spain is on the way down. If that continues, the Prime Minister says restrictions here will be relaxed even more. France has had strict measures in place since mid march, but is expected to announce in the coming days how it will start easing these. Europes first reported death from coronavirus was in the middle of february. In just ten weeks, more than 100,000 people have died. Now, flickers of hope for the future and a way out for this continent in lockdown. Rich preston, bbc news. Though life in italy will start to look more normal in the coming weeks, schools will remain shut, and social distancing will be in force for months. Heres our correspondent in rome, mark lowen. Europes first lockdown is now set to ease in a weeks time. There is a road map to reopening that Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte laid out. From monday the 11th of may, one week from now, takeaway will be offered at bars and restaurants, they will be able to swing back into action for that service. Parks will reopen, people will be able to exercise again outdoors. They will be able to move within their own region, visit family and relatives. But Wearing Masks, and no large social gatherings will be allowed. Athletes will be able to train again on their own. People will be able to attend funerals again, although there will be a Maximum Capacity of 15 people, and they will all have to wear masks. Manufacturing and construction and wholesale companies will be allowed to restart activity. Two weeks after that, may the 18th, is the date that libraries and museums will be allowed to reopen, sports teams will be able to practise on their own again. Smaller Construction Companies will also be allowed to restart. 0n the 1st ofjune, that is the planned date for restaurants, bars, cafes, hairdressers
and beauty salons to reopen. Schools, though, will remain shut until september. So this is an attempt by the Italian Government to tell people that their sacrifices are paying off, that the infection rate is at a manageable level a negligible rise in infections now every day and yesterday, sunday, so the smallest rise in deaths since march the 14th. But the italian Prime Minister stressed in his address that this is not returning life to normal, that social distancing will be enforced for many months ahead, probably until a vaccine is found, and that the government will maintain powers to intervene, to reimpose restrictions if the infection rate spikes again. This is some light at the end of the tunnel, this is a taste of freedom for italians, who have endured so much, but this country could take years to recover. Some doctors in the uk have been alerted to an apparent rise in the number of children
being admitted to hospital with an inflammatory condition which appears to be related to covid 19. 0ur health correspondent, michelle roberts, is here. Tell us more about this. This is an alert that went out to some gps in a north london initially and it has been shared more widely now. They have noticed that some children were coming into hospital needing quite serious care for quite unusual symptoms, so their bodies seem to be quite overwhelmed with an infection that they had. It is not clear yet whether it was coronavirus. Some of them did test positive for coronavirus but some didnt, so at the moment doctors want to gather more information but they are alerting colleagues to the fact that we are seeing some very alerting colleagues to the fact that we are seeing some very rare alerting colleagues to the fact that we are seeing some very rare but unusual cases in children. What are the symptoms . Its very much like toxic shock syndrome, so the body is overwhelmed, you might get low blood pressure, fever, the type of thing
you would see with lots of different infections. Also some gastrointestinal problems in this case, so stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, that kind of thing. As a picture together though bloods also look different so it built up a picture going on. Something to watch and keep an eye on. Thank you very much. New zealands Prime Minister, jacinda ardern, says the coronavirus has in effect been eliminated there. The country recorded fewer than 1,500 cases during the pandemic, with 19 deaths. Ms ardern told reporters there was currently no more Community Transmission of the virus but said people should still be cautious. It is not and cannot be a return to pre covid 19 life. That day will come, but it is not here yet. To get there, our team of five million needs to have zero tolerance for cases to complete our goal of eliminating the virus at level three. If youre unwell, stay home. If you have a runny nose, a sore throat, a cough, get a test. Lets make sure that we keep those testing rates up, we continue with our Contact Tracing and isolation. Thats how we will finish this job. Michael baker is a professor of Public Health at the university of 0tago. He worked on the Prime Ministers strategy, and says the approach is paying off. New zealand changed direction about six weeks ago. I mean, before that, we were on the mitigation path, which is common for influenza pandemics, then when we looked at the success of china, particularly taiwan, we realised it was possible to eliminate the virus, and i think the big turning point was going into this very intense lockdown, which we have now had for four and a half weeks. During that time, transmission of the virus has vanished in the community. The other element is tight border control, so like taiwan, and like australia, you cant come into new zealand. The border is not entirely closed, but you cant come into new zealand
without two weeks of quarantine, so that is the other critical element. We have also got Contact Tracing and we have ramped up testing in the community and a lot more surveillance. We have a four level lockdown or response framework, and we went into the highest level, containment, partly to suppress chains of transmission but also to give us time to ramp up all the other credible measures, like Contact Tracing and a lot of testing, and that has happened. The other thing, it was also to explain to all of us what physical distancing is all about, so this is a very intense lockdown, and people in new zealand, we havent lived through a pandemic before, we were barely affected by sars, so we had to understand what was involved in this intense physical distancing. In china, more schools have allowed pupils to return today, including some students in the capital, beijing, and in the city of shanghai. The first case of coronavirus
in the country was in december last year, and china entered a state of lockdown on january 20th, which was then extended a month later. Youre watching bbc news. Here in the uk, as the lockdown enters its second month, doctors are warning of the impact social distancing is having on Peoples Mental Health and emotional wellbeing. Campaigners say the coronavirus pandemic is risking a Public Health emergency with thousands of people calling advice lines, and millions downloading advice from websites offering support. Dr Kimberly Dienes is from the university of manchesters centre for health psychology, and has been looking into the impact of the lockdown on Peoples Mental Health. Shejoins us now. Welcome, thank you forjoining us. Thank you for having me. What are you able to ascertain so far . In our recent report is a Research Collaboration between the university of manchester and we looked into
peoples experiences during lockdown and also to their views about what might happen after lockdown and we really found two themes coming forward. 0ne really found two themes coming forward. One was the theme of uncertainty, so people are feeling a great sense of uncertainty about how long it would last and what the world would look like after the end of lockdown. Especially what a social contact would look like. And then the other theme we kept seeing was the theme of loss. Loss of structure. Loss of the space for those of us at home and also emotional loss. Loss of meaning was a big theme and loss of self worth. And these experiences really led to feelings of anxiety and depression, evenin feelings of anxiety and depression, even in week 213. We are really anticipating an acute increase in feelings of depression and anxiety that we a belief or persist post
lockdown. Unfortunately our sound to you is in and out but we have heard more than we have missed. I will try one more question. The issues that you described there that people have been talking about being concerned around a kind of the big existential issues of what is life about, what ami issues of what is life about, what am i doing now, what happens next . Is it mainly tied in people where there are other practical considerations around, they have lost theirjob considerations around, they have lost their job and considerations around, they have lost theirjob and so it is a very specific thing, or is it across the piece everyone is feeling all of these feelings . I think that people in general are really focusing on the losses that are more relevant to them. So we actually asked a range of people, so people who have low income and they were focused around physical losses more, the way they we re physical losses more, the way they were living, what they were going to. Peoples income level
increased, and you got into the more existential losses a little bit more, but uncertainty was across the board. People really want clarity and that is one of the issues right now if they feel like they are not getting clarity and that is leading toa high getting clarity and that is leading to a high level of anxiety. Dr Kimberly Dienes, thank you very much for joining Kimberly Dienes, thank you very much forjoining us. Thank you for your time. 99 year old captain tom moore won hearts when he raised £29 million for Nhs Charities together by walking 100 lengths of his garden. Well, more and more people are following his example and raising money for charity including amy hughes who has just finished running for 26 hours to raise money for the nhs. And amyjoins me now. Hello, amy. Hello gosh, you looked absolutely whacked. I wouldnt be surprised. You have done it on a treadmill. What was that like . You can see it in the background. Im not going to lie, it was absolutely
brutal. I started at ten oclock yesterday. During the day it wasnt bad because i was doing a lot of lives and i was on my phone. Through the day it was getting harder and harder and at night, oh, my god, just running on the same spot was mentally horrendous. So, yeah, it was hard. I kept thinking about what i was raising money for and so many m essa g es of i was raising money for and so many messages of support coming in so that kept me going. This morning all the messages came in again. Im not going to rush and do it again we are watching pictures of you doing it. Why did you do it . To raise money for incredible front liners out there, doing Amazing Things. I have done other running things before. I was supposed to run the London Marathon yesterday. Some of you are aware
that London Marathon are doing a 2. 6 challenge where people can do anything involved with the numbers two and six. Randomly, i thought i would try to run for 26 hours. That is where the idea came from and i kept inking, i had got to do this for those on the frontline. They are doing Amazing Things for us, so i just wanted to use my running to try and do something to help them. How much money have you raised . At the moment we arejust much money have you raised . At the moment we are just over £10,000. It was all last minute. Ijust set my target to £2600. I am really pleased. How far did he run in those 26 hours . I ran 104. 5 miles. 0h, pleased. How far did he run in those 26 hours . I ran 104. 5 miles. Oh, my gosh. Hence the slightly tired
looking face. Gosh. Hence the slightly tired looking face. What about the practical stuff . Eating, what did you do . I was really lucky. One of my friends contacted me and she is a specialist and she specialises in endurance running. Throughout yesterday she told me what to do. Normally when i do stuff like that i eat when i am hungry and leave things are not drink enough. She told me exactly what to have. Doing this at home, i have literally got a stand right next to the treadmill with lots of snacks and stuff on it. I got with lots of snacks and stuff on it. Igota with lots of snacks and stuff on it. I got a headache quite early on yesterday. I knew i was not drinking enough. I tried to keep eating some more things throughout the day and swigging on water. Exercise is obviously a good thing for us all in
these times. Having this focus, how has that been for you . Has it been a good thing during lockdown . Has that been for you . Has it been a good thing during lockdown7m has that been for you . Has it been a good thing during lockdown . It has helped me in slightly a slightly different way. I teach pilates. helped me in slightly a slightly different way. Iteach pilates. I am really sorry, i am going to have to interact here. We need to now hear from nicola sturgeon, who is getting her daily update to the media. That is an increase of 197 from yesterday. A total of 1762 patients are currently in hospital with either confirmed or suspected covid 19, an increase of 27 from yesterday. A total of 134 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected covid 19, an increase of one since
yesterday. I should say at this point that despite the occasional fluctuations, overall the statistics for hospital and intensive care admissions still give us cause for cautious optimism. I am also able to confirm today that since the 5th of march, a total of 2380 patients, who had tested positive for the virus, have now been able to leave hospital andi have now been able to leave hospital and i wish them well. On a much sadder note, i have to report that in the last 24 hours, 13 deaths have been registered in patients who had been registered in patients who had been confirmed through a test of having the virus and that takes the total number of deaths in scotland under that measurement to 1262. It is worth highlighting again, indeed it is important that i do so, although people can now register deaths on a sunday, we do know from recent weeks that the figures we report on monday of deaths that were
registered on a sunday tend to be relatively low and that means that they can i report tomorrow may be significantly larger than today. Of course, once again, i want to stress andindeed course, once again, i want to stress and indeed reflect on the fact that the numbers i weed out here every day are notjust the numbers i weed out here every day are not just statistics, the numbers i weed out here every day are notjust statistics, they are individuals, whose losses and grief to families and friends. I wa nt to grief to families and friends. I want to send my condolences to anyone who has lost a loved one to the virus. I want to thank health and care workers who continue to do extraordinary work in the most difficult of circumstances and place on record my thanks to essential workers the length and breadth of the country, whose dedication each and every day is helping to keep Vital Services running. Tomorrow on International Workers memorial day, the Scottish Government willjoin a minutes silence at 11 ent one
frontline workers. Particularly not exclusively health and care workers who have lost their lives by helping to tackle this pandemic. I invite all of his you at home tojoin us at that time tomorrow. The silence will provide an opportunity to contribute to those who had died as a result to serve playful and save others. It will be a further reminder that, of all the duties government bears during a situation like this, the most vital is our obligation to help keep care and Health Workers safe. I want to stress again today that i am the Scottish Government are acutely aware of that responsibility and we will work to each and every day to do everything we can to fulfil that obligation. I had two things i want to comment on this morning. The first is to reflect a little bit more on some of the statistics i have just reported. I
more on some of the statistics i havejust reported. I know more on some of the statistics i have just reported. I know that it might not feel this way since the numbers that i am reporting each day, particularly those on the number of people who are dying, are a lwa ys number of people who are dying, are always far higher than we want them to be. But it is nevertheless the case that we are now seeing some real signs of progress. The number of people in intensive care has fallen by around a third in the last fortnight, from the figure i would have reported to you two weeks ago today. The number of people in hospital, which was rising sharply in the first ten days of this month, have also now broadly stabilised and the trend there may also now be a downward one. The nhs is working incredibly hard and in the most difficult circumstances. It has not been overwhelmed. A few weeks ago we feared it might be. We are not yet seeing a definite full on a number of people who are dying each day from the virus buster as we have
a lwa ys from the virus buster as we have always said, because of the way the illness progresses, it will be the last daily number we hope to see decline and we hope to see that in the next couple of weeks. We do have evidence of the actions that all of us, all of you watching at home are taking are making a real and positive difference. Your efforts are working. Again today, i want to thank you for that. However, i realise this is a less welcome and much more difficult point for me to make, this progress remains very fragile. There is a time for all of us to exercise careful caution. It is certainly not a time to throw caution to the wind. The margins we think we are working within in respect to the reproduction number, the crucial r number i spoke about last week are very narrow. A slight
easing up of restrictions in place now could send the reproduction rate back towards or above one and the virus would then start to spread very quickly again. Within days of that, all the indicators suggesting progress now would start to go in the wrong direction again. More cases, more hospital and intensive ca re cases, more hospital and intensive care admissions and sadly more deaths. For all of our sakes and to protect the progress we have made, all the restrictions need to remain in place now. Thejob is not done yet. We needed to stay the course will a bit longer. We are now thinking of ways in which we can begin to ease the lock down a bit when it is safer to do so, although we cannot put dates on any of that. Lifting lockdown will not be a flick ofa lifting lockdown will not be a flick of a switch moment. Instead we will be considering gradual and careful variations. It is important and necessary to do that work now and we
are doing that work now. As i said last week, i think it is really important to engage you in that work in an open and transparent way. I can confirm in the coming days i will say more about the different options under consideration and how we are going about assessing theirs. Let me stress again current restrictions are in place. We had to stick with them at the moment in order to be able to relax things in the future. We will have. I absolutely understand anxieties of business and i am acutely aware of health and social impact of economic damage. Let me make this point, a premature easing up of the restrictions, if it led to the virus running out of control again, would not help business or the economy. In fa ct not help business or the economy. In fact it would make economic damage even worse. That is why i am asking businesses and individuals to continue to do the right things, as
the vast majority of you have been doing already, for which you have my deep gratitude. If you are a business on the list which require to be closed, you should remain closed. If you are not in a category but chose to close voluntarily at the start of lockdown and are thinking of reopening, our view is you should not contemplate doing so u nless you should not contemplate doing so unless you can comply fully with existing guidance and change working practices to ensure safe social distancing at all times. The precautionary principle i spoke about the full still applies for protection of workers and customers. For all of us, notjust businesses, if you are now going out and about a little bit more than you are at the start of the lockdown, and you really should not be because she might be putting yourselves and your loved ones at risk. Fundamentally, the basic restrictions of lockdown continue to apply. You should only leave home for essential purposes
like buying medicine, food and exercising. You should stay two metres apart and not meet up with people from other hassles and wash hands thoroughly and regularly. As i say every day, i know all of this is difficult and it gets more difficult with every day that passes but it remains essential. Any easing up right now would risk as seeing the virus search app again. Please, please stick with it so we can continue to make progress together and accelerate hopefully the stage at which we can begin a process of restoring some normality to our lives. The other issue i want to very briefly update on his skills. Skills Development Scotland has updated their my world of work website, to help people find free courses. This has been developed with the support of the open university in scotland and
highlights free courses run by 12 providers in areas like digital technology, Business Studies and languages stop in the coming weeks and months, we will expand the range of courses by working with colleges and universities. We are working with the uk government and other devolved administrations to highlight the courses they offer. I am aware doing courses like this may not be an option for everyone if you had caring responsibilities or if you volunteer to help others, time to study might be pretty limited. For some people, may be especially though not exclusively, those who have been furloughed or made unemployed, it could make sense to develop new skills during this period. We hope this initiative will help people to do that safely end free of charge. It is a good example of digital public services. I am grateful for those developing the
site so quickly. The courses are open to anyone. If you are interested , open to anyone. If you are interested, go to my world of work top uk where we you will find the courses under the learn a trade section. I simply want to end by thanking again each and every one of you by doing for doing the right thing and staying at home. It is making a difference. The steps we are all taking is helping to slow the spread of the virus and helping to protect the nhs as we wanted to do and they are not withstanding the figures i had to report to you every day helping to save lives. So please stay with them and thank you for doing so. I will hand over to dr greg smith and then the Health Secretary before we move on to questions. Sign up and i have spoken before about the need for people to
come forward with urgent symptoms so they can get the help they need when they can get the help they need when they need it. Especially important for people with symptoms like chest pain, difficulty speaking that might be suggestive of a stroke. I have been speaking to colleagues over the weekend and again today there is a feeling that more people are attending with these symptoms. That is good and it is important because these people need to be assessed quickly so they can be treated appropriately. Speeders of the essence. Please do not delay seeking help. Speed is of the essence. If you do, my colleagues and i expect you do, my colleagues and i expect you to phone 999 so they can help you to phone 999 so they can help you as quickly as possible. New symptoms may need to be assessed quickly to determine whether there isa quickly to determine whether there is a suspicion of cancer or not. Symptoms like rapid and unintended weight loss to make new or unusual bleeding or detection of a lamp. You
should not ignore these things and should not ignore these things and should speak to your soon. A lump. When i had been speaking to collea g u es lump. When i had been speaking to colleagues they have been speaking to people experiencing symptoms of trauma. Iam to people experiencing symptoms of trauma. I am sure many of these will be avoidable. More people are using cycling as a way of travelling right now. I make a plea to all road users to be especially mindful of each other on the road. Similarly, if you are attacking new projects at home or in the garden you have been putting up until now, please take ca re putting up until now, please take care and make sure you are following all the guidance necessary when working at height or width tools. Anything we can do together to help nhs services is appreciated and welcome. I am gratefulfor your continued support of the restrictions are in place. Avoidable
injuries and trauma that necessitate treatment must be kept to a minimum for the sake of everybody. I want to emphasise once again, if it was urgent before covid 19, it remains urgent before covid 19, it remains urgent now. Please know your nhs remains open for you and can help you when you need it. remains open for you and can help you when you need it. I want to say a few words about how the nhs is open andl a few words about how the nhs is open and i want to focus particularly on primary care, on yourgp particularly on primary care, on your gp practice and all the expertise that is available to you. You will remember that we established a very specific Community Pathway for those individuals who were experiencing covid 19 symptoms. We created this special phone line, 111, which would ban passing on to a hub where you would get clinical expertise, assessing your symptoms and, if necessary, you are then made an
appointment with a Community Assessment centre. 0ne appointment with a Community Assessment centre. One of the by products of that very deliberately so was not only about creating that special route for people with covid 19 symptoms but was also to free up your gp practice, so it could focus on the good work that it had always done before covid 19 and after. And that practice remains there for you with all the expertise that it always had to answer and to deal with your Health Issues and health questions. It is also the case that they had expanded, as you know, Community Pharmacy, and that your gp practices and Community Pharmacy will be open over the may bank holidays. So unusually, all those services will be available to you for use. Please do not think that you cannot use them. Please do not think you are troubling anyone. You are doing what we want you to do, which is where
you have a health issue or concern and he would normally go to your gp or your Community Pharmacy for their expert help and advice, please continue to do so. As we follow those important Public Health messages, your nhs in primary and acute and urgent remains open for you. Thank you very much to the Health Secretary. Straight to questions. The first one from Glen Campbell of the bbc. With Boris Johnson returning to work today, are you and he is one in your approach to lifting lockdown or are there differences . If the uk hit its 100,000 target later this week, what will scotlands total contribution to that have been . I will say more about testing as the week develops. We are working in scotland are making sure the capacity for tests
hit the 3500 target that we set and i hope it will go beyond that. More importantly, we are of course working to ensure the number of tests done in scotland meets at capacity and is maximised and is donein capacity and is maximised and is done in the way that helps us with an overall approach to tackling the virus. 0bviously can attest in scotla nd virus. 0bviously can attest in scotland are done through nhs laboratories and nhs games but also we now have, as part of the uk wide system, the drive through operation which has a digital portal where people can access more easily. We will obviously give more detail and report more numbers around that as we go forward this week and indeed beyond is we go into a test, trace, isolate approach as part of our strategy for the next phase. 0n isolate approach as part of our strategy for the next phase. On that question, it is good to see Boris Johnson back at work today having recovered from the virus. I am sure
everybody will welcome that. We are at one in wanting to see this virus beating and wanting to see the number of cases reduced, the reproduction rate reduced as far below one as possible and to make sure that whatever we do now, moving from the position right now into a position where we start to heat up some of these restrictions, although i refer back to it being slow and gradual and not a flick of a switch moment. It is all about keeping cases low and keeping the reproduction number below one. We are united in doing that. Questions of how you do that is secondary. Driven by the advice we get on the judgments we make about the application of that advice. I have said it so many times that it is worth repeating. This, to me, is not driven by Political Considerations or constitutional considerations. All i care about is keeping the
damage this virus can do to a minimum and damage this virus can do to a minimum and i will continue to base my decisions on those considerations andi my decisions on those considerations and i am sure borisjohnson will as well. Thank you very much. Boris johnson helped the asset and sacrifice of the British Public. Hailed the effort. Second of all, i have been asked by the Construction Industry to relay a question. If they can prove it is safe to go back to work, can they . Giving your opening remarks, are you saying to business in general, if it is safe and you can ensure social distancing, go back to work . Can you clarify . I am distancing, go back to work . Can you clarify . Iam not distancing, go back to work . Can you clarify . I am not saying anything different to what i said before. In my opening remarks i pointed to existing guidance and that guidance
has not changed. I set up before there were a group of businesses which by law were required to close. At the other end of the spectrum there are a group of businesses that are there are a group of businesses that a re necessary to there are a group of businesses that are necessary to keep going, semi keep food on the table, the lights on in the country continues to run. So we keep. As to whether other businesses can safely operate, it guidance on that has not changed. We will continue to engage directly with different businesses, if they feel a need for that and also the different sectors of the economy. As we go through the process of the next few weeks of looking to make certain changes, we were doing that in an open, transparent and discursive way. I think that is the right way to proceed. 0n the first pa rt right way to proceed. 0n the first part of your question, all leaders have been making the best decisions that they could, based on the advice and applying judgment to that. I have said before i do not think
there is and said he should not be in my view, any government anywhere in the world that is declaring success or victory right now. We not through this pandemic. Perhaps we are not even a significant part of the way through this pandemic and it is really important that we remain focused on what we need to do Going Forward to continue to suppress this virus, will be as we try to get a semblance of normality back into our day to day lives. It will be there will be rightly and properly opportunities to look back to see what was done in what was knocked down in order to learn lessons from that. That is right and proper. In many ways, the toughest decisions remain ahead of us. All of us must be focused on that and take the best decisions possible. Using that advice to inform the judgments that we make. Is it time for some real
clarity on the use of facemasks and coverings as part of exit strategy . There are mixed messages from government. We tend to put guidance out. I think i have indicated before we had an intention to put some guidance out and i hope to be able to do that, probably tomorrow, which will take account of the advice we have on that. It is sad to say it is inconclusive. The Evidence Base around wearing face coverings is not overwhelming but as i have said before, there is sympathy with the position of sadik khan in london, who has articulated in certain circumstances, in certain enclosed spaces where social distancing is not possible, there may be a benefit to covering your face and we will put out guidance to give people clarity around that. I hope we would
do that tomorrow. Let me just make two additional points. Firstly, this is face coverings we are talking about, not medical masks. It is really important to be clear about that. We are talking about scars and bandannas, not the masks that health and care workers would wear. Secondly, this comes back to the point about evidence around this. Wearing a mask having, a face cloth covering in public, is not a substitute for following the rest of the rules and advice. That is the bit, we have taken a bit of time. That is the Daily Briefing from nicola sturgeon. Now its time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. This week there will be rain on the way, heavy rain. In fact it is england and wales that gets most
of the rain. 0n the satellite we are seeing signs of the weather systems with rain clouds gathering to the south and west of us. From all these directions we will see bouts of rain heading our way. I think by the end of the week some spots in the south could see an excess of an inch of rain, that is 25 millimetres or more. Close to double that across the higher ground, dartmoor, exmoor. 0ne the higher ground, dartmoor, exmoor. One of the things her remedy this continue to lower the pollen levels. Still high across some southern parts of the uk. After that they will be lower. 0ne weather front across parts of the country. To the north of it hit is quite sunny. This is where the cool areas. Temperatures in belfast at 12 degrees, at 5pm, 13 in hull and warmth left in the south of the country. You can see first signs of the rain moving across the channel and into southern england. By six
oclock in the morning, raining anywhere from plymouth to london. Still relatively mild. In the north, having a clear night sky temperatures were dipped down to close to freezing. Tomorrow, across some southern parts of the uk, a cloudy, chilly and wet day. The breeze is coming out of the north and north east. Temperatures really will struggle. 9 degrees potentially in the midlands. In Northern England, scotland and Northern Ireland, tomorrow is a mixture of sunshine and showers and it will feel less cold. Tuesday and wednesday, for the rest of the week, we will see low pressure heading our way. This is the next weather front expected on wednesday. It will move more swiftly. We are talking about an hourortwo more swiftly. We are talking about an hour or two worth of rain. Many of us will get it into Northern England, Northern Ireland. The north
of scotla nd england, Northern Ireland. The north of scotland will stay dry and sunny most of the time. Goodbye. The Prime Minister appeals to the British Public to contain their impatience, saying the uk is now at the moment of maximum risk. As he returns to work after recovering from covid 19, borisjohnson says, thanks to the efforts of the public, we are turning the tide on coronavirus. I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people, and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. As the Prime Minister gets back behind his desk, well be looking at the huge questions facing him in his in tray. Also this lunchtime criticism of the Online System for key workers to book coronavirus tests. The bma says they shouldnt be issued on a first come, first served basis. A huge increase in calls to Domestic Abuse charities,
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