the mail on sunday has won the first round of a legal battle against the duchess of sussex over the publication of a letter she wrote to her father. and coming up — we'll be speaking to the founder of a challenge to run 5k, raising money for nhs charities — who's been recognised with an award from the prime minister. ministers says they are confident that they have hit their target for the number of daily coronavirus tests to be carried out as the prime minister told the nation yesterday that the uk was now "past the peak" of the outbreak. the government had pledged that 100,000 tests would be done every day by the end of april. over 81 thousand tests were carried out on wednesday — according to the figures from the department of health and social care — and we'll get the updated figures later. coronavirus continues to have a big impact on the aviation industry, as one of the world's biggest budget airlines — ryanair — announced today that they are cutting up to 3,000 pilot and cabin crewjobs — as they restructure to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. meanwhile in the us — president trump said he's seen evidence coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory, but provided no details. the us national intelligence director's office say covid—19 "was not manmade or genetically modified" and china rejects the theory. we'll have more on the global response to the pandemic shortly — but first this report from our health correspondent — lauren moss. the target was 100,000 tests a day by the end of april. it's just under a month since the health secretary announced that deadline. we will find out later whether the ambition is achieved. are you confident you will meet your testing target? more than 81,000 tests were carried out in the uk on wednesday, after more people became eligible, including those over the age of 65 who have symptoms and care home residents and staff who don't. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do. because it galvanised government and got thejob done. but there is a lot more to be done, and we need to increase that figure, whether it is 100,000 or thereabouts, much higher in the days and weeks to come. it's notjust testing, though. tracing those who have got the virus and tracking the spread is key. thousands of people have been hired to do just that by the middle of the month. plans have been set out in scotland to increase the testing capability up to more than 8000 a day. the further projected increases in nhs capacity that i mentioned, i expect that to be at least 10,500 by next week, and 12,000 by the middle of the month. after announcing yesterday that we are past the peak, the prime minister will give plans for a way out of some of the lockdown on monday, exactly six weeks since we went into it. but any strategy will have to be carefully balanced against risking increasing the rate of virus transmission. that will be quite a challenge. because when the restrictions were brought in, it was the same restrictions for everyone. i think it's going to be a challenge when there are going to be different restrictions lifted for different sections of the population, because the collective solidarity has been such an important part of adhering to and making any strategy successful. latest figures collected by google revealed that retail football — —footfall is three quarters lower than at this time last year, but visits to parks are just 10% below normal. over the next six weeks, the nhs will be starting more non—covid related care, finding different ways of working and treating patients. we don't want to go back to crowded a&e departments. the president of the royal college of emergency medicine rightly points out that would be a disastrous step backwards, because you could then go to a&e and catch coronavirus. so we need to find a way for services to resume and keep patients safe. masks may have a part to play in what will be the new normal, even ifjust to make some feel safer. more than 1 million people around the world have now recovered. the road we will take next will become clear in a few days. but, regardless of targets, testing is likely here to stay. let's get more from our chief political correspondent vicki young who's at westminster. politically that is significant, that attempted to reach that target? yes, it is because when matt hancock gave that target at the press conference gave that target at the press c0 nfe re nce eve ryo ne gave that target at the press conference everyone was a little bit surprised because they had been talking for a long time about ramping up testing but that rhetoric wasn't being met by resolve, it sounded ambitious, it sounded pretty far—fetched but they sound quite confident they have reached that target or at least got very close. it has been effective, i think what he did really was a knock heads together, get them to focus on this in iron out the logistical problems. they needed the labs, a place for people to go, a place for people to book the test, they needed the chemicals, all of that needed to function properly. so what they have managed to do is to get the system up managed to do is to get the system up and running, but they do acknowledge there is still going to bea acknowledge there is still going to be a lot more that needs to be done and that is because they are looking at testing, but also tracing those who are testing positive, tracing who are testing positive, tracing who they have been in contact with to try and keep those infections down. that is going to be, they think, part of their way out of lockdown measures. it is important from that point of view, and i suppose from matt hancock himself, a little bit of satisfaction that he might prove his critics wrong. little bit of satisfaction that he might prove his critics wrongm will be interesting, looking ahead to the daily briefing in a couple of hours' time, one wonders whether a lot of the questions to the scientific expert will be about the next stage of the strategy and tracing is absently part of that, isn't it? i think it will be, eve ryo ne isn't it? i think it will be, everyone is keen to know how and when those measures can be eased. we are told it is going to be modification to a lot of these restrictions rather than any moment where they are lifted completely and even then, borisjohnson was saying he would lay out a conference of plan but actually said that even than the timings, the that dates, kind of thing might not be there, so there will be a plan for how they start to do it. i am told that will involve urging people back to work who have never been closed down. there have been a number of places surprised that they were closed down even though they didn't have to, but they have to reassure people it is safe to do so. they want companies to look at how they can have social distancing within their office or factory, they are looking at things like food production which has continued and they say that can be a bit of a blueprint really for how others can operate but don't expect all the answers in one go. that is interesting, because in terms of big gatherings, one understands the logic of perhaps we might reach a situation where they say essential businesses carry on but large things can't continue, then you get into the whole world of entertainment, leisure, sport. that is notjust about the public having fun, there isa about the public having fun, there is a massive economic impact. if you tell sporting organisations that they simply can't keep going yet, they simply can't keep going yet, they can't operate yet. yes, and they can't operate yet. yes, and they are businesses too and they are fea rful they are businesses too and they are fearful about what will happen to them. it feels as though the large gatherings are a long way off and the uk will be looking at what happens in other countries, the french have already said their football is over for the season, they are not going to do that but it is still being talked about here. interestingly, before the numbers of infection rose massively, you remember there was reluctance to stop things like football matches because the scientists said the evidence suggested it wasn't as bad being outside as it would being in a pub for example. you wonder whether there will be elements of outdoor activity that can return, whether that involves a sport or mass concerts, that sort of thing, that doesn't seem very likely. thank you very much indeed, we will be talking specifically about lockdown after quarter past. rya nair says it's going to cut up to 3000 jobs because of the pandemic. the airline has warned passengers whose flights have been cancelled that it might take six months to refund them. theo leggett reports. just a few weeks ago, the airline industry was booming. the future looked bright. now, days after british airways' owner said 12,000 jobs were on the line, ryanair has warned that it may make 3,000 people redundant. we announced this morning we are going to have to cut 15% of staff. that is, we think, the minimum we need, just to survive the next 12 months. if a vaccine is found, then clearly the recovery will be stronger. if a vaccine isn't found, we may have to announce more cuts, and deeper cuts into the future. unions insist that all this is premature, and that there is no need to make such deep cuts so soon. ryanair is not in financial difficulty, it is one of the wealthiest airlines in europe. it should be be able to ride out the storm, and it should be be able to take a more measured view. yet this is clearly an unprecedented situation, and you can see that from where i am standing. the skies behind me are normally full of planes, that is one of the major routes into heathrow airport, the busiest airport in the country. yet at moment, nothing. no planes, no contrails, and it has been like that for several weeks. globally, 80% of flights have been grounded. 17,000 aircraft are sitting unused on the tarmac, and the cost to airlines is expected to reach £250 billion this year. once the outbreak is over, things certainly won't be getting back to normal quickly. it has been suggested passengers might be required to wear protective gear, or practise social distancing on aircraft. but not everyone's convinced. if you can imagine going on your last summer holiday, if you were flying somewhere, can you imagine social distancing in that kind of circumstances? we are not designed for that. and that is why we need to have a way of making sure that only people who are very low risk are allowed into the airport and can travel through the journey. yet airlines remain determined to get back in the skies, as soon as possible. today, hungarian carrier wizz air did just that, starting to fly a small number of services in and out of luton. theo leggett, bbc news. isaid we i said we were going to talk about the prospects for lockdown after quarter past, we are going to talk about it now because borisjohnson has said he will set out a comprehensive plan next week about restarting the economy, possibly reopening schools and looking at how people could travel to work after all these weeks of lockdown. the prime minister said the uk was "past the peak" of the coronavirus outbreak and "on the downward slope". but as countries begin to roll back ‘lockdown' measures, how and when do we know it is safe to do so? let's speak now to thomas hale, associate professor of public policy at oxford university's blavatnik school of government and leads the research team for the covid—19 government response tracker, which tracks and compares policy responses of governments tackling the coronavirus outbreak around the world. a very good afternoon. the key question, it is a big one u nfortu nately to start question, it is a big one unfortunately to start with, is how do we know, what has to be in place in any country for lockdown to be eased considerably? the most important thing to note is we don't have a lot of experience of countries yet successfully rolling back lockdown so we are still... but in the meantime, the world health organization has given us six recommendations of what they think there needs to be in place to begin rolling back these measures. we lost you slightly but i am going to persist because it is interesting. explain, because this is a huge and difficult decision for a politician of any colour, difficult because you are balancing lives, individual health, with the economy. two major issues, i am glad i am not health, with the economy. two major issues, iam glad i am nota politician, how on earth do they start to balance that and reach a decision? it is a very difficult balance to strike, i think following the world health organization's recommendations is a good guide for operating under the great uncertainty that politicians are thinking through at the moment. those recommendations are quite sensible, things like making sure the disease is under control, making sure preventative measures are put in place in workplaces and schools and ensuring potential hotspots like ca re and ensuring potential hotspots like care homes are well protected. all those kinds of things are common—sense measures that we need to see in place before governments begin to put things back, but may be the most important one is setting expectations appropriately. it is not like we're going to snap our fingers and go back to the way it was before, instead it is going to bea was before, instead it is going to be a phased rollback with different pieces for different populations in different parts of countries and thatis different parts of countries and that is going to require a new social understanding of how the new norm operates coming forward. that is really interesting, that is about expectation management. so for anyone, for example, who has managed to find a cafe, we know some restau ra nt to find a cafe, we know some restaurant chains are starting to do ta ke restaurant chains are starting to do take a ways, social distancing, they have got perspex screens, you only have got perspex screens, you only have three or four people inside at once, is that about the government reminded people over and over businesses can open, we want them to run, we want the economy to work, but you are going to be queueing out the doorfor months but you are going to be queueing out the door for months and months to come? that is probably right and it makes sense because we know if we don't do that kind of sensible phasing back of these measures, we are going to go to a much stricter level of lockdown again quite quickly, so unless we can really make sure we ease these measures in a gentle way that is going to keep the spread under control in combination with robust testing systems, then it is going to be really difficult to make this a success. a lot of public confidence is going to be needed and we are going to see politicians laying out a vision for how we as a society can make that work over the next months. and presumably politicians and advisers are going to be looking at, perhaps they have already drawn up a list, of the key parts of life that really have to get going. i mean, there are fundamental businesses that people really need that are not operating, if you think of dentists, vets, we can pick out our own favourites, but there are things that are pretty fundamental that for the most part are not functioning. that is right and i think one thing that a lot of us are thinking about is haircuts or dry cleaning or the basic human needs that we are increasingly going to depend on more. i think the appropriateness would be to prioritise those to make sure we are not spending time on frivolous measures, but it is important to note any kind of rollback is not going to be successful u nless rollback is not going to be successful unless it is coordinated internationally as a one of the other recommendations as to make sure we have protocols in place to prevent imports of new cases but also exports of cases. that will require cooperation between governments around the world. goodness, so many more questions for you, i'm sorry we don't have longer but i imagine we will talk again. thank you very much for now. very, very interesting to speak to you about the long, slow progress perhaps towards easing lockdown. the headlines on bbc news... the goverment has expressed cautious optimism that it has met its target of carrying out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of april. ryanair becomes the latest airline to warn of thousands ofjob losses, because of the economic impact of coronavirus. president trump says he's seen evidence that covid—19 came from a laboratory in china — but us intelligence services say the virus is not man made. all social care workers in wales will get a a £500 bonus to reward them for their work during the pandemic. the welsh government says almost 65,000 people stand to benefit from the scheme. speaking at a news conference earlier first minister mark drakeford said the payment recognises that care staff are exposed to a greater degree of risk. today i can announce that the welsh government will be providing funding to give an extra payment of £500 for every care home worker and domiciliary care worker providing personal care in wales. this payment is designed to provide some further recognition of the value we attach to everything they are doing. this group of people, usually women, often not well paid, are providing the invisible scaffolding of services which support both our nhs and our wider society. and without this small army of people, large numbers of others would not be able to continue to live independently at home or receive everyday support with basic needs, by living in care home. mark drake forward to speaking in cardiff. first minister nicola sturgeon has announced coronavirus testing in scotland will be expanded in care homes. all residents and staff would be tested at homes where the infection was found. at a news briefing earlier ms sturgeon also said everyone over 65 with symptoms and their households would also be eligible for testing. and by the end of the month scotland will have the capacity to carry out 12,000 tests. the capacity for coronavirus testing in scotland is now 8,350. and with the further projected increases in nhs capacity that i mentioned a moment ago, i expect that to be at least 10,500 by this time next week and 12,000 by the middle of the month. now, that is a significant increase in capacity and i pay tribute to all those who have worked so hard to achieve it. both in our nhs scotland labs and in the uk government testing network. but, of course, laboratory capacity is one thing. what matters is the volume of testing we do and the clinical objectives that we set for testing. this can't simply be about chasing numbers. so we are also working, yes, to increase the number of tests that are carried out, but also to extend the categories for testing in a way that better equips us to suppress the virus. nicola sturgeon speaking earlier today. now we will turn our attentions to a story or two away from coronavirus. a judge at the high court has sided with the publisher of the mail on sunday in a preliminary hearing on the duchess of sussex's privacy claim over the publication of a letter to her father. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, is here. it is early stages, explain what has happened. in short order, first blood i suppose in this epic struggle to the mail on sunday, but this should be remembered as a skirmish before the main battle which lies ahead. this was a preliminary or procedural hearing in which the mail on sunday sought to strike out, to remove, some of the wording on the duchess of sussex's ridiculous of claims, specifically to re m ove ridiculous of claims, specifically to remove the suggestion they had acted dishonestly or in bad faith —— in her claims. orthe acted dishonestly or in bad faith —— in her claims. or the delivery stirred up conflict between meghan and her father stirred up conflict between meghan and herfather or stirred up conflict between meghan and her father or they had stirred up conflict between meghan and herfather or they had an offensive agenda in publishing stories to betray her in a damaging light. it is to do with the state of mind in the mail on sunday when they publish this letter and the judge, who is the seniorjudge who handles all matters of media at the high court of england, has found for the mail on sunday so those allegations must be removed from her particular of claim. but the main case proceeds, for breach of privacy, copyright, and her solicitors were very quick to say the core elements of the case do not change and will continue to move forward. the dutch as's rights were violated and the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed. but i do think there will be questions about the advice that her lawyers were giving her. have they over egged it somewhat in this preliminary hearing? there is also the question of costs, it is reported that the associated newspapers are making it clear they will be seeking costs from the duchess of sussex, it is estimated her own costs will not be far short of hundred thousand pounds between them and this is before the main case comes to court, when will that be? we simply don't know, it will be at some point in the months ahead. thank you very much. president trump has stepped up pressure on china about the origins of the pandemic, saying he's seen evidence linking the virus to a laboratory in the city of wuhan, where the outbreak began. us intelligence services have already said that covid—19 is not manmade. david willis sent this report. the pa pathogen lab at wuhan's institute of virology. did the deadly coronavirus emanate from here? china strenuously denies such suggestions. the president of the united states believes otherwise. mr trump says he's seen evidence linking the virus to the lab, although he wouldn't be drawn on what that evidence consisted of. he told reporters either china couldn't stop the virus from spreading, or it didn't try to. this is something that could have been contained at the original location, and i think it could have been contained relatively easily. china is a very sophisticated country and they could have contained it. they were either unable to or they chose not to and the world is suffering greatly. whilst laying to rest one of the more extreme conspiracy theories surrounding the virus, that it was man—made and unleashed as a biological weapon, the us intelligence community didn't contradict the president's theory, saying: this country has already this country has already seen more cases of the coronavirus than anywhere else in the world, overa million, and more than 60,000 deaths. the virus has also devastated what was once a booming economy, leading to long lines in cities such as houston, as people queue forfree food. 30 million americans, a fifth of the nation's workforce, have filed for unemployment benefit since the crisis began. some states are gradually starting to reopen. and by urging them to do so as quickly as possible, the president is looking to rebuild the economy before november's presidential election. some say he is setting china up as a foil in case that doesn't happen. although he's avoided direct criticism of china's president xi, with whom he's maintained cordial relations, president trump has talked of making china pay for the harm the virus has caused to the american economy and, by extension, to his chances of re—election. relations between the world's two largest economies could get very frosty indeed. david willis, bbc news. that was david willis reporting from the united states on president trump and his comments about coronavirus. we were talking about lockdown a little earlier and one of the interesting elements of all of this is google periodically releases data which tracks people's movements during lockdown. google's mobility report — which refers to last weekend — shows a marked increase in activity with visits to parks only 10% below normal, while it was around 50% lower at the beginning of the lockdown. let's speak to our technology correspondent rory cellanjones. dou btless, doubtless, you have been looking through all these statistics, it is interesting the information this throws up. this information is gathered from people using google maps, if they agree to have the location tract which lots of people do, you see it sometimes, in normal times, if you search for a museum or something and it tells you what time of day it is busy, that is coming from this data. google started releasing it at the start of the lockdown and is releasing it on a weekly basis. what we are seeing i think is a gradual change, but the change has been sharpest in visits to parks. i think have got a graph, it does leap up and down but right at the beginning of the lockdown, there was a big fall in the number of people going to the part, over 50% fall compared to normal times. and over the past month it is gradually climbed back up again. anyway, it is not surprising, the weather has been lovely and you will see from the graph it peaks over the weekend, people going out at the weekend. it was especially lovely last weekend when this data refers to. i have seen some similar data from apple which shows again a peak in activity last weekend, but the data from apple is a bit more up—to—date and that starts going down in recent days as the weather gets worse. some changes, we shouldn't overemphasise them but you can see that in some areas we are moving around a bit more. that is interesting, and no surprise it is very weather dependent. we have had that experience anecdotally, as this information released purely for interest so that you and i can chat about it and people can read about it, or is this information actually fed into public policy? definitely, i think the government is taking a really strong look at it, wanting to know how well the lockdown his holding. it has been a pretty positive picture. as i say, it has been gradual movements, another example is the workplace, people visiting a workplace. obviously that has been down because most people are working from home, whereas at the beginning of the period it was 55% , the beginning of the period it was 55%, there was a slight uptick to 40% lower so maybe some more people going to work, not dramatic. they will want to keep monitoring this as they decide how to ease restrictions. yes, really interesting, thank you very much for now. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willets. hello, the chance of showers continues through the remainder of the daytime today, in fact through the daytime today, in fact through the night as well but gradually they will ease into the weekend and we will ease into the weekend and we will see lengthier brighter spells. there are still some lively showers out for the rest of the day, as i mentioned, with some hail and thunder, close to low pressure across the northern isles in might be rain of the day and perhaps less showers in the south. temperatures higher than they have been but a brisk wind in both the south and in the north and west. the showers ease a little further through the night, so under the clearing skies it will bea so under the clearing skies it will be a little bit on the chilly side, temperatures falling within two or three degrees of breezy across scotla nd three degrees of breezy across scotland and northern ireland. that means we will see some drier and brighter weather across saturday, some lengthier spells of sunshine. that shower risk remains, there may be more cloud in the south later but it does on the whole, look drier and therefore a little warmer. goodbye. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the government has expressed cautious optimism that it has met its target of carrying out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of april. ministers prepare to set out their road map of how to gradually ease the lockdown restrictions. ryanair becomes the latest airline to warn of thousands ofjob losses, because of the economic impact of coronavirus. president trump says he's seen evidence that covid—19 came from a laboratory in china, but us intelligence services say the virus is not man—made. the mail on sunday has won the first round of a legal battle against the duchess of sussex over the publication of a letter she wrote to her father. sport now and a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. the plan for a return to sport has been stepped up. the government's hosting a video call with the fa and premier league along with medical experts from rugby union, cricket and racing to discuss the aspects of a return to sporting action. the culture secretary oliver dowden has tweeted. he says that he knows britons are desperate to get sport back, but that we need to plan for a safe return of elite sport behind closed doors when and only when, it is safe to do so on the basis of expert medical advice. it's the biggest dilemma facing the premier league in its history and it could look very different if it does kick off again, asjoe lynskey reports. when football comes back it will not look the same. right now experts say we cannot have massive crowds until we have a vaccine, so if the premier league resumes it will not be in front of my spirit. for this man is meant his home debut had no one watching. it was surreal. it was something i guess we could get used to more not having that to the same level as going to be difficult. any fixtures that go—ahead will still have 22 players in close contact. to stop the virus spreading between them, and option is to put teams under strict quarantine measures but that puts a huge mental health burden potentially on players. regular testing, perhaps every two days is also being considered. but even if just one infected player takes the field, that risks both the sport and the wider community. there is a chance that you might start to transmit a little bit of the virus before the test is able to detect it. we just have to be really concerned if you have a people that are travelling and then mingling with other groups that are also travelling throughout the country, this is a really effective way to spread disease. the results now are insignificant. it is the decisions of the field and have the highest sta kes. of the field and have the highest stakes. for football to go forward it may need to be patient. rugby league has been given £16 million to keep the sport afloat through the pandemic. it's hoped the emergency loan will secure the immediate future of the sport, with the world cup due to take place on uk soil next year. here's our sports correspondent andy swiss. it was a sport on the brink but by it was a sport on the brink but rugby league it seems has been rescued. £16 million from the government has given the game some much—needed cheer. this was the last time we sort being played in the middle of march. a sport intrinsic to communities in the north of england, lockdown was threatening its future but now it's social value has brought financial support. its future but now it's social value has brought financial supportm terms of mental and physical health and sense of pride and well—being, and sense of pride and well—being, and those messages have clearly resonated with the treasury and i and related they have and we will continue to do that work. were you ina continue to do that work. were you in a situation where you said the future of some clubs and perhaps the sport was injeopardy? future of some clubs and perhaps the sport was in jeopardy? undoubtedly, undoubtedly. we are realistic about the responsibilities that come with this, this is public health money and it is long and we will rise to that challenge. the money has also been welcomed by players. your royal highness, if you would like to draw the first ball... england is also due to hold the world cup of course. this was prince harry holding the drawback in january and the this was prince harry holding the drawback injanuary and the success of next years tournament was also a factor. this is the first sport to be bailed out by the government to insist it is an exception and while financial battles still lie ahead for now at least rugby league will be feeling relieved. the england and wales cricket board has unanimously endorsed ian watmore's appointment as chair elect after a review into his conduct in his previous role at the english football league. his appointment will be ratified at the agm in may. watmore was the subject of an allegation in a national newspaper that he undermined the efl board by holding secret talks over alternatives to a proposed tv contract with sky sports. watmore denies the allegation. and finally we're actually going to show you some sporting action, because in germany professional tennis has returned. it's the first in a series of planned exhibition events taking place without spectators, linejudges, ball kids or handshakes. the tennis—point exhibition is featuring eight players outside the world's top 100. dustin brown, who beat rafael nadal at wimbledon in 2015, is in the field. that's all the sport for now. figures published by the office for national statistics show the covid—19 mortality rate in more deprived parts of england has been more than twice that experienced in more affluent areas. and food banks say they are giving out a record amount of emergency supplies. the trussell trust, which supports most of the uk's food banks, says demand was up by more than 80 percent in the last two weeks of march, compared with the period last year. michael buchanan reports. well, it's very embarrassing, really. you know, that you're having to come to ask for food. because you've no cash in your bank account to buy it. i used to work at the airport, but obviously with all this coronavirus, i've been temporarily laid off. you never know what's happening behind closed doors. but food banks are giving a glimpse into people's lives. but food banks are getting a glimpse into people's lives. at st paul's church in leeds, they're feeding more people than ever. demand is up 80% in the same time last year. among the new clients is sharon wareham, who was a cleaner at leeds bradford airport, until the pandemic put paid to herjob. she's collecting food for herself and her in—laws. if it wasn't for the food banks, then it would be quite hard. because when i've got all my household bills, rent, gas, electric, it leaves me with next to nothing. sharon's mother has been forced here, too. she is waiting on an operation and her husband was sent home from work to protect him from the virus. you can have a meal, you don't have to go without. it may not be the food that you'd usually buy, because it's so dear now to go to a supermarket, but at least they give you essential food, so you can make a meal out of it. across the country, the trussell trust say there was an 80% increase in demand during the last two weeks in march, compared to the same period last year. families in particular are needing help. food parcels for households with children increased by over 120%. some people, unfortunately, didn't even get furloughed. there have been a number of people we've met that have actually been laid off, as opposed to furloughed. so they've suddenly found themselves without income, when they may have had a perfectly reasonable income to support their families prior to this. so it's been a huge shock to people. anti—poverty charities have welcomed the steps the government has taken to support incomes and manyjobs. but they say more targeted support, such as further benefit changes, is now needed to protect poor households. to protect poorer households. michael buchanan, bbc news. let's speak now to emma revie, chief executive of the trussell trust. which as we see is responsible for a very high proportion of the uk's food banks. thank you for your time. the figures are... the figures are quite grim. that has been a big spike andi quite grim. that has been a big spike and i don't mean this in a cruel way at all, i wonder whether you are surprised, given what is going on, that there has been this massive spike in demand?” going on, that there has been this massive spike in demand? i don't think we were surprised. just because we have been hearing from our food banks ever since the crisis has started that they have been overwhelmed by the number of people coming to them. i think it's good to understand exactly how much it has increased so we can understand the scale of intervention, we need from the government. and i think because of the volume of people finding themselves in crisis and not getting enough support, we have come together as a group of charities to ask the government for emergency income support scheme. one of the things that is striking about analysing these figures is the number of, huge number of children impacted here? i think that is the most alarming statistic. just in the month of march we have seen a doubling in the number of children we we re doubling in the number of children we were seeing in the end of the month through the beginning of the month. this has immediately caused families to fall into crisis. and they have no buffer in place so we are finding families are going from potentially losing theirjobs to the next day finding themselves at a food bank because they simply don't have enough money to get by. so we need a crisis intervention that steps in there and instead of somebody having to come to a food bank and as the lady mentioned when you were speaking to her earlier, you were speaking to her earlier, you don't get to choose the food that you want, it's not necessarily suitable for your family and your children. it's an emergency food parcel and we also that if people are coming to a food bank, they are also struggling with other bills, there are other things they will have to be going without. to ensure that families have enough money for their kids. there have been a raft of economic policies announced and we all know we are familiar with the furlough scheme, there have been suspensions of, deductions from benefit payments, there has been a few things put in place. as your point that either not enough has been put in place or that once those sort of schemes come to an end, your organisation is going to see even greater demand? i think possibly both of those things. i think we really welcome the interventions of the government which have been significant in scale and i think have managed to keep a huge number of people out of the water. in this tidal wave of a crisis that we are in. but we are really clear that not eve ryo ne in. but we are really clear that not everyone now has a lifeboat. there are people still falling through the cracks, there are people who particularly families with children who are needing an extra piece of support over this time, a crisis intervention. an increase in child benefits. a removal of the benefit cap and a removal of all deductions from benefits to ensure that people have enough money just from benefits to ensure that people have enough moneyjust to get through this crisis. i think we are obviously also concerned going forward if any of the government interventions were to be taken away or to end what those ramifications might be for people and how many people might find themselves in crisis. for now, in order to support what the government has done, we are asking for an emergency income support scheme for the most vulnerable people. and if these figures keep going up and up, what is the impact on the trussell trust? what do you want? do you want more public donations? is that something you are thinking of as well? we have been blown away by the general public‘s generosity that has allowed us public‘s generosity that has allowed us and our volunteers and the extra volu nteers us and our volunteers and the extra volunteers that have stepped forward , volunteers that have stepped forward, to survive so far and be able to continue providing support to people in crisis. so we would definitely welcome that continuing but i think we would be clear that when people are in financial crisis it not, it is income they need. we can't keep saying this level of increase in demand... inaudible. thank you very much. chief executive of the trussell trust which plays such a huge part in the number of food banks up and down the country. the headlines on bbc news... the government has expressed cautious optimism that it has met its target of carrying out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of april. ryanair becomes the latest airline to warn of thousands ofjob losses, because of the economic impact of coronavirus. president trump says he's seen evidence that covid—19 came from a laboratory in china, but us intelligence services say the virus is not man—made. in china, the country where the global coronavirus crisis first hit, the authorities are now lifting restrictions on people's movements at an ever more rapid rate. stephen mcdonell reports from beijing. for this may day break, the china's transport ministry china's transport ministry is predicting 170 million trips. that sounds like a lot. it's actually only a third of the movements you would normally expect for this holiday in china. and it shows that people are still worried about the possibility of contracting the coronavirus. here in beijing, we have been living under the virus for so long, more than three months, these changes now feel a little sudden. for example, in the open now i don't have to wear a mask. i've still got mine in my pocket, though. that's because if i was to go into one of these buildings, to a cafe or something like that, i would still have to put it on again. traffic is also returning. and the residents of beijing are having to get used to, yet again, something they haven't seen for months, trafficjams. in those buildings behind me, those apartment blocks, up until now, it's only been residents that have been allowed in. now, people who live here can go and have a meal with their family members. crucially, if somebody comes into beijing from another part of china, apart from these hotspots like wubei where coronavirus started, they don't have to do two weeks' quarantine any more. —hubei. that is not to say that all instructions have gone. for example, the forbidden city has opened again, but the numbers are capped and you have to keep your distance. it's like tourism with social distancing. the same with cafes, the same with restaurants, the same with offices. numbers capped, keep your distance. however, right now, we do have a feeling here that china is hurtling at some speed back towards some sort of sense of normality, at least much more quickly than it has been in recent months. what everybody is worried about, though, is the possibility of a second wave of the virus coming along and swamping all of this freedom. india has more than 35,000 confirmed cases of covid—19, and more than 1,000 people are reported to have died. the country has been in lockdown for nearly six weeks. doctors say that has slowed the spread of infection, but millions of people who depend on daily wages have been left desperate. yogita limay sent this report. small triumphs are celebrated. this man has recovered from covid in the southern state of kerala. thanks for everything! the region had india's first coronavirus infections in march. but it curbed the spread and its strategy is giving hope to the rest of the country. our idea was to trace as many people as possible in the shortest possible time. and in the intial 4—5 days, we were able to trace 1,254 persons. once we have identified all of them, the next strategy was to ensure home quarantine in the strictest possible sense. but each grave is a reminder that, for many parts of india, the threat is farfrom being contained. and it doesn't even allow goodbyes. a four—month—old baby girl, laid to rest from the arms of strangers. dozens are losing their lives every day. and while the real scale is hard to assess, doctors say covid would have spread a lot more quickly if india had not imposed a lockdown relatively early. checkpoints like these have been set up in cities around the country. people are only allowed to go out to buy essential items, and you could even get arrested for violating the lockdown, which is perhaps one of the most stringent in the world. for the first time in the history of india, the government halted trains. flights, interstate buses, public transport have all been stopped too. that's left millions of daily wage earners without money for food or shelter. this is a queue for lunch in delhi nearly 3km long, a common sight now in many parts of india. shaik mufazul worked as a labourer. now he's living on the streets with his family. "on the days they distribute food, we eat." "otherwise, we go hungry." "they've taken away our lifeline." "it feels like we're dying slowly," he says. calls to ease the restrictions have been growing louder. the nationwide lockdown is due to end soon. india is waiting to hear what lies ahead. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. over the past month hundreds of thousands of people have been taking part in a challenge to run 5k, donate 5 pounds and then nominate 5 others to do the same. it's raised more than £5 million pounds for nhs charities. famous faces — including singer ellie goulding and sir mo farah have taken part — here's a clip of sir mo on his treadmill. iam going i am going to challenge a, i am a massive arsenal fan. mesut ozil. i would love to see harry redknapp and jamie redknapp. and the last one is jimmy carter who plays a bit of tennis but can he run a five k? —— jimmy carr. ——jimmy carr. that was sir mo farah taking part in the challenge. now the founder of the viral challenge has been recognised with an award from the prime minister. olivia strong has been given the prime minister's daily point of light award, which recognises those inspiring others and joins me now from her home in edinburgh. congratulations. it's remarkable how ideas can take hold and take hold. did you anticipate this at the start? absolutely not. it started as a small fundraiser between friends and family, to raise and run five k. days later we reach that and it had really ta ke n days later we reach that and it had really ta ken off days later we reach that and it had really taken off beyond my friendship circle. you mean ellie goulding and sir mo farah are not in your friend circle? i was thinking that when ellie goulding tagged me. it is terrific. does it keep going? do you wanted to keep going and he will raise more and more? jelly what you have raised so far. more than 5 million? 5.3 million which is incredible. i only started it a month ago. it has been amazing for it to grow into a global movement. people in tokyo, sydney, toronto taking part. i can't thank those runners more for continuing to nominate and expand. were you a passionate runner when you had the idea or is this just about getting that burst of fresh air during lockdown? outlet, about?” that burst of fresh air during lockdown? outlet, about? iwas on the run myself because i am about advocate that five k is a good distance to run. i noticed how many people were doing the same at that time andi people were doing the same at that time and i thought is there a way we could combine every daily form of it exercise with helping the nhs we needed the most right now? i got home and set up an instagram account and encouraged people to walk, run, cycle, swim, ride a horse, to make £5 which is hopefully not too big an ask and nominate others to continue to spread. i think it is amazing if we can whilst we can still use our daily form of exercise it is important for our mental health and immune systems. yes. we have all been talking since lockdown about the remarkable entries in the number of runners all of a sudden in society but it's completely understandable. even if you run for two minutes, walk for a minute and then run another two minutes, it is good mentally and physically. then run another two minutes, it is good mentally and physicallym then run another two minutes, it is good mentally and physically. it is lovely to hear about the campaign, it has encouraged people to go outside and people who have never run before, we have heard lovely stories about them saying they felt motivated to go and do it. it is fantastic. thank you so much. i managed my first couple of park runs just before lockdown took part so clearly i have been shamed into doing this. i will take part in your challenge, it is a wonderful idea, really fa ntastic. challenge, it is a wonderful idea, really fantastic. thank you so much. lovely to talk to you. raising more than 5 million with that feisty challenge. more coming up from 3pm we will talk about lockdown, we will talk about, talk to andy burnham among others about how it could possibly be done. that is coming up. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. april showers have lingered today and we are seeing some lively downpours. this was sent on in colchester in essex. it shows the air is unstable at the moment which is no surprise because we have an area of low pressure setting across the uk and it is throwing further showers our way. quite a keen breeze in the north, chilly as well as across scotla nd north, chilly as well as across scotland and northern ireland. some of these showers as we have seen could give some hail and thunder and lightning as well. perhaps fewer to end the day in southern areas compared with yesterday of course. but i would not like to rule out a shower just about anywhere. as we but i would not like to rule out a showerjust about anywhere. as we go through the evening and overnight, they will ease a little in any link england and wales. with low pressure nearby, lots more showers here. understanding skies, temperatures will get within a few degrees of freezing so a cool start to the weekend but otherwise that low pressure starts to pull away it means we should see fewer showers and more dry and sunny spells and less breeze as well. it will not be altogether dry. we have showers still close to that low pressure across scotland, coming into parts of northern england and lincolnshire and further south the approach of another area of low pressure, another area of low pressure, another weather front throwing more cloud into the south of england later in the day. in between, drier, added more sunshine than we have seen, lighter wind will feel warmer in that strong may sunshine. though showers continue through tomorrow night and into sunday morning but it still looks as if temperatures will stay just above freezing despite those clear skies, in the glens of scotla nd those clear skies, in the glens of scotland we might see a touch of ground frost and we may still across scotla nd ground frost and we may still across scotland have a few showers on sunday and across the east of england but a diminishing risk, instead we pick up more cloud across southern areas turning that sunshine hazy and perhaps even threatening some rain later in the south and west but again the winds won't be as strong as we have been so with some may sunshine which should see 17—18 in the south, 111—15 in norfolk high—pressure looks set to bring continued settle conditions particularly across the northern half of the uk, we pick up a keen and chilly wind in the south but perhaps some rain returning by tuesday. this is bbc news, i'mjane hill. the headlines: the government has expressed cautious optimism that it has met its target of carrying out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of april. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do, because it galvanised government and got thejob done, but there is a lot more to be done. as ministers prepare to reveal their road map of how to ease the lockdown, we'll look at how it might work for big cities with the mayor of manchester andy burnham. ryanair becomes the latest airline to warn of thousands ofjob losses, because of the economic impact of coronavirus. president trump says he's seen evidence that covid—19 came from a laboratory in china — but us intelligence services say the virus is not man made. the mail on sunday has won the first round of a legal battle against the duchess of sussex over the publication of a letter she wrote to her father. ministers says they are confident that they have hit their target for the number of daily coronavirus tests to be carried out — as the prime minister told the nation yesterday that the the uk was now "past the peak" of the outbreak. the government had pledged that 100,000 tests would be done every day by the end of april. over 81,000 tests were carried out on wednesday — according to the figures from the department of health and social care — and we'll get the updated figures later. the total number of coronavirus—related deaths in the uk now stands at 26,771. this includes deaths in all settings, notjust in hospitals. we're expecting updated figures sometime this afternoon. coronavirus continues to have a big impact on the aviation industry — as one of the world's biggest budget airlines — ryanair — announced today that they are cutting up to 3,000 pilot and cabin crewjobs — as they restructure to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. this meanwhile in the us, president trump said he's seen evidence coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory, but provided no details. the us national intelligence director's office say covid—19 "was not manmade or genetically modified" and china rejects the theory. we'll have more on the global response to the pandemic shortly, but first this report from our health correspondent — lauren moss. the target was 100,000 tests a day by the end of april. it's just under a month since the health secretary announced that deadline. we will find out later whether the ambition is achieved. are you confident you will meet your testing target? more than 81,000 tests were carried out in the uk on wednesday, after more people became eligible, including those over the age of 65 who have symptoms and care home residents and staff who don't. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do. because it galvanised government and got thejob done. but there is a lot more to be done, and we need to increase that figure, whether it is 100,000 or thereabouts, much higher in the days and weeks to come. it's notjust testing, though. tracing those who have got the virus and tracking the spread is key. thousands of people have been hired to do just that by the middle of the month. plans have been set out in scotland to increase the testing capability up to more than 8000 a day. the further projected increases in nhs capacity that i mentioned, i expect that to be at least 10,500 by next week, and 12,000 by the middle of the month. after announcing yesterday that we are past the peak, the prime minister will give plans for a way out of some of the lockdown on monday, exactly six weeks since we went into it. but any strategy will have to be carefully balanced against risking increasing the rate of virus transmission. that will be quite a challenge. because when the restrictions were brought in, it was the same restrictions for everyone. i think it's going to be a challenge when there are going to be different restrictions lifted for different sections of the population, because the collective solidarity has been such an important part of adhering to and making any strategy successful. latest figures collected by google revealed that retail footfall is three quarters lower than at this time last year, but visits to parks are just 10% below normal. over the next six weeks, the nhs will be starting more non—covid related care, finding different ways of working and treating patients. we don't want to go back to crowded a&e departments. the president of the royal college of emergency medicine rightly points out that would be a disastrous step backwards, because you could then go to a&e and catch coronavirus. so we need to find a way for services to resume and keep patients safe. masks may have a part to play in what will be the new normal, even ifjust to make some feel safer. more than 1 million people around the world have now recovered. the road we will take next will become clear in a few days. but, regardless of targets, testing is likely here to stay. let's get more from our political correspondentjess parker to bring you some figures that have come through from nhs england in the last little while announcing 352 further deaths of people who have tested positive for covid—19, again to stress, these are hospital deaths in england, another 3052 people sadly dying in the last —— 352 people. people who sadly died were aged between 30 and 103. just 18 of them had no known underlying health condition. again, we see this almost every day that these figures are released, the vast majority of people who sadly passed away do have at least one underlying health condition, but the latest figure is telling us 18 out of those 352 did not have an underlying health condition, or certainly not one that they or medics were aware of. those are the latest figures through from nhs england. we are waiting for figures as well, the confirmed figures, on testing, let's talk about all of that without political correspondentjessica parker at westminster. it was considered a really ambitious target when matt hancock announced the figure of hundred thousand, and we should find out at some point today whether that has been reached ? out at some point today whether that has been reached? i think we are likely to find out at the downing street press conference later and matt hancock set that target when the government was facing criticism for its approach to testing, that they hadn't done enough to wrap up they hadn't done enough to wrap up the number of tests, so he set that target, hundred thousand per day, a lot of people thought it was ambitious but ministers expressing today they could get to that target or at least near it. what the government has done over the past couple of weeks to try and reach that number, one of the things is to expand capacity, so they have created mobile testing sites, those drive—through centres, home testing kits as well. but one of the problems that seem to have opened up is the expanded capacity, capacity was growing but not enough people we re was growing but not enough people were actually accessing those tests, one of the concerns raised was that people were having to travel too far to get to those drive—through sites hence why they look at things like home testing kits and why they rapidly expanded the eligibility. some confidence, we will find out the figures this afternoon but in terms of matt hancock and the government, some people have said hundred thousand is a bit of a red herring, nhs providers that yesterday, it is not about numbers that what you do with the test, but the health secretary set himself that goal, i think he wanted to show he could get a grip of the problem. but critics say the government has been too slow to act on this issue. all of that testing and tracing is going to become a big issue, i imagine there will be questions about that in the briefing. it all feeds into wider government strategy, that thing we have been talking about so much today, how and when can you start to perhaps ease some sections of society? boris johnson, prime minister, back at the daily downing street press conference yesterday contracted coronavirus and was in intensive care, but he recovered and headed up the press conference yesterday, declaring we were past the peak and also that he would set out a comprehensive plan next week, next thursday is around when we would expect that. we talked about how he would get the economy moving, children back to school and how he might travel to work. i think it will be more of a road map than instantaneous lifting of measures that what has been made clear is as the lockdown is eased in the future, whether it will be gradual or cautious, they haven't ruled out they might ease measures in some areas, and they could toughen them a rate of infection goes up, so it will be a very gradual process but testing will be crucial to that and thatis testing will be crucial to that and that is one of the reasons they have been ramping up the testing. yes, to allow key workers to get back to work if they have symptoms, they can get a test. hopefully, if they find out they haven't got it, they can get back to work and do those essential jobs but it's get back to work and do those essentialjobs but it's about giving people confidence in the system in terms of going back to work and testing, tracking and tracing cases. as we have seen happen successfully in places like south korea. that is why they have been developing the nhs act in order to help that system work. in terms of the issue of potentially easing lockdown. .. this afternoon the prime minister held a conference call with ten metro mayors across the uk. they were told they had an ‘important role to play‘ in the uk's recovery plan from the coronavirus pandemic. greater manchester mayor, andy burnham was a part of the discussions and joins me now. good afternoon, what conversations have you been able to have with borisjohnson have you been able to have with boris johnson today? have you been able to have with borisjohnson today?” have you been able to have with boris johnson today? i don't want to go into all of the details because it was a private conversation, but it was a private conversation, but it was a really positive one about the challenge that lies ahead of us all. this challenge of moving out of lockdown and then beginning to bring the economy of england back to life. it isa the economy of england back to life. it is a huge challenge, but one i would very much want to do in partnership with the government. we have had a spirit of national unity in recent weeks, i think we will have to keep it through the rest of this year because what lies ahead is a challenge on a scale we haven't seen a challenge on a scale we haven't seen since wartime in this country. i appreciate you wouldn't want to reveal private details, but did you and other mayors have a sense of the strategy and the rules that the government might be looking to? the tests they want to meet before they can tests they want to meet before they ca n start tests they want to meet before they can start thinking about easing lockdown? how much of a road map have you been given? the prime minister was clear it is going to be set out next week. all i was doing was giving my perspective on how i see it. i have been clear all along that a region by region release from lockdown would be very problematic. so would a very strict sectoral release because that would hold back businesses in certain parts of the economy. i have been talking about a safety light or standards led release from lockdown and i am pleased that seems to be the noise coming out of the government as well. permission to open comes with whether or not you have got the right arrangements in the workplace. and that, it would seem, is where the government is increasing. i think we can come to a agreement about all of this, of course this still means it is a phased return to work because if you are going to operate social distancing in the workplace, all of your employers can come back at once —— employees. that is important because we can't run public transport to full capacity for many months. it is about getting all of this together. i think there isa all of this together. i think there is a growing consensus now about how we will make this process work, once we will make this process work, once we have hit the point where it is safe to do so. that is really interesting because you hit on one of the key thing is, we talk about shops reopening, vital services reopening, schools are a big factor in this, but public transport is a real pinch point. in any big urban area and you represent one of the cities where this is going to be an issue. have you and your team in manchester been working on this for weeks? how on earth you can make that work with social distancing? yes, it is a real challenge, so obviously if you run buses or trams with social distancing there is very few people who can get on, you are looking about 15 or 20% of normal passenger volumes looking about 15 or 20% of normal passenger volumes in the rush hour. if you ask people to wear masks or face coverings maybe you could increase those densities, but these are increase those densities, but these a re exactly increase those densities, but these are exactly the kind of questions we we re are exactly the kind of questions we were beginning to discuss today because we do need to get public transport back to a certain level if it is to help people get back to work. we are still waiting for a financial settlement for our transistor from the government, there are going to have to recognise that if you have less passengers on the trams, the financial grip is going to need to continue through the this year. it is a complex job and this is a moment to put politics aside, work together and help great cities like manchester, birmingham, the rest of the country, help all of these places come back to life and help protect people's jobs and the economy as a whole. actually, how much of yourjob and other politicians jobs is going to be about managing expectations, managing public expedition? yes, it is going to be tough, isn't it? life will not return to normal anytime soon and in some ways, maybe we need a new normal. we have all felt the benefits in recent weeks of cleaner air, less congestion on our roads, more home—working for those who can do it. we are all saying we need to ca ptu re do it. we are all saying we need to capture those benefits and build back better you like. at one point i said to the prime minister, this lockdown has proudly hit the economy ha rd est lockdown has proudly hit the economy hardest in the places where the economy has struggled in recent times where the infrastructure as purest, so the government was talking about the north of england a lot before we got into this lockdown. i said to the prime minister today that he doesn'tjust have to bring the levelling up agenda back, it has to come back with a vengeance because parts of the country like the north of england have really had a tough few decades and are going to need the most help to get out of this position we are in. this government really now needs to put substantial meaning behind its commitment to level up england, and especially show the north is at the centre of its priorities. i was interested in what you are saying about the risks of going sector by sector with lockdown, because we all know some parts of the uk, for example, get an awful lot of their income from tourism. you keep using the word challenge, but there is a challenge, my goodness. how long for tourism can even possibly come back to normal with social distancing? that will directly impact some parts of the uk, far worse than others. yes, thatis the uk, far worse than others. yes, that is right. if you think of a place like blackpool, if you were to say tourism and hospitality is at the end of the line in a sector by sector approach, the damage you could do to those places is immense. it is why i am saying give all sectors a chance to change how they work so they can get back, there are things you can do in restaurants, in pubs even, to keep people safe if it is more at the service, less tables, there are things that can be done. safety must never be compromised in my view, but don'tjust take a crude view that this sector cannot come back, it can only be this one. if you think about the supply chain in this country, it crosses a number of sectors and you will damage the economy i think if you take a very arbitrary approach. these messages seem to be getting through, it is going to be a very complex challenge, i personally believe, it is not just challenge, i personally believe, it is notjust voices like mine and the region's, but the trade unions need to be in the room because there can be no compromise on workers' safety and we want to see an improvement to employment standards. many people are in their home having video conferences, many people have been out in supermarkets, driving food around, working in care homes, the people keeping our country running in recent times are often the lowest paid and in the most insecure employment, and i think we need to see a better dealfor employment, and i think we need to see a better deal for those employment, and i think we need to see a better dealfor those minimum wage heroes coming out of this. that is certainly an argument that myself and the mayor for the liverpool city region put to the government, let's build back better and that means a more unified country where everyone is looked after properly, not the more divided country have in in recent times. thank you very much. and later on bbc one and the bbc news channel we'll have a special programme bringing you the daily downing street press conference and just before that we'll be answering your questions about testing in ‘your questions answered'. please get in touch with your questions. you can contact us on twitter using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions and you can email them to [email protected] coming up at a:30pm. send your questions for that. it is 18 minutes past three. new statistics show that around 40% of deaths linked to covid—19 in northern ireland have occurred in care homes. we can speak to our ireland correspondent chris page. explain a little bit more about this. yes, there are two sets of statistics here in northern ireland that tell us the picture in regards to the spread of covid—19 and the set of statistics that gives us the fuller picture have been published today, that is a weekly set of statistics that looks at all the deaths that happen in northern ireland where covid—19 has been recorded as the cause of death on the death certificate. the figures that we have seen today indicate that we have seen today indicate that the proportion of deaths due to the disease in care homes here is rising, the total that was given, this is an absolutely up—to—date figures, they go up to last friday, a week ago, but the total number of deaths was given as 393 and of those just over 160 happened in care homes so that is about 40% of the total, and what is perhaps even more concerning is that whenever you look at the last week recorded the week before last week, the number of deaths that happened in care homes number the number of deaths that happened in hospital, 63 deaths in ca re happened in hospital, 63 deaths in care homes and a0 deaths in hospitals. this is a sign that once again, as we have seen in other parts of the country, care homes really are becoming much more front line in the fight against this disease and that is something that certainly ministers in the devolved government are will be taking a serious look at and a meeting at the moment to decide where they are at in terms of the response to the disease here in northern ireland, and also whether any lockdown restrictions can be lifted next week. the indications we have had from individual ministers particularly in the last 2a hours is the lifting of any restrictions looks pretty unlikely. for now, in belfast, thank you. rya nair says it's going to cut up to 3000 jobs because of the pandemic. the airline has warned passengers whose flights have been cancelled that it might take six months to refund them. theo leggett reports. just a few weeks ago, the airline industry was booming. the future looked bright. now, days after british airways' owner said 12,000 jobs were on the line, ryanair has warned that it may make 3,000 people redundant. we announced this morning we are going to have to cut 15% of staff. that is, we think, the minimum we need, just to survive the next 12 months. if a vaccine is found, then clearly the recovery will be stronger. if a vaccine isn't found, we may have to announce more cuts, and deeper cuts into the future. unions insist that all this is premature, and that there is no need to make such deep cuts so soon. ryanair is not in financial difficulty, it is one of the wealthiest airlines in europe. it should be be able to ride out the storm, and it should be be able to take a more measured view. yet this is clearly an unprecedented situation, and you can see that from where i am standing. the skies behind me are normally full of planes, that is one of the major routes into heathrow airport, the busiest airport in the country. yet at the moment, nothing. no planes, no contrails, and it has been like that for several weeks. globally, 80% of flights have been grounded. 17,000 aircraft are sitting unused on the tarmac, and the cost to airlines is expected to reach £250 billion this year. once the outbreak is over, things certainly won't be getting back to normal quickly. it has been suggested passengers might be required to wear protective gear, or practise social distancing on aircraft. but not everyone's convinced. if you can imagine going on your last summer holiday, if you were flying somewhere, can you imagine social distancing in that kind of circumstances? we are not designed for that. if you were flying somewhere, can you imagine social distancing in that kind of circumstances? we are not designed for that. and that is why we need to have a way of making sure that only people who are very low risk are allowed into the airport and can travel through the journey. yet airlines remain determined to get back in the skies, as soon as possible. today, hungarian carrier wizz air did just that, starting to fly a small number of services in and out of luton. theo leggett, bbc news. 23 minutes past three. the publisher of the mail on sunday has won the first stage at the high court in the duchess of sussex's privacy claim against it over publication of a letter to her estranged father. emma woolcott is head of reputation protection at mishcon de reya solicitors, which specialises in media law, shejoins me now. good afternoon. its early stages in this legal case, isn't it? explain exactly what today's decisions mean. yes, this is the first battle in what looks like may be a case that will run for some time. the judges role at this early stage is more a case management, ensuring the trial is focused on the most relevant legal issues. at the core of meghan's claim is the handwritten letter she wrote to her father before her wedding was private and confidential and it was published by the mail, dishonestly. she claims is pa rt the mail, dishonestly. she claims is part of the case the letter was reproduced in a way that was partial, and that is the element the mail took exception to end applied to be struck out from the claim. they were successful on that. the judge agreed that actually be caught claim, the privacy claim, could be heard without considering that wider motivation and the allegation they had acted dishonestly and not reproducing the entire letter. and so the fact that the letter was a p pa re ntly so the fact that the letter was apparently edited, this is a key pa rt apparently edited, this is a key part of it, is it? yes, what meghan said is the 5—page letter which the mail said they had in the article published in full, she said the bits we re published in full, she said the bits were omitted showed she was showing kindness to her father in concern he was being exploited by the uk tabloids. she argues the omissions of these parts demonstrate the mail was being partial and it was part of a gratuitous campaign and feeling curiosity and a private life. this is early stages, there is a lot to come yet. the legal world, just like every aspect of life in the uk, has slowed down at the minute. do we have any sense of when this might reach the full stages? the court is adjourning and they have been digitally transformed in the last couple of weeks and the hearing was conducted by video conference and the decision delivered very promptly. that said, this is an early stage, the parties are still at the pleading stage and refining which elements of the case they will focus on. i suspect the substantive hearing won't be until the end of next year. a long way off, thank you very much. a new survey suggests many people in britain would be fearful of leaving their home if the lockdown was lifted in the coming month. more than a thousand adults took part in the poll which was carried out by ipsos mori. 60% would be uncomfortable about going out to bars and restaurants or using public transport, while more than a0% would still be reluctant to go shopping or send their children to school and more than 30% would be worried about going to work or meeting friends. our home editor mark eastonjoins me now. fascinating, i read that thinking they are pretty high statistics. we have this notion that everyone is feeling hemmed in and desperate to get out, yet some of that suggests thatis get out, yet some of that suggests that is not the case. i think that is right, i think anyone who imagines we are all staying indoors because we have been ordered to hasn't understood what the british public feels. they are staying indoors because they are frightened, they are frightened about catching they are frightened about catching the virus and they are frightened about giving it to the people that they love. that is a large part of why they want to stay indoors. these figures will give ministers in pause for thought because as they try to think of how we get britain out of the lockdown, trying to think of some kind of road map, they have got to also factor in this kind of detail. a0% of parents saying they would be uncomfortable about the children going back to school. there have been suggestions that we may see some schools open, perhaps during that time. this is going to present a bit of a problem and it is also a question of which students will return, which pupils will return to school, which ones was stay—at—home, are you going to make it obligatory to go to school, if the child feels uncomfortable about doing so. i think there is a lot of questions that flowed from this kind of research. yes, that figure in particular stands out as does 30% of people would be uncomfortable to go to work. yeah, it all comes back to the same thing, that this virus, i think there are two points the message. one is protect the nhs and ido message. one is protect the nhs and i do think those three letters are a very powerful force in this country and have made people really think, they want to do the right thing for they want to do the right thing for the national health service which is held in such high esteem. but also that business of saving lives, it is hugely important for people and they don't want to do anything that is going to put themselves at risk or others at risk. the stories that we have been hearing over the last months of appalling death figures and huge pressure on the health service, no surprise really that people are going to be nervous about wanting to go out the front door and try and lead a normal life again. people are into going to be rushing back to the pubs and restaurants, whatever some of the newspapers might like to imagine. there will be some who will be desperate for the rules to change, but actually i think the proportion who are gasping to get out is really quite small. really interesting. thanks very much for now. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. hello, the chance of showers continues through the remainder of the daytime today, in fact through the night as well but gradually they will ease into the weekend and we will see lengthier brighter spells. there are still some lively showers out there for the rest of the day, as i mentioned, with some hail and thunder, close to low pressure across the northern isles it might be rain of the day and perhaps less showers in the south. temperatures higher than they have been but a brisk wind in both the south and in the north and west. the showers ease a little further through the night, so under the clearing skies it will be a little bit on the chilly side, temperatures falling within two or three degrees of freezing across scotland and northern ireland. that means we will see some drier and brighter weather through saturday, some lengthier spells of sunshine. that shower risk remains, there may be more cloud in the south later but it does on the whole, look drier and therefore a little warmer. goodbye. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... the goverment has expressed cautious optimism that it has met its target of carrying out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of april. figures show that a further 352 people died in hospital in england from coronavirus. ryanair becomes the latest airline to warn of thousands ofjob losses, because of the economic impact of coronavirus. president trump says he's seen evidence that covid—19 came from a laboratory in china, but us intelligence services say the virus is not man—made. the mail on sunday has won the first round of a legal battle against the duchess of sussex over the publication of a letter she wrote to her father. sport now and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. here's chetan. good afternoon. the plan for a return to sport has been stepped up. the government's hosting a video call with the fa and premier league along with medical experts from rugby union, cricket and racing to discuss the aspects of a return to sporting action. the culture secretary oliver dowden has tweeted. he says that he knows britons are desperate to get sport back, but that we need to plan for a safe return of elite sport behind closed doors when, and only when, it is safe to do so on the basis of expert medical advice. lots to consider, he says, but today we step up planning. well, it's the biggest dilemma facing the premier league in its history and it could look very different if it does kick off again, asjoe lynskey reports. when football comes back, it won't look the same. right now, experts say we can't have massed crowds until we have... it means if the premier league resumes, it gets played in empty grounds. that is how football looked in italy before the lockdown. in march, most matches went behind closed doors and for asmir begovic, that means his home debut for ac milan had no one there watching. it was surreal. it's something i guess we could get used to if we did it more often but you can't underestimate the build—up and atmosphere before the game, you have atmosphere before the game, you have a sense of what it means and i think asa a sense of what it means and i think as a footballer you react to that. not having that at the same level will be difficult. there won't be any pre—match handshakes from now on but any fixtures that do go—ahead will still have 22 players in close contact will still have 22 players in close co nta ct sto p will still have 22 players in close contact stop the virus spreading between them, one option is to put teams under strict quarantine measures but that puts a huge mental health burden potentially on players. regular testing, perhaps every two days, is also being considered. but even ifjust one infected player takes to the field, that risks both the sport and the wider community. there is the chance that you might start to transmit a little bit of the virus before the testis little bit of the virus before the test is able to detect it. we just have to be really concerned if you have to be really concerned if you have a group of people that are travelling and then mingling with other groups that are also travelling throughout the country, this is a really effective way to spread the disease. the results now are insignificant as the decisions of the field have the highest sta kes. of the field have the highest stakes. for football to go forward, it may need to be patient. rugby league has been given £16 million to keep the sport afloat through the pandemic. it's hoped the emergency loan will secure the immediate future of the sport, with the world cup due to take place on uk soil next year. here's our sports correspondent andy swiss. it was a sport on the brink but rugby league it seems has been rescued. £16 million from the government has given the game some much—needed cheer. this was the last time we saw it being played in the middle of march. a sport intrinsic to communities in the north of england, lockdown was threatening its future but now its social value has brought financial support. in terms of mental and physical health and sense of pride and well—being, and those messages have clearly resonated with the treasury and i am delighted they have and we will continue to do that work. were you in a situation where you said the future of some clubs and perhaps the sport was injeopardy? undoubtedly, undoubtedly. we are realistic about the responsibilities that come with this money, this is public health money and it is a loan and we will rise to that challenge. the money has also been welcomed by players. your royal highness, if you would like to draw the first ball... england is also due to hold the world cup of course. this was prince harry holding the drawback injanuary and the success of next years tournament was also a factor. this is the first sport to be bailed out by the government who insist it is an exception and while financial battles still lie ahead, for now at least, rugby league will be feeling relieved. and finally. it's small steps, but some professional sport has been taking place today. a tennis exhibition event is under way in germany with players wearing face masks, other safety measures in place too as well as no spectators, no linejudges, no ball kids or handshakes. eight players outside the world's top 100 are taking part in the tennis point exhibtion including dustin brown — who beat rafael nadal at wimbledon five years ago. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. president trump has stepped up pressure on china about the origin of the pandemic, saying he's seen evidence linking the virus to a laboratory in the city of wuhan, where the outbreak began. us intelligence services have already said that covid—19 is not manmade. david willis sent this report. the pa pathogen lab at wuhan's institute of virology. did the deadly coronavirus emanate from here? china strenuously denies such suggestions. the president of the united states believes otherwise. mr trump says he seen evidence linking the virus to the lab, although he wouldn't be drawn on what that evidence consisted of. he told reporters either china couldn't stop the virus from spreading, or it didn't try to. this is something that could have been contained at the original location and i think it could have been contained relatively easily. china is a very sophisticated country and they could have contained it. they were either unable to or they chose not to and the world is suffering greatly. whilst laying to rest one of the more extreme conspiracy theories surrounding the virus, that it was man—made and unleashed as a biological weapon, the us intelligence community didn't contradict the president's theory, saying... this country has already seen more cases of the coronavirus than anywhere else in the world, overa million, and more than 60,000 deaths. the virus has also devastated what was once a booming economy, leading to long lines in cities such as houston, as people queue for free food. some states are gradually reopening and by urging them to do so as quickly as possible, the president is looking to rebuild the economy before the november presidential elections. some say they are setting china up as a foil in case that does not happen. although he's avoided direct criticism of china's president xi, with whom he's maintained cordial relations, president trump has talked of making china pay for the harm the virus has caused to the american economy and, by extension, to his chances of re—election. relations between the world's two largest economies could get very frosty indeed. figures published by the office for national statistics show the covid—19 mortality rate in more deprived parts of england has been more than twice that experienced in more affluent areas. and food banks say they are giving out a record amount of emergency supplies. the trussell trust, which supports most of the uk's food banks, says demand was up by more than 80% in the last two weeks of march, compared with the period last year. michael buchanan reports. well, it's very embarrassing, really. you know, that you're having to come to ask for food. because you've no cash in your bank account to buy it. i used to work at the airport, but obviously with all this coronavirus, i've been temporarily laid off. you never know what's happening behind closed doors. but food banks are getting a glimpse into people's lives. at st paul's church in leeds, they're feeding more people than ever. demand is up 80% on the same time last year. among the new clients is sharon, who was a cleaner at leeds bradford airport, until the pandemic put paid to herjob. she's collecting food for herself and her in—laws. if it wasn't for the food banks, then it would be quite hard. because when i've got all my household bills, rent, gas, electric, it leaves me with next to nothing. sharon's mother has been forced here, too. she is waiting on an operation and her husband was sent home from work to protect him from the virus. you can have a meal, you don't have to go without. it may not be the food that you'd usually buy, because it's so dear now to go to a supermarket, but at least they give you essential food, so you can make a meal out of it. across the country, the trussell trust say there was an 80% increase in demand during the last two weeks in march, compared to the same period last year. families in particular are needing help. food parcels for households with children increased by over 120%. some people, unfortunately, didn't even get furloughed. there have been a number of people we've met that have actually been laid off, as opposed to furloughed. so they've suddenly found themselves without income, where they may have had a perfectly reasonable income to support their families prior to this. so it's been a huge shock to people. anti—poverty charities have welcomed the steps the government has taken to support incomes and manyjobs. but they say more targeted support, such as further benefit changes, is now needed to protect poorer households. michael buchanan, bbc news. mark scoulding is distributing recipe boxes to families in need in watford, it's all being organised by the salvation army. hejoins me now. it is being organised by the salvation army. good afternoon. explain the recipe boxes. what is in them and how does it work with matt we have been distributing boxes to children in watford over the last six months to alleviate holiday hunger but we have been fortunate enough to adapt what we're doing in light of the pandemic. each box contains essential items. rice, pasta, tuna but we also try and include things that are more like treats. hot chocolate, popcorn and even craft items for children to alleviate boredom and help their pa rents alleviate boredom and help their pa re nts get alleviate boredom and help their parents get a bit of time to do the work that they need to do at home. it is fantastic. i imagine, how bout is the demand was how big is the demand, is it growing? on the ground we are seeing significant increases. we were preparing to distribute around 30 of our recipe boxes at easter before the virus hit. in actual fact we have distributed 150 and we are expecting to have to repeat these distributions probably monthly. goodness. that is bad. what can the public do? can people donate? is it that straightforward? in light of government guidelines, we are asking the public not to come to the salvation army with donations of food. obviously we cannot accept those at the moment. what we are asking them to do is to give online fh and or by other remote means. go on the salvation army's website would be a fantastic thing to do. also those working in the wholesale industry or perhaps decision—makers and companies to make a donation, that would be extremely helpful right now. we have talked a lot about the spike in the demand for food banks and we know this is having a particular impact on children. as a lot of that to do with schools being shut so a lot of children are not being fed at lunchtime as they would ordinarily in school? we definitely think that isa in school? we definitely think that is a factor. for those families who we re is a factor. for those families who were already struggling, their situation has just got worse. and also we are seeing families who previously were able to get byjust about, they are now in a situation perhaps they have been furloughed, perhaps they have been furloughed, perhaps they have become ill, they are now falling into the category of having to ask for help. people don't wa nt to having to ask for help. people don't want to ask for help but we are seeing them having to come to us and we expect that the situation will get worse. the figures released today, we would expect this to be just a snapshot. these are short—term implications. we are yet to see the long—term implications. yes. also people listening to you will think, we hear so much about following and we know that your employer can claim a grant so you at least get the minimum of 80% of your salary. a lot of employers are making it up to 100%. people watching might not understand, in some has been furloughed and they do have money coming in, whereas the demand that you are describing coming from? what are people telling you? what coming from? what are people telling you ? what have coming from? what are people telling you? what have you experiences been? we are seeing people in absolute crisis. struggling with worry about theirfamilies, their crisis. struggling with worry about their families, their own mental health may be deteriorating. lots of people are struggling in everyday life a nyway people are struggling in everyday life anyway and all of these factors piling on top is making things worse. yes. and of course we are not at the end of lockdown yet. that is the point, we have got away to go? yes. thank you for everything you are doing. all social care workers in wales will get a a £500 bonus to reward them for their work during the pandemic. the welsh government says almost 65,000 people stand to benefit from the scheme. first minister mark drakeford said the payment recognises that care staff are exposed to a greater degree of risk. today i can announce that the welsh government will be providing funding to give an extra payment of £500 for every care home worker and domiciliary care worker providing personal care in wales. this payment is designed to provide some further recognition of the value we attach to everything they are doing. this group of people, usually women, often not well paid, are providing the invisible scaffolding of services which support both our nhs and our wider society. and without this small army of people, large numbers of others would not be able to continue to live independently at home or receive everyday support with basic needs, by living in care home. nicola sturgeon has announced coronavirus testing in scotland will be expanded in care homes. all residents and staff would be tested at homes where the infection was found. ms sturgeon also said everyone over—65 with symptoms and their households would also be eligible for testing. and by the end of the month, scotland will have the capacity to carry out 12,000 tests per day. the capacity for coronavirus testing in scotland is now 8,350. and with the further projected increases in nhs capacity that i mentioned a moment ago, i expect that to be at least 10,500 by this time next week and 12,000 by the middle of the month. now, that is a significant increase in capacity and i pay tribute to all those who have worked so hard to achieve it. both in our nhs scotland labs and in the uk government testing network. but, of course, laboratory capacity is one thing. what matters is the volume of testing we do and the clinical objectives that we set for testing. this can't simply be about chasing numbers. so we are also working, yes, to increase the number of tests that are carried out, but also to extend the categories for testing in a way that better equips us to suppress the virus. nicola sturgeon, speaking earlier today. india has more than 35,000 confirmed cases of covid—19 and more than 1,000 people are reported to have died. the country has been in lockdown for nearly six weeks. doctors say that has slowed the spread of infection, but millions of people who depend on daily wages have been left desperate. yogita limay sent this report. small triumphs are celebrated. this man has recovered from covid in the southern state of kerala. thanks for everything! the region had india's first coronavirus infections in march. but it curbed the spread and its strategy is giving hope to the rest of the country. our idea was to trace as many people as possible in the shortest possible time. and in the intial 4—5 days, we were able to trace 1,254 persons. once we have identified all of them, the next strategy was to ensure home quarantine in the strictest possible sense. but each grave is a reminder that, for many parts of india, the threat is farfrom being contained. and it doesn't even allow goodbyes. a four—month—old baby girl, laid to rest from the arms of strangers. dozens are losing their lives every day. and while the real scale is hard to assess, doctors say covid would have spread a lot more quickly if india had not imposed a lockdown relatively early. checkpoints like these have been set up in cities around the country. people are only allowed to go out to buy essential items, and you could even get arrested for violating the lockdown, which is perhaps one of the most stringent in the world. for the first time in the history of india, the government halted trains. flights, interstate buses, public transport have all been stopped too. that's left millions of daily wage earners without money for food or shelter. this is a queue for lunch in delhi nearly 3km long, a common sight now in many parts of india. shaik mufazul worked as a labourer. now he's living on the streets with his family. "on the days they distribute food, we eat." "otherwise, we go hungry." "they've taken away our lifeline." "it feels like we're dying slowly," he says. calls to ease the restrictions have been growing louder. the nationwide lockdown is due to end soon. india is waiting to hear what lies ahead. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. uk scientists have identified the highest levels of microplastics ever recorded on the seafloor. the contamination was found in sediments pulled from the bottom of the mediterranean sea. victoria gill reports. a simulation of the deep ocean. this experiment in a large tank in a lab in the netherlands shows how ocean currents and push mounds of sediment across the sea floor. mixed into those mounds are millions of tiny pieces of plastic, and scientists have now measured the extent of this sea—bed pollution. we are all worried about the plastic that is floating in the ocean, but this only represents 1% of it. but this only represents 1% of the whole amount. the rest is somewhere in the deep sea. we've found in this area the highest circulations ever recorded in the global oceans, and they are 1.9 million particles — pieces, small pieces — per square metre. so we are going to scoop up those fine sediments that are all brought into suspension. studies in 2018 by some of the same researchers revealed just how much plastic pollution was locked in uk riverbeds then flushed out to sea during floods. these latest experiments in the mediterranean extracted whole chunks of sea floor from depths of up to one kilometre. that enabled scientists to track how the currents carry plastic waste out to sea, where it breaks down. the deep currents then accumulate these millions of fragments into what researchers call microplastic hotspots. the majority of the particles they found were tiny fibres from textiles and clothing that simply slip through the filtration systems in waste—water treatment plants. we're filling in part of the gaps of our understanding of this 99% of the plastic. the fragile ecosystems on the sea floor depend on the nutrients and oxygen flushed by these ocean currents. these currents transport microplastics to the same places where these fragile ecosystems exist. scientists from the british antarctic survey, in another study published this week, revealed plastic pollution was reaching the shores of some of the most remote islands. in recent years, we've finally started to the impact that our plastic waste has on the oceans. this research has started to uncover the invisible long—term consequences. victoria gill, bbc news. the rock band queen has released a charity single to honour the world's health care workers. it resembles the classic hit we are the champions, but with a tweak to the lyrics. freya cole reports. # we'll keep on fighting till the end... it's an anthem known around the world, and now, with a one word change, the song has taken on a new meaning. # you are the champions, my friends... # and you'll keep on fighting to the end... it's focused to all those on the front line all around the world. all the people risking their lives to save us and save our families. the tribute song will aid the world health organization's solidarity fund to fight covid—19. queen and their front man, adam lambert, each filmed their parts in isolation. a far cry from the recording studios they are all used to. my wife recorded it on her iphone. taking the step to shift a lyric is a bold move for queen, because they are so iconic, but this is the type of event that warranted such a change. # no time for losers... the original 1977 hit song, written by freddie mercury, celebrated worldwide success. # cos you are the champions... it's hoped the remake will help inspire front line workers as they lead the struggle against this pandemic. freya cole, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. april showers have lingered today and we are seeing some lively downpours. this was sent from colchester in essex. it shows the air is unstable at the moment which is no surprise because we have an area of low pressure sitting across the uk and it is throwing further showers our way. quite a keen breeze in the north, chilly as well across scotland and northern ireland. some of these showers as we have seen could give some hail and thunder and lightning as well. perhaps fewer to end the day in southern areas compared with yesterday of course. but i would not like to rule out a shower just about anywhere. as we go through the evening and overnight, they will ease a little in england and wales. with low pressure nearby, lots more showers here. under starry skies, temperatures will get within a few degrees of freezing so a cool start to the weekend but otherwise as that low pressure starts to pull away, it means we should see fewer showers and more dry and sunny spells and less breeze as well. it will not be altogether dry. we have showers still close to that low pressure across scotland, coming into parts of northern england and lincolnshire and further south the approach of another area of low pressure, another weather front throwing more cloud into the south of england later in the day. in between, drier, a bit more sunshine than we have seen, lighter wind will feel warmer in that strong may sunshine. those showers continue through tomorrow night and into sunday morning but it still looks as if temperatures will stay just above freezing despite those clear skies, in the glens of scotland we might see a touch of ground frost and we may still, across scotland, have a few showers on sunday and across the east of england but a diminishing risk, instead we pick up more cloud across southern areas turning that sunshine hazy and perhaps even threatening some rain later in the south and west but again the winds won't be as strong as they have been so with some may sunshine which should see 17—18 in the south, 1a—15 in norfolk high—pressure looks 1a—15 in the north, high—pressure looks set to bring continued settle conditions particularly across the northern half of the uk, we pick up a keen and chilly wind in the south but perhaps some rain returning by tuesday. this is bbc news, i'm clive myrie. the headlines: the government has expressed cautious optimism that it has met its target of carrying out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of april. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do, because it galvanised government and got thejob done, but there is a lot more to be done. the figures will be announced by the health secretary matt hancock at today's daily government briefing from downing street — we'll bring that to you live. ryanair becomes the latest airline to warn of thousands ofjob losses, because of the economic impact of coronavirus. president trump says he's seen evidence that covid—19 came from a laboratory in china — but us intelligence services say the virus is not man made. and the mail on sunday has won the first round of a legal battle against the duchess of sussex over the publication of a letter she wrote to her father. good afternoon. we'll have the latest government briefing from downing street on the coronavirus pandemic, led today by the health secretary matt hancock. but first, ministers say they're confident of hitting their target for the number of daily coronavirus tests, after the prime minister said the uk is "past the peak" of the outbreak. the government had pledged 100,000 tests a day by the end of april, with more than 81,000 taking place on wednesday. well, we'll get the final total for the last day of april in the next hour or so. meanwhile fresh data from the office for national statistics, shows the rate of deaths involving covid—19 is roughly twice as high, in the most deprived areas of england and wales. one of the world's biggest budget airlines, ryanair, says it's to cut up to 3,000 pilot and cabin crewjobs because no—one's flying, and in america, donald trump says he's seen evidence coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory, but he provided no details, with us intelligence saying covid—19 isn't man made. ourfirst report, this is from our health correspondent, lauren moss. the target was 100,000 tests a day by the end of april. it's just under a month since the health secretary announced that deadline. we will find out later whether the ambition is achieved. are you confident you will meet your testing target? more than 81,000 tests were carried out in the uk on wednesday, after more people became eligible, including those over the age of 65 who have symptoms and care home residents and staff who don't. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do. because it galvanised government and got thejob done. but there is a lot more to be done, and we need to increase that figure, whether it is 100,000 or thereabouts, much higher in the days and weeks to come. it's notjust about testing, though. tracing those who have got the virus and tracking the spread is key. thousands of people have been hired to do just that by the middle of the month. in scotland testing is being expanded, but there is a reminder it is not the cure or the sole way out of the lockdown. it remains the case that the most important thing we are all doing is staying at home. as i said yesterday, that is making a difference and it is allowing us to start to see some light at the end of the tunnel. but as i also said yesterday, that progress is fragile and if we ease up now, that light could be extinguished. after announcing yesterday that we are past the peak, the prime minister will reveal plans for a way out of some of the lockdown. but any strategy will have to be carefully balanced against risking increasing the rate of virus transmission. that will be quite a challenge. because when the restrictions were brought in, it was the same restrictions for everyone. i think it's going to be a challenge when there are going to be different restrictions lifted for different sections of the population, because the collective solidarity has been such an important part of adhering to and making any strategy successful. latest figures collected by google revealed that retail footfall is three quarters lower than at this time last year, but visits to parks have crept up and are just 10% below normal. over the next six weeks, the nhs will be starting more non—covid related care, finding different ways of working and treating patients. we don't want to go back to crowded a&e departments. the president of the royal college of emergency medicine rightly points out that would be a disastrous step backwards, because you could then go to a&e and catch coronavirus. so we need to find a way for services to resume and keep patients safe. masks may have a part to play in what will be the new normal, even ifjust to make some feel safer. more than 1 million people around the world have now recovered. the road we will take next will become clear in a few days. but, regardless of targets, testing is likely here to stay. our political correspondent, jess parker is at westminster. we started the week with barely more than 30,000 tests, we get to wednesday and it is 52,000 and now looks as if the government is pretty close to 100,000. how did they make that leap in a week? you are right because when matt hancock set that target of 100,000 tests a day, a lot of people didn't think he would necessarily get there because they we re necessarily get there because they were coming from a much lower base, but we have seen this significant ramping up over the last week and there are really two aspects. one is they were quite hard to expand capacity —— they worked quite hard. we have seen mobile testing labs run by the army, home testing kits and those drive—through sites but well capacity was successfully going up and up, and looks like it could reach that 100,000 target, there was that gap between capacity and the number of tests actually being carried out. they have managed to close that gap, yesterday they had 81,000 tests carried over, the capacity was 86,000 so the gap is narrowing and that was partly achieved i think by having mobile testing sites but also very much expanding eligibility for the people who could go for tests. that has really been the focus and, as has been reported today, ministers expressing some confidence they are going to reach or get very near that 100,000 target. some have said, including nhs providers, look, a number isa including nhs providers, look, a number is a bit of a distraction. it is all very well having a target but it is what you do with those tests thatis it is what you do with those tests that is important but matt hancock by setting a target will have the a nswer by setting a target will have the answer this afternoon. a rough road map is said to be outlined next week to ease some of the lockdown measures, we know testing is getting close to 100000 and certainly frankly has got to get beyond that, if we are going to get any serious easing of the lockdown, but we also need to track and trace, don't we? we need to keep an eye on exactly where these people who have been tested, and if they are found to be infected by coronavirus, who they have been in contact with. in areas like south korea where they have done successfully contact tracing, a lot of countries have looked at that and rolled at that sort of system, seeing that as a gold standard is how to approach this. the government have said hundred thousand is the target but they have talked about 250,000 as a further target, so i think the ambition is to keep building in the testing capacity. it is this track and trace element, isolating those who have the virus, notifying people via an app that is being developed that they might have come into contact with someone in the virus, and importantly, if you can get people tested, then they know if they don't test positive for coronavirus they can get back to work. there was some concern in the past couple of weeks about nhs workers who might have symptoms but didn't know whether they had the virus staying home, self isolating, along with their families. if they didn't have it, they could be back on the from and getting to work. i think that will increasingly be a focus and interestingly, it seems like the isle of wight is going to be focus and interestingly, it seems like the isle of wight is going to be an area where the will be some sort of initial trial of this contact tracing. ok, thanks for that. a new study suggests coronavirus deaths among black and minority ethnic groups is disproportionately high, with the institute for fiscal studies finding that deaths among black caribbeans in english hospitals, are three times those of white britons per head of population. professor lucinda platt is a sociologist at the london school of economics and contributed to the study. shejoins me now. thank you forjoining us, that headline figure, three times more likely to die if you are black caribbean than a white person in an english hospital. how is that possible? i think what is important is we look, we go beyond looking at the raw death figures to look at how we what differences we might expect given the different age profiles of the different ethnic groups and if we do that, we find the fact that those groups which don't look necessarily like they have high numbers of deaths act we have high numbers of deaths act we have quite high rates. we try to adjust the age profile, we looked at comparable figures, thinking some minority groups might be younger. the black caribbean group is not much younger than the white group, but other groups are, where do they live? taking those factors into account. we would expect them to be less vulnerable, if we take those factors both into account, we find there are big differences and black africans had the highest relative mortality rates compared to white britons. over three times. mortality rates compared to white britons. overthree times. sorry, i'm just going to come in because there is a lot to decipher. let's just start with age, now the suggestion is that you are more likely to have more severe complications if you are older, if you are an older person and you contract covid—19, is that not the case with people from a bame background? the point is exactly the opposite. we know that older people are more likely to both suffer the serious consequences of the virus, thatis serious consequences of the virus, that is what we have been seeing clearly. there is a very strong age gradient in who dies from covid—19, so we also note minorities, most minority groups are actually much younger, so we would expect less deaths on the basis of their age and so you have to think about the age profile, as well as the raw data. you get a slightly different picture. if we go beyond the raw death data, where can you point, what can you point to as perhaps as a causation or reason for this happening? the differences are very large and it is unlikely we can explain more with the information we currently have, but we looked at a number of factors we think might make a difference. we looked at the proportion who were working in key worker industries, health and social care, because we think that will be bring people more into contact with the virus and may increase the risk of death from it. we find very clear differences in those working in key worker health and social care, especially high rates, among that africans who are also one of the groups who had the most disproportionate fertility rates —— fatality rates. we think there is a connection between the jobs. fatality rates. we think there is a connection between thejobs. and another factor that has been mentioned and is clearly very important is having underlying health conditions, a lot of people have died had underlying health conditions and we find differences in rates of people having relatives underlying health conditions. the those could both help to explain it, but they won't fully explain it. there is still a partial picture as to exactly why this is happening. we have had the statistics from the office for national statistics saying people living in the most deprived areas of england have experienced coronavirus fatality rates more than double those living in other areas of england. does that fit into your findings, in other areas of england. does that fit into yourfindings, do in other areas of england. does that fit into your findings, do you think? it potentially does fit into the findings. what we haven't taken in specifically associate economic position but it seems likely that those who are more deprived are suffering more, have higher fertility rates. we know that many minority groups have higher rates of poverty. we also know they are more likely to cluster in deprived areas, so areas that have high rate of minorities and deprivation have some overla p. minorities and deprivation have some overlap. we could be seeing the same process happening there, so we look at it as proportion of minority groups and look at the basis of that, we don't necessarily look at more deprived areas but they could be tending towards the same findings. a lot more work needs to be done on this clearly. thank you for doing us. —— thank you for joining us. ryanair says it's to cut up to 3000 jobs because of the pandemic. the airline has warned passengers whose flights have been cancelled it might take six months to process refunds. here's theo leggett. just a few weeks ago, the airline industry was booming. the future looked bright. now ryanair has been the latest carrier to say it will make thousands of people redundant. we announced this morning we are going to have to cut 15% of staff. that is, we think, the minimum we need, just to survive the next 12 months. if a vaccine is found, then clearly the recovery will be stronger. if a vaccine isn't found, we may have to announce more cuts, unions insist that all this is premature, and that there is no need to make such deep cuts so soon. ryanair is not in financial difficulty, it is one of the wealthiest airlines in europe. it should be be able to ride out the storm, and it should be be able to take a more measured view. some employees are saying airlines are taking advantage of the covid—19 crisis to drive through job and pay cuts and reduce cost in a way they could never normally manage. cuts and reduce cost in a way they could never normally managem cuts and reduce cost in a way they could never normally manage. it is not simply as binary as airlines taking advantage of a bleak situation, reality is there are hardly any planes flying and therefore airlines now are waking up to this new reality and they are making long—term decisions now, it is like a pre—emptive strike. this is clearly an unprecedented situation, and you can see that from where i am standing. the skies behind me are normally full of planes, that is one of the major routes into heathrow airport, the busiest airport in the country. yet at the moment, nothing. no planes, no contrails, and it has been like that for several weeks. globally, 80% of flights have been grounded. 17,000 aircraft are sitting unused on the tarmac, and the cost to airlines is expected to reach £250 billion this year. once the outbreak is over, things certainly won't be getting back to normal quickly. although you can fly if you want to, restrictions are expected to increase. it has been suggested passengers might be required to wear protective gear, or practise social distancing on aircraft. the head of heathrow thinks such measures would be wholly impractical. if you can imagine going on your last summer holiday, if you were flying somewhere, can you imagine social distancing in that kind of circumstances? we are not designed for that. and that is why we need to have a way of making sure that only people who are very low risk are allowed into the airport and can travel through the journey. yet airlines remain determined to get back in the skies, as soon as possible. today, hungarian carrier wizz air did just that, starting to fly a small number of services in and out of luton. theo leggett, bbc news. the publisher of the mail on sunday has won the first stage of a high court battle with the duchess of sussex, over the publication of a letter in the paper, sent to her estranged father. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, explained the background to the case. first blood, i suppose, in this epic struggle to the mail on sunday, but this is the first skirmish, it is a preliminary or procedural hearing in which the mail on sunday sought to strike out and remove some of the wording in the duchess of sussexs claims. especially to remove the suggestion they have acted dishonestly or in bad faith, that they stirred up they deliberately stirred up conflict between meghan and her father, or they had an obvious agenda of publishing offensive stories about her which would betray her any damaging light. they are all to do with the state of mind within the mail on sunday when they published this letter, and the judge, who is the seniorjudge who handles all matters of media law at the high court of england, has found for the mail on sunday, so those allegations, those suggestions, must now be removed from meghan's particular of claim, but the main case proceeds. the main case for breach of privacy and copyright and indeed, her solicitors were quick to say the core elements of this case do not change and will continue to move forward, the duchess's rights we re move forward, the duchess's rights were violated and the legal boundaries around privacy were crossed. i do think there will be questions about the advice that her lawyers were giving her, have they over egged it somewhat in this preliminary hearing? there is also the question of costs, it is reported the associated newspapers, the publishers of the mail on sunday, have made it clear they will be seeking costs from the duchess of sussex, it is estimated her own costs, the associated newspaper cost, will not be short of £100,000 between them and this is before the main case comes to court. when will that be? we simply don't know. it will be at some point in the months ahead. emma woollcott, partner and privacy lawyer at mishcon de reya, which specialises in media law, said this legal battle could go on for some time. this is the first battle in what looks like may be a case that will run for some time. the judge's role at this early stage is more of case management, ensuring the trial is focused on the most relevant legal issues. at the core of meghan's claim is the handwritten letter she wrote to herfather before her wedding was private and confidential and it was published by the mail dishonestly. she claims as part of the case the letter was reproduced in a way that was partial, and that is the element the mail took exception to and applied to be struck out from the claim. they were successful on that. thejudge agreed that actually the core claim, the privacy claim, could be heard without considering that wider motivation and the allegation they had acted dishonestly in not reproducing the entire letter. democratic us presidential contender joe biden has flatly denied sexually assaulting a former staff assistant nearly 30 years ago. mr biden's former aide, tara reade, was one of eight women who came forward last year to accuse the former vice president of sexual harassment. her recent allegation is the first to involve sexual assault. he's been speaking to the us television channel, msnbc. iam i am saying unequivocally it never, ever happened and it didn't, it never happened. do you remember her? do you remember any types of complaints that she might have made? i don't remember any type of complaint she may have made, it was 27 years ago, and i don't remember, nor does anyone else that i am aware of, and the fact is i don't remember. i don't remember any complaint having been made. meanwhile donald trump has stepped up pressure on china about the origin of the pandemic, saying he's seen evidence linking the virus to a laboratory in the city of wuhan, where the outbreak began. us intelligence services have already said that covid19 is not manmade. david willis sent this report. the pa pathogen lab at wuhan's institute of virology. did the deadly coronavirus emanate from here? china strenuously denies such suggestions. the president of the united states believes otherwise. mr trump says he's seen evidence linking the virus to the lab, although he wouldn't be drawn on what that evidence consisted of. he told reporters either china couldn't stop the virus from spreading, or it didn't try to. this is something that could have been contained at the original location, and i think it could have been contained relatively easily. china is a very sophisticated country and they could have contained it. they were either unable to or they chose not to and the world is suffering greatly. whilst laying to rest one of the more extreme conspiracy theories surrounding the virus, that it was man—made and unleashed as a biological weapon, the us intelligence community didn't contradict the president's theory, saying: this country has already seen more cases of the coronavirus than anywhere else in the world, overa million, and more than 60,000 deaths. the virus has also devastated what was once a booming economy, leading to long lines in cities such as houston, as people queue forfree food. 30 million americans, a fifth of the nation's workforce, have filed for unemployment benefit since the crisis began. some states are gradually starting to reopen. and by urging them to do so as quickly as possible, the president is looking to rebuild the economy before november's presidential election. some say he is setting china up as a foil in case that doesn't happen. although he's avoided direct criticism of china's president xi, with whom he's maintained cordial relations, president trump has talked of making china pay for the harm the virus has caused to the american economy and, by extension, to his chances of re—election. relations between the world's two largest economies could get very frosty indeed. david willis, bbc news. today, may day, is traditionally a day where demonstrators take part in protests, and members of the greek labour union took part in a protest in front of the greek parliament in athens — wearing protective masks and respecting the social distances, the greek government asked groups to delay public rallies by more than a week to may the ninth but the leading union, the general confederation of greek workers, called for a general strike to coincide with may day. a troupe of circus performers stranded in morecambe during the lockdown have said a big thank you to local people who've been helping them out. the big kid circus had just set up its big top in the lancashire resort but hadn't even given one performance when the restrictions were imposed. since then local people have helped out with food and other supplies as dave guest explains. it's the ultimate lockdown work—out, but please don't try this at home. these are professional circus folk and this is their home. they landed in morecambe days before the lockdown and had to abandon their show before it had even begun. when the lockdown happened, we couldn't move so we had to stay here. the performers were given the option of flying back home, but chose not to. yes, they chose to stay because they knew if they went back home, they d eftly knew if they went back home, they deftly would be performing for the rest of the year, that was 100%. there are no circuses in cuba or opportunities to perform. they love to perform, they asked to stay here and see what they could do. with a view like this, there are worst places you can spend the lockdown, however because the performers are not uk nationals are not eligible to state support, local people have come to the rescue. when we heard there was a circus troupe who needed help we were so glad to be able to give them a hand, really. this is an awful situation for all sorts of people but especially for touring musicians and performers. itjust makes us feel so glad that we can step in and do something helpful. we can't thank them enough, they have been fantastic. i always look forward to coming to morecambe because i love the town and we only expected to be here a week, and we have been here a lot longer than that. we have had not only the food banks, the organisation actually help us, but we had local people coming in and dropping off close. we are keeping the two metres distance between us, your performers don't do that. how do you get around social distancing? we are classed as one household, there is a 35 of us and we spoke to the government on how they would class us, and because we live together we are classed as one unit. they have been keeping practice with online performances and they are trying to stage a real—life free show for the community in morecambe as soon as they are open. in a moment we'll be joined by viewers on bbc one ahead of the daily downing street news conference — but first, it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. hello, the chance of showers continues through the remainder of the daytime today, in fact through the night as well but gradually they will ease into the weekend and we will see lengthier brighter spells. there are still some lively showers out there for the rest of the day, as i mentioned, with some hail and thunder, close to low pressure across the northern isles it might be rain on and off through the day and perhaps less showers in the south. temperatures higher than they have been but a brisk wind in both the south and in the north and west. the showers ease a little further through the night, so under the clearing skies it will be a little bit on the chilly side, temperatures falling within two or three degrees of freezing across scotland and northern ireland. that means we will see some drier and brighter weather through saturday, some lengthier spells of sunshine. that shower risk remains, there may be more cloud in the south later but it does on the whole, look drier and therefore a little warmer. goodbye. this is a bbc news special, i'm clive myrie. the headlines: the goverment has expressed cautious optimism that it has met its target of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of last month. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do, because it galvanised government and got thejob done, but there's a lot more to be done. the figures will be announced by the health secretary matt hancock at today's government briefing from downing street. we'll bring that to you live. ryanair becomes the latest airline to warn of thousands ofjob losses — because of the economic impact of coronavirus. donald trump says he's seen evidence that covid—19 came from a laboratory in china, but us intelligence services say the virus is not man—made.