Hello and welcome to the programme. We start with the latest developments on the coronavirus outbreak in the uk and globally. More than 4. 5 million cases have been officially detected across the world with more than three quarters of infections in europe and the us. In the uk, the infection rate has gone up, and is close to the point where the virus is starting to spread rapidly thats according to the latest government scientific advice. The Supreme Court in india has refused to back a request for the government to provide food and shelter for tens of thousands of Migrant Workers whove been walking long distances home because of coronavirus restrictions. And moscow has launched a mass Screening Programme for coronavirus antibodies, inviting people chosen at random from various age groups to clinics across the city. Brazils Health Minister has resigned after less than a month in the job, following disagreements over the governments handling of the countrys escalating coronavirus crisis. Nelson teich had criticised a decree issued by president bolsonaro allowing gyms and beauty parlours to reopen. It comes on the same day that the country saw a record rise in the number of cases. Our south america correspondent katy watson reports from sao paulo. A month is a long time in brazilian politics. President Jair Bolsonaro had hoped nelson teich would toe the line more than his predecessor. But that didnt work out. On friday afternoon mr teich announced he too wanted out as Brazils Health crisis deepens. Translation life is made of choices, and today i chose to leave. I can say that i gave the of myself the days that i was here during this period. It is not simple to be in a Ministry Like this one during such a difficult period. 50 once such a difficult period. So once again brazilians are without Health Minister at the worst possible time. Their anger over how their leader is handling this crisis is showing. President bolsonaro wa nts showing. President bolsonaro wants the economy back up and running now. He consistently flouts Global Health guidelines and promotes the use of chloroquine as a cure, putting him at odds with his health ministry. Although it has lost him support, nearly one third of brazilians are still back him. All the while, the death toll keeps climbing. Images of mass graves being dug in the amazon dont stop him, neither do warnings that Health Systems across the country are a breaking point. The pandemic has turned political he is angry at state governors who have imposed tough measures to curb the spread of the virus, and they think little of him. Translation the gesture shows once again the insensitivity, intolerance and inability of president Jair Bolsonaro to understand the dimension of the position he holds as president of the republic. Resident bolsonaro mixes things up and thinks that to govern brazil is to administer to his family, not to be president. To govern brazil is to have sensitivity, capacity and bridges to govern for all brazilians. Those who elected him and those who had not, brazilians from all parts of the country. Another Health Minister out the door, it will be an almost Impossible Task for his successor as the countrys prior crisis intensifies. The rate at which coronavirus can be spread across the uk has gone up, and is close to the point where infections may rise again. The reproduction, or r number, needs to stay belowi to control the spread, but rates vary across the uk, and could result in stricter lockdown measures in some areas. Heres our science editor, david shukman. Some areas are hit harder by the virus than others. The north east of england seems to have one of the highest rates of infection. Its thought that one factor could be deprivation. But whatever the cause, the council in gateshead wants to move more cautiously than national government. We dont have same powers as scotland and wales and Northern Ireland. If i had those powers, if we had those powers here in gateshead, im absolutely certain that we would be imposing the same restrictions as in scotland and in wales and Northern Ireland. So, our social media message from the local authority has stayed exactly the same its stay at home. Where possible, stay at home. That pressure for different approaches across the uk is driven by different estimates for rates of infection, whats called the r number. One new study says london now has the lowest rate. At one point, it was suffering the worst of the outbreak. Then the midlands. Anything below i means the virus is declining, but the south east, east, south west and north west are all closer to that threshold of one. With the north east and yorkshire having the highest rate of all regions in england. Scotland is thought to be in the range of 0. 7 to i, and wales and Northern Ireland 0. 8 to 0. 9. There is a geographical march of it really, a spread of it geographically from london and the cities outwards. So, the north east is just perhaps later than other regions in acquiring the virus and then having the epidemic. But there may be other factors. And we do know that disadvantage has certainly, in hospitalisation and in admissions with severe disease, disadvantage and in certain populations, it seems to have a severe effect. The Scottish Government was the first to declare that its restrictions would stay in place for the time being. And like everywhere, theres a struggle to work out exactly how fast the virus is spreading. There may well be differences between urban and rural, but the further we go into small geographic areas, the greater the uncertainty that there is in making those assessments. But at the moment, the advice i have is that the most reliable way of reporting the r number is in the range we report it and at a scotland wide level. The uk government says restrictions may be relaxed at different rates. But that could be difficult to manage if some people are free to move around and others are still in lockdown. Lets get some of the other developments retail sales in the us have slumped more than i6 in april, their biggest everfall. Manufacturing output has also suffered a record drop, as states across the country imposed lockdowns in the face of the pandemic. On thursday figures showed 36 million americans have now applied for Unemployment Benefits in the past two months. Germany, europes biggest economy, is in recession after shrinking by more than 2 in the First Quarter of the year. It isa it is a countrys biggest slump since the financial crisis more than a decade ago. The country. Irelands Prime Minister, leo varadkar, has announced an easing of lockdown restrictions. From monday, groups of up to four people who dont live together will be allowed to meet outdoors. A number of larger retailers will reopen, and construction workers will be allowed to return to work. Portugal has approved a further easing of the coronavirus lockdown it imposed in march. The Prime Minister antonio costa said the second phase of reopening would go ahead from next monday as planned. This means that restaurants, museums and cafes can reopen with social distancing measures, and older School Pupils will have some face to face classes again. President trump has unveiled an aggressive us effort in hope of a breakthrough in the race to find a vaccine for covid i9. He has dubbed the plan operation warp speed and says he plans to have a vaccine in production by the end of the year. Heres President Trump speaking earlier. We are getting ready so that when we get the good word that we have the vaccine, we have the formula, we have what we need, we are ready to go, as opposed to taking years to gear up. President trump speaking earlier. Joining me live from Houston Texas is professor peter hotez, an expert in molecular virology and microbiology from the Baylor College of medicine. Thank you for being with us. What do you make of the president s announcement that they are going to go warp speed in the effort to come up with a vaccine by the end of the year. I think it is really important to distinguish between a vaccine that may be manufactured at scale versus actually knowing you have a vaccine that actually works. And is safe. So i think a lot of the rhetoric we are hearing and a lot of the bluster about having a vaccine by the end of the year by the fall, has to do with the fact that they have agreed to ahead of time do large scale manufacturing agreed to ahead of time do la rge scale manufacturing of multiple vaccine candidates and the term they use is at risk, thatis the term they use is at risk, that is the term doctor Anthony Fauci uses, meaning that even though there is a chance some of these vaccines will be produce a large scale, they may not be safe and therefore they may not be used. But if you look at the real timelines for vaccine development, most of them will move into what are called phase three advanced clinical trials, other people call them pivotal trials, starting around july and august, and then they will proceed through the rest of the year. So the point is, we wont really know if we have a vaccine that is safe and if youve probably at the earliest, i would say, second or Third Quarter of 2021. I think that is a much more realistic timeframe. And at that point once it is known if there is a safe, effective vaccine, how long to take to mass produce one . Vaccine, how long to take to massproduce one . That is the whole point, they would be mass produce ahead of time knowing that there are several vaccines that wont pan out, that wont work, and then they will have two throw those away, but others will be produced at scale and something that has been never dumped never been done before, never tried before, but the thinking is there is such great urgency to have a covid i9 vaccine that thatis have a covid i9 vaccine that that is the strategy that they would try. We should also mention there were probably more than one vaccine, we are looking at probably two dozen vaccine candidates over time, hopefully including ours which would be one of them moving into clinical trials, and they may have different uses, some may have different uses, some may turn out to be better for older populations or others for those with comorbid or develop militating conditions, maybe those were younger people or healthcare workers, so the hope is with 20 vaccine candidates, even with an 80 90 attrition rate, you may have two or three orfour rate, you may have two or three or four vaccines at the end of the day, and then even if you do not scale them all for the entire country for each one, in aggregate we will have sufficient vaccine. And are you talking about just in sufficient vaccine. And are you talking aboutjust in the us, or is this a global approach, is the whole as the whole world raced to try and come up with a vaccine . Everybody uses the word global in our press releases and their statements, how committed they are i think varies both depending on the urgency they feel to do it, and also the technology, some technologies might be easier to scale up globally than others. That is why we have focused on a rather traditional approach with a protein the same that is which is used for the hepatitis vaccine globally. It is a bit boring you could argue, but we know that we can scale that vaccine in places like india, brazil, indonesia, so therefore we think ours has good potential to be a Global Health vaccine. So i think you will see varying, there are others that are much more high tech and never resulted in a licensed vaccine before, whether or not those can be scaled is still unknown. So there is quite a bit of uncertainty, we have a steep learning curve, we are doing things with never done before, in the end it is both exciting asa in the end it is both exciting as a scientist but as a humanist, it is also, and as a humanitarian it is terrifying as well. So it is going to be a very interesting year. Quite the rollercoasterjourney very interesting year. Quite the rollercoaster journey for all of us, thank you professor. Anti lockdown protests have taken place in madrid as a growing number of people grow frustrated by the restrictions. Residents in the capital and barcelona have been told to abide the strict rules for another ten days, while measures have been relaxed for the rest of the country. Freya cole reports. Pots, pans and a lot of noise. For a second time in a week, madrid has been denied entry into the next phase of lockdown. These residents want the measures relaxed, but the capital city has the highest rate of new infections. And until it drops, the government wont how to pressure. Translation prudence, caution and security, every step we ta ke and security, every step we take is a state step. I am guided by the knowledge that science and are experts guide us science and are experts guide us with. Authorities are keen to avoid a second wave of infections. All travellers arriving on spanish soil must now adhere to new quarantine measures, which have been put in place until further notice. Translation we cannot leave our homes for 14 days, only go to the doctor or supermarket. We keep the security distance, a lwa ys we keep the security distance, always wear the mask when we go out, and thats about it. Singing. But celebration is in the air. The government hopes residents in madrid and barcelona can soonjoin the rest in madrid and barcelona can soon join the rest of the country in the new phase of life. It would include greater liberties like alfresco dining, and small catch up with friends and small catch up with friends and family. Freedoms which would no longer be taken for granted. This is bbc news, the latest headlines brazils Health Minister has resigned after less than a month in the job following disagreements about the governments handling of the coronavirus crisis. Hes the second one to leave since the start of the pandemic the Coronavirus Infection rate creeps back up in the uk its now close to the point where infections may rise again. The German Bundesliga will resume behind closed doors on saturday, becoming the first European Football League to restart following the coronavirus shutdown. Fans and officials from other European Countries will be watching closely to see how safety protocols work, and what it will look like with empty stands. Jenny hill reports from dortmund. Theyd love to pack the stands to welcome football home. Instead, these fans will be watching at a distance. The thrill is gone, oliver tells us. Football without spectators isnt football for me. Dortmunds team in training and in quarantine before their match. Players and staff at other clubs have tested positive in recent weeks. Theres still no guarantee the season wont be called off again. Dortmunds amateur pitches are still out of bounds, but at this childrens club, we met one of the few people allowed into the bundesliga match to work this weekend. Translation its great that its restarting. People need entertainment, and professional athletes are like modern gladiators. They can help distract people from corona or money worries. This countrys taking tentative steps towards a new normality. But surveys suggest a majority of germans think it is too soon for football, and there is still no live ballet, opera, or theatre. For a dancer, i think this should also be the same measures as for football. And it doesnt matter whether its football or ballet, it should be treated the same way. Germanys top flight players, spreading the Public Health message. Many fear their fans wont listen this weekend. Translation theres a big risk of trouble. We dont think all fans will stay at home. There could be violence. It is a health risk for my colleagues. No victory cheers, no groans of defeat in these, the so called ghost games. Germany appears to have brought its corona outbreak under control, for now. Its hugely symbolic that this footballing nation should now send its players back to the pitch. Its also, as far as many here are concerned, a bit of a gamble. Jenny hill, bbc news, dortmund. The producers of the Broadway Musical frozen have announced the show will close permanently. Its the first big production to go on ice because of the ongoing coronavirus lockdown. Broadway theatres were shutdown in march and, with new york city one of the hardest hit areas in the country, they are not expected to reopen until at least september. Peter marks is the chief theatre critic for the washington post, and hejoins me live from new york. Thank from new york. You for being with us. What thank you for being with us. What is the direction to the fa ct what is the direction to the fact that forzen is on ice permanently . Frozen. Fact that forzen is on ice permanently . Frozen. It has sent the proverbial shock waves ina sent the proverbial shock waves in a broadway. Devastating for those who think what is going to be in the prognosis for other shows, expensive, to be in the prognosis for othershows, expensive, multi Million Dollar projects that are all on ice as well. Is the thinking now that it could be the first of maybe not many but at least several . No, yes. It is highly doubtful that they will not be more announcements in the next several months. What is it going to do for the theatre world which employs a huge amount of people, are exempt massive revenue for new york, it is billions every year . 14 billion estimated that new york theatre contributes to the economy and a tt ra cts contributes to the economy and attracts more ticket buyers than all of new yorks professional sport combined. It isa professional sport combined. It is a huge economic engine for the city and if there is great fear that this could be a protracted absence for broadway shows and what that does to a whole range of businesses and entertainment or