On december the 31st. Borisjohnson says it is shameful the press officer is unable to attend these conferences because she that statues are having to be does not want to defend dominic boarded up because of fears cummings. Can you say whether that they will be vandalised. Is true, and if it is true whether families of more than 400 people whove died with coronavirus demand it is right . I dont think it is an urgent Public Inquiry true. She has attended them before. Into the governments handling of the pandemic. I notice it is at the top of the number ten twitter feed, i see one of her tweets ten, and she has been and the paralympian whos the only black member of a board a regular contribute before and i am with britains major sports tells us sure she will be back here again. dont know anything about the much more needs to be done. Various discussions but all i can say is i have been here many times saying exactly what i think. Thank and much more needs to be done. Coming up in half ar you very much for your question. I time, and coming up in half an hours time, that daily Coronavirus Press will turn to tom clarke of itv. Briefing, led today by the transport hello, secretary of state. Thanks for taking my question. The first secretary. One i think is for you, and my second question is for professor. Professor powys. Given the economic hello, good afternoon. The uk economy shrank by more than a fifth in april, the biggest monthly contraction information out today that is on record, as a result dismal, wouldnt it be better to do of the coronavirus lockdown. New figures from the office for National Statistics show almost anything to help get the economy all areas of the economy back on its feet that would help were affected, with housebuilders and Car Manufacturers prevent the slot of the virus, Wearing Masks on public transport. Particularly badly hit. To you, professor, the thing right the chancellor rishi sunak has said across the uk is still stubborn mac the fall is in line with many other countries which are suffering the impact of the pandemic. Stubbornly near to one. According to our economics correspondent andy verity has been scientific advice that is largely looking at the figures. The amount of covid 19 in hospitals this is the scale of ca re the amount of covid 19 in hospitals care homes. We have had the largest the economic plunge in april. Increase of respiratory outbreaks ten times the size of any previous since the peak in the last week. Dive, much larger than the global does that show that whatever were financial crisis and much faster doing in hospitals to prevent than the Great Depression of the 1930s. Coronavirus spreading is working . This gym in altrincham thanks, tom. Lets look on the first near manchester is among thousands of businesses that thrived before lockdown, part of a chain point, about, ishould with 100,000 members and 700 staff. Thanks, tom. Lets look on the first point, about, i should say, face but now, most of them coverings for public transport, not are on furlough and the gym is eerily quiet, as it has been face masks, really important. for three months. Coverings for public transport, not face masks, really important. I know peter has been working on this in so we have huge super scale facilities here. The last three weeks and we are very its boss, like many others keen on asking him to say a word or two about that in a second. My across the economy, has somehow got understanding of science, and i know to find a way to pay the firms that stephen will put me right if i bills when its income is zero. We have had no revenues coming get it wrong. Social distancing is in since the shutdown on the 21st of march and, of course, considerable recurring absolutely the most important thing, cost in the interim, along with washing your hands and and so it has been exceptionally not touching your face. Perhaps challenging to manage the cash those things are equal. Stephen will reserves that we have on the way tell us. We found when we looked at through, while protecting our teams the evidence on Face Coverings that and making sure that we dont build a creditor wall on the other side it was distant to those things. In that is too difficult and takes too the end, as you will know and as i long to unwind. Mentioned in my comments before, we among the hardest hit sectors decided to bring those in and make were accommodation and food, them mandatory, because it is something that actually helps your with activity down a1 in the three months to april, with education fellow commuter, your fellow traveller, and we thought it was a and transport and storage also badly good thing to do for society. By its hit, each down by more than 18 . This is completely unprecedented. Very nature, if you are on a train, plane, ferry or bus, you are in an the size and suddenness of the economic downturn enclosed area. That is not the case is without precedent in Economic Statistics or the experience if you are out and about on the street, and i think that the of the uk economy. What is most extraordinary principal difference of this. I about this record slump we are in is that, unlike previous wonder if i canjust principal difference of this. I wonder if i can just use your points recessions, this was the direct to ask sir peter to comment on the outcome of deliberate government policy. Facemasks coming in and the work in ordering lockdown, going on there, then i will go to the government, like other governments around the world, was requiring and requesting a big stephen for the last point. Thank drop in Economic Activity on a scale and at a speed we have never seen before. You, secretary of state. 0n Face Coverings, when we were First Construction was also hit harder restarting the transport system and than other sectors where home people were first able to travel working was possible. Down 40 in april alone. Again, apart from essential workers, the government said then that face im not, im afraid, surprised coverings were recommended when it might be likely that you would be by the figures that we have seen. The uk is heavily close to other people. The reality dependent on services. We are a dynamic, creative economy. We depend so much on human contact. Of our transport systems, and particularly as the economy ramps up is that there will be more and more we have been badly hit by this, occasions where you might be closer but we are also amazingly to people than you would care for, resilient and creative so to people than you would care for, so it seems perfectly logical to me and we will bounce back. The economic slump, like the virus, and all my colleagues as transport is notjust a national, operators to mandate Face Coverings but an international crisis. Now, because as we get to monday and there was a report that came out the restart of nonessential retail and looking at more people going to a couple of days ago from the 0ecd, work, its much more likely that you that group of industrialised will see or be close to other nations, and it suggested people, so Face Coverings is a that the drop in gdp for this year sensible thing to do and we are for the uk would actually be worse than for every other industrialised nation, expecting on monday because so we are in a very, passengers are hugely sensible for very difficult situation people to be wearing Face Coverings. As a country and we will need strong action to help us to climb out thanks, peter, and my understanding of this as quickly as possible. Is it is a nickel an enclosed remarkable in the midst space, and that is the key of the economic shutdown difference. But i will go to the was the modesty of the drop in retail sales, down only 8. 9 , expert, both on that and for the r as consumers ordered online like never before. Number question. On the facemasks, the habit of spending dies hard, as the chief medical officer and even when all the shops are shut. Andy verity, bbc news. Chief Scientific Minds have said a number of times on this podium, the evidence is weak, but nevertheless there is some evidence and it is this afternoon the governor better for enclosed spaces than open spaces where there is less risk of of the bank of england Andrew Bailey has been giving us his transmission. 0n the question of reaction to the figures. Well, obviously it is a dramatic hospitals, and infection in hospitals, and infection in hospitals, youre absolutely right. It is very important that we focus and big number, well, but actually it is not very ha rd it is very important that we focus a surprising number. Very hard on infection in hospitals. The economy clearly closed down clearly, the hospital environment is substantially at the end one where there is more infection of march into april, so it is not surprising. It is actually pretty much in line because we are treating many, many with what we were expecting. Thousands of patients with now, the big question, of course, infection, and clearly infection is what happens next . We monitor a lot of very high control and stopping any potential frequency data these days, spread in those environments is we have a lot of access to that critical. This is something the nhs data, which is why we had and hospitals are well used to. We a reasonably good read on what was have been managing Infection Control going to happen in april. For many, many years. We have had we see signs of the economy now beginning to come back into life Great Success in things like mrsa. In the High Frequency data. We do see that. If you go back 15 years ago that was common to see people infected with it is early days and obviously i dont want to emphasise that too much, it is a gradual coming back mrsa, in the blood, in hospitals but into life, but we do through rigorous Infection Control see those signs. The levels are much, much lower, or so i think that is evidence more or less eliminated, so we know of things are starting up again, of things starting up again, how to do this. As we have learned more about this virus and how it but the really big question that spreads, for instance, the potential goes beyond that is not only how for asymptomatic individuals to quickly and at what pace and at what sequence parts spread, we have been working closer and closer with our hospitals and of the economy are going to come back to life, but this whole other Health Care Settings to ensure question about how much long term that we have the policies, the damage is there going to be . That is the thing that we have to be processes in place to ensure we very focused on because that is where jobs get lost minimise the risk of spread. So if i and that is where damage is done give you some of the examples of to peoples livelihoods. Now, we hope that will be what has been put in place, we have as small as possible, but we have to be ready to take been increasing the amount of action, notjust the bank testing we have been doing, both of of england, but more broadly, staff and patients. Quite a while on what we can do to offset those longer term damaging effects. Ago now we started testing all thats the governor of the bank of england. 0ur economics correspondent patients being admitted as emergencies into hospitals, notjust andy verity is here. The Prime Minister was saying those with symptoms of covid that earlier we should really be would allow us to spot those surprised by this. That makes it sound like we can deal with it asymptomatic people and make sure easily, but we are still looking at they were cold hearted or segregated the biggest monthly drop in economic appropriately from other patients. Output on record, and by far the we started testing staff who were biggest anyone has known really in obviously symptomatic, then we their lifetimes, possibly in the started testing staff who are last 300 years. Just to put this in asymptomatic. More recently, we have perspective, in the Global Financial had a real focus on Data Collection crisis, the biggest monthly fall we and understanding those saw was less than i , this is 20 organisations who we need to support times that size. The peak to the the most, and ruth may, the chief trough in the Global Financial nursing 0fficer, crisis was a 6. 9 drop in economic the most, and ruth may, the chief nursing officer, is leading on that output, meaning what we buy and work. Earlier today after the secretary of state because my announcement last week, we have sell, the work, Economic Activity, 6. 9 , this is three times as much in asked all hospitals and Health Care Settings to introduce the routine just a month. It is so serious and wearing of surgical masks, and the what is extraordinary about it is, i reason for that is when you move out was highlighting this, it is the outcome of deliberate government of the ward areas where ppe is worn policy. No other recession or crisis has been like that. These things are into the corridors and spaces where supposed to be unintended and out of sometimes it can be harder to manage the blue. This has happened in this country like it has happened all social distancing, it is important over the world because people are that the use of facemasks is there trying to fight the virus and governments have ordered their to further reduce the chance of economies to shut down, or large parts of it anyway, in order to try transmission. So we have to achieve that. But what that means progressively over the course of is that because of deliberate this epidemic introduced more and more measures as we have learned government policy lots of firms are more measures as we have learned more about this virus to really facing going to the wall now. We are minimise the risk of transmission in seeing about a fifth of firms saying they will run out of cash in a hospitals, but youre absolutely matter of weeks. We are seeing right, its something we have to unemployment going up very close to continue focusing on and make sure its Global Financial crisis peak of we control. Tom, very briefly . Just about 2. 5 million, it is already at about 2. 5 million, it is already at about 2. 1 million, and in spite of quickly, why do you think then you have seen an increase in outbreaks the £27 billion the government has spent so far on supporting people in hospitals in the last week . think as we are moving now from a and protecting jobs, well, it is likely to go up much faster, three, four, may be 5 million. These are community incidence, so a community very frightening times, and in a amount of infection that is way, almost as frightening now as reducing, but we will begin to see the Health Picture is the economic overtime is more focus on individual picture. People cant see a future outbreaks. And of course that might notjust be and that an certainty in itself ta kes a and that an certainty in itself takes a toll on peoples health. Hospitals, it might be other borisjohnson has said he is settings. You will know from international confident there will be a bounce back for the economy, but there are reports that abattoirs, meat a lot of tory backbenchers and processing factories, have been businesses who are saying one of the subject to outbreaks, possibly best ways to get a bounce back in because in a very cold environment the short term is to cut the two the virus is more stable. I think we metres social distancing rule down to one metre. When you look at the are now moving from a period of time cliff that the economy has just where we have had to focus on a high jumped off we need a very strong bungee cord to bring us back up to level, that surge of infection in the population, through to managing the top. And realistically, of more discreet outbreaks, which again economists like the 0ecd the 0ecd you have heard at this podium will the other day highlighting that we are the worst hit of all the mean more local interventions to advanced economies in this crisis, manage that. And again that is was suggesting that a bounce back is something that Public Health not a realistic prospect. Rather england, local directors of public than a not a realistic prospect. Rather thana v not a realistic prospect. Rather than a v shape we are looking more health and local government and the nhs is used to dealing with in like a lopsided tick, it is going to ta ke like a lopsided tick, it is going to take a long time to get back up, and non epidemic circumstances. From if there is a second wave we have a time to time we do see outbreaks of more crumpled pattern, a sort of second slump and then coming back up Infectious Diseases and we do know from that. But when you look at the how to manage them. Tom, thank you scale of this and the damage that very much. I think it is worth has been done, its going to be very mentioning and reminding people, ha rd has been done, its going to be very hard with social distancing measures in place for a lot of leisure stephen, that from monday people should take Face Coverings to companies, theatres, pleasure boats, hospitals if they are going there for any reason at all. Thank you. For example, to make money. What happens to their jobs . For example, to make money. What happens to theirjobs . Do we keep lets turn to ashishjoshi from sky. Paying people not to work or try and find some other work . That is what thank you very much. My first Andrew Bailey was foreshadowing, we question is to you, mr shapps. You need a programme to stimulate the programme, probably through public are talking about the importance of spending, and helping people to work the r rate. And today we have had a rather than not work. Andy verity, regional breakdown, so while the for we are still at one orjust below in the south west we have a range of erica 0. 821. 1, which takes rather than not work. Andy verity, erica our economics editor, thank the south west we have a range of 0. 82 1. 1, which takes us above that you. All important one number the prime high Stre