Image source, Getty Images

Wearing face masks provide only "modest" health benefits but may boost the public mood, a Government minister has said

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick admitted that face coverings are not thought to make a "huge difference" to the spread of Covid-19 but that people can wear them if they want to.

It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested that the use of masks could form part of the measures that will ease the UK lockdown, further details of which are due to be released next week.

Mr Jenrick told the BBC on Friday: "The advice in the past has been that face masks have only quite a modest difference from a health perspective.

"They do help us to protect others, and it might be particularly useful if you're asymptomatic - so you don't know if you've got symptoms but you could still be spreading the virus.

"The benefits are modest but they might be a way of giving people confidence because many people are understandably very anxious about going out, about returning to the workplace in a safe way."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been calling for wider use of masks.

The Labour mayor welcomed the Government announcements, saying they would play an "important role" in lifting lockdown restrictions.

The government is continuing to keep the current advice around masks "under review".

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Introducing social distancing at airports is "physically impossible", the head of Heathrow has warned.

Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said a "better solution" is needed to make air travel safe as he called for the UK to lead the way in developing a common international standard of measures which could include temperature checks for all passengers.

He said: "Social distancing does not work in any form of public transport let alone aviation.

"The constraint is not about how many people you can fit on a plane, it will be how many people you can get through an airport safely."

Social distancing on planes would reduce capacities by more than 50% and mean "prices would shoot up", Mr Holland-Kaye predicted.EasyJet has suggested it could leave the middle seats on its planes empty when flights resume.

The number of passengers travelling through Heathrow last month was down by around 97% compared with April 2019.

The airport insisted its financial position is "robust", with £3.2bn in liquidity, which is "sufficient to maintain the business at least over the next 12 months, even with no passengers"

Image source, AIMIE SMITH

Many families are struggling to put food on the table as the coronavirus lockdown robs them of their income. A report by food bank charities, external points to an alarming rise in the number of people in need of essential supplies. How are they coping and what more can be done to help?

"We have gone without meals so the children can eat. It isn't nice when you are feeling hungry and you open the cupboard and there is nothing in there for you."

Amie Smith and her partner Marcus were just about getting by before the coronavirus lockdown. Now they have had to give up their zero hours contract jobs and are relying on universal credit payments, food vouchers from the government and the occasional food parcel from local schools.

Their biggest daily struggle is finding enough food in the shops for their four children, aged two to 13.

The family is getting by on a weekly budget of about £30. The children are entitled to free school meals, which translate into food vouchers during lockdown, but they can't find anywhere to spend them. Amie says she has about £200 worth of vouchers, but they are mostly for upmarket shops like Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, which are absent from their neck of south London.

"I don't think I have ever set foot in a Waitrose in my life," she said.

Read more here.

Image source, Met Police

Police have released a CCTV image of a man they are trying to find after an NHS doctor was followed while travelling on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and then attacked.

The 37-year-old woman was waiting on the platform at Shadwell Station on 17 April at about 18:15 when she saw a man who she did not know who appeared to be following her.

She boarded a train when it arrived, as did the man, then tried to lose him by getting off the train at Canning Town and quickly re-boarding it. However, the man mirrored her actions.

When she got off the service at Royal Victoria, the man still followed her so she asked two other men to walk with her because she was scared.

They walked with her for a while until they had to leave so the woman called the police as she walked along Butchers Road. However, the suspect shoved her from behind leaving her with with cuts, bruising and injuries to her mouth and a broken tooth.

Det Con Alister Kim said the doctor had been through a "frightening ordeal".

"We have no reason to believe that the victim in this case was targeted specifically because she was a doctor or working for the NHS. However, we would urgently seek the public’s help in identifying this man," he said.

The suspect is described as a black man, aged around 20, who was wearing grey jogging bottoms, a grey hooded top under a dark jacket and a dark cap.

Leaders from the larger local authorities fear the second round of emergency funding will still fail to cover their costs during the pandemic.

Whitehall has confirmed how it will allocate the second £1.6bn package to support councils.

Smaller district and borough councils will receive a greater proportion of the funding this time around.

But council bosses faced with a rising social care bill say the fund does not address their pressures.

Richmond-upon-Thames and Kingston-upon-Thames are both among those which will receive the lowest extra funding per person.

Dr Nigel Kennea describes his role supporting bereaved families at one London hospital during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

We hope our live stream looking at the impact of coronavirus on the capital's black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) populations gave you food for thought.

If you haven't had a chance do take a read through.

The seemingly high proportion of BAME people contracting and dying from this disease is of growing concern.

Although our coverage is now ending BBC London News will be looking at this issue in depth at 18:30 on BBC One. You can watch in full on iPlayer after transmission.

PS Don't forget it's Clap for Carers and key workers at 20:00.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Image source, EPA

The woman behind the idea of the UK's clap for carers on Thursday nights has told BBC London the gesture has exceeded her expectations.

The initiative was devised by Annemarie Plas, from Brixton, who was inspired by same event happening in her home country of the Netherlands, and in many other countries.

"It’s been amazing how everyone has taken it on and personalised it to show their appreciation," she said.

"People are applauding, using instruments, singing on the street and it feels as if we are connected again.

"I am really impressed with our key workers, whether I go to the shop or the post office – I am really thankful to these people.

"Clapping for our carers is important to do because the realisation that we all have the importance of their jobs they have not always have had the respect they are currently getting.

"The clapping has been so great because it is such a simple gesture.

"Even in your house or open your windows you can hear people and that we are not alone."

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Here's a closer look at just one of the stories behind the statistics - 69-year-old Rahima Sidhanee worked as a care worker at the Grennell Lodge nursing home in Sutton.

Her son Abu Sidhanee said his mother was a compassionate woman who was not prepared to give up working when they needed her most.

The last dinner her son Abu shared with her was just before the lockdown. He and his wife urged Rahima, who suffered from respiratory problems, to retire or at least take a break from work until the situation improved.

She continued working, contracted coronavirus three weeks later and died on Easter Sunday.

Abu said caring was in his mother's nature and said that she moved from her native Trinidad in the 1960s to be part of the NHS where she worked as a nurse and a midwife.

The 69-year-old nurse was renowned among friends, family, neighbours and colleagues for her delicious and eclectic cooking.

At this time in the Islamic calendar, Rahima and her loved ones would normally meet for iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during Ramadan.

She died 11 days before the Muslim holiday began. One family friend, for whom she made chilli sauce every year, said Ramadan would never be the same again.

Ayshea Buksh
BBC London reporter

Across London many volunteer groups have been helping those hard-to-reach communities.

In Greenwich, south east London, there is a strong Nepali community made up mostly of Gurkha veterans and their families.

Some are illiterate and living in poverty. They were part of the British Army and have long been fighting for pension equality.

They have lost several people to Covid-19.

With community centres closed and activities and classes suspended, they are feeling isolated.

A group called Skills and Care Greenwich , externalled by Sonia and Fatta Thapa visits their homes to give them food and medication.

The also translate much of the public health guidance and are explaining it to them in person.

Sonia says: "They feel scared, alone and isolated. They manage with very little, living on rice and daal. Somehow they are managing.

"We are Gurkha, we are used to hardship. We are armed forces so will fight through this.

"They are so positive you never see them struggling they always have a smile on their face."

Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

The British Medical Association leader, Dr Chaand Nagpaul has written to NHS bosses welcoming its decision to risk assess BAME health staff before deploying them.

But he also urged NHS England to develop a method for this to be enacted universally across the whole of the health service to monitor at risk staff.

Dr Nagpaul added the age of staff could also make them vulnerable and suggested it be lowered from 70 to 60 years of age.

Many doctors who have come out of retirement to help in the fight against Covid-19 are of a vulnerable age.

In his letter Dr Nagpaul said that 64% of BAME doctors felt pressured to work on the frontline without proper PPE compared to 45% of all doctors.

He added this compared to 33% of doctors who identified as white.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Image source, Reuters

Public Health England has warned that there is "emerging evidence" suggesting that coronavirus is having a disproportionate impact on ethnic minority groups.

A week ago Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, commissioned work from Public Health England to better understand this issue.

Reacting to the new data released by NHS England a Public Health England spokeswoman said: "There is limited recording of ethnicity across almost all data sets so we must be very careful in making any assumptions.

"This is a really important issue and detailed and careful work is being done before we draw any conclusions.”

Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

The NHS has warned trusts of mental health pressures as a result of the epidemic.

Image source, Science Photo Library

"Ensure that you continue to take account of inequalities in access to mental health services, and in particular the needs of BAME communities."

In a letter , externalto local trusts and GPs, the heads of NHS England Sir Simon Steveand Amanda Pritchard also said staff from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, who could be at greater risk from the virus, should be "risk-assessed" as a precaution.

Public Health England has already been asked to look into data suggesting ethnic minorities may be disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.

The letter also sets out plans for dealing with the second phase of the epidemic, including stepping up non-Covid-19 urgent services over the next six weeks as it attempts to return to normal.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Image source, Getty Images

Bus drivers should be offered temperature checks under measures to protect them from coronavirus, a leading union is urging.

Unite, which represents over 80,000 bus drivers in the UK, said the measures should start in London, where 27 bus workers have died from the disease.

The union said all bus workers should have their temperature checked as they arrive for work, with anyone registering a high temperature given help to access a test, which they are entitled to receive as key workers.

London regional secretary Pete Kavanagh said: "By checking temperatures and ensuring drivers are then tested, not only will we be able to reduce the risk of infection but we can also ensure that workers can quickly return to work if the test is negative.

"Once it is identified that a driver has a high temperature the company has a duty of care. The driver is instructed to go home and get tested and further contamination is avoided.

"If it protects just a handful of workers from an infection that has killed far too many bus workers in London then it is well worth doing."

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Image source, Getty Images

A further 86 patients have died at hospitals in London, according to new statistics released by NHS England this afternoon.

It brings the total number of people known to have died from Covid-19 in the capital's hospitals to 4,796.

Nearly 500 of those deaths have been recorded at the London North West University Trust which runs hospitals in Ealing, Central Middlesex, St Mark's and Northwick Park (pictured).

The trust has currently seen 488 deaths across its four hospitals - the Royal Free NHS Trust has the second highest in London with 437.

A total of 16 NHS Trusts in London have recorded more than 100 deaths since the outbreak hit the capital.

The figures only include deaths in hospitals, and do not account for deaths in care homes and hospices.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Coronavirus has emerged in big cities across Europe and UK - particularly in London which has a large ethnically diverse population.

Prof Kamlesh Khunti, from the University of Leicester and the Centre for BME Health, said basic factors explaining higher levels of Covid-19 among ethnic minorities included disparities in housing and socio-economic issues.

"There is also poverty and also a lot of cultural issues in terms of co-inhabiting and people living together," Prof Khunti said.

"If you live in a small house you are more likely to spread the virus.

Prof Khunti told Radio 4's More or Less Programme that ethnic minorities are also over represented in many key worker industries - 20% of all NHS staff are from an ethnic minority and that figure is higher for doctors which is 44%.

Black people account for 13% of the city's population but 16% of its Covid-19 hospital deaths.

Earlier we told you about the a film made by Dr Javid Abdelmoneim looking into why there appears to be a higher than proportionate number of people from BAME backgrounds contracting Covid-19.

He spoke to Osman El Tayar, a doctor at Northwick Park Hospital who recently recovered from coronavirus after contracting it at the same time as his father Dr Adil El Tayar, a leading organ transplant consultant who did not survive.

Osman El Tayar said: "There was a part of me that thought you know he’s not quite unwell enough for this to be fatal. We were getting daily updates from the hospital but again I didn’t imagine it would be so sudden."

He fears his father may not have been properly protected and worries about a continuing shortage of safety gear in the NHS.

"Everyone who is going into work knows that they are essentially putting themselves at risk of picking it up but I think the fact that we have any deaths to front line staff in the first place was too much," he said.

Dr Abdelmoneim's has been trying to find out why BAME health workers might be more impacted by coronavirus.

Underlying conditions, like higher levels of heart disease, diabetes and low levels of vitamin D are among the reasons outlined by the NHS as to why BAME people might contract the disease.

"There might be a medical reason as to why BAME people are possibly more susceptible to COVID-19.

"NHS data suggests certain health inequalities increase their risk but if this is the case I believe the NHS have an increased duty of care towards this group of staff," he said.

Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

Dr Javid Abdelmoneim is an A&E doctor at Charing Cross Hospital.

Worried about the apparent rise in BAME colleagues contracting Covid-19, he carried out interviews with NHS staff about colleagues affected.

"You only have to look at the pictures of NHS staff who have died to see a large number are ethnic minorities," said Dr Abdelmoneim.

NHS healthcare assistant, Thomas Harvey died after contracting COVID-19.

Goodmayes Hospital says on the ward where he worked there were no symptomatic patients.

But his colleague Margaret Baron, an NHS nurse, believes Thomas might still be around if he had been provided with the right protective gear.

"There was very little PPE at the time for health care workers so we just did what we could, manage how we could.

"I remember myself calling Thomas and asking him if he had a face mask I could have and he said that they didn’t have any PPE, they didn’t even have the basic face mask," she said.

Dr Abdelmoneim said: "The scarcity of PPE is particularly worrying for NHS staff of BAME heritage at this time. Some of them have told me they are being put on shifts that expose them to the virus far more frequently than their white colleagues."

Nurse Baron agrees: "Why we have a higher death, compared to non-ethnic backgrounds is because we are on the front line. There is more of us working on the front line so right now where I am work it’s all, everybody is ethnic background."

Dr Abdelmoneim's interviews can be seen on BBC London this evening at 18:30.