BBC commissions new documentaries about the impact of coronavirus

The BBC has announced that it will air two new documentaries about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on society.

Fighting The Virus will see doctors and twin brothers Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore how medical professionals are responding to the virus outbreak.

In the BBC One documentary Chris, who is a doctor in infectious diseases at a hospital in London, will discuss the front line healthcare response to the virus.

Xand, who has been volunteering with humanitarian aid groups helping combat coronavirus, will explore how it has affected communities.

He said: “Every single person in the UK is involved in the response to the pandemic.

“It is the most far-reaching medical challenge in living memory and one of the largest in history.

“The NHS and patient care are at the heart of that – as well as seeing the severity of the illness in its most extreme forms we wanted to capture the impact communities, especially those we hear less from – struggling parents, homeless people, community groups – to get a sense of the scale and complexity of the problems.”

The BBC has also commissioned Keeping Britain Fed, which will show how supermarkets have been ensuring that the public have access to food during the pandemic.

Presenters Sara Cox and Ade Adepitan will visit food retailers to see how they have responded to the crisis.

The BBC Two programme will also look at how shopping habits have altered as a result of the virus outbreak.

Cox said: “Like everyone else in the country, I’ve learned over the past few weeks how much of a crucial role our supermarkets, small shops, suppliers and farmers play in keeping us fed in times of crisis.

“I’m really excited to meet the key worker heroes at the very heart of this huge effort to provide us with our weekly shop – from keeping shelves fully stacked and managing queues to delivering food to our door.”