Worker disinfects school classroom, Prague (10 March)

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Live Reporting

By Ashitha Nagesh, Matthew Cannon and Alix Kroeger

All times stated are UK

  1. Spain quarantines four Catalonia towns after deaths

    About 70,000 people there have been urged to stay at home

    Police officers at a check point near Igualada, Spain

    Copyright: Getty Images/David Ramos

    Image caption: Police officers halt cars trying to access to Igualada at a check-point outside the city

    Four towns have been
    quarantined in the Catalonia region of north-eastern Spain, under government
    order in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus.

    Local police were sent to patrol roads into Igualada, Vilanova del Camí, Santa Margarida de
    Montbui and Òdena, after three elderly people died in the local hospital in
    Igualada and 49 others were infected.

    More than 30 of those infected are health care professionals.

    The only vehicles going into the area, to the
    north-west of Barcelona, are goods lorries and other vehicles carrying food and
    pharmaceuticals, reports say.

    About 70,000 people who live in the four towns have been
    urged to stay at home.

    Meanwhile, King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain have tested negative for coronavirus after
    coming into contact with Equality Minister Irene Montero who has tested positive.

  2. Indian greeting ‘namaste’ goes global

    In an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, more people are using the Indian greeting of “namaste”.

    In recent days, world leaders including US President Donald Trump and Prince Charles, have opted to use the greeting over a handshake.

    Video content

    Video caption: Coronavirus: Indian greeting namaste goes global
  3. BreakingLondon Tube driver ‘tests positive for virus’

    A driver on the London Underground has tested positive for coronavirus, PA news agency is reporting.

    Usually about five million journeys are taken on the Tube every day, according to Transport for London statistics.

  4. Everton puts first team squad and coaching staff into isolation

    Premier League football club Everton have put their entire first team playing squad and coaching staff into isolation.

    The Liverpool-based club says the “precautionary measure” was taken after an unnamed player reported symptoms of coronavirus.

    Follow the latest on this breaking story on our sports live page.

  5. London’s St Patrick’s Day parade cancelled

    London’s St Patrick’s Day parade and celebrations this Sunday have been cancelled in response to the outbreak, Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced.

    Announcing the move, Mr Khan said he was “incredibly disappointed” but that “key performers and parade participants are no longer able to take part due to the ongoing threat of coronavirus”.

    Other St Patrick’s Day celebrations have also been cancelled around the world, including Dublin and the largest parade in New York.

    There have been 136 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK’s capital so far, health officials say.

    In one of the latest cases, communications firm BT has begun a “deep clean” of parts of its UK headquarters after its boss Philip Jansen tested positive.

  6. Update – IPL cricket postponed until April

    India has now decided to postpone its IPL Twenty20 cricket tournament until 15 April.

    The news comes a day after India decided to suspend most entry visas for a month owing to coronavirus.

    The restriction was expected to affect the arrival of international cricket stars – one of the biggest draws of the tournament. It is watched by millions on TV, while stadiums are always packed.

    England’s Ben Stokes was paid £1.7m ($2.1m) in 2017 to play for the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant team.

    The IPL is one of the most cash-rich tournaments in the world and foreign players are paid huge sums to compete. Some of the teams are owned by top Bollywood stars and industrialists.

    Together, they bring glamour and vast amounts of money.

  7. Delhi bans IPL cricket matches

    IPL 2019 file photo showing final match between Mumbai and Chennai in Hyderbad

    Copyright: Getty Images

    Officials in the Indian capital Delhi have banned Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches and other sports events in an effort to contain the outbreak.

    The ban throws into question the fate of this year’s national IPL 2020 tournament, which is supposed to start at the end of this month.

    Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, says that seminars and conferences with more than 200 people are also banned.

    Schools and cinemas in the capital have already been shut, while the Indian government has revoked tourist and business visas.

    India has confirmed almost 80 cases, and reported its first coronavirus-related death on Thursday.

  8. PSG fan in a mask

    The spread of coronavirus around the world has impacted the staging of sporting events. This is what has been affected so far.

    Read more

    next

  9. Thai minister complains about dirty foreigners

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    Jonathan Head

    BBC South East Asia Correspondent

    Thailand’s Health Minister Anutin Charvirakul has made quite
    a name for himself during the coronavirus crisis, not so much for his handling
    of the situation, as for his comments about foreigners.

    Last month Mr Anutin erupted at a press conference, calling
    for “those damn Westerners” to be kicked out of the country after some tourists
    refused to take the face masks he was handing out at a railway station. He later
    apologised for his outburst.

    Now the blunt-talking minister has had another go, warning
    in a tweet that Westerners were coming to Thailand to escape the winter weather
    and then spreading coronavirus in their home countries. We have to be cautious
    with them, he wrote, because they don’t wear face masks, they wear dirty
    clothes, and don’t take showers.

    The Twitter account has now been deleted.

  10. Italians in lockdown sing to keep spirits high

    People in a locked-down Italian town have been filmed singing together out of their windows to keep their spirits high.

    The song, which appears to be Canto della Verbena, was sung by residents of a street in Siena, Tuscany.

    People online have called the scene “beautiful” and “moving”, and the clip has been liked almost 25,000 times since it was tweeted several hours ago.

  11. UK reacts to decision not to close schools or ban public gatherings

    There has been plenty of reaction to the UK’s reaction to the outbreak so far.

    On Thursday, Boris Johnson announced new measures under which those with a “new, continuous” cough or high temperature are advised to self-isolate for seven days, schools are advised to cancel trips abroad and over-70s have been told to avoid cruises.

    But former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said the government’s decision not to cancel public events over the coronavirus outbreak is “concerning”,

    The Premier League said it would hold “an emergency club meeting” to discuss future fixtures – shortly before Mikel Arteta tested positive for the virus.

    Earlier, the UK chief scientific adviser defended the decision not to close schools – as many other countries have done.

    Sir Patrick Vallance told BBC Breakfast that such a move was a “very effective
    way of dealing with pandemic flu” but that “the
    role of children is less clear in terms of spreading” this coronavirus.

    Video content

    Video caption: Coronavirus: Government expert defends not closing UK schools

    Meanwhile, Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster has said schools there will close at some stage as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

  12. Japanese man wanted to ‘spread virus’

    A woman who tested positive for the virus had come into contact earlier this month with an infected man who said he wanted to “spread the virus”, said Kyodo news quoting a government officials.

    The man had reportedly tested positive for the virus on 4 March, a day after his parents, who were also infected.

    He told them he was going to “spread the virus” and went to a bar and a pub that same night – the woman had been in the same pub.

    He later told an employee at the pub that he had the virus. The outlet reported him to the police, and the pub was disinfected by health officials.

    The woman developed a fever a few days later. She is currently in a stable condition.

  13. Australian minister with virus met Ivanka Trump last week

    A photo has emerged of Peter Dutton, the Australian home affairs minister who has tested positive for coronavirus, meeting Ivanka Trump and US Attorney General Bill Barr last Friday.

    Ms Trump is US President Donald Trump’s daughter, and also acts as a senior adviser to him.

    In a statement today, Mr Dutton said he woke up on Friday with a “temperature and sore throat… [and] immediately contacted the department of health”.

    He has now been admitted to hospital.

  14. Welcome to our coverage

    If you’re just joining us, welcome. Here’s a quick glance at all that’s happened over the past few hours:

    • Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in isolation after his wife Sophie tested positive for the virus. Mr Trudeau is not showing any virus symptoms
    • Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has also tested positive for the virus. He had travelled to Washington DC last week where he met various people, including President Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump.
    • The German state of Bavaria will close all schools from Monday until 6 April.
    • Former UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt says the government’s decision not to cancel public events is “concerning”.
    • The World Travel and Tourism Council says up to 50 million tourism jobs could be at risk due to the virus outbreak.
  15. UK’s approach to virus ‘concerning’

    The UK’s decision not to cancel public events despite the coronavirus outbreak is “concerning”, says ex-health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

    Many countries have responded to the crisis by closing schools and cancelling sports and arts events, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was crucial to get the timing right for stricter measures.

    There have been 596 confirmed cases across the country, but health officials have said they believe the actual number of people infected could be between 5,000 and 10,000.

  16. Disney delays Mulan

    The live action remake of Disney’s classic Mulan has been delayed because of the coronavirus.

    The film was set to hit US cinemas on 27 March, but Disney later said it decided “out of an abundance of caution” to postpone the movie.

    Yifei Liu

    Copyright: Getty Images

    Image caption: The protagonist of the live-action film
  17. Kenya confirms its first coronavirus case

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    BBC Africa

    Kenya has confirmed that a woman who travelled into the country from the US has tested positive for coronavirus.

    Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe said the patient arrived in the country on 5 March but was given a positive diagnosis on 12 March.

    She had travelled from the US via London and was confirmed positive by Kenya’s national influenza laboratory.

  18. Why the UK might not look like Italy

    A woman wearing a surgical mask in London

    Copyright: Getty Images

    Now the UK has entered the second stage of its official response, the “delay” phase, people are justifiably worried that it may end up in a situation as severe as Italy.

    Italy is currently in lockdown, with almost 1,000 deaths, and the outbreak is putting its health service under immense strain.

    Yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said the UK was four weeks behind Italy “in terms of the scale of the outbreak”, if not “in terms of the response”.

    But is it four weeks away from a similar fate? According to the BBC’s Head of Statistics, Robert Cuffe, the answer is: not necessarily.

    To find out why, read his article here.

  19. Follow the latest sports news

    With Premier League matches being postponed, players testing positive, and authorities weighing up how to finish the season, follow the latest on BBC Sport’s live page here.

  20. How can I protect myself?

    Graphic advising how to wash hands, use a tissue for coughs and avoid touching your face

    Copyright: BBC

    It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the rapid escalation in people catching this virus, and by the amount of information around about it.

    Health officials have consistently said that while this is a very serious epidemic there are simple practical steps individuals can take to protect themselves and others.

    The main ones are to wash your hands – which breaks down the virus on your hands meaning it’s no longer active and can’t infect anyone – to use disposable tissues, avoid touching your face and keep your distance from people where possible.

    Video content

    Video caption: Coronavirus: Watch how germs spread