this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 11pm: the government sets out its response as coronavirus speads across europe. for the first time, more new cases are recorded outside china than within. we have a clear a—part plan we have a clear 4—part plan to respond to the outbreak of this disease: contain, delay, research and mitigate. we are taking all necessary measures to minimise the risk to the public. flood water threatens to overwhelm defences in shropshire, as emergency evacuations take place in towns along the river severn. fleeing their homes. families in the indian capital delhi terrified at the outbreak of hindu—muslim violence which has left 27 dead. police respond as a number of people have been killed in a shooting in the us

city of milwaukee. it's at the premises of the brewing giant molson coors. the home secretary warns police chiefs there must be no excuses for not cutting crime, and signals a return to national policing targets. 5—time grand slam champion maria sharapova says she is retiring from tennis at the age of 32. and at 11:30pm, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, caroline wheeler and susie boniface. stay with us for that. good evening. for the first time, there are more new cases of coronavirus being reported outside china than within. dozens of countries are now affected, with several including brazil and pakistan confirming their first cases today

and germany declaring it's on the verge of an epidemic. italy, the main focus of the infection in europe, has tonight reported a surge in cases. here, public health england says tests for coronavirus are being stepped up to get a better picture of whether the virus is spreading. so far, just over 7,000 people in the uk have been tested for the virus. 13 have been positive. eight of them have already recovered and have been discharged from hospital. medical correspondent fergus walsh reports now on how, despite the relatively small number of cases, coronavirus is having an impact here. the coronavirus is impacting thousands of lives in the uk, even though there is no outbreak here. more schools sent children home following half term trips to italy. at canary wharf, several firms asked staff to work from home after one employee who'd been to italy

reported flu—like symptoms. the public can be assured that we have a clear plan to contain, delay, research and mitigate. and that we are working methodically through each step to keep the public safe. none of us has any immunity to this new virus. but even if we get a widespread outbreak in the uk, analysis from china suggests that 81% of those infected only get a mild illness and so don't need medical treatment. the first symptoms are a fever and dry cough. older people and those with existing health problems are at greater risk from the coronavirus, which attacks the lungs, but that also applies to seasonal flu, which kills thousands of people here every year. the one and only diamond dave, live from hospital injapan. some good news for britain's david and sally abel, who were on the cruise ship diamond princess,

docked in yokohama. they're nearly recovered after getting coronavirus and pneumonia. even though they were talking two days ago about putting me on a respirator, thank god that has not been needed, because i've been gaining strength on a daily basis, i really have. northern italy has a serious coronavirus outbreak, the biggest by far in europe. virtually all traffic is banned from entering 11 towns designated red zones. more than 50,000 people have been in quarantine since sunday, but the virus hasn't been contained. the first confirmed cases in brazil and algeria, as well as austria and switzerland, were all linked to italy. and france recorded its second death at a paris hospital, a 60—year—old teacher who had no record of travel to any outbreak hotspot.

germany is bracing itself for a surge in cases after a couple with coronavirus symptoms spent ten days travelling before they were diagnosed. both are now in hospital. translation: we are at the beginning of a corona epidemic in germany. the chain of infection is no longer completely traceable. remarkably, china is now reporting fewer new cases than the rest of the world. this is wuhan, the city where the virus emerged in december. for a time, its health service was overwhelmed, but now patients are starting to go home, while other countries wonder, will it be their turn next? fergus walsh, bbc news. hundreds of holidaymakers in tenerife, including more than 160 from the uk, will have to stay in isolation in their hotel until march 10th after four guests from italy tested

positive for the virus. this evening, the foreign office said it's been in contact with over 100 of them, offering advice and support. dan johnson reports. at least there are some people here getting updates. we saw staff being briefed in the hotel car park this afternoon, presumably being told to prepare for the long haul. 0n the balconies above, guests have been left unsure what's happening and how long their stay could last. hi, rosie, this is dan from bbc news... rosie and family should have gone home on sunday, but a sandstorm delayed their flight. now they face a fortnight in quarantine. the health officials around lunchtime said that everybody — or most of the people — in the hotel, would be quarantined for two weeks. have you not heard that? no. we've heard... we've seen that in some places, but the hotel

haven't said that at all. we're fine, we're happy to quarantine ourselves at home, but two weeks in our rooms would just not... not be ok. away from the balconies and behind the masks, some are carrying on. but unease is spreading alongside confusion, anger and cries for help. come on, please, foreign office. we are here, we have not got it, we've been tested, we haven't got it. bring us home, because what will happen is that if we do get it, it falls upon your hands. we are more at risk here. the hotel was put on lockdown yesterday morning after a doctor on holiday from italy tested positive for the virus. his wife and two others in their group of ten are also infected. they're being treated on the island. translation: the rest of the people from the group tested negative, besides those four confirmed cases. that's good news, because it means the virus was probably kept amongst those in close contact.

but the news is not so good for those still stuck. tonight, the foreign office said it is in touch with british tourists here, but how they get home, when and what awaits them on their return still isn't clear. danjohnson, bbc news, in tenerife. to other consequences of the virus now. sports editor dan roan is in dublin tonight, where they announced that the six nations matches between ireland and italy have been postponed. he had this update. well, the irish government believes that the match here at the aviva stadium in dublin in ten days' time constitutes too great a public health risk because italy is the worst affected european country as a result of the outbreak of course, and also around 2500 italian fans are expected here for that nation ‘s match. so it's been called off, the irish rugby football union are trying to find an alternative date

but that won't be easy in what's already a crowded rugby calendar and the impact might not stop there in by the impact might not stop there in rugby terms because the rfu i can tell you this evening are in talks about the sports minister as to whether the england match against italy in the final round of six nations matches should take place in rome, so the tournament could dethrone into a degree of disarray and it goes beyond that to other sports. in football, and it goes beyond that to other sports. infootball, league and it goes beyond that to other sports. in football, league matches have been cancelled in italy. england are due to host italy at wembley next month. four games are due to take place at the euros in rome this summer and in other sports, the cheltenham festival, f1, the chinese grand prix has been cancelled, and the major concern is around the tokyo games. yesterday and ioc member said a decision on that wouldn't be made until may. it would be unprecedented in peacetime if the alan biggs were called off and the damage and impact it would do to athletes, broadcasters and organisers would be hard to quantify but at the moment organisers insist it is business as usual. global health correspondent

tulip mazumdar has been tracking the spread of the virus. things are moving very quickly in europe. germany, as we've heard, now says it's at the start of an epidemic and many people it would seem have come into contact with these five new cases before they we re these five new cases before they were identified as having the virus, and that could really change the picture in germany. the fact also that there have been these sharp rise in cases in italy over the last 24 rise in cases in italy over the last 2a hours, 400 rise in cases in italy over the last 24 hours, 400 cases there is a major concern, as is the fact cases have been exported from italy to a number of other european countries. what we are probably going to start to a little bit more of at airports and european cities is people being screened more, people getting health checks and being told... given crucial information about what to do if they do become ill. and we'll find out how this story, and many others, are covered in tomorrow's front pages. that's at 11:30pm this

evening in the papers, our guests joining me tonight are caroline wheeler, the deputy political editor for the sunday times, and the daily mirror columnist, susie boniface. some residents in ironbridge in shropshire were evacuated today after the river severn destroyed part of its flood defences. 0ne severe flood warning, meaning a threat to life, remains in place in ironbridge, as environment correspondent claire marshall reports. searchlights sweep over the buckled barriers protecting the town of ironbridge tonight. they were damaged earlier today. water is seeping under, and the mighty force of the river severn is pressing against them. this was the strong line of defence yesterday, but overnight, look how the water shifted them. these are critical hours. what we are concerned about is making sure that this barrier can hold the flood waters, that we can maintain the pumping capacity and we don't

see the sudden onset of deep, dangerous floodwater. that is still a possibility which is why we have the severe flood warning in force and we are urging people to stay out of the area that we have asked residents to evacuate. these pumps have been going for the last two days and they have just been refuelled this evening. the hope is that even though the water is nearly at the top and has been breached in some areas, that they will hold. travelling downriver into worcestershire, this is bewdley. this is the moment last night that residents were dreading, when the river surged over the top of the barriers. quickly, quickly!