hello, i'm ros atkins, the us, italy, spain and here in the uk. right now, there are almost this is outside source. 90,000 cases around the world. and more than 3000 people have died. that sounds like a lot, but remember, the world's population is seven points alien alien. —— 7.7 this is the scene at the party. paul had him on course to wind 37 seats. billion. the only british person to have died is injapan. this that would put him one seat short of a majority. —— mike pauls had him. coronavirus causes an infectious disease cause covid—i9. if the most are celebrations here at the common “— disease cause covid—i9. if the most common —— the most common symptoms, election party in tel aviv, this is fear tiredness and a dry cough. for the closest israel has come in a most, the symptoms are mild, but year to be able to solve its around one and six will become political deadlock. the death toll seriously ill. current estimates from the world health organisation in the coronavirus outbreak has suggest between one and 2% of people passed 3000 who have it have died. much more detail on all of this with our experts shortly, and please do send us experts shortly, and please do send us your questions on social media using the hashtag, bbc your

questions. this is your chance to get your answers you want. for now, let's have a look at the story of coronavirus so far. early december and doctors in china start to show your messages about a new virus. they informed the authorities, but for weeks, new virus. they informed the authorities, but forweeks, nothing is done. it takes until new year's eve for china to tell the world health organisation they've had a case of pneumonia of unknown cause. this is the source of the outbreak, a meat and fish market in wuhan. it's shot onjanuary a meat and fish market in wuhan. it's shot on january the 1st. a meat and fish market in wuhan. it's shot onjanuary the 1st. —— shut. on the 9th of january, china reports that firstjeff. wuhan, a city bigger than london, is not

down. —— first death. city bigger than london, is not down. -- first death. these shops are closed. down. -- first death. these shops a re closed. pretty down. -- first death. these shops are closed. pretty much nobody is on the street here. experts are flown home to be put in quarantine. as a number of death continues to rise, china built a new 1000 bed hospital injust over a week china built a new 1000 bed hospital in just over a week but worry for health experts that the fires will spread behind dell might be on china is about to be realised. the who declares a health emergency. in japan, 600 passengers on a cruise ship are quarantined. we are both positive. we're going to hospital because there isn't a hospital bed around. in iran, the w health ministered to appear in public, suffering symptoms of the virus.

world world health minister. in south korea, there are now more than 4000 cases. this is not wuhan but brighton. here in the uk, the number of cases is small but on the rise. the government says it has plans in place to contain the virus, but the future of this outbreak is uncertain as it continues to spread around the world. keep your questions coming in. we will do our best to answer as many as we can. tonight, we are live on the nhs front line as the uk tries to contain the virus. and we will hear from the prime minister. if you're confused about what you need to do to protect yourself, if you're going on holiday, if you're worried about taking time off work 01’ even worried about taking time off work or even the prices you might be paying, we will do our best to help. first of all, let's talk to our medical correspondent for its walls. —— fergus walsh. how worried should we be? it's only been around three months and it made the jump from

animals for humans. there's a huge amount we don't know about the novel coronavirus. that level of uncertainty is what's causing such a lot of anxiety. if we get a big outbreak and if that is here, it would place a lotta presser on the nhs, particularly on care beds. it's important we keep since of perspective. seasonal flu important we keep since of perspective. seasonalflu which columns around every year because his half a million deaths every year around the world. so far, we've had 3000 from coronavirus. important context. here are some questions coming in. let's take a look at some of those. my question is do facemasks actually work? who is most at risk? what will happen if i catch coronavirus? what else can we do to protect ourselves besides washing

out protect ourselves besides washing our hands? that gives you the idea of the type of questions. how can we protect ourselves? good old soap and water is number one. you've got to get a good lather going. think about singing two verses of happy birthday. though the guys are all mine on how you should wash her hands. if you don't have soap and water then you can use some hand sanitizer, but the key is it has to be alcohol based in order to kill the coronavirus. another thing is don't touch yourface, the coronavirus. another thing is don't touch your face, nose and eyes when you're out because you can pick up when you're out because you can pick up the virus and infect yourself that way. so it's getting out of those kinds of habits. coughing into tissues, that kind of thing. absolutely. what about facemasks? how effective are they? these little paper facemasks aren't really much good. they may give a false sense of

security. i would suggest, because it needs to be changed frequently, they are quite good at preventing someone with an infection from passing it on. those people really 110w passing it on. those people really now should be staying at home. that question of who is at risk, are some people more vulnerable than others? anyone can catch it. the good news is, young children are really, pretty much in the clear on this virus. in fact, so far, pretty much in the clear on this virus. infact, so far, of pretty much in the clear on this virus. in fact, so far, of the reported cases, only two out of 100 have been in pieces under 20 years of age. most at risk are the elderly. the older you are, the greater you are at risk. those with underlying health problems like heart disease or respiratory disease 01’ heart disease or respiratory disease or diabetes, this is an indiscriminate virus. it can kill young people that well. one of the first to die was a doctor in china who first raised the alarm about it. he was 34. a question from peter on

twitter. how long as the virus live on surfaces? there's very little evidence that there is any risk from getting posts from italy are china where the virus could last. it can survive on hard surfaces for quite a few hours. deborah from twitter says, is it possible to be a key area of the virus but not actually display the symptoms? it is. there's quite a lot of reported cases. they can be potentially infecting other people, but those who are giving off the most virus are the most sick, because they are coughing and sneezing and that's why health care workers are poor at particular risk. thanks fergus. if you have a question for fergus, you can send it via social media using the hashtag below. let's talk about the big

picture here. what is the government and the nhs doing to protect us at the moment? the official advice is, if you think you have symptoms, don't go to your doctor or the hospital but call in 111. that's where we can enjoy our global health correspondent. we've heard that they are experiencing many more calls to 111 at the moment. how are they coping? they certainly are, and really welcome to what is one of the most important part of the uk's response to the outbreak. these call—center workers, which include doctors, nurses, handlers, are dealing with around 4000 calls every single week day. actually, in centres like this around the country, they've seen a rise of around a quarter of call volume coming in and that means they are expected to rise as new cases and the uk's bracing itself for new cases. if i canjust

the uk's bracing itself for new cases. if i can just disturb you for a moment. just talk us through, what are the key things people are asking about? a lot of people don't know what to expect. they don't know what is involved with the coronavirus. what do they knew next? we reassure them more than anything. just to reassure them where doing the best they can. it's an extremely busy monday night here. because there are so many calls coming in, people across the country are being urged to get in touch with the online nhs 111 service rather than calling in and the first instance. it's already had around 70,000 inquiries online, half of which came in in one day over the weekend. answering some of these calls is this man here who is a pharmacist. what are you telling people who call up and you hear what

they've been through? if we suspect a patient has coronavirus, we often tell them to self— isolate a patient has coronavirus, we often tell them to self—isolate in 14 days. and limit the amount of contact they have with others. that also means having deliveries to the house rather than venturing out. it's an anxious time for people who are having to self—isolate. what are you telling them to reassure them? patients feel better when they know they are doing the right thing, so they are doing the right thing, so the best thing we can reassure patients here at nhs one on one is to provide their most relevant information. thank you very much. also is the man in charge of this operation. this is anthony martz. he's in the process of —— you are facing an unprecedented number of calls at the moment. some people have been on hold on the long—time and some people put the phone down before anyone answers. are you able to cope with this influx?

absolutely. they are doing a fantasticjob. i'm absolutely. they are doing a fantastic job. i'm personally absolutely. they are doing a fantasticjob. i'm personally very very grateful. but we are dealing with more calls. it'll be helpful if members of public would acquire up—to—date information by going online and getting that current information by going to 111 dot nhs, .uk, because we are dealing with and involving situation and the guidance has been updated regularly. —— an evolving situation. that's leaving the call handlers in our call centres to be able to help those patients that really do need to speak to a clinician in the call centre. and you are dealing with a lot of misinformation. there's lots of rumours and fear mongering going around. how are you handling that? that's exactly why it's so important that membera that's exactly why it's so important that member a public what that up—to—date information. please go

online. 111 dot nhs .uk. you will receive the very latest information and help you need. thank you very much anthony marsh. this call—center along with others across the country are working 24 72 enter people's calls. it's been said a number of calls, if you are worried, go online and go in that service. i got some very useful information in less than a minute. the key thing all of us should be doing to protect ourselves and our families is should be doing to protect ourselves and ourfamilies is what should be doing to protect ourselves and our families is what you've should be doing to protect ourselves and ourfamilies is what you've been hearing from fergus. keep washing your hands. thank you very much. a busy evening there. you've heard there about what the nhs is doing to stop the virus spreading here in the uk, but what about the government's role in tackling coronavirus? are political editor laura kuenssberg has been asking the prime minister whether he and his ministers are preparing for a widespread outbreak. you've got to consider the realistic

possibility that there is now going to bea possibility that there is now going to be a significant expansion in a number of cases, so we will be setting out tomorrow the steps that we are going to take as a country and a government, working together to inform the public about what we're doing and setting out the method by which we will take those decisions. are we looking already at closing lots of schools, cancelling big events and the public have seen other parts of the world in lockdown. what we've got is a range of calibrated responses to the spread of coronavirus and clearly, the measures that you have mentioned are on that list. the issue will be

when and how and with what logic to deploy them, and we will be as transparent as we possibly can. at the moment, the crucial thing that we can all do to help the nhs to stop the spread of the disease is wash your hands twice with two purposes of happy birthday, hot water and soap. —— two verses. apart from that, at the moment, i should stress that it should be business as usual. what would be the trigger for that widespread action? you said you wa nted that widespread action? you said you wanted to be transparent. what will be the triggerfor that? wanted to be transparent. what will be the trigger for that? look at what we will be saying tomorrow about the timing and the various considerations. the menu of options that we have. will you make extra resources for the nhs available? there are some evidence that taking

a long time people to get to 111. some people will not be able to be tested as quickly as they like to. will you commit today to giving the nhs what it ask for, even if an runs into significant issues? of course we will do everything we can to address the problems to stop the spread of the disease, and we are also as you know, putting record cash investment now into the nhs. the nhs is a fantastic organisation, fantastic health system. they are very well prepared. will you give them everything they have to lower? 0f them everything they have to lower? of course. are you worried about the effect on the economy? if we are looking at the significant destruction here, there will be an impact will there was a b in no doubt that something like a maths epidemic is going to have all sorts of consequences. there is always the potential for an economic downside as well. we've seen that around the world and we are ready for that.

don't forget the fundamentals of the uk are very strong. i don't wish in any way to minimise the significance of the importance of the challenge that this country will face, i think almost inevitably in the course of the next few weeks. i do not wish to minimise that, but what i do wish to reassure the public about is number one, we've taken every possible precaution and preparation that we can and secondly, i am absolutely —— i have absolute no doubt that this country will not be defeated by coronavirus. we will come through it very well in the end. prime minister talking a short while ago. so many questions coming in. thank you for sending those. anything you want to pick up from that interview or anything else you want to ask, use this hashtag. right now, let's talk about some other ways that coronavirus is already affecting the

way you live. we will discuss all things money and prices in a moment with nina, but first let's talk travel. jon kay is a travel agent in somerset right now. lots of people wa nt to somerset right now. lots of people want to know how this will affect their holiday. we've heard this evening that british airways are among the airlines who have announced they are cancelling some flights over the next few weeks. clearly the travel industry is already being hit by this, but lots of question coming in tonight. these people are wondering how does this affect their easter holidays or summer holidays. what happens if you go? these two gentlemen should be able to help us. things for having us able to help us. things for having us here. simon, independent travel editor. what is the official government advice right now? the only areas off—limits are mainland china and two regions of south korea

and 11 towns in northern italy. they are not places that the tourist would normally find themselves in. everywhere else, according to the foreign office, the risks are tolerably low, although i know from unprecedented numbers of people getting in touch with me, there are huge amounts of stress and anxiety at the moment out there. people whose and it was a patient has turned into apprehension. what are you seeing? i think is no surprise, people are coming in and asking questions. it's quite comforting they can talk to us throughout the options the vast majority of the people are just carry on as normal. when they want reassurance, how can you reassure them if they seen hotels locked down and cruise ships lockdown? at the perspective. as a matter of looking at how many people are affected. in the scheme of the world, it's still very, very small

numbers of people and areas. simon, what are some of these options if someone is thinking they don't want to go, what can and should you do? you have very few options. if you happen to be one of those cancelled flights, then you can opt to get your money back and pay separately for accommodations. you might not be able to get back that. the vast majority of people who are brought to travel if theyjust tried not to go, they will lose some or all of their money. they won't be able to get it through travel insurance. i must say, i know how upset people are, but genuinely, there's never beena are, but genuinely, there's never been a safer are, but genuinely, there's never beena saferera are, but genuinely, there's never been a safer era for british travellers to be going abroad, and i've seen some very irrational decisions made. i talked to someone the other night keeping a respectable distance so to minimise any risk. she's off to cyprus. her partner has decided not to go, so

she's waking up in this wonderful island, healthy and lovely, he's waking up in rainy old essex with no holiday and sadly today, a place of coronavirus. thank you both for your reassuring words. we won't go to essex but we can go somewhere else to talk about the effect of the wider economy. nina is in a warehouse in china is often referred to as the warehouse of the world. you can almost guarantee that something is made or at least part made in china. what happens there matters to warehouses like this one. up to 80% of which its products have come through china. let's have a chat with gary. so far, what has the impact been? at the moment we

received most of the orders from uk, but the destruction we experience is where our containers are leaving late from the far east. factories have been closed and late february is noun out being dispatched —— not being dispatched softly what sort of products are you worried about? these items all come from the far east. a lot of our football that come from italy are now being caught up come from italy are now being caught up in the coronavirus taking place in italy, so it's notjust a china ‘s problem now. in italy, so it's notjust a china 's problem now. thank you so much for all of your questions. let's put

some of them to lynn, an economist. it's still very soon but we are today the coronavirus could tip the economy into recession. that will be very worrying for us. we trade a lot with the rest of world and at the end of last year, the economy was stag na nt end of last year, the economy was stagnant so main mean growth is not as good this year. we heard from the prime minister earlier saying we have a robust economy. what can governments do to intervene? the bank of england could ease credit conditions, help firms a bit for cash flow. they can look at cash measures, maybe look at business race. there's a range of things that can be done to help businesses and consumers, whether their shop. some

people have been asking us if they should start stockpiling now. at the moment, the coronavirus is affecting things like tourism, but as you mention, it's actually spreading everywhere. it could be that tea and fresh food and car parts from europe, africa could start to be affected but what i would stress is local producers, so it mayjust be you have a little bit less choice in the future but of course, if you need something, then just the future but of course, if you need something, thenjust keep watching and following developments closely. but do not panic. thank you tojim, to mike, to all got touch. if you aren't on zero—hours contract, that's very much to the discretion of your employer. —— if you are. the worst in over a decade.

this is very much when it comes to business and economics. the situation is changing day by day. that gives you an idea ofjust how far this virus can reach. with us once again is fergus walsh. emeritus professor of public health joins him. take you very much for your time. we will start for with a question from tom. he wants to know what self isolating leads to and can he share a bathroom? can you talk to his children? help! you've got to self—isolate, so if you've got kids running around, you've got to look after them, they have to stay at home with you but they may be very pleased to stay—at—home after school while you wait for your test result. mac let's hear a couple more

questions. i'm sophie, i'm from manchester. how can we protect our children from coronavirus? i'm from the us and i'm wondering if someone is working on a cure for the virus and if so, how long it will take. let's talk about children first. are they particularly vulnerable? should be close schools? they don't seem to be close schools? they don't seem to be particularly vulnerable but children are very good at spreading germs about. school closures are a lwa ys germs about. school closures are always the fullest thing —— first thing health officials turned to because they tend to be getting them to more vulnerable people. watch for children in that case. what about a cu re children in that case. what about a cure and perhaps a vaccine? this is a very new disease so at the moment there are many groups of scientists working on a vaccine. in terms of the vaccine, that takes time so it won't be for about a year and that will be pretty quick after the end.

in terms of the use of antiviral drugs, they have been used in other diseases and work is ongoing at the current time, but again, any new development takes time. in some cases, people will get better without any medicine. it's important to point that out. paul asks why we have not set up checkpoints at airports to test for the virus. those cameras aren't necessarily the answer because they're about 10% effective in detecting fever. the other important factor is, you won't have a temperature set it's smokes more effective to have the system we have which is flights from high risks areas. question on social distancing claire askedif question on social distancing claire asked if she should be wearing gloves when she go out? they might

help unless you touch their face. —— yourface. help unless you touch their face. —— your face. really, help unless you touch their face. —— yourface. really, social distancing. we might need to start thinking about not shaking hands any more. the french have advised their citizens not to kiss on their cheeks. my friend from china said to do this rather. new ways of social interaction. let's fly through a few more questions. lots of people are asking if you are more successful if you have asthma or hiv. what do we know about that? suppressed immune systems, definitely asthma yes. no knowledge about hiv. xi on twitter asks how do you tell the difference between a common cold and coronavirus? through the test probably, unless your symptoms go on to develop into test disease and

then you're more likely to have the virus. a stifel isn't normally -- a stifel isn't normally associated with coronavirus. usually shortness of breath and a cough. but it's not foolproof, and that's why the tasks are being done —— tests being done by public health england to see if we miss any cases. how bad is this going to get? i haven't reported on anything, a bola, sars, swine flu which has the same potential as the new coronavirus, but it's to cause havoc to the economy and problems in the nhs, but it's havoc to the economy and problems in the nhs, but its potential. just think tuberculosis, it affects more people every day. thank you very

much for your time. the good news is, if you missed any of this it will be on the iplayer. you can also find it on bbc sounds and there's lots more advice if you want to go to bbc .co .uk/ coronavirus. thank you very much for watching, thanks for your time. this