welcome to bbc news. our top stories: italy is preparing emergency measures to stop the coronavirus spreading. and more people tested on cruise ships for coronavirus. hello and welcome to bbc news. the italian government says it will adopt emergency measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. it comes after over 1200 new cases were reported

in italy, in the last 2a hours — the biggest daily rise in cases since the outbreak started. officials say 36 more people have died in the last 2a hours. the authorites are preparing a major escalation of controls, blocking all but emergency travel to and from the entire region of lombardy, including the city of milan. the decree would also extend to eleven northern and eastern provinces, as well as the cities of parma and venice. the measures will see schools closed for several weeks, along with all museums, swimming pools and ski resorts. the number of cases in lombardy is already causing problems for hospitals. some are running out of spare beds, according to the head of the civil protection agency. translation: lombardy, as you know, is facing a tense situation in its hospitals. we expect that we will be asked to transfer patients to intensive care services in other regions. we will win this battle, this war,

if our fellow citizens adopt responsible behaviour. we have to change our way of life, especially those persons who are in the fragile category, and at risk. in the united states, the number of deaths from coronavirus is now 19. passengers on board a cruise ship stranded off the coast of california say the process of testing everyone on board has started. they're preparing for a number of days, or even weeks in isolation. from san francisco, sophie long reports. a large, empty berth. this is where the grand princess should have docked today. instead, it remains stranded off the coast of california. the lives of those on board left in limbo. when we get moved to this facility, we will all be tested and those who do not test positive may be able to leave.

something good will come out of this, we do not know what it is andi this, we do not know what it is and i want tojust this, we do not know what it is and i want to just go this, we do not know what it is and i want tojust go home this, we do not know what it is and i want to just go home and get some treatment if i do not test negative. it is tough for those on the cruise liner who have lost all control of their lives, and tough for those at home, powerless to help. these testing kits, which were lowered onto the ship, confirmed at least 21 people on the grand princess had coronavirus. we were not given advance notice of this announcement. it would have been our preference is to be the first to make this news available to you. these individuals will be notified of test results as quickly as possible. this woman's mother is on the creature. when i was told there were 21 cases of the coronavirus on the ship and

most of them were staff, that is when reality hit last night and she was very tearful on the telephone. the ships medical crews say they are working to address urgent health needs, and one person may have to be airlifted to hospital. they have come closer to shore to make it easier to get supplies on board, but ultimately, thousands of people still have no idea where they are going or when they will get there. the us vice president mike pence has held talks with leaders of the cruise line industry. he said they were tracking another ship that had shared crew with the grand princess. mr pence also announced there would be strict measures in place for dealing with cruise ships. today we reached an agreement with the cruise line industry to further enhance entry and exit screening. and also to establish shipboard testing for the coronavirus. new quarantining standards will be co—ordinated with the cdc for all ships, and we also will be working with

the industry, as they develop a plan to move any patients that contract the coronavirus, or otherwise become seriously ill, to land—based facilities. a reminder that you can find more on all our stories plus all the latest information about the coronavirus, including what you can do to avoid it, on our website. this guide on how to stay safe goes through the basic steps like washing your hands and also how to spot the symptoms of the disease. the number of coronavirus cases in the uk has passed 200. two people have died, each was elderly with underlying health issues. the family of one of the two victims has spoken of its pain in not being able to grieve, as its members are now in isolation. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports. the second person to die in the uk after being infected by coronavirus is a man in his

80s, who was being treated in hospital in milton keynes. we know he had underlying health problems but there is still some uncertainty over exactly how he fell ill. we don't know yet how the individual patient caught coronavirus. we do know that the individual had been travelling. however, he didn't meet any of the criteria for isolation when he arrived at the hospital. this evening, the family of the patient issued a statement. they said: so far, 21,460 people have been so far, 1,460 people have been tested for coronavirus. 209 of those tested were positive. in england, 184 cases have been confirmed. in scotland, there are 16, seven in northern ireland and two in wales.

these are still quite small numbers, compared with other countries. in europe, for example, italy, i think it is now up to 4,000 but, nevertheless, it is progressing. and i think as professor whitty said to the health select committee last week that, really, the chances of the uk missing an epidemic now are slim to nil. there are a few anecdotal reports of panic buying. certainly, sales of hand sanitiser seem to have gone up, but retail experts say there is absolutely no need. stock will only run down if people start to unnecessarily buy in bulk. it now seems that, one way or another, coronavirus is likely to have an impact on the lives of all of us. it's worth pointing out that, for the vast majority of those who are unlucky enough to be infected, most of them will experience very mild symptoms and will make a full recovery. so, how is all of this affecting the behaviour of shoppers here in manchester on a saturday afternoon?

has it changed the way i live? yes, the way you go about things? not really, no. we've got some extra hand gel and soap and stuff, so we're washing our hands a bit more. you're washing your hands a bit more, aren't you? i don't like to touch the door handles and everything, so i touch everything with a tissue. and maybe this is a sign of things to come — a big day of sporting action disrupted. at twickenham, warnings were clear outside the ground as england took on wales in the six nations. and the scotland women's six nations rugby match with france, cancelled because a player has tested positive for the virus. sport's governing bodies and broadcasters are to meet government officials on monday to discuss plans to stage events behind closed doors if the outbreak worsens. and officials warn these are still early days. it's just too early to be able to assess the full impact of coronavirus. dominic hughes, bbc news, manchester. the government has announced plans this evening for emergency new laws in response

to the coronavirus outbreak. 0ur political correspondent chris mason explained. this is about planning for the anticipated next stage. court cases trying to ensure they can be heard by telephone or video link to ensure the justice system and continue if we get into the height of an epidemic. volu nteers into the height of an epidemic. volunteers entity healthca re sector, familiar volunteers working for the likes of the red cross and stjohn‘s ambulance. they want to ensure they can work for a period of up they can work for a period of up to four weeks if they chose to without risking their day job. they will talk to businesses about that. and finally, health staff who are retired, can return to work without any impact on their pension. they will be legislation imminent. it will not happen this week but could happen by the end of this

month. sunday marks international women's day. violence has been affecting many women and in particular in mexico. 0ne musician has written a song that demands and and to the murder of women. let's have a listen... (music playing). with me is the american editor with the world service. this is clearly such a

powerful issue in mexico? absolutely, it has become a very strong issue and very political. we have seen protests over the next last couple of years because of the murder of two women by police officers, a couple of weeks ago the abduction of a 17—year—old girland her the abduction of a 17—year—old girl and her murder. the abduction of a 17—year—old girland her murder. mexicans have taken to the street and it has become a thorny issue for the mexican president who has been quite prickly in his response to this issue. although he says he is a feminist and half of his cove na nt feminist and half of his covenant women, women feel he is not taking control of the situation with high feminist side figures. —— women murders. . they should be tackled within the structure of trying to

tackle poverty and violence across mexico so women feel they need a particular that make the issue to be addressed particular for them. in other countries women have been breaking through? in chile, there has been a breakthrough. we have seen protests on the social inequality for a couple of years in chile. they have been raging and raging in fact since last december and this sparked a feminist song and dance routine which went viral, in english it is called rapist in your path. we have seen this in mexico, colombia, spain, france, even in the us. and it is looking at governments allowing high level of violence against women. a lot was signed to include 15 years to life

imprisonment for people who murder women. and also a connected movement from the #metoo movement. it is a large and it has mobilised hundreds of women on femicide an abortion in argentina. it's president will said a bill to congress this month. thank you for that masterful tour of what is happening in latin america. the headlines: the italian government is preventing emergency processes which is preventing all people entering and leaving lombardy.

italy is set to ban the entry and leaving of the region of lombardy, it houses the financial capital milan and over10 financial capital milan and over 10 million people and it has been particularly affected by the outbreak. the proposed lockdown is part of tough new series of measures which, once approved could see public spaces like theatres and gymnasiums shut down for several weeks. peggyjohnson, isa several weeks. peggyjohnson, is a british expert living in the village of monte vecchio. it isa the village of monte vecchio. it is a draft proposal. it is quite detailed and we're for the government to signoff on it. but we do not know what will happen. but if it happens, it is going to change our lives a lot. in what way? in every

way. basically. you will be allowed to go out of your home only to go to work or to go food shopping. there is no social interaction. the screams and gymnasiums are closed down, all the kids are home from school probably until the third of april. restaurants and bars are open if they can guarantee that the client keep one metre from each other but i do not see how that is going to work. how is the waiter going to serve! even going to a nice country walk may not be safe. everybody is working at home so they are going for country box. and now it looks like trafalgar square because everybody is going for country walks. how

does it just going for country walks. how does itjust get cut off? do you expect people to follow instructions given your so connected to the rest of europe? in the draft proposal, they have not talked about transport and about closing down apples for example. if you cannot leave lombardy presumably you cannot life but nothing in the proposal about that and they are talking about bringing in extra police and even the military to make sure the borders are kept separate. it is crazy, it is absolutely crazy. when you speak to people, your neighbours, your friends, is there any resentment about these potential instructions, people shrugging their shoulders and getting on with it? well, initially there were, initially, but now people are starting to take it more seriously, luckily, because i have to defend italy in this — italy has been slandered as the worst place, the place that spread it all over the world. but italy was the place that did most tests.

so of course they found more victims because they were doing the tests, and they put into place a lot of measures before any other european country. i think they have handled it very well. they really have tried their best to contain it, and they're still trying. even the world health 0rganization applauded them a couple of days ago if i remember rightly. are you psychologically and practically ready to live this new form of life for potentially weeks and weeks on end? it would be until at least 3 april. practically, yes, because the supermarkets, even though there was a bit of panic buying at the beginning, the supermarkets are more or less — they're pretty stocked at the moment. there are not many people in them. just today my local supermarket said that it will deliver groceries free of charge to anybody over 65, so that is good because people who don't want to move who can't move, at least they can the groceries. psychologically. ..

i have lots of books to read, lots of things to do on the computer. i'm getting used to the idea. already i have been more cautious than most people because i have an underlying lung condition so i am a little bit more at risk so i have been using my mask and watching my fans are not touching my face and all those things. i have not been out much the last couple of weeks, so it willjust be an extension of that for me. peggyjohnson in northern italy. rescue efforts are continuing through the night in china palme eastern city after a five story hotel collapsed, trapping dozens of people. the hotel was being used as a quarantine facility for people who'd come in to contact with confirmed cases of coronavirus. rich preston has this report. a lucky survivor being pulled alive from the rubble after this 5—storey hotel just gave way. emergency crews rushed to the scene as a crowd looked on in disbelief. reports started coming through around 7:30pm saturday

night local time in the province. about 70 people were staying in the hotel, which was being used as a coronavirus quarantine facility, monitoring those who had had close contact with confirmed cases of covid—19. like many across china, they were waiting to get the all clear before being allowed to leave. more than 10,000 people across the country have been put under observation since the coronavirus outbreak. it is still not clear why the building collapsed. the central government in beijing has sent a specialist team to the region to help with the rescue operation. rich preston, bbc news. after the wettest february on record, the association of reddish insurers says the total value of pay—outs to be met with recent flooding will be around £360 million. some affected businesses are starting to trade again. here is our business correspondent katie prescott. the long

process of rebuilding begins. communities like these in ironbridge are helping businesses get back on their feet after devastating winter floods. if it wasn't for the people in this community, even as far as australia, we wouldn't be in a situation right now. we started trading this morning. we have been busy all day and all local people, and all the people came to support us and we are generally humbled by everything everybody has done. but there is still a long and expensive journey ahead. the insurance industry is also counting the cost. more than 3000 households have made claims by an average of £32,000. the cost of clearing up £32,000. the cost of clearing up and dealing with the aftermath is £360 million. that is more than triple the damage from floods which midlands in south yorkshire last november.

it is still relatively small compared to the cost of three successive storms which hit in december 2015. they cost £1.3 billion. insurers expect storms like this to result in millions of pounds worth of damage. it is what they are used to, it is what they plan for, and actually, the true cost is not going to be known for many months as those badly flooded properties get a chance to dry out and we can assess the full extent of the damage. several large insurers have recently said how winter floodplains are hitting their businesses. and with climate change expected to increase the number of flood in the uk, managing this risk is only going to become more expensive. katie prescott, bbc news. the turkish president has ordered his country palme coastguard to prevent from crossing towards the greek islands. the coastguard to this was because of the dangers they face. but pressure continues at

turkey public northern land border with greece with —— thousands of young men are still attempting to get into europe. the land route into europe is blocked as they approach turkey public borderfence blocked as they approach turkey public border fence with race, hopeful migrants are met by volleys of tear gas from police. frustrated but desperate to get across, groups of young men predominantly from afghanistan, pakistan and iran try forcing a way through to a better life. what a canon, though, is used to drive them back. the message from the european union ‘s foreign policy chief has been to avoid moving to a closed door. and greases and forcing them with every m ea ns greases and forcing them with every means they can. we are going to the metro station and they are giving us tickets. it is the service now and no—one

is telling us anything. we have to just wait. if i is telling us anything. we have tojust wait. if i open is telling us anything. we have to just wait. if i open the door, then we have to cross the border. if not, we have to go back to istanbul. the stand-off at the greek turkish border reflects a deeper pass between the two countries. last week ankara announced it will no longer prevent migrants crossing into europe. greece vowed not to let the migrants in. it is now moving to tighten security along the 140 kilometres border, saying turkey has orchestrated the crisis. using the migrants as geopolitical pawns. turkey in turn accuses greece of endangering lives and violating its own and international laws on asylum. in between the two positions and caught in a no man things own, migrants cannot move forward into greece and turkey says they won't be letting them back.

seven days from now, local elections will begin taking place across france. thousands of councillors and officials will be hoping to keep theirjobs. but there is a growing trend that's affecting more and more towns across the country — elections where there are no candidates. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. patrick has been the mayor here for 14 years. not for much longer, though. he has decided to call it. but finding the next mayor is proving to be difficult. it seems no—one wa nts difficult. it seems no—one wants thejob. translation: there may be a lack of political commitment, but there is above all the reality of working life. the

reality of working life. the reality is mitch mean that people still give priority to their professional future over their professional future over the commitment that it takes to be elected in a small commune. this is happening all across france. by some estimates, there are at least or communes where they are struggling to find a single manual candidate. it isa find a single manual candidate. it is a familiar story of rural decline. people abandoning the countryside, heading to the cities. and that means a lot of work for those left behind. translation: when you are elect from a rural commune, have to bea from a rural commune, have to be a mechanic, a psychologist, a financial advisor and other things. you are at the service of the people. this is the end of the people. this is the end ofan era of the people. this is the end of an era for them. out with the old and in with the... well, who knows? another town

in france looking for leadership, looking for a future. inafew in a few minutes time, it is datelined london. —— coming up, it's dateline london. first, the weather with phillip avery. hello. saturday turned out to be a pretty decent day across southern and eastern parts of the british isles but further north and west, the cloud gathered, in came the rain and the wind really freshened up as well. it was quite an unfortunate combination of weather to stay the very least. more tied in with that weather front, which thankfully through sunday moves ever further away from the british isles. the isobars begin to open up, so although it is a breezy day, probably notjust as windy as the night will have been. and we're going to see some more sunshine as well, especially so across eastern areas where there will be few showers to speak of. i think the bulk of them will be found across many

western areas, no great organisation about them. you may miss them altogether if you're very fortunate. temperatures ranging from 8—12 or so. next week, well, mild, wet and windy to start, and then it turns more cool and showery to finish off the second half of the week. a dry enough start to the week, but don't be fooled by that because this system makes fairly steady progress towards the british isles. after a dry start in northern ireland, you get to see the rain in all parts by around about lunchtime and the wind freshening all the while, and then eventually western parts of scotland through wales down into western england, quite a bit of rain to come here through the day as well. out east, you keep the day dry for longest until the evening, i think, then you get to see your fair share of the wind. and the rain, there's plenty to go around and come tuesday, because this frontal system just kinks again into another little area of low pressure, we think, there'll be a lot of cloud and some bursts of rain across central and parts. further north, it's probably more showery, a better chance of a wee bit of sunshine.

but here's the thing — windy right across the british isles. the wind will be coming from the south—west and way down in the atlantic, hence these sort of temperatures, could be 15, 16 to 17 across parts of east anglia and even further north, central belts of scotland, here you could be looking at 12 degrees. that frontal system eventually pulls away tuesday night into wednesday, but the flow is still just south of west, so although there's a slightly fresher feel, i suspect the temperatures really won't tumble away. but it does get a wee bit cooler. some extra sunny spells and showers for many of us to finish off the week.

this is bbc news, the headlines: italy is preparing emergency measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak, which could stop people entering or leaving the worst effected regions. ina draft in a draft decree, restrictions include preventing old but emergency

travel in and out of the most affected region, lombardy. all 3500 passengers stuck on board a huge cruise ship, moored off the californian coast, are being tested for the coronavirus. 21 passengers and crew ‘s work tested positive to the disease. the number of coronavirus cases in the uk hasa number of coronavirus cases in the uk has a past 200. two people have died. it was elderly with underlying health issues. the families speak of their grief about not being able to grieve because they are in isolation. now on bbc news, dateline london. hello, and welcome again

to the programme which brings