this is bbc news, the headlines at 11... 16 million people in the north of italy are placed in quarantine for a month because of coronavirus. in lombardi, ski resorts, gyms and nig htclu bs in lombardi, ski resorts, gyms and nightclubs cannot be opened and restau ra nt nightclubs cannot be opened and restaurant customers must sit at least a metre away from each other. china reports its lowest number of new infections in a single day since january. here, new emergency laws including court cases over video links or telephone to help tackle the pirates are due to be announced. and in the next few minutes we will be putting your questions to a virologist at the university of leeds. in other news, a doubling of funding for flood defence to 5 billion is expected in the budget on

wednesday. a rather unorthodox royal welcome for meghan who delivered a message of international women's day. value and appreciate the women in your lives and set the example for some men who are not seeing it that same way. and as 290 million children missing school as part of the world and lockdown, my dateline london panel asks if coronavirus can bring permanent changes to the way we live, that is in half an hour here on bbc news. good morning my apologies for sneezing through the headlines! the italian government has announced a

massive lockdown affecting millions of people in northern italy. ski resorts, cinemas, gyms and nig htclu bs resorts, cinemas, gyms and nightclubs cannot open in the region of lombardy and restaurants and cafes can put customers must sit a metre apart from each other. around 60 million people in the region are now in quarantine as part of the stringent new measures introduced to tackle the spread of what is officially still called covid—19 —— at 16 million people put it all but emergency travellers have been banned in the city of lombardy. in china, only 44 new cases were reported, the lowest number of new infections in one day since january and all were in wuhan, where the outbreak began. here the government has announced plans for emergency laws to help tackle that pirates and among them are measures to allow people to leave their own jobs and planted to care for those affected for a period of time. there are proposals for court cases to be held by video link and the lords will consider the emergency registration of retired doctors and nurses. rich preston reports.

the italian authorities‘ hand has been forced by a steep rise in the number of infections in the country. officials say there are now more than 5,000 confirmed cases — a jump of more than 1,000 in 2a hours. more than 230 people have died. the new restrictions will hit italy's financial centre in milan, and the tourist hotspot venice. most of the cases have in the region of lombardy as well as 1a other provinces in the north and east. translation: we are facing an emergency, a national emergency. we have been applying precautionary measures from the beginning. we are acting with the utmost determination. lombardy is home to 10 million people. that's like locking down tokyo or new york. gyms, swimming pools, museums and ski resorts will be closed. restaurants and cafes can open but customers need to sit at least a metre apart.

religious events like funerals or weddings are banned, and the pope's weekly sunday blessing will be delivered by video stream, instead of addressing the thousands who usually gather in st peter's square. movement within the so—called red zones will be for urgent matters only. anyone who breaks the quarantine rules could be jailed for three months. one of italy's leading politicians says he has tested positive with the virus and has been self—isolating. translation: i have always said, don't panic. let's fight this and in this moment i will, of course, give a good example and follow the advice of the doctors and of scientists. i will try to lend a hand by working from home as much as possible and i am fighting, as it is right to do, for each of us and for the country. officials say they will start recruiting retired doctors to help deal with the surge in cases. the new measures are due to last until the 3rd of april. rich preston, bbc news.

our correspondent bethany bell is in the italian city of bologna and gave this update. this is not a total lockdown. trains and planes will continue to run out of the affected regions but the police will be able to stop people and ask them why they are moving in and out. the government says people who have essential work reasons, and if there are emergency situations, then it will still be possible for people to move backwards and forwards but i have also asked people within those zones to restrain from moving as much as possible. this impacts milan, italy's financial capital, and also affects towns like venice, parma and modern, crucial tourist spots. we are in bologna which is about a0 kilometres outside the lockdown zones —— and modena. all over italy people are very concerned

about the spread of this virus and about the spread of this virus and about the spread of this virus and about the quarantine measures and what that will mean for italy's struggling economy. also there is a big sense of uncertainty, has the government taken these measures too late? that was bethany bell in bologna. one of those who will be affected by the lockdown is peggyjohnson, a british expatriate who lives in lombardy. she spoke to us about how her daily life would change. there is no social interaction, they don't wa nt is no social interaction, they don't want any big gatherings are people. all of the sports facilities, i can't go to the gym, the swimming pools are closed down, all the kids are at home from school probably until the 3rd of april. restaurants and bars are allowed to open if they can guarantee that the clients keep one metre from each other. i don't see how that will work. people are starting to take it more seriously.

i had to defend italy in this. italy has been slandered as the worst place, the place that spread it over the world but italy was the place that did most tests and of course they found more victims because they we re they found more victims because they were doing the tests. they put into place a lot of measures before any other european country. i think they have handled it very well. they have tried their best to contain it. the supermarkets, even though there was a bit of panic buying at the beginning, they are more or less pretty well stocked at the moment put it there were not many people in then put thatjust put it there were not many people in then put that just today at my local supermarket, they said they would deliver groceries free of charge to anybody over 65 which is good because people who can't move, at least they can get their groceries. psychologically. .. least they can get their groceries. psychologically... i've got lots of books to read! lots of things to do on the computer. i'm getting used to the idea because already i have been more cautious than most people because i have an underlying lung condition so i'm a bit more at risk.

i've been using my mask and washing my hands and not touching my face and all those things. i've not been out much in the last couple of weeks, i have to admit, so it'll be an extension of that for me. that was peggyjohnson. emergency laws which would help to recruit millions of health care volunteers in the country are being drawn up by the government with ministers preparing for a likely expansion of the coronavirus outbreak. the bill is expected to go to parliament by the end of the month and will make it easierfor end of the month and will make it easier for potential volunteers to ta ke easier for potential volunteers to take time off work. our political correspondent chris mason reports. down the decades, people have been volunteering for the stjohn ambulance. the organisation has a history going back over 1a0 years. the government wants to make it easier for those who volunteer now to do so for longer if, as expected, the coronavirus outbreak gets worse. around three million people volunteer, in what the government calls a health, community health and social care setting, for organisations like the stjohn ambulance or the red cross. the health secretary,

matt hancock, wants those described as being "skilled, experienced or qualified" volunteers to be able to do so for up to four weeks, if they choose to, without fear of losing their dayjob. other plans include allowing court cases to be heard via telephone and video links to ensure the justice system continues to function in the event of an epidemic, and making sure there is no impact on the pensions of retired health professionals who return to work having re—registered. it's also budget week. new chancellor rishi sunak will give his first budget on wednesday. he tells the sunday telegraph his focus will be on what he calls "the economic security of the country," and he wants to ensure that there isn't a permanent impact on firms that are otherwise financially sound. ministers are well aware they have to be prepared for things getting significantly worse. late last night, oxford university said one of its students had tested

positive for the virus, having returned from abroad. but they have been advised the risk to other students and staff is very low. chris mason, bbc news. in the united states, 3500 crew and passengers on board a cruise ship including 1a0 britons are to be tested for the virus. they have been stranded on the grand princess off the coast of san francisco since last week put it so far, 21 passengers have tested positive for the disease and our correspondent sophie long has more. well, another day has passed and 1a2 britons and more than 3,000 others remain stranded on the grand princess cruise liner. the ship was supposed to dock here in san francisco first thing on saturday morning, but has been prevented from doing so because it is now known at least 21 people aboard do have coronavirus. now, the company that owns the ship say they want to bring her in to dock as soon as possible so they can get people into the appropriate medical or quarantine facilities.

we heard from vice president mike pence on friday evening. he's the man co—ordinating the operation to contain the virus here in the united states, and he said they had a plan and that the ship would be able to dock in a non—commercial port before the weekend was out. but i have been speaking to people on board and they said they had no information. they still don't know where they are or where they are going and when they will get there. they say it's becoming increasingly difficult. they have been confined to their cabins now since thursday lunchtime. they are getting deliveries of food but they say they are becoming much less regular and they are concerned about medical supplies and food supplies running out. on friday evening, one passenger, who is said to be critically ill, was evacuated from the ship along with his travelling companion. but more than 3,000 others remain stranded on that ship and they still have no idea where they are going or when they will get there. sophie long. for a second conductive day in china there been fewer than

100 new cases of coronavirus across the country point to the health authorities report aa new suspected cases in the past 2a hours. there have been a further 27 deaths, all concentrated in the province of hurriyet where wuhan is located. —— in hubei province put up now to get some answers to some of your questions about coronavirus. joining us is professor mark harris, a theology expert at the university of leeds. thank you forjoining us. —— for —— virology expert. what is your assessment of where we are in this outbreak? i think we are still at quite an early stage in this epidemic in the uk. we clearly have a number of cases and we are proceeding on a daily basis and we

can expect those to increase, potentially the rate of increase will increase itself over the next few days and this is a critical time for trying to contain this epidemic. let's begin with a question from leah davies, forgive me, from tony burton which is straight forward, "does the virus affect bowels? " i'm sorry, the line is bad. are read it again, tony asks if the virus has an effect on peoples bowels because he is wondering what is sparking this mask purchase of loo rolls?” is wondering what is sparking this mask purchase of loo rolls? i have to say i am mask purchase of loo rolls? i have to sayiama mask purchase of loo rolls? i have to say i am a little puzzled by the purchasing of loo rolls! there is some evidence that sometimes the

virus can cause some bowel issues but that is not the main symptom of the infection which is a respiratory infection so i don't really understand the loo roll mania! that's a sociological question! rather than a virulent g1. in terms of symptoms, it is worth repeating, this question of the symptoms. and what other real signs that people should look out for. i'm sorry, i missed that completely. should look out for. i'm sorry, i missed that completelylj should look out for. i'm sorry, i missed that completely. i will try again, what symptoms should people be looking out for to distinguish this from a straightforward flu infection? i guess the symptoms we are looking at are a dry cough and fever and potentially, if they progress, you would have some difficulty breathing due to infection of the lungs. those are the main symptoms people should look

out for, sneezing and coughing. leah davies from mid wales asks if the government should consider putting the country into a mini shutdown over the easter holidays, using that opportunity may be to restrict the potential for the virus to be transmitted. i think that might well be something the government decides to do. the easter holidays is a time when a lot of people will move around the country and that would give the potential for widescale transmission of the virus. obviously we have to consider to try to prevent transmission within communities but preventing people from travelling across the country or even outside the country would seem or even outside the country would seem to be a logical and appropriate think to put in place over the easter holidays when a lot of people might consider doing that. but my

feeling is that perhaps it might not be necessary because i think people will probably do that themselves, they will consider, we will not go travelling this holiday because of the risks and the potential of getting infected or spreading the virus around so i think it might be put in place but might not be absolutely necessary and people might sort of self regulate. matt and helen would like to know, where are people being tested? they have heard about the government testing people but where is that happening at the moment? i'm sorry, you'll need to repeat that. where in the country are people being tested at the moment? there are reports of people being tested for coronavirus but is it something that gps are doing? is it only when people ring 111 and say they think they have the symptoms? the testing itself is done

mainly at colin dale, at the labs, but samples will be taken from people, there are some mobile testing labs that are around at different hospitals. we have seen exa m ples of different hospitals. we have seen examples of that but the samples need to be taken to a laboratory where they are tested to determine whether they contains a virus or not. that is one of the limitations that we have at the moment, that we have a blog, if you like, in the speedin have a blog, if you like, in the speed in which we can test samples and maybe we need to find a way to get round that —— a block. and maybe we need to find a way to get round that -- a block. one of you has written to say, my wife and son have just flown back from northern italy to the uk and he wa nts to northern italy to the uk and he wants to know why there are not cheques at uk airports are people who are coming from affected regions. we heard that flights are continuing as normal to and from milan and presumably there is a risk are people coming here and they

might have the infection at least if that was testing at the airport, there would be an early warning before they perhaps have the potential to go back to their normal lives and infect people. i'm sorry, ididn't lives and infect people. i'm sorry, i didn't get that at all. the signal is really bad! we are very grateful for persisting for us. one viewer has asked why there is no testing at airports for people who have come back from affected regions. airports for people who have come back from affected regionslj airports for people who have come back from affected regions. i think your asking why people who are coming back from infected regions are not being to tested at the airport and are not being to tested at the airportandi are not being to tested at the airport and i think this is a valid question. i think they really should bea question. i think they really should be a little bit more testing are people who are coming into the country, particular from italy people who are coming into the country, particularfrom italy or iran or other regions where there is a lot of virus amount we need to be

a lot of virus amount we need to be a bit more rigorous about testing. i know we are kind of accepting that isa know we are kind of accepting that is a lot of virus present within the country but we need to still prevent more people coming in with the virus because obviously they can transmit further so there is a need to up the anti a little bit with the testing thatis anti a little bit with the testing that is happening at ports of entry. but that is a resource issue and the other thing is, if we sample a lot of people, we have to test those samples so maybe there was a way around that. as we did in the ebola crisis, we could recruit people from research labs across the country who have experience of doing the techniques required for this testing processes and maybe we could set up some mobile labs at major ports of entry to try and test for the presence of virus so people would have a rapid decision about whether they were infected or not. i think that it something that does not seem to have been considered yet but we

do need to raise that issue. catherine would like to know, when somebody has the virus, how long do the worst of the symptoms last? that's a difficult question because it depends what you mean by it when somebody has the virus. we know there was a potential phase of two weeks when the person will be infected but might not show any symptoms but i guess from when the symptoms but i guess from when the symptoms start to appear, it could be another couple of weeks in terms of how long it takes for the symptoms to manifest and be cleared by the immune system, or for those people to be treated. it is probably going to be, from the time of infection, at least a month i would think before those people are clear of the virus. and is it possible or do we not yet know if it is possible for people to become reinfected? sorry, you'll need to repeat that.

i'm sorry the technical problems are making it difficult at your rent. is it possible or do we not yet know if people can get reinfected? —— at your end. sorry, i didn't hear that at all. i'll give it one more go. is it possible people can get reinfected? i think that's unlikely. that have been a couple of studies that have shown that people who were cleared of the virus or apparently cleared of the virus or apparently cleared then tested positive again but i suspect that is more down to a technical issue with the testing process. i think it is unlikely that once people have really cleared the infection and developed immunity that they could get infected with the same virus. i think possibly they had very low levels of virus and then became stressed or some other issue that meant that the

virus perhaps escaped from the immune control and was able to be detected again but i think it is very unlikely that people would be reinfected. aiden is asking, how long can coronavirus stay alive on ha rd long can coronavirus stay alive on hard surfaces? how long can coronavirus stay alive on hard surfaces? no, ithink coronavirus stay alive on hard surfaces? no, i think we have lost the professor. but we are very grateful to him, professor mark harris who is a biologist at the university of leeds, having some difficulty at with his interest connection —— who is a virologist. he did cope heroically when it is very distracting with those technical difficulties and apologies to those whose questions we have not been able to answer on this occasion, we will try to save them with our next slot because we are

doing this regularly on the new channel and we will keep persisting with giving people the opportunity is to get answers to some of the questions you have sent to us. keep sending them in and don't forget you can keep up—to—date with all developments on our website. and you can find out about the symptoms to watch out for, what it means for you, on the bbc news app as well as on our website. spending on flood defences in england is set to double in the wednesday's budget. £5.2 billion has been allocated to build 2,000 new schemes in the next six years. the government says this will offer better protection to home and businesses. the rest of the uk will receive the same percentage increase for their own flood defences. the duchess of sussex has urged men to do more to respect women during a surprise visit to a school. the duchess appeared at an assembly

at a school in dagenham in london ahead of international women's day. last night, meghan appeared with her husband prince harry at an event in london. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. take a good look, because we won't be seeing much more of this for a while. the duke and duchess of sussex last night at the royal albert hall, still introduced as their royal highnesses, and still very much looking the part. harry was making a final appearance as captain—general of the royal marines, complete with gold braid, medals and honours. for her part, meghan is leaving formal royal life with a strong endorsement of a cause about which she feels deeply — the rights of women. a couple of days ago she visited a school in dagenham to make a speech timed for international women's day, today. these were issues, she said, which were relevant every day and to every person, and she had a particular message for men. ijust encourage and empower each of you to really

stand in your truth, to stand for what is right, to continue to respect each other, for you young men, to continue to value and appreciate the women in your lives, and to also set the example for some men who are not seeing it that same way, right? you have your mothers, sisters, girlfriends, friends in your life. protect them, make sure they are feeling valued and safe. the speech went down well, the speaker was appreciated. she really is beautiful, innit? cheering tomorrow, harry and meghan will make their final appearance, for now, with the queen, at westminster abbey. after that, the great experiment of their new, supposedly non—royal life will begin in canada. nicholas witchell, bbc news. and other theme of international women's day, we have more at the bbc sports centre. good morning, we are

talking about coronavirus here as well but a lot of questions over a number of major sporting events because of the spread and this morning it has been announced that the bahrain grand prix will be the first ever formula 1 race to be staged behind closed doors. organisers issued a statement this morning to say it was holding ticket sales for the event later this month and it would be participants only put it they say they know how disappointed many fans would be but a safety as their priority. australia have thrashed india by 85 ru ns australia have thrashed india by 85 runs in the women's t20 world cup final in melbourne. this was set to be the biggest event in women's sporting history, and even katy perry was there to begin the proceedings. after her performance, it was an extremely one—sided final with australia absolutely ruthless, posting an imposing score of 18a—a from their 20 overs. there were half centuries for alyssa healy and beth

mooney. india were bowled out for a 99. the final attendance of 86,000 just fell short of the biggest crowd ata just fell short of the biggest crowd at a women's sporting event. in the six nations, scotland host france this afternoon while england have won theirfirst this afternoon while england have won their first triple crown in four yea rs won their first triple crown in four years after beating wales 33—30 in what was a thrilling but somewhat controversial match at twickenham. manu tuilagi got on the scoresheet before being sent off for a dangerous tackle late on. after the match, england head coach eddie jones seems to imply that the referee, ben o'keeffe, was biased in favour of wales. jones said that at the end of the match it was 13 against 16 with england's ellis kent already sin binned before tuilagi was dismissed. —— ellis genge. already sin binned before tuilagi was dismissed. —— ellis gengelj find it bizarre, i do usually don't comment but i don't see how you can tackle a guy. you might as well say someone

tackle a guy. you might as well say someone tackle like that you might let go. how else are you meant to tackle about him? this bit about your arms, what a of rubbish. he was trying to kill the tackle, that was the only thing he was trying to do. absolute rubbish. i'm sorry, i broke my rule. there was one other talking point during the match point a lot of people picked up on this from england'sjoe of people picked up on this from england's joe muller who appears of people picked up on this from england'sjoe muller who appears to be grabbing wales captain alun wyn jones around the groin area. —— jo marney. this has a minimum punishment of a 12 week ban. this is what alun wyn jones said afterwards. ifi what alun wyn jones said afterwards. if i react i get a red card. it's tough, isn't it? hopefully world by tough, isn't it? hopefully world rugby had a look at it per dojo is a good bloke, a lot of things happen ona good bloke, a lot of things happen on a rugby field. —— joe is a good bloke. it is difficult as a captain because you can't speak to a referee about anything, it feels. i look at the touchjudge, he obviously didn't

see what happened but that's fine. the england women are nowjust one win away from their second successive grand slam after they thrashed wales in front of a record crowd. they scored ten tries in total with poppy cleo getting a hat—trick. their match against wales with the only women's fixture of the weekend with scotland against france and ireland against italy both called off because of the coronavirus. there are two games in the premier league today including a huge one at old trafford as manchester united take on manchester city. 15 points separated the teams at the moment with city in second and united in seventh and despite having a fierce rivalry, both managers have been in a commentary mood about their opponents.” managers have been in a commentary mood about their opponents. i think the quality of united, there is no doubt about how big it is. i appreciate a lot of the manager. i think it represents united in an

exceptional way and the players, you analyse the individual, collectively they are so good. that is why, i didn't expect when i landed here to have this gap right now with united, evenin have this gap right now with united, even in the past. you can feel the rivalry much more. of course they have come and we know all about the noisy neighbour, and they have really done well. this game has grown in magnitude for me. and the bragging rights, that is more than just monday morning now, it lasts longer. and we have got to speed that up because we have been behind them in the league a few years, too many years now. kick off is at half past four and chelsea are hosting everton in the early kick off point for all the build—up to that and the rangers match at ross county in the scottish premier ship, check our website. that's all for now. next to state like london but first the