this is bbc news, i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 3pm... 273 people in the uk have tested positive for coronavirus — that's up from 209 yesterday, according to latest figures released in the last hour. 16 million people in northern italy are placed in quarantine for a month because of the virus. in lombardy, ski resorts, gyms and nightclubs can't be opened. restaurant customers must sit at least a metre apart. china reports its lowest number of new infections in a single day, since january. here, new emergency laws — including court cases over video link or phone — to help tackle the virus are announced. borisjohnson meets victims of flooding, as a doubling in funding for flood defences

to £5 billion is to be announced in wednesday's budget. meghan uses one of her last appearances as a senior royal to urge men to do more to respect women. value and appreciate the women in your lives, and also set the example for some men who are not seeing it that same way. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. in the past hour it's been confirmed that the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the uk has risen to 273. that's up from 209 yesterday. 23,500 people have been tested for the virus —

the vast majority have been given the all—clear. there have been two deaths. dr amir khan is a gp in leeds. he said he wasn't surprised at today's jump in the number of people contracting coronavirus. we are moving on from the containment phase to the delay phase, and it is really important that people adhere to the hygiene measures that the government are putting out there. you mentioned those two phases because we are still in that containment phase now, but clearly it is only a matter of time before we move on. yes, and i don't think there's much time before you move on and the whole purpose of the delay phase is to stop a massive peak of people being infected all of the same time and overwhelming our nhs services, so we know that people are going to be infected and we know it will be a lot of people but we want that number to climb slowly and that is the purpose of the delay phase, so we are not overwhelmed as health professionals ourselves by the demand. given what you say there,

how much can we usefully learn from the italian experience in all this? i think we can learn a lot, they moved fairly quickly, i know there are large numbers of people infected there, however the government have gone to great lengths to try and delay that and slow down the process, so i think this is new to all of us, i have been a doctorfor 15 years and i have not come across anything on this scale before, so yes, the nhs is prepared and the government are doing a lot to try and delay things, but this is all new territory for a lot of us on the ground, so we are learning every day as we go along. but when you look at the quarantine measures now being talked about in parts of italy, i should stress parts, to some they will look drastic, and to you do they look about right under the circumstances? i think it is easy for things to feel drastic. i think we always have to prepare for the worst case scenario and we don't want to panic people, and i have seen the seeds of panic

buying of supermarkets, it is not about panicking people, it is about preparing for the worst case scenario, because if we don't do that we will be caught off—guard and it will be even worse, so everything we are doing might sound drastic, but it is preparing for the worst which is really important, we have to be prepared. what of our own health and social care services, we are seeing this proposed emergency legislation today, registration of retired health professionals, the idea being that some would come out of retirement to help if need be. does it strike you as a sensible measure? i think so, yes. already without the coronavirus the nhs is stretched, so if you add this into the mix it is going to be really hard for those of us working every day in the nhs, so any help that we can get, be it from retired health professionals who are i am sure willing to come out and help, be it from undergraduate medical students, nursing students, we have got to have a plan in place because the number of patients

is going to increase dramatically. we have already seen just from phone calls on 111, they have gone up a third which is a huge amount and they had to draft people in to help answer the phones and that is the beginning, so i am worried as a gp seeing patients every day how we are going to go. we have put measures in place at our practice to try and reduce the risk of infection, but we also know deep down it is just a matter of time. and that extra help we talk about is so crucial in social care as well, isn't it, where for example you have a lot of vulnerable people being looked after. yes, social care will be a real problem. we have had calls last week from nursing homes where we look after elderly or vulnerable patients, patients have had temperatures, fevers, coughs, we have been up to see them and they are low risk at the moment, but as time goes on the numbers of people infected gets higher and higher, we are really going to have to review the way we look after our nursing home patients, because they can't go

to hospital, they can't leave the nursing home because of their other illnesses but if we go out to see them, we risk infecting ourselves and then other people, so there is a lot of things that haven't quite clearly been defined yet for us, but i'm hoping that is on its way. dr amir khan in leeds. well, meanwhile — emergency laws which would help to recruit millions of health care volunteers are being drawn up by the government, as ministers prepare for a likely coronavirus outbreak here. the bill, expected to go through parliament by the end of the month, would make it 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 140 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. italy has imposed sweeping restrictions on the movement and activities of more than a quarter of its population in areas of the north and east of the country. some 16 million people are affected by the virtual lockdown as the government tries to limit the spread of coronavirus. the restriction applies to the entire lombardy region, italy's wealthiest, and 14 other provinces. all travel not deemed essential is banned. jon donnison reports. in central milan this morning, an uneasy quiet. a quarter of italy's population,

some 16 million people, including those living in the country's second biggest city, now in quarantine. translation: we are facing an emergency, a national emergency. we have done so from the outset with exceptional precautionary measures, and we are facing it with great awareness, without underestimating the situation. but such a drastic measure is an admission that italy has so far failed to contain the virus, with around 6,000 cases and more than 230 deaths. it is not a complete lockdown. trains and planes will still run, but many travellers are choosing to stay home and police will be able to restrict people's movements. bars and cafes can stay open but must ensure customers can sit a metre apart. marzio toniolo, a primary school teacher, has been making a video diary with his family.

he has already been in quarantine for several weeks. he says people have to cooperate with the new measures or the problem will get worse, with hospitals already overloaded. venice, which ordinarily welcomes more than 20 million tourists a year, is also now considered a red zone. rome is not part of the quarantine area, but this morning, pope francis gave his weekly address by video link rather than from the traditional balcony overlooking worshippers in st peter's square. and all top—flight football matches across the country will be played behind closed doors until at least april, but as the number of cases continues to rise rapidly, the question some are asking — is this all being done too late? jon donnison, bbc news. 0ur correspondent bethany bell is in bologna and has more.

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 they 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 modena, crucial tourist spots. we are in bologna which is about a0 kilometres outside the lockdown zones. all over italy, people are very concerned 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. we can speak to our correspondent imogen foulkes, who is in bern in switzerland. a lot of movement, there would normally be between switzerland and italy, image and, how does it look from where you are? quite a lot of confusion. and utter shock i think. this announcement was made in the middle of the night. italy is our close, close neighbour. in the southernmost country of switzerland alone, 70,000 workers across from italy every day. many of them work on the health sector which switzerland needs at the moment because it's cases on the coronavirus are rising up to at least 300 today, the second death being recorded today, so there is real, real concern about what is

happening just with our closest neighbour, and how much it is going to affect what happens in this country also. how much communication there was an advance of the decision being announced presumably. there we re being announced presumably. there were rumours yesterday, but nothing from the swiss government. i was actually up quite late, being saturday night, and i kept thinking we are going to see something from the swiss government. we saw nothing until this morning when we heard that the government is in consultation with rome, the health authority in southern switzerland is in consultation with their collea g u es in consultation with their colleagues in southern switzerland, with their colleagues in northern italy, but there still doesn't seem to be clarity about whether those tens of thousands of people are actually going to be able to come to work on monday morning, so there is really a lot of concern about trade, workers, the health service, the rise in cases. let's not forget italy has almost 6000 confirmed cases. switzerland has so far only

tested a0 0 0 cases. switzerland has so far only tested 4000 people. so there is also concerned that maybe there are many more cases than we care actually know about. this is why we have bans on all public gatherings, football matches and so on, they have been banned for a week. now people are being told to work at home if at all possible, not supposed to use public transport in rush hour. the government are still hoping these measures might work because they worry all the time about the effect on the economy. that i said, huge concern what is happening with our neighbour to the south. thank you very much, imogen foulkes in bern in switzerland. back here — more patients quarantined after returing to the uk from china have been leaving arrowe park hospital near birkenhead this morning following two weeks of isolation. 0ur correspondent stuart flinders is there and has more. it has been a pretty tough few weeks for them. they flew in as a group of 32 people who had been on board the diamond princess, a cruise liner injapan, when coronavirus was

found to be on board. they came back to the uk, two irish nationals and the rest are british, and immediately four were found to have coronavirus and were sent to specialist centres in liverpool, sheffield and newcastle. the remaining 28 have spent the past two weeks here and last night the first of them started to begin theirjourney home and back to their normal lives. they are described as guests here and not patients, and most left in large taxis with blackened windows this morning but a couple did stop to talk to me. how are you? i am fine, very well, thank you. what has it been like in there? very well looked after. the hospital were terrific, really terrific. but if i am on the box or anything, please, i want to say thank you to the government ofjapan. it was a very robust quarantine. without it, i think, thousands more would have been infected. that didn't happen. 2,000 to 3,000 now are testing negative, thanks to them. they were correct.

thanks to japan and thank you so much to the hospital. now i am going to go away and have a haircut — the first thing i am going to do. we are very looking forward to going home. looking forward to going home now. we are very looking forward to going home. thank you. it'a a relief. what's it been like in there? 0k. it's lovely. they have looked after us. where are you from? kent, sheerness. what are your names? elaine and john spencer. the whole experience, effectively you've had four weeks of this, haven't you? we have had four weeks. that's a month's isolation. that is a long time. thank you. the reason it has been four weeks is because before they began their two weeks here they were in isolation for two weeks on board the diamond princess. that quarantine period turned out to be a complete waste of time when it turned out that one fifth of the passengers and crew and holiday—makers on board, 3700 people, all had coronavirus. they were brought to the uk and now have begun theirjourneys home all over the country and there is one couple i know who were heading down south, one,

the wife was going home but the husband has got to go to heathrow to collect a car which has been parked there since they began their holiday more than a month ago. here is my colleaguejane hill with a reminder of some important information about the virus. this is what we all need to know about reducing our risk of catching coronavirus. wash your hands regularly. rub the palm and back of your hands in between the fingers and not forgetting the thumbs. it should take 20 seconds — long enough to sing happy birthday twice. avoid touching yourface with unwashed hands because this can spread disease. the first symptoms of coronavirus are a fever and a cough and you may experience shortness of breath. if you have a cough or high temperature, that does not necessarily mean you have coronavirus but if you think you might, don't go to hospital or your gp. stay at home and call nhs iii, or use their online service. they will be able to tell you what to do next.

you can keep up—to—date with the latest developments about the coronavirus outbreak, how to guard against it, and what it means for you, on the bbc news app and on our website. thank latest headlines. 273 people in the uk have tested positive for coronavirus. that is up from 209 yesterday according to latest figures. 16 million people in northern italy are placed in quarantine for a month because of the virus. china reports its lowest number of new infections in a single day since january. in sport... scotla nd day since january. in sport... scotland are just ahead of france in the six nations. the match kicked off at three o'clock at mirfield and scotla nd off at three o'clock at mirfield and scotland are leading 3—0. favourites france have won every match of the tournament so far. a return to sta mford tournament so far. a return to stamford bridge for carlo ancelotti is not going well. as everton side

are being thrashed 4—0 at chelsea in the early kick—off. goals from mason mount, pedro, willian and 0livier giroud. spectators won't be able to match this ‘s bahrain prix. 0rganisers eliminate limiting it to competitors only due to the coronavirus. and on international women's day — bryony frost wins the first race at southwell on their historic all—female race card featuring both jumps and flat racing. more sport in an hour. many thanks. the prime minister borisjohnson has been visiting the flood—affected town of bewdley in worcestershire this afternoon. the area was one of the worst affected by last week's flooding after defences buckled, forcing many residents to be evacuated from their homes. the visit comes as the treasury revealed that funding for flood defences in england will be doubled to £5.2 billion over five years in the forthcoming budget.

the government is promising money to help struggling high streets in order to help reduce regional inequalities. retailers say business rates are one of their biggest problems — especially what's called transitional relief — this slows down the speed with which their rates bills go up and down. they say it's cost the sector hundreds of millions of pounds. emma simpson reports from blackpool. this is one of the best retail streets in blackpool and this unit is one of the best units in the street. ten or 15 years ago we would have been fighting the retailers off, the demand would have been strong. no longer. this used to be a top shop, but it has just handed back the keys. now paul moran's company is struggling to find somebody to fill the gap because the business rates bill is too big. the rates bill on this shop is dramatically higher than its rental value. it is the first thing

they will look it, it is the first question they will ask, what is the rate bill? and it is deterring tenants from taking this unit. this town is feeling the impact of the huge upheaval in retail, driven by the rise in online shopping. the market is changing fast, but business rates are not keeping up. business rates are a tax based on how much a property is worth in rent. now, if rents fall, so should rates. if they go up, so will the rates bill. it sounds reasonable, but changes to rates are gradually phased in to help businesses adjust. too gradually, though, for towns like this one where bills are not coming down fast enough. that's the problem. take this poundland store round the corner. rents fell dramatically in 2017 when the government last revalued property. its rates bill should have gone down by 46%,

but by the end of next year, it will only have dropped in real terms by 13%. this one shop is effectively paying £167,000 in extra tax through the system known as transitional relief. i call it comic relief, in fairness. we are a business that is thriving, but transitional relief costs us millions of pounds. the boss of poundland says it needs to be scrapped. i could open more shops, i could employ more colleagues, i could create better products for existing customers. itjust holds the business back from investing and driving growth. the government is promising a fundamental review of business rates and is halving them for small shops at the budget. but that will not be much help to the big chains which are trying to steer through turbulent times in the towns in need of the most support. emma simpson, bbc news, blackpool.

lebanon's government has voted to default on a foreign currency debt for the first time in the country's history. the country will no longer pay a 1.2 billion euro bond that matures this monday. the prime minister hassan diab said lebanon's debt had become more than it could bear and the decision had been made to protect the country's interests. the duchess of sussex has used one of her last appearances as a senior royal to urge men to do more to respect women. she was speaking during a surprise visit to a school in east london on friday. the details have been released this morning to mark international women's day. last night, meghan appeared with her husband prince harry at an event in london. 0ur 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. as we mentioned in that report, today is international women's day, a worldwide event which celebrates women's achievements while also calling for gender equality. this year's theme is each for equal which aims to challenge stereotypes, fight bias and broaden perceptions. the bbc‘s charlotte gallagher is at whitehall and has more now on how the day is being in marked here in london. thousands of people are at

parliament square today to march for gender equality around the world. this yearfeminists gender equality around the world. this year feminists have teamed up with climate change activists because organisers say they want women and girls to have more say in the plans to tackle global warming in different countries across the world. they say at the moment that just isn't happening. there are lots of celebrities here today as you would expect, bianca jagger, the game it terms actress natalie dormer met ricky wilson from the kaiser chiefs and george mackay from 1917. also people from across the uk that have come down here. i spoke to a family from ireland and they have made the journey over because they wa nted made the journey over because they wanted to show their two young daughters the feeling that you get at these events and they have made signs saying the future is female, so signs saying the future is female, so there is a real strong feeling here that there is still a lot to be done. i was speaking to helen pankhurst, of course the great grand and granddaughter of two key leaders in the suffragette movement. she says she thought her ancestors would says she thought her ancestors would say yes there is a lot to celebrate, but isn't there still are to be done

especially political representation of women the world. there have been events across the world. we have seen events across the world. we have seen some events across the world. we have seen some where there have been abuse of women, and carragher stand today, dozens of women were arrested when their march was attacked by men, so still a lot to be done in different parts of the world and in the uk. that is what organisers are saying. across pakistan hundreds of women have been taking part in rallies marking international women's day. islamist politicians had threatened to stop the marches taking place — accusing the organisers of promoting "anti islamic" slogans. whilst the day passed of largely peacefully — in islamabad supporters of a hardline group threw stones at those attending a rally in the city. secunder kermani reports. this is the third year that the women's march is taking place in pakistan and it is increasingly becoming a symbol for the cultural divide within society here. pakistan is overall a deeply conservative and

patriarchal country and the women here are talking about issues such as so—called honour killings, sexual harassment, a lack of public space for women, but they face a lot of opposition, particularly from right wing religious groups who have threatened to stop the marches, even at times hinting at using force to do so. they have been particularly enraged by the use of one phrase, my body, my choice. it is a fairly common feminists slogan referencing reproductive rights, but for the critics of this much they see it as having some kind of subversive sexualised connotation. those religious groups have been holding their own demonstrations today. one just across the street. as the crowd we re just across the street. as the crowd were leaving some of them it seems began throwing sticks and stones at those taking part in this rally. it isa sign those taking part in this rally. it is a sign of how heated debate over this day has become. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav.

sunday has been a brighter day than what we had on saturday. more sunshine around but also a scattering of showers. the showers will continue this evening into the first part of the night. they will tend to continue across western areas but become fewer and further between further east, it will turn drier with likely clear skies. with light winds, clear skies, the cooler air mass, it will be a cold night with a touch of frost in one or two sheltered winds of eastern scotland. the next weather system making inroads during monday. we will start monday dry and bright with some sunshine, rather chilly, just one or two showers around and then it turns wet and windy for northern ireland and western scotland, questioning and western scotland, questioning and and wales as we head through the afternoon. eastern areas staying dry and perhaps brighter until the rain arrives here after dark. some of the rain will be quite heavy as it splashes its way eastwards. really piling up across parts of wales and northern england step into tuesday, further cloud and rain at times, very mild in the south and then it is cooler with sunshine and showers from wednesday onwards.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: 273 people in the uk have tested positive for a coronavirus, up from 209 yesterday, according to latest figures. 16 million people in northern italy are placed in quarantine for a month because of the virus. in lombardy, ski resorts, gyms and nig htclu bs in lombardy, ski resorts, gyms and nightclubs cannot be opened and restau ra nt nightclubs cannot be opened and restaurant customers have to sit at least a metre apart. china reports its lowest number of new infections in a single day since january. here, new emergency laws including court cases here, new emergency laws including court cases over a here, new emergency laws including court cases over a video link or forum to help tackle the virus are announced. borisjohnson meets victims of flooding, as a doubling of funding

for