tonight at 10, italy sees a sharp rise in the number of deaths from the coronavirus, as a quarter of the population is put in partial lockdown. 366 people have now died, with the movements of 16 million residents in the north of the country heavily restricted. lam i am live near the restricted zone in northern italy, where the government has drastically escalated attem pts government has drastically escalated atte m pts to government has drastically escalated attempts to contain the outbreak. it's just been announced a third person has now died in the uk after contracting the virus, after the biggest one—day jump in confirmed cases. we'll have the very latest. also tonight... two weeks after severe flooding, borisjohnson visits worcestershire, to see the on—going clean—up operation.

she really is beautiful, innit? the schoolboy who brought the house down with his comment about meghan. and then gets a hug from the duchess. slips it out wide. chance again. and it will be maitland for the try! second try for the winger, second try for scotland. and in the six nations, scotland end france's winning run with a stirring performance, at murrayfield. good evening. there's been a sharp rise in the number of deaths from the coronavirus in italy, where sweeping quarantine measures have been imposed. 366 people now have died, up by more than 100 injust one day. there's also been a big jump

in the total number of infections, up by a quarter, to 7,375, the highest figure outside of china. the vast majority of deaths and infections have been in the lombardy area, where, along with 14 other provinces, around 16 million people have now been quarantined. our correspondent, mark lowen, is in bologna for us tonight. clive, two weeks ago we were talking about cases jumping here from three to 150. now they are well over 7000. considerfor a moment the to 150. now they are well over 7000. consider for a moment the sheer magnitude of what has happened over the past fortnight here, in the heart of europe. every sector, health care, the economy, daily life, is now threatened by this coronavirus outbreak. a senior health official here today said this was a war that italy would win. like a scene from a nightmare that italy

is now living. sealed inside, a 62—year—old man, fall into the virus. he has been contained. the outbreak hasn't. he is transported to hospitals, stretched to the limit. this is the human cost of a disease that has taken hold so fast, infecting on a then incapacitating within days. translation: it really is very difficult. we are exhausted. we got so difficult. we are exhausted. we got so many patients, a lot more than the number we are used to managing. we are having to move some patients to another hospitaljust so we can cope. medics say corridors are being used for intensive care units, and one of the world's best health systems is near breaking point. the surge in cases has now prompted the most drastic restrictions here since the second world war. italy's financial capital, milan, is bare, virtually locked down, along with 14 provinces. a quarter of the

population, quarantined. everyone returning to the uk from the area must now self—isolate. italy's second city, usually teeming with life, is hushed, access in or out strictly limited. schools and universities are shut until april. cinemas, pools and nightclubs, too. the prime minister talked of a crisis. translation: we are facing an emergency, a national emergency, taking exceptional precautionary measures, and we are facing it with great awareness. venice is part of the restricted area, one of italy's tourism jewels, deserted by a mixture of quarantine and fear. as we drove north from rome, we expected tighter controls. but there are none. we are coming into the start of part of the new exclusion zone. you can see there is no total lockdown. there are no police roadblocks, for example. it's too big an area to control in that way.

but people are being asked not to leave or enter. we are going to turn around now, because otherwise there isa around now, because otherwise there is a risk of entering the new quarantine zone. at the vatican, decades of tradition were broken, as the pope made his sunday blessing by video stream, rather than at the window, to a st peter's square usually filled with thousands. faith that this will pass is sorely lacking. mark lowen, bbc news, northern italy. in the last hour it's been announced that a third person has died in the uk, after contracting the coronavirus. the man, who was in his 60s, was being treated at north manchester general hospital after travelling in italy, and he had a number of underlying health problems. it comes after a big jump in confirmed cases. the department of health says 273 people have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus, up by more than 60. the number of people who've died is now three. borisjohnson has urged shoppers not to stock up on supplies that they don't need,

as supermarkets such as tesco begin rationing some food and household items, because some people are buying too much. here's chris mason. the man whose death was announced tonight was being treated at a specialist infectious diseases unit at this hospital in manchester. like the other two deaths in the uk, the patient had underlying health conditions, and therefore was among those at the highest risk. 0n the day of the biggest rise yet in the number of cases here, a big challenge. how do we as a society react? what is a rational response? tesco has joined some other retailers in putting limits on the quantity of some items that an individual shopper can buy, and the prime minister insists there is no need to panic. 0n, you know, the people's responses to the news and buying in shops and all of that,

we've had no advice from the scientific advisors or the medical officers that there's any need for people to stockpile. those who study how supermarkets make sure they have enough of the things we want say their systems are designed to cope with moments like this. whilst there might be empty shelves at the moment in the shops, over the next week or so, you will see them start to replenish. the supply chain will start to deliver stuff through to the stories, and, hopefully, this shortage that is fairly short term will clear and everything will be back to normal again. in the midst of all of this, the new chancellor will deliver his first budget on wednesday. we're looking very hard at the range of scenarios, and making sure that, in each of those, we can respond appropriately, and that means providing support for public services, and we have already done that with regard to the nhs, making sure we can support vulnerable people, and also making sure we can help businesses get through what could be an impact on their businesses that

could be significant, but for a temporary period of time. labour say there was already a crisis in health and social care before the nhs was stretched even further. for the government, for society, for each of us, covid—i9 is posing big questions. chris mason, bbc news. in the united states, there are now almost 500 cases of the coronavirus, and 19 people have died. most of those deaths have been in the state of washington, linked to a care homejust north of seattle. families say vulnerable relatives have been left trapped inside under quarantine. from seattle, chris buckler reports. more than a dozen patients at this care home have already died and dozens of others have been confined to their rooms inside a building that's at the centre of america's deadliest outbreak of the coronavirus.

and some, like susan hayley, are showing symptoms of being infected. it feels like prison, it feels like there's a gun to our head. susan's daughters aren't being allowed to visit her for their own health. they've only been able to see their mother by standing outside the closed window of her room. i feel like the worst daughter in the world. i really do. because i can't help. i'm sure that most every person that's in there will test positive, but it's a wait and see. a lack of availability of testing kits has hindered america's response to what has become a health crisis. as the number of cases rises, so does the concern. the authorities admit they that haven't been able to test everyone that's showing symptoms. in reality that means they believe hundreds, if not thousands, are carrying the virus here in the greater seattle area. this is a city that's beginning

to feel stalked by covid—i9. businesses, schools and universities have told people to work from home, but every day thousands gather in places like seattle's famous pike place market and while they're encouraging people to wash their hands, that can only do so much. i think shutting down schools is a good idea, but i don't really know how much you can prevent the spread of it in a city like seattle. the majority of deaths so far have been linked to the kirkland life ca re been linked to the kirkland life care centre. but carmen can't go in and her mother can't leave. she's trapped in this petri dish and that's waiting for her to be sick enough to take her out of here again. containment is clearly a concern but contagion is a deep fear for all the vulnerable living here. chris buckler, bbc news, seattle. 0ur medical correspondent, fergus walsh is here. we are seeing the situation go from bad to worse in a place like italy,

with amazing health care systems. is there anything we can learn from their experience? time to prepare is running out, clive. what is happening in northern italy underlines the importance of why we must take this new coronavirus seriously. as you said, one of the most advanced health care systems in the world, and yet in lombardy we have intensive care beds being set up have intensive care beds being set up in corridors and recovery wards, because so many people need oxygen therapy. and we can't say how big therapy. and we can't say how big the epidemic wave will be here. but we have to prepare for the worst. nothing is off the table and what measures might be taken too slow and try and depress the spread over time, so the nhs can cope. but, you know, if you close schools, there will be a societal and economic cost to that. and if doctors and nurses are at home looking after their kids, they can't be looking after patients. but we have to ensure the health service can look after the most vulnerable. not just those with

coronavirus publications, but cancer and stroke. but i say this repeatedly, the vast majority of people who get covid—i9 will get a mild illness. important to remember. 0k, many thanks. fergus walsh. and you can keep up to date with the very latest developments on the coronavirus outbreak, including the symptoms to watch out for, on the bbc news app and on our website. boris johnson has been visiting the town of bewdley in worcestershire, which was badly hit by recent flooding. but while much of the crowd was good humoured, some said he should have come sooner. here's robert hall. hello. hello. i'm boris. in a town at risk of flooding for generations, any message of reassurance from westminster is welcome. residents, still counting the cost of the winter storms, finally had a chance to put their case. the highest river level since 19117 saw over 1000 homes and businesses flooded in the severn valley, a continuing threat while the water table remains saturated.

mrjohnson was criticised for his failure to appear at the time. prime minister, are you about two weeks too late? today, at a residents meeting, he brought news of increased investment and the promise that things would change. i want to see some work done. so i think we're at the beginning. this visit did give the prime minister a chance to inspect the temporary flood barriers that sprang up here and in all those areas most at risk. they were largely successful, but he acknowledged that with any increase in spending should come a change in tactics. the thing we have to look at is the rules which currently say that you can't put in permanent defences when you've only got a small number of households potentially affected. 0ur neighbours' sewage, shall we say... edward cownd is still living in chaos after filthy river water and sewage poured through his home. he said mrjohnson's visit had lifted spirits.

it's really positive today to see the local mp and borisjohnson, which was a real surprise. and it does feel positive. and the overriding slogan by the end was get bewdley done. yes, get bewdley done. mrjohnson's short stay in bewdley was accompanied by smiles and blue skies. but along the banks of the uk's rivers, communities know full well that long—term plans can't protect them from the next spell of bad weather. robert hall, bbc news, bewdley. the government is promising more money for struggling high streets, to help improve local communities. retailers say one of their biggest problems is the level of business rates, and that ministers need to overhaul the system, as emma simpson has been finding out, in 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'd have been fighting the retailers off, the demand would have been strong. no longer. this used to be a topshop, 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 rent, 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 aren't keeping up. business rates are a tax based on how much a property's 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 aren't 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're 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 our 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 won't 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. the duchess of sussex, in one of her last formal royal engagements, has urged men to do more to respect women. she was speaking during a surprise visit to a school in east london, ahead of international women's day. last night, she appeared alongside her husband prince harry, at an event at the royal albert hall. this report from nicholas witchell contains flash photography from the start. cheering 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 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 to know that the duchess of sussex wanted to come to our school really makes me think, i'm in the best place i can be. and i'm in the best position i am to be able to do the best i want to do in life, and really fulfil my potential. so i feel like it's really inspired me and all the students from robert clack to just do their best, and to really achieve it, because we're important. the school produces people that want to change the world. to have that recognised that some where that the duchess of sussex want to come to for national women's day is an amazing thing. 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. now, with the day's sport,

here's lizzie greenwood—hughes, at the bbc sport centre. thanks very much, clive. good evening. scotland have stunned the six nations favourites, france, by beating them 28—17 at murrayfield. the result keeps england's title hopes alive. joe wilson reports. bravery, that is expected at murrayfield, wherever you are standing. just a gentle breeze. but rugby requires control. france began with it, from the boot of dupont to the wing, perfect. penaud for the try! so, to the brawl. if you are a match official, you see everything with replays. they don't mind grabbing, overlook pushing, but a punch? that is different. that is mohamed haouas and that is a first—half red card. with one man missing, there were gaps in the french defence, if scotland could find them. like this.

and now the wise heads were smiling, they were watching a confident scotland, a rampant scotland, a winning scotland. the second half brought two more scottish tries to seal the victory. remember, france had arrived in edinburgh unbeaten. who knows how or when this six nations will end? but scotland have their performance to remember. joe wilson, bbc news. match of the day 2 follows the news, and after that sportscene in scotland, so avert your attention if you don't want to know the scores, because they're coming now. manchester united are up to 5th after beating their city rivals 2—0 in the premier league. it means leaders liverpool now only need six points to win the title. in the day's other game, chelsea thrashed everton 4—0. rangers won at ross county in the scottish premiership — they're now 13 points behind leaders celtic.

england's women have broken their poor run of form by beating japan with a late goal in the she believes cup. 0ur correspondent katie gornall was watching in florida. so, katie, finally a win for england — but onlyjust. a big relief england, phil neville named a much changed line—up. it took the introduction of ellen white, with 20 minutes to go, for them to find their cutting—edge. she latched onto a pass from the other substitute to tap the ball home and secure a 1—0 win, a win that keeps alive england's hopes of retaining the shebelieves cup, as they head into that final game against spain in dallas. there's more on the bbc sport website — including news that back to you, clive. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. luckily, it hasn't arrived here yet. there is a really big feeling it is going to arrive here in the city of matera where i am, i think three

confirmed cases now, but, of course, the

luckily, it hasn't arrived here yet. there is a really big feeling it is going to arrive here in the city of matera where i am, i think three confirmed cases now, but, of course, the big fear is, obviously, what happened last night. when i was just falling asleep, we looked on facebook before we went to bed and i saw that the train stations in the north were filling with people, obviously lots of students from the south, people that work there, all rushing back home. this was because of a leak, i think, somebody leaked the plans to put the whole northern part into quarantine. so, it's very, very nerve—racking here. there's a lot of rules. people are, you know, staying distant. keeping a distance from each other.

some other english schools have closed. i haven't yet. the law hasn't told me i have to. but, obviously, there's a lot of confusion and fear as well. but, at the same time, italians are kind of sticking together as well. and getting through this. how clear is the advice that you're getting from the government there? yeah, it's very clear, yeah. you know, i mean, they are being super organised about this. the only slip—up, which wasn't the government's fault, was the leak last night about, you know, about the plan to shut down lombardi and all of those areas. but, actually, things are very clear here, and, yeah, you know, there's lots of testing going on here as well. in this city, there are 30—110 people being currently tested. that's really been the key, i think, so far. they have done so many tests. so, yeah, i mean, ithink, you know, i feel like they are communicating pretty well what's going on. but this is the difficult thing to control. greg g reg foster greg foster talking to be a short while ago. pretty sure coronavirus will greg foster talking to be a short while ago. pretty sure coronavirus will be featuring largely on our papers. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers rachel cunliffe from city am and the former labour advisor miatta fahnbulleh, who's now at the new economics foundation, a left—leaning think tank.

hello. at its best, sunday was a pretty decent day, a bit of a sparkler in some areas, in fact. but, just around the corner, there were showers to be had, generating some magnificent rainbows, and our weather watchers have been all over that. but the forthcoming week is suitably springlike, so there is quite a variety of weather on offer, as you will see just over the next 2—3 days or so. many of the showers that we've seen through the day will die away overnight. the last of them just about hanging on, particularly, but not exclusively, across western areas. the skies will clear a wee bit. there won't be a particularly widespread frost, because we will keep something of a breeze going, but for one or two of you, you will be scraping, particularly across those eastern spots. as we start the new day, bright, crisp sort of start to the day. don't be fooled by the fact that it's dry for many, because waiting in the wings, many of you in the west will lose your sunshine pretty rapidly. and certainly in northern ireland by lunchtime, many of you will have seen some moderate bursts of rain, and then, eventually, many western areas, come the middle of the afternoon, we will be seeing some quite heavy rain at times. further east and northeast, we will keep it dry, until probably getting on into the latter part

of the afternoon — the first part of the evening. then, the weather fronts just keep on coming, because it's notjust one set of fronts, we've got another one they're coming in on tuesday, in that front dangling its way back into the atlantic. so, here we are for tuesday. it's a bit of a mishmash, if the truth be told, a lot of cloud around, showery bursts of rain across northern parts. for the south, particularly on the western facing coasts, it's a murky sort of day, and a blustery one at that. there will there will be enough cloud for there will be the odd bits of rain across wales, the midlands, southern england. but if that cloud should break, there will be a wee bit of sunshine anywhere from the humber down towards kent. 15—16, possibly 17 degrees. extraordinarily mild. that weather front keeps on waving away as we get on into wednesday across the southern portions of the british isles. eventually curling away, and allowing some brightest guys to break out across the central and southern parts. further north, a blustery sort of day, again, plenty of showers and a wintry mix of hail, sleet, and snow. the snow confined largely to the higher ground, but there will be some sunshine, and it will still feel absolutely

springlike across the south with a high of 13—111.

hello. this is bbc news with me, rachel schofield. as rachel schofield. you can see, we are all set to ta ke as you can see, we are all set to take a look at tomorrow morning's papers. first, the headlines. the foreign office is advising against all but essential travel to a number of areas in northern italy — 16 million people there are being placed in quarantine for a month because of the virus.