you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's ham and these are the main stories this morning: british airways cancels all flights to italy after the italian prime minister orders the most stringent nationwide restrictions since the second world war. translation: the right decision is to stay home. ourfuture is in our hands. we must be responsible. in the uk, five people infected with the virus have died — scientists confirm it takes around five days for coronavirus symptoms to appear. night—time delivery restrictions will be eased for some supermarkets to help stores keep their shelves stocked amid fears of panic buying.

british holidaymakers on board the coronavirus—hit cruise ship which was stranded off the us coast will be flown home this evening. in other news, the government is facing a rebellion today over its plans to allow the chinese telecoms giant huawei a role in the uk's 56 mobile network. the cheltenham festival begins later, with racegoers being told not to go to this week's event if they have any coronavirus symptoms. and coming up, united for the first time — the woman who had just months to live, and the stranger who saved her life by donating his stem cells. all i really need to say is thank you. you've given us everything, really. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live.

british airways has this morning cancelled all its flights today to italy, and easyjet most of theirs, after the enire country was put on lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus. in a broadcast last night, the italian prime minister, giuseppe conte, said the strict quarantine measures introduced in the north of the country at the weekend were no longer enough to contain the outbreak, the worst outside china. more than 4000 people in italy have tested positive for the virus. here, the foreign office warned people not to travel to italy unless it was essential. people arriving in the uk from italy are being told they should self—isolate for 14 days, even if they don't have symptoms. the number of deaths in italy rose by nearly 100 yesterday, to more than 460. travel is being restricted across the country from today, and public gatherings are forbidden. in the uk, five people have died from the virus, with 319 confirmed cases so far. the government has said it will relax restrictions on night—time deliveries to supermarkets in built—up areas

to maintain supplies. and nhs guidance about coronavirus will appear at the top of internet search results in a campaign against fake news. meanwhile, research into the illness is progressing — american scientists say it takes an average of five days for people with coronavirus to start showing symptoms. people are disembarking in oakland, california, from the virus—hit cruise ship grand princess, including 120 britons who will be flown home. more on that in a moment, but first, keith doyle reports on the italy lockdown. "stay at home, avoid going out." this is the message being broadcast from a police car in italy as the country goes into lockdown. another warns, "attention, this is a coronavirus emergency. "we ask citizens to stay in your home "so as to avoid contagion."

italy's toll rose dramatically yesterday to 463. emergency measures including a ban on public gatherings and travel restrictions have been extended to the entire country. the prime minister, giuseppe conte, ordered people to stay at home and seek permission for essential travel. translation: the right decision is to stay home. 0urfuture is in our hands. we must be responsible. here, the foreign office has warned against all but essential travel to anywhere in italy and anyone arriving in the uk from there to self—quarantine, even if they have no symptoms. five people in the uk have now died from coronavirus. the latest patient, who died at a hospital in south london, was in their 70s and had long—term health conditions. england's chief medical officer warned soon anyone with any symptoms will be asked to stay

at home for a week. probably within the next 10—14 days, when the modelling would imply we should move to a situation where we say everybody who has even minor respiratory tract infections or fever should be self isolating for seven days afterwards. the transport secretary, grant shapps, has tweeted that restrictions on supermarket deliveries are being relaxed, including allowing night—time deliveries to help keep stores stocked. the cheltenham festival is going ahead today. the government is not yet bringing in measures to stop public gatherings but a lot of events, including st patrick's day parades in belfast and dublin, have been cancelled by organisers. keith doyle, bbc news. our world affairs correspondent bethany bell sent us this update from bologna.

italians are coping with a strange new reality, with massive restrictions on their movements. some people will be allowed to travel, if they have valid work reasons for doing so, if they have health problems, family emergencies, oi’ health problems, family emergencies, or if they need to return to their homes. they will need to self certify, and if people are found to have lied about their reasons for travel, they could face a fines or even a prison sentence. we are still not sure how the authorities are planning to enforce all these restrictions. at train stations, we know that people are having their temperatures checked. planes and trains are still running, and foreign visitors, tourists, will be able to leave italy, but they are being urged to check the flight schedules, because it's not yet clear how many flights will be cancelled. all this at a time when schools and universities are still closed. they will remain closed now until the 3rd of april. italy's

prime minister said it was important for italians to stay at home for the sake of the health of their country. inafew sake of the health of their country. in a few moments, we will talk about the measures being taken here and what you need to be aware of. some news out of iran, their latest death toll as a result of coronavirus, reporting another 5a deaths over the past 24—hour is. it is their highest one—day toll. yesterday, 43 new deaths related to coronavirus were announced in the previous 204i was. iran is one of the real hot spots struggling with coronavirus, struggling with coronavirus, struggling to contain it. they are numbersjust struggling to contain it. they are numbers just continue to climb.

british airways has announced the cancelation of all flights to italy due to leave today, easyjet has cancelled the majority of its flights for the next few days. and royal bank of scotland has said that customers affected by coronavirus will be allowed to defer mortgage and loan repayments for up to three months. let's get more on all of that with our business presenter ben thompson. white make the airlines are struggling. bring us up to date with the latest. it is already -- it has already claimed flybe, which folded last week, and the bigger airlines now feeling it. let's talk about italy. ba saying this morning it has cancelled all flights to and from italy as a result of that lockdown. easyj et italy as a result of that lockdown. easyjet cancelling the majority of its roots. but we also know that other airlines, including the saying they will not fly to the country. it is quite a busy time for airlines.

not only are people not taking trips now, they are not booking for further ahead, so it means it is a really difficult time for them. by way of example, and i touched on flybe already, a smaller airline, but nonetheless, the likes of korean airare now but nonetheless, the likes of korean air are now saying it is fighting for its future because of a slump in bookings. it has cancelled 80% of capacity, told staff to take at home and take unpaid leave, but when you see that sort of impact on the industry right now, we saw it in the sars outbreak, but this is in some ways much worse because the airline industry has become much bigger in the past decade, and they are struggling to make ends meet. many of the bigger airlines will have a buffer in place. they have some security or safety net, but because this is so wide reaching, so global, it is not just this is so wide reaching, so global, it is notjust particular roots. we are seeing a slump in air travel right around the world, and we will start to see the knock—on effect of this later, many of them now struggling to make ends meet as far as bookings are concerned, and i think we should watch and wait to

see what happens as far as mitigating that. virgin atlantic are telling us it has been forced to fly some of its planes almost empty, and thatis some of its planes almost empty, and that is to maintain take—off and landing slots at key airports. it is a rule that has been put in place by the european commission to make sure that when airlines buy up these lucrative slots, they actually fly the planes on them rather than sitting on them not using them. they are asking for a dispensation for that rule to be ignored temporarily, because without slump, many planes are flying near empty, and that is just ludicrous. they have written to the transport authority here and to the transport authority here and to the european commission asking for the european commission asking for the rule to be temporarily halted. new news on whether that will happen, but virgin atlantic by no means the only airline being forced to do that now. -- no news. the royal bank of scotland are talking about differing loan payments for up to three months. are they alone in

that? it is similar to something the italian authorities have announced. in itself, the idea of deferring mortgage payments isn't new. if you individually get into financial difficulty you can be given more time. the idea that rbs, which also owns natwest, is doing this across the board, offering this to all people, is quite a departure. i have tried to make it easierfor people, is quite a departure. i have tried to make it easier for people to access cash, so they have said if you have a fixed rate savings account, perhaps you pay money in every month and normally you don't touch that for two years, they have said even if you want to dip in and touch that they won't charge you a penalty for doing so. if you want to draw cash on your credit card, there is normally a fee, but they have said they won't charge a fee for that. extending over of a drafts, they are allowing a withdrawal limit

ofan they are allowing a withdrawal limit of an extra £500. this is the bank getting ready for people saying, i am not getting to work, not getting to paid and i need extra cash. the bank is trying to say, we will help you out with this by changing access to cash in fees you would pay for it. the budget tomorrow, lots of speculation about what the government might do to try and support the economy, including the bank of england potentially talking about a bank of england potentially talking abouta 0.5% bank of england potentially talking about a 0.5% interest rate cut. the rate—setting committee at the bank of england normally meet once a month and they will look at whether to cut interest rates. it is a tool the bank has to try and stipulate spending or encourage asked to save, a way of keeping the economy in check. when they cut interest rates, it encourages us to go out and spend more, not have it in the bank. the us federal reserve, america's central bank, has cut its interest

rate by 0.5%, with an immediate shot in the arm for the stock market, but we saw that fizzle out yesterday. the budget tomorrow, we could see a 0.25% cut tomorrow and another when they meet properly at the end of the month. they will be keeping a close eye on spending, how the economy is faring on what business is telling them, because they have to walk a narrow line here to make sure the economy stays in check. they don't wa nt to economy stays in check. they don't want to boost it too much and have eve ryo ne want to boost it too much and have everyone going out spending. they realise there could be a knock—on effect for business down the line, and we have seen it with airline and travel firms. i think we will start to see it with other businesses, may be retail, people thinking, i am not going out to spend. we have seen scenes of panic buying, but that means they are there not buying for the next two or three weeks. the budget tomorrow might have measures, and the bank of england might decide to cut interest rates to give it a bit of a boost. 0ne to cut interest rates to give it a bit of a boost. one to watch. thank you, ben.

here, health chiefs have warned that the coronavirus outbreak is likely to worsen soon. this morning, the deputy chief medical officer for england drjenny harries told the bbc that the uk will soon begin to see its coronavirus cases peak in the same way that china has. the deaths are very sad. they have been in elderly people, generally with underlying conditions, and that is a group that we are particularly concerned to support as we go forward. but with a new virus like this, we normally see — we can expect, if you like — a peak in cases. it has a relatively slow take off at the start, and that's really where we are at the moment. it will start to rise quite sharply, and the planning that we are doing right across government is to try and minimise the peak and move it forward so we can manage and support people safely through our health and care systems. this as we've been hearing, a team of american scientists have been analysing 181 cases

of coronavirus to understand more about it and how the symptoms develop. they found that, on average, it takes people five days to start showing signs of the virus. however, anyone who is symptom—free by day 12 is unlikely to get symptoms, but could still be infectious. and researchers advise that anyone who could be infectious should self—isolate for 14 days to avoid spreading it to others. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh is here. learning more about it and about the spread, we've also heard that the advice here is that possibly in the next 10—14 days, anyone with a cold will be told to self—isolate. next 10—14 days, anyone with a cold will be told to self-isolate. it's a com pletely will be told to self-isolate. it's a completely different thing, isn't it? what is the thinking? you heard the deputy chief medical adviser talking about making sure that the peak occurs in the summer months and they minimise as much as possible.

this new information about the incubation period is one of the key numbers that enables computer models to churn out more accurate figures. the second thing is that the 14 days of quarantine seems to be about right, because if you start showing symptoms after five days, that seems to be about the right time to quarantine yourself and stay quarantined if you develop the virus. why is the government effectively delaying delay? there is a sequence in terms of the procedures, which is contain then delay. how distinguishable are they really? distinct measures but in terms of stopping something just spreading unchecked...” terms of stopping something just spreading unchecked... i think it is a false distinction, because as we heard in the press conference last night, containment does delay. what they are talking about is more

extreme measures, such as more social distance and, more working from home, possibly closing larger gatherings. the government has decided not to go ahead with that, to the surprise, i have to say, of some of its own scientific advisers, but that is because it is a balancing act. while public health comes first and foremost, there is also, as we heard from ben, huge economic downsides to people not going to work. the pressure on the health service and so forth. the government has to do a balancing act. the science suggests that the sooner you start adopting some of the measures we have seen in italy, the measures we have seen in italy, the better from a the measures we have seen in italy, the betterfrom a public the measures we have seen in italy, the better from a public health point of view, but that does have the downside of severe economic slowdown. what can we learn, then, from other countries' handling? china is now seeing the number of cases dropping. it threw everything at it, literally building hospitals, had the resources and economic

growth to effectively be able to ta ke growth to effectively be able to take a hit like that. we don't have those resources. we obviously haven't followed that model. south korea is being described potentially asa korea is being described potentially as a model in terms of testing. korea is being described potentially as a model in terms of testinglj as a model in terms of testing.” think that to say is that our expertise with public health and the science is absolutely first—class. that said, there are other countries that are ahead of us in the epidemic, and scientists in the uk are looking to see what measures work, what don't work. in the case of china, they were late to act because it was completely unknown, but they do seem to be bringing the disease under control, which is good news for us and the rest of the world. in italy, they were also not coordinated. i think we do have a coordinated. i think we do have a coordinated system. at the moment, it's a case of wait and see how the disease develops. scientists are fairly confident there is a doubling in the number of cases every four or five days or so. just how quickly it ta kes five days or so. just how quickly it takes off will determine how quickly

some of the more extreme measures, economically damning measures, are put in place. it is worrying, the uncertainty, for people. schoolkids facing gcses and a levels, not knowing if schools will be closed. how much notice would there be on this sort of thing? if the government and scientists could give notice, they would. i think what they are looking for is more about they are looking for is more about the virus, how it behaves, how it acts, because to act too quickly might bea acts, because to act too quickly might be a mistake. thank you very much. let's bring you a reminder of the very latest advice from the uk government, and what we know about their plans for containing the outbreak here. yesterday the prime minister said that we "remain in the contain phase" but that "extensive preparations" are being made to move to the delay phase. the uk's chief medical advisor chris whitty said that within the next 10—14 days, people showing even minor symptoms could be asked to self—isolate for a week.

for now, the government hasn't introduced social distancing measures — sporting events and other large gatherings are still permitted. the advice is still to frequently wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, and if you think you have coronavirus, call nhs111. peter drobac is an expert in infectious diseases at oxford university, and hejoins me now. welcome, thank you forjoining us. what is your assessment of where we are now? here in the uk, i think we are now? here in the uk, i think we are at sort of a transition point, where we expect the number of cases to rise significantly sometime over the next couple of weeks. we don't know exactly when, of course, and i think the response here in the uk to this point has been very exceptional, but i do think it is time to really consider seriously

some of the social distancing measures that you mentioned, like closing of large gatherings, and some pre—emptive working from home, possibly even closures of schools. what evidence we do have about dealing with respiratory viral epidemics like this suggests that social distancing works best when it is implemented before the surge in cases rather than after. what bike i was going to ask you exactly that point about it, because it feels like it is a wait and see in the meantime it is getting out there, and then is there a danger of getting to a point where the social distancing is a waste of time? not that it's a waste of time, but it would be less effective if there was already a widespread surge in transmission at the time it was implemented. if you look at what happened in italy, they went from three cases to 3000 cases over a period of just three cases to 3000 cases over a period ofjust a couple of weeks and now their health system is absolutely overwhelmed that the country is in lockdown. that was in

hindsight perhaps from waiting too long to institute some of these measures. when you watch this from the start, this was taken extremely seriously from the start. you are an expert in infectious diseases and people like you i know have been looking up for this sort of once—in—a—lifetime mutation that has been discussed. were you feeling like this is what you were seeing unfold? well, we've seen of course over the last 20 years a number of epidemic outbreaks like this, and the new reality in the 21st—century is that we can expect to see more. everyone in the public health community has preened that been predicting the so—called big one. this could be the most significant epidemic we have seen since the spanish flu. time will tell. all that said, i and others continue to be surprised almost every day by the speed with which things are unfolding. how long could we be in this for? if you think about

seasonal flu, come the spring, the summer, it is pretty much behind us, but this wave is continuing to go. what would your predictions be on how long we could be dealing with this for? predictions, of course, it isa this for? predictions, of course, it is a brand—new virus and there is much to learn from it. from modelling exercises that have been done, what we saw in places like china, where they started, once the sort of surge begins and you see widespread transmission, it will tend to crescendo and peak then start to die down over a period of about eight or nine weeks. that depends of course on how it is managed. you hear a lot about the idea of flattening the curve, that social distancing measures can slow down the spread so that you don't see all of the cases happening at once, which would be potentially catastrophic for the health system. but potentially the really difficult period might be up to a couple of

months‘ time. beyond that, we just don‘t know yet whether this is something that will burn itself out, whether it is something that will change as we enter warmer weather months, or whether it will become endemic, a virus that circulates on a seasonal basis. thanks forjoining us. and coming up at three thirty this afternoon, we‘ll be answering your questions about the impact of coronavirus on both health and travel. so get in touch with the hashtag #bbcyourquestions on social media — or you can send an email to yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. and you can keep up to date with all the developments concerning the coronavirus outbreak including the symptoms to watch out for, on the bbc news app and on our website. of course, we will keep you updated here throughout the day. borisjohnson‘s 80—seat majority in the commons is likely to face its first major test today, over the government‘s decision

to allow the chinese firm, huawei, a role in building the uk‘s 5g network. a group of conservative mps is likely to back an amendment calling for huawei‘s involvement to end before 2023. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is at westminster. he has a huge majority, norman, is there really are risk to the government on this? there is. the tussle over huawei is far from over. borisjohnson took tussle over huawei is far from over. boris johnson took the tussle over huawei is far from over. borisjohnson took the hugely controversial decision to give the go—ahead to the chinese company despite the fury of the white house and it seems the anger of many tory backbenchers, and there is now a fairly solid block of them representing many of the most senior, experienced tory mps, former cabinet members and the like, who are now poised or on the cusp of inflicting a defeat that could force borisjohnson to backtrack, and their basic problem is, they believe that huawei represents a profound

security risk if they get access to our 5g network, and they want boris johnson to back off and agreed to a time limit for how long huawei can actually be involved in our 5g network. the prime minister has already said they can only have 35% of the network and that the security services are satisfied that they are not at risk. not good enough, say these tory mps. they want them out altogether, so they will be a vote tonight —— there will be a vote tonight, and it might not be a knockout vote, but it might be a signpost for a more important vote in the spring, and if the prime minister were to lose that, it would potentially stop huawei from being involved. obviously, it's a difficult issue for the government. it's difficult issue for the government. it‘s also an issue of authority, isn‘t it? as you say, borisjohnson, in making this decision, basically stood up against a lot of opposition

and really took a stand on this. you really went out on a limb. at a time when you are looking for a trade deal with the us, to so publicly go against what was the us sort of advice, it was a risk. now, it‘s possible that the government might get through tonight‘s vote and might try to win over some of the rebels, but it‘s an uphill task, i have to say, because, as i say, these are very experienced tory mps who are not likely to be easily bought off. and they have played quite a clever game. they have not presented this as some sort of challenge to boris johnson, not talked about defeating or humbling him or humiliating him, they‘ve made it much more low—key, sort of implying that they are just trying to bring him back onto a more sensible course. that may close beat makes it easier for borisjohnson to climb down and seek some sort of

compromise. —— that may be makes it... the united states has begun withdrawing troops from afghanistan, almost 19 years after the conflict began. it‘s a condition of the historic peace deal agreed by the us and the taliban last month. america agreed to reduce its troops in the country from around 12,000 to 8600 within 135 days. a cross—party group of mps is calling on the government to change the law to stop domestic abuse survivors being penalised by the so—called "bedroom tax" — that‘s the ruling that cuts housing benefit for people who have a spare bedroom. the move follows the case of one woman, who‘d been a victim of rape and abuse and was living in a home adapted for her safety, who suffered a 14 percent cut in her benefit. the european court of human rights has ruled that the policy discriminated against her, and ordered the government to pay compensation. a therapy dog that was stolen from a 12—year—old girl with autism has been found dead. three—year—old dalmatian lottie was taken from the home of chloe hopkins in leicestershire in december.

an appeal to find lottie was widely shared on social media and backed by the tv presenter chris packham. leicestershire police have appealed for information. now, it‘s time for a look at the weather. we‘ve had a rather wet start to the day, particularly across wales in the north west of england. the rainfall feeding into some of the river systems. later today, brighter skies developing across scotland, northern england and northern ireland, still a few showers moving in. still rain across south wales and southern parts of england. gusty winds, up to 50—50 mph over the welsh hills in the pennines, but it is quite mild. temperatures will get up is quite mild. temperatures will get up to 16 celsius in the south—east, still about 8—10dc further north. tonight, showers continue, with

clear spells, but temperatures will fall away, so the risk of snow and ice across scotland and northern ireland as we go into wednesday morning. further south, staying cloudy, still a few spots of rain, but mild, temperatures of eight or nine celsius. wednesday, still showers in the north and west, further south, cloud in the morning that will clear away, with brighter skies into the afternoon. goodbye for now.

hello this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines... british airways cancels all flights to italy — after the italian prime minister orders the most stringent nationwide restrictions since the second world war. in the uk, five people infected with the virus have died — scientists confirm it takes around five days for coronavirus symptoms to appear. . night—time delivery restrictions will be eased for some supermarkets — to help stores keep their shelves stocked amid fears of panic buying. british holiday—makers on board the coronavirus hit cruise ship, which was stranded off the us coast, will be flown home this evening. in other news, the government is facing a rebellion today — over its plans to allow the chinese telecoms giant, huawei, a role in the uk‘s 5—g mobile network.

sport now. good morning. the cheltenham festival gets under way in the next few hours. national hunt racing‘s blue riband event, all building up to the gold cup on friday, let‘s head live to the course, laura scott is there for us. laura, the champion hurdle is the big race today but of course, everyone is mindful of coronavirus, and the organsisers have put some measures in place. yes, they have. 24 is hand sanitiser stations dotted around the course with the slogan don‘t pass it on. we have seen spectators using that, extra toilets at the festival this week and government advice on posters. so they are taking those extra precautions, but i‘ve spoken to some people on their way they said that although they did consider whether or not to come here today, they came because the government advice is still that mass gatherings can go on and for many of the it is

their favourite week of the year, so they really want racing to take centre stage here this week, but of course they are taking those extra measures. something like a quarter ofa measures. something like a quarter of a million spectators over the next four days, all looking forward to that. one of the big names expected to line up in the queen mother champion chase tomorrow has been ruled out? yes, exactly. we have only heard in the last half an hour or so that a prolific winner here at the cheltenham festival has been sadly withdrawn from tomorrow‘s champion chase, someone saying it was only fairto chase, someone saying it was only fair to the horse. it was an issue that cropped up on the weekend and haven‘t been able to get him on track for the race tomorrow, so for the interest of his welfare they have decided to pull him from tomorrow, but today we have seven brilliant races here, including four great ones, the champion hurdle the

big race today and 62,000 people are due to come through these gates today and enjoy the racing that we have got here. looking forward to it, hoping for a fair weather as well. manchester united are due to play in austria on thursday. the second leg of their europa league tie against lask looks like it will be behind closed doors the government there say that any events with over 500 fans will be cancelled, 900 united fans had been due to travel. uefa compettiions are going ahead for now, despite restrictions in various european countries. barcelona‘s champions league game with napoli at the nou camp next week will also be played behind closed doors due to concerns spain‘s health ministry says it wants to avoid "large gatherings of fans", valencia against atalanta tonight will be played in an empty stadium. serie a matches in italy have been

suspended until at least april 3rd. brendan rodgers says his leicester side played last night‘s macth against aston villa like a cup final, as they look to qualify for the champion league. they won 4—0 and remain in third. they went ahead when villa keeper pepe reina ran out of his area, allowing harvey barnes a free shot on goal. jamie vardy returned from injury and came off the bench and scored twice, he‘s now up to 99 premier league goals. barnes scored again late on leicester are five points clear of fourth place chelsea. that‘s all the sport for now. back to our main story now, and the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe. here‘s what we know so far. italy has been placed on lockdown — the 60 million strong population have been told to stay at home. only those with a valid work

or family reason that cannot be postponed will be allowed to travel. all sporting events are suspended — as public gatherings are forbidden, and schools and universities will remain closed until next month. in the uk, five people have died from the virus, with 319 confirmed cases so far. the government has said it will relax restrictions on night—time deliveries to supermarkets in built up areas to maintain supplies, and nhs guidance about coronavirus will appear at the top of internet search results in a campaign against fake news. in china, president xijinping visited wuhan, where the virus originated, for the first time, in a move that will be interpreted in china as a sign that the coronavirus emergency there is under control. according to official figures, china has only 19 new coronavirus cases today, whilst outside of hubei, there have been no other new infections recorded in the last 24 hours across the country.

hannah roberts is a freelance journalist based in rome, and shejoins me now. these measures are extreme and it must be shocking and difficult for people to get used to. tell is what life is like there right now.” think most people waking up this morning to the news had been alarmed and shocked. it is not something people could have imagined a month ago or even a week ago. it is fair to say that until friday or saturday, most people weren‘t really taking the warnings that seriously. 0n taking the warnings that seriously. on friday night a lot of young people went out as usual, schools and universities had been trapped for a few days so they were treating it as for a few days so they were treating itasa for a few days so they were treating it as a holiday. saturday was gorgeous weather in most of italy so a lot of people were out, close together in car phase. since these restrictions have come in last night and even from sunday, there is a lot

more anxiety. people are taking it a lot more seriously, shirking round each other in the street and not getting the habitual italian sounds of affection and friendliness, no handshakes, certainly none of the two kisses on the cheeks. in terms of movement, people are allowed to travel if they have specific family or work reasons to do so. how tight are the restrictions? how much are they being observed and our people able just to keep on working effectively as normal, provided it doesn‘t mean they have to travel too far? explain exactly how it his all working. partly these new restrictions have come in because after the partial lockdown, about a quarter of the population in the north at the weekend, as far as we know about 25,000 people left the lockdown area and went down to the south where there were very few cases, so now in order to try and dis— incentivise people from travelling, the government are

saying you can only travel if you have a very good reason, per worker for health reasons or to look after a relative. so people are being asked to self certify, download and print out a form and sign it giving a reason that they need to look after a colleague, family member who is sick or work. the prime minister was very clear when he warned last night that anybody who lives on this form would be committing a criminal offence. so people will bear that in mind andi offence. so people will bear that in mind and i imagine the vast majority of people are sticking to the rules. 0ne italian professor who is coordinating the intensive care unit response and lombardi has described this as being like a bomb that exploded and would exceed the intensive care capacity of any health care system. we just need to look at the pictures of what it is like in some medical centres they

are to get a sense of how much pressure there is on the system. is that enough to shock people into observing this now and to take this very seriously? i think so. doctors have been describing the situation is like a war zone. we know there is only about 5000 intensive care beds in italy normally, and these are close to being exceeded. in the south where we haven‘t had so many cases, there are relatively few beds and the authorities have been trying to build up a sense of civic responsibility, telling people that it is their civic duty to stay at home, restraining from social life. the premise has been invoking the spirit of the blitz and quoting churchill as saying this is actually‘s darkest hour, to really create a feeling that we are all in this together. as with everywhere, this together. as with everywhere, this has a big economic impact. how are businesses managing? what is the

impact on what is the government doing to try and support anybody who is going to be suffering economically, which probably extend to pretty much everyone, actually? yes, there has been an attempt to create a balancing act between economics, economic impact and the health impact. now it seems that the health impact. now it seems that the health impact. now it seems that the health impact has got to come first. u nfortu nately health impact has got to come first. unfortunately it is having disastrous impact on the tourism industry in italy, which depends on tourism for 13% of its gdp, even more so in cities like rome, florence, venice. right now tourists just aren‘t booking for those summer holidays that they would be doing now, 80 to 90% of bookings have been cancelled, the hotels that would normally be preparing for the summer period which starts at easter are not doing so, but even outside the tourism business, other industries are tourism business, other industries a re really tourism business, other industries are really suffering as well. i was speaking to the owner of a law firm

who has been doubly hit by china, brea ks who has been doubly hit by china, breaks out and now coronavirus. she, as well as other businesses, are going to put people in part—time and therefore pay them part—time. uncertainty put stress on any individual. this is a nation facing great uncertainty, as obviously many places are, but this is a country where it is effectively in this lockdown situation. is there a sense of any timeframe here? how do people see where this goes? it is difficult for people to make plans. initially the schools and universities were going to be closed for two weeks and that has already been extended till the end of the month. these restrictions are definitely going to be in place till the end of the month. i think people are also looking to other countries and wondering if other countries are only a couple of weeks behind italy, why are they not putting some of these measures in place? thank you

very much, hannah roberts, freelance journalist based in rome. thank you for joining journalist based in rome. thank you forjoining us. in the united states, passengers are finally leaving a cruise liner hit by coronavirus after it was allowed to dock in california. 19 crew members and two passengers on the ‘grand princess‘ have tested positive. arrangements are being made to fly the 120 britons on board back home. 0ur correspondent sophie long has more. sailing into san francisco bay. after nearly a week stranded at sea, the grand princess and thousands on board finally have permission to dock. cheering. this is the moment the passengers on board the grand princess have been longing for. for days, they‘ve been confined to the cabins, not knowing where or when their ordeal would end. now, finally, the san francisco skyline is in sight. waiting at the dock, teams ready to take those in need of urgent medical care to hospital.

this is a complex, high—stakes disembarkment process that could take several days. last off are likely to be international passengers, including more than 120 britons. among them are neil and victoria hanlon. what has been the worst thing to you over the past four days? just the not knowing, and the fact that we were at sea and couldn‘t see land. when we saw land yesterday, i just felt absolutely fantastic, to be able to see the golden gate bridge in view. that felt brilliant. but you were very upset yesterday morning, weren't you? she was crying yesterday. i felt down, really, just the not knowing what was happening and when it was going to end. hello. are you all right? back in somerset, theirfamily feel like they‘ve all been kept in the dark. not very happy, at all. it's not good enough from our government.

they don't know if they've got to go into quarantine, they don't know where they're going, they don't know anything. and in the united states, there are concerns too, about the authorities preparedness to stop the virus that has now crept across the country. but make no mistake about it. as we go forward, and particularly as we have more testing available, and we have these communities that have community spread, there will be more cases. american passengers are being transported to military quarantine areas in california, texas and georgia. international citizens from 53 countries will be repatriated on chartered flights from oakland airport. but the lives of more than 1,100 crew will remain in limbo. they will not be allowed to leave the ship, and the ship will not be allowed to stay here. sophie long, bbc news, san francisco. in a moment we‘ll have all the business news, but first, the headlines on bbc news... british airways cancels all flights to italy —

after the italian prime minister orders the most stringent nationwide restrictions since the second world war. in the uk, five people infected with the virus have died — scientists confirm it takes around five days for coronavirus symptoms to appear. .. night—time delivery restrictions will be eased for some supermarkets — to help stores keep their shelves stocked amid fears of panic buying. stock markets in europe have opened higher following sharp falls yesterday, when shares saw the biggest falls since the 2008 financial crisis. london‘s ftse 100 share index rose more than 2% after having sunk 7.7% in the previous session. markets were battered on monday in reaction to the threat of an oil price war between russia and saudi arabia and fears over the spread of coronavirus. banking giant rbs will defer mortgage and loan repayments for up

to 3 months for customers hit by coronavirus. will also waive early closure charges on savings accounts and refund credit card cash advance fees so customers can access cash without penalty. the airline virgin atlantic has confirmed it has been forced to run near—empty flights after bookings were hit by the coronavirus outbreak. it says it‘s forced to operate the flights to retain take—off and landing slots at major airports. under european law, if flights are not operated, slots have to be forfeited. the government has now written to the european commission, asking for rules to be relaxed during the outbreak. coronavirus is quite clearly a global health concern — but as stock markets around the world proved yesterday — it‘s also a global economic risk too. businesses are nervous about how it could hit their operations, with staff unable to get to work, or customers choosing not to go

out and spend or buy. airlines and travel firms are first in the firing line, but others are nervous about what happens next. new figures show business confidence has crashed to its lowest point since september last year — partly due to concerns over the outbreak. tej parikh is chief economist at the institute of directors, and says the optimism after december‘s election proved to be short—lived. in december, we saw a surge in confidence amongst the business community. over the last couple of months that has fallen away due to domestic economic challenges and also concerns around brexit negotiations. but over the last week in particular, we‘ve seen a lot of concerns being raised around the impact of coronavirus, and we‘ve seen that positivity turn into outright negativity for how the economy will play out in 2020. a lot of businesses are still trying to work out the impact on their supply chain, whether there‘ll be a further impact on demand and whether consumers will avoid the high streets. i suppose there‘s also uncertainty around the mitigating actions

that the government can take. we‘re still waiting to hear what would be put in place to help support businesses through any cashflow challenges they may face and, also, any interventions by central banks across the world. being more lenient around tax payments, allowing businesses to spread their tax payments over a longer period of time will kind of alleviate cashflow concerns. there may be a case about providing government—backed loan guarantees to businesses to help them get bridging finance. and we also have a budget tomorrow, so that could be an opportune moment. the spread of coronavirus has also taken its toll on events. some big sporting events have been cancelled, others held behind closed doors. industry events have also been postponed or scrapped. the tech industry alone has cancelled 12 high—profile conferences so far, causing an estimated economic loss of $1 billion. tech firms adobe, facebook, google, hpe and microsoft have all been cancelling major events. but as claire wormsley, director of global conference network told

us a little earlier — it‘s not only big business that‘s being affected. for every large—scale conference there will be dozens of smaller events which will have a few hundred delegates and attendees and sponsors, also being pulled and cancelled. the company is putting them on, they may be organising a few events each year, they are being decimated. it is carnage for an awful lot of companies. for the uninitiated around the world, when we hear about commerces, people make you think you don‘t have to go... i think we can underestimate how important events are, because they generate business. they do, in the uk alone 43 billion is the industry, however trade transact, the government estimated in 2018 conservatively that handwritten

billion... a massive amount. —— 100 million or more. are south by southwest music festival was cancelled. i was looking at comments from the blocks are organised and they said we have insurance for everything, terrorism, where there but we have nothing for a viral infection. that is common throughout the industry, with the exception of asia where i think a lot of event companies have looked at what happen with sars and taken out the option against contagious diseases, but thatis against contagious diseases, but that is not true with the european and american companies. the voice of god told me that south by southwest brings in $400 million to austin, texas each year, you can‘t recoup that. it is massive and when you look at the event, is notjust that. it is massive and when you look at the event, is not just the actual bank, is the whole supply chain, the venue, the caterers, the agencies, the travel. local

business, when you have a big event attracting up to 800,000 people, the local businesses, right? totally, is huge, the ramifications on the supply chain along. this is what markets are looking like right now. 7.7 lower than yesterday, its worst day since 2008. some breaking news about the owner of nottingham forest, he said he has

coronavirus and was at the home game on friday. he has posted on instagram, his official instagram page to say that the recent virus has visited me, the greek businessmen says he is now following... so he is self isolating and, as i say, it‘s been suggested he was actually at the match at the city ground for forest‘s championship defeat to millwall last friday night. the owner of nottingham forest confirming he has got the virus. at 25—years—old jo kelly was given six months to live

following a diagnosis of hodgkin‘s lymphoma. but thanks to a stem cell donor from germany, eight years on, she‘s cancer free and married with a baby girl. jo had never met the man that saved her life — until last week — when they were brought together for the first time. she‘s been telling her story to jayne mccubbin. my name‘sjo kelly, and when i was 25, i was told i was unlikely to live past christmas of that year. jo was fighting hodgkin lymphoma when she met her first love. so this is us on our first dates. i‘m wearing a wig in this picture. ‘i was really quite ill when i first met pete. it‘s a disease which disproportionately affects young people. and then we got married in 2010, only a year after we met. at this point, i only had one month left to live. and the only hope, if chemo and radiotherapy fails, is to find a stem cell or bone marrow donor. and that is exactly what happened.

we‘re just up here. a german man, that‘s all we knew about him at the time. we knew his height and weight, i think. we knew that he had exams at the time, so he needed to slightly defer his donation, but that was fine. his name is? stefa n. let me check it‘s switched on. today, for the very first time, they are going to meet. you are just so eager to say thank you in person. yes. i think it‘s going to be very emotional. i‘m definitely going to cry. laughter. so am i! definitely going to cry. and then i‘ve been mulling over, what do i say to him? because "thank you" just doesn‘t seem like enough, really. but it‘s all i can really start with. you really wanted to do this, didn‘t you? yeah, i really do. it's — it's a little bit like meeting family you didn't know existed. you just want to meet them. there, take a seat. my name is stefan ernst.

i'm 32 years old and about 15 years ago, ijoined the register in germany. how are you feeling? excited. a bit nervous. it didn't cross my mind that out of so many people, i would be the one to have a chance to help like this. two years after the operation, jo wrote to stefan for the very first time, but eight years later, this is the moment they get to meet face—to—face. this is it. it is! are you ready? as ready as i‘ll ever be. he‘s in there, waiting. go for it. deep breath. 0h, hello. how are you doing? oh, my god, you‘re tall! hello. all i really need to say is thank you because you‘ve given us everything, really. it's ok!

laughter. i think i‘m just shell—shocked, this is mad. there was this feeling that every now and then you would think about the other person. yeah. there were these random points we were thinking that the other one, so it was really great when i got your first letter, and then of course the second as well. all this time, i still kept all your letters. i think they are my most prized possession that i have. thank you. today, jo is cancer free. she‘s ran the london marathon. she and pete have had a baby girl. their life is complete thanks to one man. i thought long and hard about something... i mean, i could never give you anything to match what you given me, but i‘ve decided that you should be the keeper of this. oh, what is this? because essentially, you ran it with me. so please, have my medal. you're too tall to hug! thank you. this is amazing. hey, are you coming out? hello, pete, nice to meet you.

and then you! hello. do you want to say hi? thanks, mate. thank you. no worries. come on. five people are diagnosed with hodgkin lymphoma every day, yet only 2% of people are on the register here in the uk. in germany, it‘s 9%. sharing this moment, they hope, will encourage many more. improvements in the afternoon, sunny spells developing here. still some showers, further south, southern england and staying cloudy, outbreaks of rain particularly in south wales. quite a costly one for many, potentially up to 55 mph over the welsh hills and the pennines. quite mild, if not worn down to the

south—east. temperatures at 15—17 three celsius. quite mild further north at 8—10dc. tonight, further terror speeding into scotland and northern ireland, some ice as temperatures fall close to freezing here. further south, temperatures up at 8-9dc here. further south, temperatures up at 8—9dc with a blanket of cloud. that guy will tend to disappear, some sunny spells across southern areas into the afternoon. blustery conditions and temperatures 7—9dc in the north, 15 degrees in the south.

you‘re watching bbc newsroom live. it‘s midday and these are the main stories. italy struggles to cope with the coronavirus lockdown — after the italian prime minister orders the most stringent nationwide restrictions since the second world war. british airways cancels all flights to italy — and easyjet most of theirs — after the virus kills more than 460 people there. in the uk, five people infected with the virus have died — england‘s deputy chief medical officers says the peak will occur within a fortnight. we can expect a peak in cases. it has a relatively slow take off at the start, and that‘s really where we are at the moment. it will stop to rise quite sharply. —— it will

start to rise. night—time delivery restrictions will be eased for some supermarkets, to help stores keep their shelves stocked amid fears of panic buying. british holidaymakers on board the coronavirus—hit cruise ship which was stranded off the us coast will be flown home this evening. in other news, the government is facing a rebellion today over its plans to allow the chinese telecoms giant huawei a role in the uk‘s 5g mobile network. and coming up, united for the first time — the woman who had just months to live, and the stranger who saved her life by donating his stem cells. all i really need to say is thank you. because you‘ve given us everything, really. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. i‘m joanna gosling.

british airways has cancelled all of its flights to italy today — and easyjet most of theirs — after the entire country was put on lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus. in a broadcast last night, the italian prime minister, giuseppe conte, said the strict quarantine measures introduced in the north of the country at the weekend were no longer enough to contain the outbreak, the worst outside china. more than 4000 people in italy have tested positive for the virus. here, the foreign office warned people not to travel to italy unless it was essential. people arriving in the uk from italy are being told they should self—isolate for 14 days, even if they don‘t have symptoms. the number of deaths in italy rose by nearly 100 yesterday, to more than 460. travel is being restricted across the country from today, and public gatherings are forbidden. in the uk, five people have died from the virus, with the latest official figures for confirmed cases standing at 319 the government has said it will relax restrictions on night—time deliveries

to supermarkets in built up areas to maintain supplies, and nhs guidance about coronavirus will appear at the top of internet search results in a campaign against fake news. meanwhile, research into the illness is progressing. american scientists say it takes an average of five days for people with coronavirus to start showing symptoms. people are disembarking in oakland, california, from the virus—hit cruise ship grand princess, including 120 britons who will be flown home. more on that in a moment, but first our world affairs correspondent bethany bell sent us this update from bologna. italians are coping with a strange new reality, with massive restrictions on their movements. some people will be allowed to travel, if they have valid work reasons for doing so, if they have health problems, family emergencies, or if they need to return to their homes.

they will need to self certify, and if people are found to have lied about their reasons for travel, they could face fines or even a prison sentence. we are still not sure how the authorities are planning to enforce all these restrictions. at train stations, we know that people are having their temperatures checked. planes and trains are still running, and foreign visitors, tourists, will be able to leave italy, but they are being urged to check the flight schedules, because it‘s not yet clear how many flights will be cancelled. all this at a time when schools and universities are still closed. they will remain closed now until the 3rd of april. italy‘s prime minister said it was important for italians to stay at home for the sake of the health of their country.

we arejust we are just hearing from british airways that they have cancelled all flights to and from italy until the 4th of april. let‘s just show you the live pictures coming through from milan station. you can see masked police officers talking to anyone wanting to travel. it is these new restrictions brought in over night that mean that anybody wanting to travel has to sign a form from the police, self certifying that they are travelling for proven work needs, reasons of necessity, or to return to their homes. we are watching people now going through those procedures as they try to travel. i‘m not sure if the camera will move, but just travel. i‘m not sure if the camera will move, butjust before we came to these live pictures, everywhere else in that station looked pretty deserted, because of course no one is supposed to be travelling unless they have a valid reason to do so.

that lockdown extended after the prime minister said that the measures that have been put in place in the north of italy were not enough to contain the virus, and now the whole of the country is in what is being described as a lockdown. it is being described as a lockdown. it is not complete, people are allowed to move around, but the message from the government is to stay at home. we can now go to varese, near milan in lombardy, where 74—year—old gianpietro mazzoleni is quarantined. thank you forjoining us. explain what your situation is.” thank you forjoining us. explain what your situation is. i live in a small village in the countryside, 45 kilometres from milan, in a quiet area. ina kilometres from milan, in a quiet area. in a way, we might say that we don‘t realise what is going on

around us, because there is no crowd, people are doing their own business as usual. so, apparently it‘s all quiet, but of course, we live in the country, where everything is closing down. we are not supposed to see people, or to meet other people in shops etc. but overall, we survive this difficult moment. do you have enough supplies? from your description, you sound pretty isolated there. there are small shops in the small town, so even though we don‘t go to the supermarkets, at least we avoid to go to the big shopping centres around here, we have enough supply. we are two people, after all, me and my wife, so we have enough to

survive, as i said, at least until the end of the month. and then we will see. we hope that things get better. how do you feel being in this situation? it is extraordinary for us to read the headlines, and obviously our country is affected, too, as so many are, but to read what is happening in italy and wondering if it is coming down the line, when you knew the country was going into this lockdown last night, how did you react? living far from milan, you probably don‘t realise, but we changed our plans. we were planning to travel from now till the end ofjune. then we cancelled them. we don‘t know what will happen in the next weeks, so we cancelled our plans. we stay home more than usual.

we don‘t see the neighbours very often. if we had to meet the neighbours for things that happen, you stay away from them one metre at least. we have enough space here to stay even more than one metre away from the neighbours. but no, i mean, living in the countryside, probably you are better off than living in the big cities, where you can‘t help meeting people in elevators and so on. we are in a single family home, so we really survive very well. what do you think about the way the government is handling it? i think all mortgage payments have been suspended, is that right? have you been told you don‘t have to pay your mortgage as they work out ways to help people economically through this as well? yeah, i think the

government is doing well. nothing is perfect, and probably not even our government is perfect, but no other government is perfect, but no other government has the experience to cope with a situation like this. this is really unusual, really unique, and probably, as some newspapers said this morning, other countries will be looking to italy and learning from italy what to do in case things get worse and also in the other countries. thank you very much forjoining us. wishing you all the very best. as we‘ve been hearing, british airways has announced the cancellation of all flights to italy due to leave today and easyjet has cancelled the majority of its flights for the next few days. just hearing from jet2, they have cancelled all flights to italy. that

is between now and the 26th of april inclusive. they are contacting customers due to travel to italy to advise of their options, and contacting customers currently in italy to arrange to fly them back to the uk. they say, the health and safety of our customers is always our number one priority. let‘s talk to sean tipton from the association of british travel agents, joining us from our studio in central london. thank you forjoining us. 0bviously, the airlines are taking action. it‘s interesting thatjet2 are saying that flights are cancelled until the 26th of april, british airways until the 2nd of april. how much pressure will this put on all the airlines?‘ great deal of pressure, clearly, but i think you can‘t ignore a situation like this. as soon as the italian government put the whole country into lockdown, the foreign office quickly changed their advice and said they advised against all but essential travel to italy. from our

perspective, holidays can hardly be regarded as essential. airlines and tour operators will start taking action, which in the majority of cases means cancelling flights. if you are in that position, and i know italy well as a destination, the majority of people going there at this time of year will be independent travellers who booked their flights through an agent or directly with the airline, booking hotels and other services separately. they need to speak to the airline about the options. they will be offered the option to wait for things to get better before deferring the date of travel, and if thatis deferring the date of travel, and if that is not possible, getting a refu nd that is not possible, getting a refund of the ticket cost. if you can‘t use for things you have paid for, there probably will be a cancellation charge for that. that‘s why it‘s incredibly important always to ta ke why it‘s incredibly important always to take out travel insurance, but i think this coronavirus situation has highlighted how important that is, and to have that insurance in place

at the time of booking. if you travel more than twice a year, have an annual policy. if you get hit with charges for our new services such as car hire, if you have a good policy rather than a cheap one, it is called a consequential loss. if you are watching now and you have a trip booked, make sure you have insurance in place. we do research every year and found out that 20% of people don‘t bother with travel insurance, ora people don‘t bother with travel insurance, or a lot of people see it as an afterthought and book itjust before they are due to travel. this issue highlights not to do that. do it now. there are lots of things we wa nt to it now. there are lots of things we want to ask, but in a moment, we need to say goodbye to people watching on bbc two, so do stay with us watching on bbc two, so do stay with us while we break in with another line from the region air, which says it will cut around 3000 flights from mid—march to mid june, corresponding

to about 15% of its capacity for the period. the company has also put measures in place. these are dramatic steps for these airlines. we will talk about it more in a few moments. if you are watching on bbc two, goodbye for now. let‘s go back to sean tipton. this is obviously huge for people travelling were not sure whether to book something. huge obviously for the airlines, and that news that i was just bringing about norwegian air and the temporary lay—offs, in terms of mitigating this, what measures could be taken? in terms of helping the industry, we‘ve written to the government today, suggesting different measures, in particular, giving companies a holiday on air passenger duty. that is a pretty massive tax,

which costs the airline industry and tour operators billions of pounds a year. we are seeing difficult times ahead, so anything the government can do to help, they should do. for members of the public, to mitigate for yourself, a bit of perspective first. this is a serious situation, but in most countries around the world, coronavirus is not an issue, or is world, coronavirus is not an issue, orisa world, coronavirus is not an issue, or is a very small issue, but having said that, we have some places where it is more serious — china, where it started, two cities in south korea, and now the whole of italy, an incredibly important destination for us as an incredibly important destination for us as an industry. things can change, so that is why it is important that you consider travel insurance, first of all, if you are travelling independently. we have heard from jet2. i suspect their customers were on packages. it usually comes into play once we get into april, may and the summer.

ensure yourself, but bear in mind that if the foreign office feel there is an issue with a destination, as they have done with italy and mainland china, they will advise against travel. at that point, a lot of protection comes into play for you as a consumer.” think the message from you is, just go ahead and book if you want, but make sure you are covered. there is the insurance you talk about. if you book on a credit card, you are covered. if the holiday is at all protected, it is covered. —— atol protected. are there situations where you are not covered? protected. are there situations where you are not covered ?m protected. are there situations where you are not covered? if you are not going ahead because of travel advice, that is an issue for insurance. 0ne travel advice, that is an issue for insurance. one good reason, if you we re

insurance. one good reason, if you were to go to a destination, ignoring foreign office advice, your insurance would be invalidated. that isa insurance would be invalidated. that is a different aspect. if you were to travel after the advice change, your insurance company would reject any claim. the foreign office do things for a reason. so take that advice on board. what about people who have gone on holiday and have found themselves swiftly put into a locked down and unable to return? the costs must just locked down and unable to return? the costs mustjust be horrible, not being able to go back to work. he was picking up the bill for things like that? if you look at the people in italy at the moment, i was concerned about whether they would be told they have to stay in italy. they can come home, but they have to self—isolate for 14 days, and i think that is sensible. i think you need to speak to your employer, really. it is not something where insurance would be an issue. there is advice from the government in

that area as well. if you are talking about lockdown overseas, there hasn‘t been much evidence of that so far. there was the hotel in tenerife, and luckily everybody came home quite quickly after they were tested. and we have had a situation with some cruise ships as well. we are going to have to say goodbye. thank you very much. you have had lots of health full advice but we need to hear from the health secretary, who is speaking in the commons. well the secretary of state meet with me to work towards progress. . . meet with me to work towards progress... ? i know that the honourable lady has personal experience in this area. i entirely understand the concern she has raised. the personal plans that have been brought out —— that are being brought up from next year should help address this problem, but the minister is very happy to meet her to make sure we get this exactly right. over three and a half years

ago, grantham hospital was closed overnight, owing to temporary measures. this has gone on for far too long. enough is enough. can the secretary of state help me and offer any guidance... just to explain, this is the regular update the health secretary will give in the commons in terms of being there to a nswer commons in terms of being there to answer questions that mps will have about their constituencies, but obviously, the issue of coronavirus is going to be discussed, so that is why we are going to stay with us just for a few more moments, i think, just to hear what matt hancock says. the government position currently is that we remain in the so—called delay phase of dealing with coronavirus. that is significant, because that is —— because when we move into the containment phase, that is when we

may see the restriction of movement and the banning of major events. it is being discussed, and the government is saying it will follow scientific and medical advice on if and when to bring those moves in. absolutely vital in the national effort to address coronavirus, not least because of the increased risk of people who are in residential settings and who received domiciliary care. the work to make sure that protective equipment is available extends to social care staff. of course, most social care is provided through private businesses, and therefore it is a different delivery model, but it doesn‘t make it any less important. iam very doesn‘t make it any less important. i am very happy for her and the minister for care i am very happy for her and the ministerfor care to have i am very happy for her and the minister for care to have a meeting to make sure we can listen to the concerns she has heard, because of course we want to address them. workforce vacancies, there are

already 120,000 vacancies in the ca re workforce already 120,000 vacancies in the care workforce and we are facing the prospect of large numbers of care staff having to self—isolate because of coronavirus. with the nhs also needing staff, what plans does the secretary of state how to ensure that care providers are still able to fulfil the contract and provider clients with support? this is also an incredibly important issue that we are considering and that we are working on. and that we will make sure that we address any barriers there are two social care operating. in all contingency plans on the reasonable worst scenario, plans are needed for being able to operate with a 20% reduction in workforce. but making sure that the best care can be provided in what is going to bea can be provided in what is going to be a difficult time for social care isa be a difficult time for social care is a really important part of the effort that we are working on.

we are going to leave those questions in the commons to the health secretary matt hancock. talking about obviously the importance of making sure there are adequate medical supplies. let‘s look at the latest advice from the uk government and what we know about their existing plans for containing their existing plans for containing the outbreak here. the prime minister has confirmed that we remain in the contain face but that extensive preparations are being made to move to the delay phase, thatis made to move to the delay phase, that is the uk‘s chief adviser saying that within the next 10—14 days, people showing even minor symptoms could be asked to self—isolate for a week. for now, the government has not introduced social distancing measures. sporting events and other large gatherings are still permitted. the advice is to still frequently wash your hands for at least 20 seconds and if you think you may have coronavirus, call nhs think you may have coronavirus, call nh5111. dr lindsay broadbent

is a virologist at queen‘s university in belfast. we probably can‘t say this enough, lindsay, so start with saying exactly what would be the signs of coronavirus? the symptoms start with a fever, then a sore throat and a dry cough. at that stage, it can progress to shortness of breath, breathing difficulties, and if it gets incredibly severe, pneumonia can develop. why then is the chief medical officer saying that possibly in the next 10—14 days, it may become the case that somebody with symptoms of a cold may be told to self—isolate as well? symptoms of a cold may be told to self-isolate as well? the symptoms of coronavirus are incredibly similarto of coronavirus are incredibly similar to the symptoms of most other respiratory viruses, and that‘s one reason it‘s incredibly difficult to tell if someone is infected with coronavirus or something else like the common cold or the flu. and it‘s really a case

of, it‘s impossible to test everybody, so better safe than sorry, and it would be better to self—isolate for up to 14 days to ensure you are not infecting anyone else. why not say that at this point? yes, i think this probably should have been said earlier, to be quite frank. i think we are currently in the position that italy was in two weeks ago with a number of cases of coronavirus positives, and we do not really want to be in the situation that italy is in in a further two weeks, so i think the self isolating procedures and measures should have been introduced earlier. i think if anyone has the symptoms of a cold, they need to speak to their employer, find out if they can work from home and consider their options for self isolating. they can work from home and consider their options for self isolatingm is confusing, isn‘t it, when we are hearing from the chief medical 0fficer that that advice may come in in the next 10—14 days?

0fficer that that advice may come in in the next 10-14 days? yes, and i think that is probably too late. as i mentioned, two weeks ago italy only had 300 cases of coronavirus, which is similar to what the uk currently has. if people are not self isolating currently, they do risk spreading this virus. they may not even be aware that they are sick because the symptoms can start so mildly. and one italian professor was speaking earlier about it, and he described what happened in italy as being like a bomb exploding, and he said it could exceed the intensive care unit capacity of any health care system. he said the only way to beat this was to stay at home and wash hands. it spreads incredibly quickly, like a fire. what do you think about the way that the messages have been pushed out? steering people to a total change in their habits and behaviour is a big thing, isn‘t it, particularly at the

start of something, when it is not clear where it is going? we are able to see italy now, and as you say, kind of compare and contrast, so that will add to the messaging.” think we need to start introducing small lifestyle changes. no one is asking anyone to overhaul their entire life, but it might be a case of certainly better hand hygiene, avoiding public places, making sure you are touching your face less, those are all incredibly important things, and! those are all incredibly important things, and i think, or! those are all incredibly important things, and i think, or i hope certainly, that the government will start introducing social distancing measures we have seen in other european countries, such as cancelling or postponing large—scale events, especially events that draw people from all four corners of the uk or even from further afield, from europe and elsewhere. and in terms of the latest research, american researchers are looking at how this virus develops, saying that there is an average of five days to show

symptoms if you‘ve been symptom—free for 12 days you are unlikely to get symptoms but may still be infectious. 0bviously, symptoms but may still be infectious. obviously, the understanding of it is developing all the time, but why would it be that some people can get it and may not even know that they have had it, and obviously, for others it is fatal? some people reallyjust have better immune systems than others. they can handle viruses much more easily, just like with some people they may get a cold and it may make them feel slightly unwell for a day, whereas other people will feel sick for a week or two. it varies from person to person and there is no one rule for everybody. thank you very much for talking to us and sharing your expertise on it. and coming up at 3.30 this afternoon, we‘ll be answering your questions about the impact of coronavirus on both health and travel. so, get in touch with the hashtag #bbcyourquestions on social media — or you can send an email to yourquestions@bbc.co.uk.

a woman who claims she was a victim of sexual assaults by the former first minister of scotland, alex salmond, has been describing how she told a party official about what she says happened. the woman, a former scottish government official, confirmed that she got in touch with an snp official in november, 2018. mr salmond denies 14 charges of sexual assault, including an attempted rape. 0ur scotland correspondcent lorna gordon is at the high court in edinburgh. what have you heard today? this is the second day of evidence in this trial, and the evidence continued from a woman whom alex salmond is charged with sexually assaulting and attempting to rape. the woman, who was giving evidence from behind a screen in a court that had been cleared of most of the public and media, said she was going to an event at which alex salmond

would be present the day following one of the alleged sexual assault. in an e—mail, she said she was excusing herself from an event because she was in pain because of an arm injury. she said she didn‘t mention the incident at the time because she was humiliated, in shock. she said she didn‘t process what had happened to herfor a long time. she said the first time she recounted it in its completeness was to police scotland. at one point, she did speak to snp party hq about putting the alleged assault on the record. she said she wanted a secure process to complain because, she said, the first minister was a very powerful man and she did not want to get on the wrong side of him. but she said she wanted to make sure that no one else went through what she said happened to her. that, she said, was her overwhelming desire and still is. well, a qc is cross—examining for the defence, and

she asked the woman if she had to sign in or out when she went to bute house. not really, the woman said, occasionally she might have done but a lot of time she was with the first minister or key staff. that cross—examination is still continuing. alex salmond denies all the charges and has lodged a special defence of alibi in relation to one of the charges, and a special defence of consent in relation to four of the others. thank you very much. boris johnson‘s 80—seat majority in the commons is likely to face its first major test today, over the government‘s decision to allow the chinese firm huawei a role in building the uk‘s 5g network. a group of conservative mps is likely to back an amendment calling for huawei‘s involvement to end before 2023. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is at westminster. how much of a threat is this to the government? i think it is a real threat. when i spoke to some of these rebels two or three weeks ago,

they were saying to me there is no chance of us being able to overturn borisjohnson. that has now changed. the argument seems to have been moving away from the prime minister, even given the fact he has got a huge majority, has just even given the fact he has got a huge majority, hasjust won even given the fact he has got a huge majority, has just won a general election, there does seem to bea general election, there does seem to be a growing band of tory mps deeply uneasy about huawei having access to r five g network. their view seems to be that whatever the advantages are of being able to move ahead more swiftly with the roll—out of 5g, those are overridden by the dangers to our national security. there is a realistic prospect tonight that the government could be debated on what is primarily a symbolic bow, it wouldn‘t be a knockout blow to stop huawei, but it would be a clear signal to the government ahead of the main vote on huawei later in the spring.

cloud and frequent showers. you can see some brightness across the east of scotland. if you keep the brightness this afternoon, it is very mild out there. temperatures are going to climb. for the next few hours we keep some sharp servers accompanied by some blustery winds, gusts in excess of 50 mph. temperatures may well peak at 17 degrees. that is way above what it should be for this time of year, so if you haven‘t stepped outside to experience it, go out to enjoy that mild weather if you can dodge the showers. this evening a band of showers. this evening a band of showers brushing off the east channel coast. the contrast in the feel of the weather with low single figures the north, double digits to the south. blustery and chevrolet as we head into wednesday, still on the

mild side with highs of 15. hello, this is bbc newsroom live. italy struggles to cope with the coronavirus lockdown — after the italian prime minister orders the most stringent nationwide restrictions since the second world war. british airways cancels all flights to italy — and easyjet most of theirs, after the virus kills more than 460 people there. in the uk, five people infected with the virus have died — england‘s deputy chief medical officer says the peak will occur within a fortnight. night—time delivery restrictions will be eased for some supermarkets — to help stores keep their shelves stocked amid fears of panic buying. british holiday—makers on board the coronavirus hit cruise ship, which was stranded off the us coast, will be flown home this evening. in other news, the government

is facing a rebellion today — over its plans to allow the chinese telecoms giant, huawei, a role in the uk‘s 5—g mobile network. breaking news about ryanair flights, it has since cancelled its full schedule to actually following the italian government decision to put the country on lockdown. this will be from midnight tomorrow, wednesday. it‘s not very clear whether it is midnight tonight or tomorrow, but they will be in force until the 8th of april. they are going to be suspending from this friday until the 8th of april all

italian domestic... mrs those where the italian domestic, these are the italian international flights. let me be clear, i wasn‘t clear. the domestic fights, is effectively shut down straightaway. the international flights, a bit of notice on that, it‘s from this friday until the 8th of april. all affected passengers have received e—mail notices today informing them of the flight cancellations. passengers looking for repatriation can obtain a free move to an earlier ryanair flight operation to midnight on friday the 13th of march. pastors will be able to choose between a full refund or credit that can be redeemed on ryanair flights in the credit that can be redeemed on ryanairflights in the next 12 months. they apologise for the schedule disruptions caused by national government restrictions. ryanairare national government restrictions. ryanair are the latest of a number of airlines to announce restrictions on flights and cancellations as

coronavirus continues to spread across the globe. here is what we know so far, italy has been placed on lockdown. the population has been told to stay at home. 0nly on lockdown. the population has been told to stay at home. only those with a valid work or family reason that cannot be postponed will be allowed to travel. all sporting events a re allowed to travel. all sporting events are suspended, public gatherings are forbidden and schools and universities will remain closed until next month. in the uk five people have died from the virus. with 319 confirmed cases so far. the government has said it will relax restrictions on night—time deliveries to supermarkets in built up areas to maintain supplies, and nhs guidance about coronavirus will appear at the top of internet search results in a campaign against fake news. in china, president xijinping visited wuhan, where the virus originated, for the first time, in a move that will be interpreted in china as a sign that the coronavirus emergency there is under control. according to official figures, china has only 19 new coronavirus

cases today, with no new infections outside of hubei. but in iran, the death toll has jumped by 54 to 291, it‘s highest number of deaths in a single 24—hour period. well, as we‘ve been hearing, president xi jinping has visited wuhan, the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak. with more on that, let‘s go live to beijing and join stephen. a very symbolic and important visit there. absolutely, imagine the most important person in this country goes to the most dangerous city in china, at least in terms of coronavirus infections. the message is clear that we have this under control we wouldn‘t risk having the communist party general secretary walking round the streets, people

calling out to a man waving. he visited some medical teams and also spoke via a video link to a sick person. really it is also all in the figures. i know some people will say you can‘t trust the figures in china, they are not catching all these cases, but at least in trend terms, let‘s assume that the trend is accurate, it does seem to show that these very strict measures that have been put in place by the chinese government have worked, in terms of slowing the spread of this disease. a few weeks ago we had 80,000 people infected. now they are adding the infections by the dozen and looking at today‘s figures as a snapshot, if you take one city out of the equation, that is away hand, if you take out the arrivals from oversea , zero if you take out the arrivals from oversea, zero extra infections. this has been like this for days on end

now. there is a feeling that the problem here has plateaued and is even getting much better. i suppose the message of xijinping going there as, you know, time to start going back to work. it will be a stage process, it is slow and it is still quite out in beijing, but every day you see ap more people on the streets, a few more shops open and it seems the country has turned and it seems the country has turned a corner. i think it will give hope for other countries who, further down the line, look at where china is now, look at south korea, also seems to have the situation under control and those dealing now with an explosion of infections will be hoping that things pan out there in the same way that they have roughly in china and south korea, at least in terms of this curve. they won‘t wa nt to in terms of this curve. they won‘t want to have as many infections, but they will be hoping to be able to bring the situation under control. what are the other numbers around

this? 0bviously what are the other numbers around this? obviously this has been an amazing turnaround, going from 80,000 impactjust a short while ago to now just a 80,000 impactjust a short while ago to nowjust a handful effectively being infected on a daily basis. what are the figures around the cost of that for china in, in terms of the impact on economic growth, the cost of putting on the measures that they have implemented to deal with it? it has got to be enormous. asia is an economic giant, —— asia‘s economic giant effectively turned off for a few months. we are yet to see the full fallout from this. people are looking at bits and pieces of economic indicators, but it has to be enormous. there is no way that you would think that the gdp target for this year will be met. and yet the government is trying to say to people, look, this has been a big setback, but we sort of bore down on this hard in the

short term to get it over and done with, because if they hadn‘t lockdown wuhan, if they hadn‘t lockdown wuhan, if they hadn‘t lockdown hubei, the that this would been much worse and that we would be tackling this all year, rather than putting it recently under control within several months. as we‘ve been hearing, italy‘s government is planning a series of measures to tackle the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. the entire nation of more than 60 million people is in lockdown. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen sent us this update from sesto fiorentino, just north of florence. we left bologna this morning to see north of the country and it was looking pretty quiet in the main square this morning. i had to fill out one of these, the permit form which allows you to travel around the country. there is a line here that says if you fill in this form

fraudulently, that will constitute a criminal offence. you have to fill in your name, your details and the reason for travelling. the reasons that are accepting our urgent professional or health needs, or returning to your place of residence. we are expecting to have to show this at the police checkpoint, we have left bologna and are well on our way to rome and we have not seen a single police checkpoint, so that does raise serious questions over how these restrictions are going to be enforced. the most severe restrictions that actually has paced in peacetime. in terms of how people are coping, we have spoken to people but then bologna and in rome, and there is relative calm still. there are some signs that people are going toward supermarkets trying to stock up toward supermarkets trying to stock up with essential supplies, but there is quite a high level of understanding for what the government is doing here, because italians are completely aware, of course, that their country has been

dramatically hit by this coronavirus. it has got the second highest death rate out of china. now all the business news. stock markets in europe have opened higher following sharp fal‘ls yesterday, when shares saw the biggest falls since the 2008 financial crisis. london‘s ftse100 share index rose more than 2% after having sunk 7.7% in the previous session. markets were battered on monday in reaction to the threat of an oil price war between russia and saudi arabia and fears over the spread of coronavirus. banking giant rbs will defer mortgage and loan repayments for up to 3 months for customers hit by coronavirus. will also waive early closure charges on savings accounts and refund credit card cash advance fees so customers can access cash without penalty. the airline virgin atlantic has confirmed it has been forced to run

near—empty flights after bookings were hit by the coronavirus outbreak. it says it‘s forced to operate the flights to retain take—off and landing slots at major airports. under european law, if flights are not operated, slots have to be forfeited. the government has now written to the european commission, asking for rules to be relaxed during the outbreak. the spread of coronavirus has also taken its toll on events. some big sporting events have been cancelled, others held behind closed doors. industry events have also been postponed or scrapped. the tech industry alone has cancelled 12 high—profile conferences so far, causing an estimated economic loss of $1 billion. tech firms adobe, facebook, google, hpe and microsoft have all been cancelling major events. saul leese, editor of exhibition news joins me now.

good afternoon. give us a sense of what the industry is facing right now, because many people won‘t have an insight into this events industry. it brings together so many different things, travel, hotels, staff, security, locations, all of that nice authoring. yeah, i think the way to kind of explain this is that our industry is obviously aiming to keep as calm as possible. 0ur industry is a very sizeable industry. its combined value across events conferences, exhibitions and events conferences, exhibitions and events like music events etc is around £70 billion. in terms of the visitor economy, events contribute about 50% towards the visitor economy in the united kingdom. we area economy in the united kingdom. we are a major player in the market.

there is an importance of these events as an industry get—together. it might be a business showcasing new technology or new products, it might be about meeting colleagues and networking and doing business that way. so you can‘t necessarily replicate that kind of thing by video conferencing, for example. there are options, technological solutions. i think the bigger message around the industry as a whole is that we are, you know, when you think about the uk exhibition market, we are very strong on the global stage. we have a number of huge companies that produce huge and small, events that are cloned all over the international landscape. in the uk we are seeing probably no more than around 1% of uk based event cancellations. they are mainly because of the fact that brands, as you mentioned earlier, like facebook

or amazon or harpercollins, all these big global brands are pulling these big global brands are pulling the plug on events and the sponsorship isn‘t there, exhibitors isn‘t there. the big worry is that ona isn‘t there. the big worry is that on a global stage, we are very significant, it is one of our strengths on a global scale. but particularly from a uk point of view is exhibitions. we produce some of the best exhibitions globally. that is where our markets are feeling the strain, because a lot of events have had to be cancelled on areas or regions that have been affected by the outbreak. wright the problem is that a lot of this money has already been spent, hasn‘t it? that a lot of this money has already been spent, hasn't it? they paid for the marketing and the literature and programmes and staff on speakers and all that sort of thing. even if they postpone it, it seems to be september time that everything has been pushed back to, it is not a case of simply cancelling and redoing it, they‘ve already spent

tonnes of money. i would suspect that certainly on an international level, not in the uk because we are only seeing a finite number of events being actually cancelled, as i mentioned earlier, on a global level there is going to be some losses. that is unavoidable. we saw in the announcement by informer for the end of year trading that they are expecting and anticipating some losses globally, but in the uk, it is very much business as usual. we are pushing very hard and are very grateful to the uk government for not panicking under immense pressure to keep things calm. you need to remember that when you make a massive decision like cancelling events, events is worth about 265 billion in terms of revenues for uk plc, a lot of money moving around at events and if you do make that decision, it has got to be an

extremely brave one, because what you are effectively doing is cutting off almost every single opportunity for trading for british companies and that could have catastrophic effects on the uk plc. absolutely, really interesting to hear your thoughts. it really is a juggling act to make sure everyone is safe but that big business events like that and the contribution they make to the economy is not affected. thank you very much. let me show you the markets. yesterday the were stay on the ftse 100 since the 2008 financial crisis. no means making up for that 7.7% fall yesterday. in london, frankfurt and paris markets back—up. brent at $37 a barrel. a fall yesterday

because of the spat between russia and saudi arabia. we‘ll keep an eye on the how us markets open on the next couple of hours. in the last hour, the health secretary matt hancock gave a short update to the house of commons the global coronavirus outbreak is clearly growing. last night italy place the whole country into quarantine. we‘ve updated our travel advice to advise against all but essential travel to italy. all those returning from any area of italy must self—isolate for 14 days. this is in addition to our advice that anyone who visited the specific areas of northern italy, which were originally locked down in the past two weeks, should self—isolate for 14 days. we will do everything we can to keep people safe based on the very best scientific advice. well, with more information on what you can do to minimise the spread of the virus,

here‘s jane hill. this is what we all need to know about reducing risk of catching coronavirus. wash your hands regularly, rub your palm on the back of your hands in between your fingers and not forgetting your thumbs. it should take 20 seconds, long enough to sing happy birthday twice. avoid touching your face with unwashed hands because this can spread disease. the first symptoms of coronavirus are a fever and a cop and you may experience shortness of breath. if you have a call for high temperature, that doesn‘t necessarily mean you have coronavirus, but if you think you might, don‘t go to hospital or your gp, stay at home and call nhs111 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.

at 25—years—old jo kelly was given six months to live following a diagnosis of hodgkin‘s lymphoma. but thanks to a stem cell donor from germany, eight years on, she‘s cancer free and married with a baby girl. jo had never met the man that saved her life — until last week — when they were brought together for the first time. she‘s been telling her story to jayne mccubbin. my name‘sjo kelly, and when i was 25, i was told i was unlikely to live past christmas of that year. jo was fighting hodgkin lymphoma when she met her first love. so this is us on our first dates. i‘m wearing a wig in this picture. i was really quite ill when i first met pete. it‘s a disease which disproportionately affects young people. and then we got married in 2010, only a year after we met. at this point, i only had one month left to live. and the only hope, if chemo and radiotherapy fails, is to find a stem cell or bone marrow donor.

and that is exactly what happened. we‘re just up here. a german man, that‘s all we knew about him at the time. we knew his height and weight, i think. we knew that he had exams at the time, so he needed to slightly defer his donation, but that was fine. his name is? stefa n. let me check it‘s switched on. today, for the very first time, they are going to meet. you are just so eager to say thank you in person. yes. i think it‘s going to be very emotional. i‘m definitely going to cry. laughter. so am i! definitely going to cry. and then i‘ve been mulling over, what do i say to him? because "thank you" just doesn‘t seem like enough, really. but it‘s all i can really start with. you really wanted to do this, didn‘t you? yeah, i really do. it's — it's a little bit like meeting family you didn't know existed. you just want to meet them. there, take a seat. my name is stefan ernst. i'm 32 years old and about 15

years ago, ijoined the register in germany. how are you feeling? excited. a bit nervous. it didn't cross my mind that out of so many people, i would be the one to have a chance to help like this. two years after the operation, jo wrote to stefan for the very first time, but eight years later, this is the moment they get to meet face—to—face. this is it. it is! are you ready? as ready as i‘ll ever be. he‘s in there, waiting. go for it. deep breath. 0h, hello. how are you doing? oh, my god, you‘re tall! hello. all i really need to say is thank you because you‘ve given us everything, really. it's ok! laughter. i think i‘m just

shellshocked, this is mad. there was this feeling that every now and then you would think about the other person. yeah. there were these random points we were thinking that the other one, so it was really great when i got your first letter, and then of course the second as well. all this time, i still kept all your letters. i think they are my most prized possession that i have. thank you. today, jo is cancer free. she‘s ran the london marathon. she and pete have had a baby girl. their life is complete thanks to one man. i thought long and hard about something... i mean, i could never give you anything to match what you given me, but i‘ve decided that you should be the keeper of this. oh, what is this? because essentially, you ran it with me. so please, have my medal. you‘re too tall to hug! thank you. this is amazing. hey are you coming out? hello, pete, nice to meet you. and then you!

hello. do you want to say hi? thanks, mate. thank you. no worries. come on. five people are diagnosed with hodgkin lymphoma every day, yet only 2% of people are on the register here in the uk. in germany, it‘s 9%. sharing this moment, they hope, will encourage many more. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with susan powell. we really didn‘t need a wet start to our working week but that is exactly what we got. immeasurable monday for many. in north—west england we had over turn up inches of rainfall, with over an inch in the midlands as well. the heavy persistent rain is slowly starting to ease away. as we go into the afternoon, you can see the shower is now starting to focus their attention across western scotla nd their attention across western scotland and northern ireland. likely to be some moving through wales and south—west england, driven

along by gusty winds in excess of 50 mph. it is a blustery afternoon, but a little bit of brightness to go with it as well. if that happens, it is feeling pretty mild out there. temperatures could peak at around 15-16d. temperatures could peak at around 15—16d. way above where they should be for this time of year. a blustery, mild afternoon with scattered showers. those kits are more frequent to the south of the m4 corridor as we go through the evening and overnight. at the same time, that south—westerly flow driving showers into northern ireland and scotland, closest to an area of low pressure. it stays mild to deny in the south with overnight lows of 8—10d. could start off relatively quiet across central and southern england, but those brisk winds can still drive and some showers. it is going to be showers on wednesday, dodge them, keep some sunshine, it should be reasonably pleasa nt sunshine, it should be reasonably pleasant so fingers crossed it is a relatively dry day with highs of 12

degrees if you‘re heading off to the cheltenham festival. for the rest of us, if you manage to keep the sunshine, 14—15d, showers more frequent across the north and west. the weather front sweeping down across the north west. a cold front, so as it continues to push its way south—east, it will introduce something cooler and fresher from thursday onwards. the wind will remaina thursday onwards. the wind will remain a feature on thursday, we could see those showers turning to sleet and snow in the harrogate of scotla nd sleet and snow in the harrogate of scotland and northern ireland. elsewhere, relatively dry, temperatures peaking down and where they have been, 6—10d. it looks as though they once will fall later still, friday into saturday. still some showers around, but with those lighter winds that means they could linger.

the government warns against all but essential travel to italy, as the country‘s coronavirus lockdown comes into effect italians are told to stay at home, public gatherings are banned, and permission is needed for anyone who urgently needs to travel british airways and ryanair have cancelled all their flights between the uk and italy until early april here, health officials warn that the peak of the uk epidemic could be here in a fortnight it has a relatively slow take off at the start and that‘s really where we are at the moment. it will start to rise quite sharply. we‘ll have the latest from italy and from our science correspondents. also this lunchtime: a rebellion in parliament about the government‘s plans

to allow the chinese firm huawei a role in the uk‘s