at the moment we will continue to do but the government advises. one of racing's biggest names says these are worrying times. it is really what is going to happen in the future so we are hopeful that it doesn't get any worse and we can stop it cancelling any of refund. today's crowds are expected to be a few thousand lower than normal and fried it was like gold cup is not the usual sell—out. cheltenham might be on but british sport is facing an uncertain future. yes, the crowds a little bit down but still around 62,000 fans expected here today. the big race of the day the champion hurdle at three 30p and i do suspect the fans here willjust be thankful to see some racing today. andy, thanks very much. it has stopped raining from

yesterday's rain. it was miserable. parts of north—west england, wales and the midlands had over half a month's and the midlands had over half a months worth of rain in 2a hours. i am pleased to see monday's wet weather has started to ease away. some pretty intense rain this morning but those dying away now. still one or two across south west coasts. there is a little bit of brightness. not so bad in sheltered eastern areas with sunny spells. because the winter coming from the south—west it is windy in excess of 40 south—west it is windy in excess of a0 mph but at least it is mild. dodge the showers, keep some sunshine and you will get someone. well above the average for the time of year. some of those showers as we go through the evening have become more organised, running along the channel coasts through the night. clear skies elsewhere, more persistent showers driving into

western scotland, northern ireland and north—west england. a contrast with the feel of the weather. still seeing mild with double digits the south. tomorrow morning there will be some dry sunny spells coming through but then those south—westerly when still feature driving in showers as we go through the day. some of those organised from time to time. it is not going to feel too bad and if you are heading off to cheltenham for tomorrow it looks as if you might dodge the worst of the showers of top temperatures of 12 degrees. further south and east we could see another incredibly mild afternoon with 15 or 16. more organised showers from the north—west, a cold front that will push these showers further south and east but as it does it will move the mile they are out of the way so we see a return back to conditions where they should be and maybe even cooler than they should be at this time of year. into thursday, fewer showers, still the risk of some into northern ireland

and scotland, turning increasingly wintry to higher ground across scotla nd wintry to higher ground across scotland and the peaks and pennines and perhaps north wales but there should be drier and brighter interludes further south. look at the difference in the feel of the weather. we will have lighter winds on friday. it should not be a bad day, dry with sunny spells coming through before we see potential for more wet weather to push on to the far north and west for the start of the weekend. a reminder of our top story: the foreign office has advised against all but essential travel to italy, as the whole country enters lockdown, to try to stem the spread of coronavirus. that's all from the bbc news at one — so it's goodbye from me — and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are.

good afternoon. the latest sports news... you're watching bbc news, i'm 0f at the bbc sc, national hunt racings cheltenham festival is under way, the opening race, the supreme novices hurdle has just gone off, attendance is slightly down on last year, but around a quarter of a million are expected to attend over the next four days and with the coronavirus outbreak at the forefront of organisers minds, extra hygiene measures have been put in place. we've certainly recognised our responsibilities in having a number of people here over the four days and have brought in plenty of additional resources to ensure the toilets are probably stuffed with soap and water throughout the event, we've brought in 2a hand

sanitiser boards and have large quantities of hand sanitiser gel as well as asking all of our participants to follow the government guidelines. we have put a lot of precautions in place. so we can follow the government advice on hygiene, we have created hanson advisory boards. —— hand sanitiser, so that people can take every precaution possible. manchester united are due to play in austria on thursday. the first leg of their europa league tie against lask will be behind closed doors because of coronavirus. the government there say that any events with over 500 spectators will be cancelled, 900 united fans had been due to travel. uefa competitions are going ahead for now, despite restrictions in various european countries. all matches in the top two divisions of spanish football will be played behind closed doors for the next fortnight. those measures have been announced this morning barcelona's champions league game with napoli at the nou camp next week will also be played in an empty stadium,

as will tonight's tie between valencia and atalanta. the nottingham forest owner says he has contracted coronavirus. evangelos marinakis, who also owns greek side olympiacos has released a statement on social media saying "the recent virus has visited me and i felt obliged to let the public know." he says he's taken all the necessary measures and following doctor's advice. marinakis was at forest's game against millwall last friday. olympiakos' europa league tie on thursday against wolves will be played behind closed doors in athens. there'll be a full house at leipzig tonight where tottenham need to overturn a 1—0 deficit against the bundesliga side in the second leg of their champions league tie spurs have been hit really hard by injuries, especially up front, and haven't won in 5 matches now... but their managerjose mourinho is still in confident mood, with a quarterfinal place to play for.

you can ask me, how can you score two goals minimum without cane? how can you score two goals? there are many ways to score goals. even the other team can do the same and score for us. anything is possible in football. we are very positive. ben youngs may have to wait until the autumn to win his 100th england cap. player welfare rules are set to bar the scrum—half from the summer tour of japan. regulations state any england world cup squad member should be rested for the two—tests, unless they have featured in fewer than 20 matches this season, a mark youngs has already reached. he won his 99th england cap in the six nations win over wales on saturday. i'll have more for you in the next hour.

more for you in the next hour. i'll have more for you, or someone well, won't be me. 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 xi jinping 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 officialfigures, china has only 19 new coronavirus cases today, with no new infections outside of hubei. but in iran, the death toll has jumped by 5a to 291, it's highest number of deaths in a single 2a—hour period. here — the health secretary matt hancock has been giving an update to mps in 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 1a days. this is in addition to our advice that anyone who visited the specific areas of northern soa which were initially locked down in the past two weeks should self—isolate for 1a days. we will do everything we can to keep people safe based on the very best scientific advice —— northern italy. as we mentioned, italy is in lockdown. our rome correpsondent mark lowen sent this update from sesto fiorentino, just north of florence. he was at a service station there for us —— he's travelling between bologna and rome. we left bologna this morning, 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 size if you fill in this form fraudulently, that will constitute a criminal offence. you have to fill in your name, details and reason for travelling. the reasons that are accepted are urgent, professional or health needs or returning to your place of residence. we are expecting to have the show there at a police checkpoint but we have left bologna and are well on our way to rome and we have not seen a single police checkpoint. that does raise serious questions over how these restrictions are going to be in force. the most severe restrictions that actually has faced in peacetime. in terms of how people are coping, we have spoken to people both in bologna and in rome also. there is a relative calm, still, some people going toward supermarkets and trying to stock up

on essential supplies but there is a high level of understanding for what the government is doing here, because italians are completely aware that their country has been dramatically hit by this coronavirus. it has got the second highest death rate now out of china. we arejust we are just hearing about another person in the uk who has died as the result of coronavirus. a sixth person has died, a statement through from west hertfordshire hospitals nhs trust. sadly we can confirm that a man who was being cared for has indeed died. he had other health conditions. those are the details that we have so far on that. that is the sixth person, regrettably, to die in the uk as a result of

coronavirus. we've been focusing a lot on actually, for very obvious reasons. hannah roberts is a freelance journalist based in rome — she told joanna gosling what life is like under quarantine. most people waking up this morning to the news have been alarmed and shocked. it is not something people could have imagined a month ago or even a week ago. i think it is fair to say that until friday or saturday, most people weren't really taking the warnings that seriously. on friday night a lot of young people went out as usual. schools and universities have been shut for and universities have been shut for a few days so they were kind of treating it as a holiday. saturday was gorgeous weather in most of italy, so a lot of people were out close together and cafe is. but 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. they are sort of shirking round each

other in the street, you're not getting the habitual italian signs 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 a specific family or work reasons to do so. how tight are the restrictions? how much are they being observed? and our people able to carry on working, effectively, as normal provided it doesn't mean they have to travel too far? explain how to travel too far? explain how it is 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 80 and went 25,000 people left the lockdown 8o and went down to the south where there was a very few cases. now in order to dis— incentivise people from travelling, the government are saying you can only travel if you have a very good reason for work or for health reasons or to look after

a relative. so people are being asked to self certify, that is download and print out a form and sign it, giving a reason that they need to look after a family member who is sick or work... the prime minister was very clear last night when he said that anyone who lies in this form will be committing a criminal advance, so people will bear that in criminal advance, so people will bearthat in mind. criminal advance, so people will bear that in mind. —— a criminal offence. one italian professor who is coordinating the intensive care unit in lombardi has described this asa bomb unit in lombardi has described this as a bomb exploding and said it would exceed the intensive care capacity of any health care system. we 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 ta ke people into observing this now and take this very seriously?” people into observing this now and take this very seriously? i think so. 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, isn't as many cases, there are relatively few intensive ca re as many cases, there are relatively few intensive care beds. the authorities have been trying to build up the sense of civic responsibility, telling people it is their civic duty to stay at home, restrain from social life. the prime minister has been invoking the spirit of the blitz and quoting churchill as saying this is italy's darkest hour, to really create a feeling that we are all in this together. 1ao brits who've been stuck on the grand princess cruise ship off the coast of san francisco bay, after 21 passengers tested positive for the virus, are due to fly home today.

victoria derbyshire spoke to one couple — len and denise mcconkey, who started by describing what it's been like on board. one word, nightmare. what do you say, denise? absolute nightmare. tell us why. it is being confined to yourcabin, we tell us why. it is being confined to your cabin, we have been conveyance on thursday. luckily we have a balcony so we can go out and get pressure unlike other passengers who have inside cabins. there is not a lot we can do. the cabin is very small so there is probably 12 paces up small so there is probably 12 paces up and down it, so you can't really do anything. no exercise, nothing. nobody seems to know what they are doing. haven't got a clue. my friend, daniel, they took him off the boat yesterday morning, he was

off the boat for an error, they then decided they were to come off early because he is disabled, they then decided when he was of the boat they had nowhere to take him, so they brought him back onto people. it is just beyond belief, really. what information have you both being given about how and when you're coming back to britain?|j given about how and when you're coming back to britain? i havejust received an e—mail literally before we came on here saying that they are hoping to take us off the bow at three o'clock our time, midnight yourtime, three o'clock our time, midnight your time, saying we will be taken to put on a plane but they can tell is where we are going. we will be going somewhere in the uk but we don't know where. where this back your? in london. but we could end up anywhere... sorry. are you going to be tested before you get off the ship or get on the playing? what is the deal? we think we are getting tested as we get off the boat because they have some tents outside

on the quayside. it looks like a site where they are going to test us. site where they are going to test us. we are only preserving, we have been told anything. how do you feel about that? i feel it is a bit insulting, really. it is nothing, we don't get any information whatsoever. how come they can repatriate us to england and they cannot tell us where we are going? can't even tell is which airport we are going to. we could end up anywhere in the uk. i suppose it is understandable that the authorities they are, here, everywhere are pretty stretched. yeah, not a problem with that, but i can't see why that means they can't tell is where we are going to go. do you know... i suppose it depends on the outcome of your test, but is there a possibility of you being in quarantine when you come back? nobody is telling us that, we are just presuming they're going to put it into quarantine because that is

what they're doing with the americans, taking them off the putting them straight into quarantine. in my eyes, the quarantine. in my eyes, the quarantine started on thursday. we have been quarantine now, but now they are taking the americans of inputting them into weak quarantine again. ijust like to say, this time at the moment, the crew here are absolutely wonderful. no problem with the crew. we've got a problem with the crew. we've got a problem with the crew. we've got a problem with the people in charge that don't seem with the people in charge that don't seem to know what they're doing. they are still on that cruise ship merit of san francisco, hoping to fly home but don't know exactly to wear. 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 the palm and back of your hands in between fingers and not forgetting the thumbs. it should

ta ke not forgetting the 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 arty fever and cough, first symptoms of coronavirus arty feverand cough, and first symptoms of coronavirus arty fever and cough, and you may experience shortness of breath. if you have a cough or 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 nhs 111 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 and on our website. and much more of course about coronavirus from to. we will ta ke about coronavirus from to. we will take a look at a couple of other stories this afternoon. dash cams have become increasingly popular with motorists over the past few years. now police are using the footage to ban dangerous drivers from the roads.

it's saving thousands of police hours, but some worry it will result in fewer officers on patrol. chris jackson reports. car horn. it's capturing some of the most mindless and terrifying driving on our roads. more than 3 million people now have dash cams or helmet cams, and more of us are uploading footage for the police. oh, it's a junction! it's a junction! like tony mccluskey. no, no, no, no, no. i'm not a vigilante. i'm interested in protecting myself and anybody else around me. i don't look for trouble. it finds me. oh, yes. i'm going to have you for that, sunshine. this will automatically fill out your witness statement for you. there's now a quick way to upload, the national dash cam safety portal. 32 police forces in england and wales are signed up.

there's been around about 10,000 uploads sent through to the national dash cam safety portal, and they equate to around about eight to ten hours' worth of police time saved per upload. but there is concern that uploading is doing the police's job for them, that traffic officer numbers will be cut. in the last ten years, the number of traffic officers in england has halved, with only the metropolitan police seeing a rise in numbers following a reorganisation. we are incredibly concerned. if you stop someone for a serious motoring offence, it is much more likely that they are involved in wider crime. so, yes, have dash cams to protect yourself, but we need cops in cars to protect the entire public. 0h! the aspiration is that every force in the country signs up to this. i really don't think that's going to have an impact on police officer numbers. if anything, i think there is a need to grow police officer numbers with regards to roads policing in general across the country. uploading incidents

like this is here to stay. the question is, in the age of the selfie, is the dash cam or helmet cam going to transform our driving? or will it become a double—edged sword? the recent bushfires in australia were among the worst on record. more than thirty people died — and millions of acres of forest were destroyed. the impact on wildlife was dramatic — many animals were killed — many more were orphaned. now some people are trying to help the survivors — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. dominique is a volunteer, a carer, and in a way, a new mum. her child is a baby wallaby, orphaned by the bushfires and desperate for help. she really likes her bottle. in australia, because we've had a terrible drought, there's not a lot for the native animals to eat out there. and also all the underbrush is gone,

so all the bushy sort of stuff under the trees. so there's not so much for them to hide in, so they're very vulnerable to predation by feral animals. months of severe drought and record—breaking temperatures led to catastrophic wildfires across much of the country. more than 100,000 square kilometres of bush, forest and parkland burned. an estimated 1 billion animals died. people like dominique are helping the survivors, but the plan is they will all be returned to the wild. so when they get released, we open up the fence and leave a panel out so they can come in and out for maybe a week or two, until they feel really happy being out by themselves, and then we close the gate back up and they live out there. a traumatic past, but hopefully a brighterfuture.

a little more information about coronavirus in this country, we were reporting that a six person had died of the virus. a statement from the chief medical officerfor of the virus. a statement from the chief medical officer for england saying "i am sorry to confirm that the six patient in england who tested positive for covert 19 has sadly died. i offer my sincere condolences to their family and friends. the patient was in their 80s and had underlying health conditions. it appears the virus was acquired in the uk. full contact tracing has begun. that statement from the chief medical officer from england. we will keep you up—to—date with all the developments from two o'clock. we will pause right now and ta ke o'clock. we will pause right now and take a look at the weather prospects.

a measurable money for many, across north—west england we had two and half inches of rainfall with over an inch recorded in the midlands as well. the heavy persistent rain is slowly starting to ease away stop as we go into the afternoon you can see that the showers are now starting to focus their attention across western scotla nd focus their attention across western scotland and northern ireland. there are some likely to be moving to wales and south—west england, driven along by gusty winds in excess of 50 mph in places. a blustery afternoon, a little bit of brightness to go with it as well. if that happens, it's feeling pretty mild out there. temperatures could peak at around 15-16d, 61 temperatures could peak at around 15—16d, 61 fahrenheit, 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 ma corridor as we go through the evening and overnight. at the same time, that south—westerly flow driving showers into northern

ireland two it stays pretty mild through the night with overnight lows of 8—10d. could sort of relatively quiet across central and southern england, those brisk winds could drive and some showers but it is going to be showers on wednesday. dodge the showers, keep some sunshine, it should be recently pleasant. fingers crossed it is a relatively dry day with eyes of 12 degrees if you're heading off to the cheltenham festival. the rest of us, if you manage to keep the sunshine it is 15 degrees. share is more frequent across the north and west, it weather front sweeping down from the north—west. it is a cold front so as the north—west. it is a cold front so as it continues to push its way south and south—east, it will introduce something cooler and fresher from thursday onwards. the wind will remain a feature on thursday, continuing to drive in some showers. we could see them turning to sleet and snow to higher ground in ireland and maybe if we catch them into north wales as well.

elsewhere, relatively dry, temperatures peaking down and where they have been, 6—10d. it looks as though they once were far later still, friday and saturday. still some showers around us —— those lighter winds, that means it could linger.

hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2pm... a sixth person has died in the uk after testing positive for coronavirus as it's warned the peak of the epidemic could be here in a fortnight. it has a relatively slow take—off at the start and that is really where we are at the moment. it will start to rise quite sharply. italians are told to stay at home, public gatherings are banned, and border checks are increased as the country's coronavirus lockdown comes into effect. british airways, easyjet and ryan air cancel all theirflights between the uk and italy until early april. borisjohnson is facing his first commons rebellion since his general election victory — over huawei's role in the uk's 5g mobile internet network. an old bailey murderjury is told police officer andrew harper