a step change in the government's response to coronavirus is expected, as ministers hold an emergency meeting. it's thought the uk will move from a strategy of containing the virus to trying to delay its spread. the chancellor this morning tried to reassure. we will make the right decisions at the right time, every step of this process, people can be assured of that. in the us, president trump has imposed a mass ban on flights from 26 european countries, excluding the uk. to keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the united states for the next 30 days. it comes as ireland closes schools and colleges, italy shuts nearly all its shops, and spain considers putting madrid in lockdown.

also this lunchtime... the ifs warns the chancellor's plans to spend more will come under threat if economic growth doesn't recover. and we'll be answering your questions on the coronavirus outbreak, and how best to protect yourselves and your families. and coming up in the sport on bbc news: mclaren withdraws from the first formula i race of the season in melbourne. one of their team members has tested positive for coronavirus. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. borisjohnson is expected to signal a new phase in the strategy to tackle the coronavirus. he's chairing a meeting of the cobra emergency committee this lunchtime,

where it's thought ministers will decide that efforts to contain infections in the uk have run their course. they're expected to back moving into the second stage — delay — involving restrictions on movement, with the aim of pushing back the peak of the outbreak to the summer. in other developments, president trump has banned all travel to the us from much of mainland europe, italy has closed nearly all its shops, ireland is shutting all schools, colleges and childcare facilities, and the spanish authorities are considering locking down madrid. here, 460 people have been infected. in total eight people have died. more than 27,000 have been tested. 0ur health correspondent, lauren moss, has our first report. a day after announcing a multi—billion pound battle plan to fight the coronavirus, the

chancellor has met nhs staff and scientist who will be on the front line of the outbreak. today the government is expected to announce the uk is no longer trying tojust contain the virus but slow it spread as part of officially moving into the delay phase. we outlined last week a set of measures that we might have to take around more self isolation, around changing how we work, safeguarding our most vulnerable elderly people. but again, we will make the right decisions at the right time every step of this process. the coronavirus is transmitted through sustained close contact. the first measures announced later will likely be about keeping our distance from each other. we know that the virus is spread through droplets so when people cough and sneeze droplets come out, and if people are in close proximity they can become infected in that way, but people can also become infected when people who are not well cough and sneeze into their

hands and touch surfaces, and then another person who is not unwell touches those surfaces and then eats food without washing their hands first. the changing advice today could include asking more people to work from home, recommending anyone with even mild flu—like symptoms self isolates for a week, and suggesting older people and those with health conditions ovoid crowded places. the next phase follows the world health organization describing it as world health organization describing itasa world health organization describing it as a controllable pandemic. the government's chief medical adviser has warned a significant epidemic in the uk could put nhs services under extreme pressure, and says healthcare workers will need to work more flexibly than they already do. nicola sturgeon has announced gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled in scotland from monday, and the republic of ireland with over a0 confirmed cases has announced all schools and colleges are too close. we have not witnessed

are too close. we have not witnessed a pandemic of this nature in living memory and this is uncharted territory for us. we said we would ta ke territory for us. we said we would take the right actions at the right time and we have to move now for the greatest impact. from 6pm today the following measures are being put in place, and they will stay in place until 29th of march. but health officials here say it is vital that big steps like shutting schools are not taken too soon. the important thing we are trying to do, we will see cases rise very steeply and what we don't want to do is to see too higha we don't want to do is to see too high a peak. we are trying to push that away so we can manage patients healthily through our health system and that means intervening at the right time. the third emergency cobra meeting of the week is happening this afternoon. the next steps the government will ask us to ta ke steps the government will ask us to take will undoubtedly change our lives for several months to come.

lauren moss, bbc news. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster. this emergency meeting is happening inafew this emergency meeting is happening in a few minutes, what further steps are we expecting? we know we will be moving to the delay phase which is basically an acknowledgement we cannot stop this virus from spreading, but what we will not get other sorts of steps we have seen in ireland and other european countries take, these intrusive measures like closing schools, barring public meetings, restricting travel. instead it will be much more a continuation of the softly softly, slowly slowly strategy. more advice and guidance to people. so if you are not feeling well, maybe self—isolate to be on the safe side. if you can work from home, that makes sense. if you can travel outside commuter hours that too is a

good idea, and i suspect there will be specific advice for the elderly and care homes where people are particularly at risk. what is striking is our approach is now beginning to diverged markedly from near neighbours and other european countries, where they have gone for a much more big bang approach. the reason the british government is not doing that is because of a view it will not be possible to sustain these restrictive measures for weeks and weeks, and the danger is when you get to the crunch people are fed up you get to the crunch people are fed up andjust you get to the crunch people are fed up and just ignore the restrictions. but it is a huge call because if borisjohnson has but it is a huge call because if boris johnson has got but it is a huge call because if borisjohnson has got it right then people will think he has managed the crisis well. if however instances of coronavirus keep going up in the uk but down in other european countries, people will be saying, well why didn't we do what they did? 0k, norman, many thanks. hugh pym is

here now, and the scottish government has indicated it wants to go further than the uk government. that's right, nicola sturgeon earlier said it was inappropriate to continue as normal. she said if you have these large public gatherings requiring emergency services like police and ambulance to be there on standby, it is taking them away at a time of intense pressure elsewhere. that is her argument, and she suggested stopping events of more than 500 people. that doesn't mean it will happen. that is the point she will make at the cobra meeting, where she will be. i'm sure there will be a strong view there should bea uk will be a strong view there should be a uk wide approach here, and as we heard from naaman the view at westminster is that introducing these bands now might be counter—productive. they don't think big events outdoors in the open air area big events outdoors in the open air are a problem with the virus. you

are a problem with the virus. you are vulnerable if you are sitting next to somebody but there is not a wider problem. and if you ban them now where do we go next? 0n schools in the view is closing schools now would have a big social cost, a lot of pa rents would have a big social cost, a lot of parents having to take time off. and if you do it now, when does it end? it's all very well saying a few weeks but that is not on the agenda at the moment in terms of westminster planning. hugh pym, many thanks. president trump has halted flights from 26 european countries to the us, saying the eu had failed to take sufficient precautions to stop the spread of coronavirus. in a televised address from the white house, mr trump said the uk would be excluded from the restrictions, which will come into force tomorrow. david willis reports. criticised for downplaying the effects of the coronavirus, president trump announced sweeping travel restrictions in a rare oval office address to the nation. after consulting with our top government health professionals, i have decided to take several

strong but necessary actions to protect the health and wellbeing of all americans. to keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the united states for the next 30 days. the restriction will apply to foreigners who visited one of 26 european countries in the two weeks prior to their arrival in the us. the uk is not included on that list. trade will not be affected, the president tweeted later, but hundreds of thousands of travellers will be and the announcement took many by surprise. the leader of the largest flight attendant union here called the restrictions outrageous, and accused president trump of destroying everything that makes our country great. there are now more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus here, and the illness has claimed the lives of more than 30 americans. appearing before a congressional committee, a member of the president's coronavirus task force conceded that many

more could be affected. so i can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now. how much worse we'll get will depend on our ability to do two things — to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside, and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country. bottom line, it's going to get worse. and the oscar—winning actor tom hanks confirmed in a statement that he and his wife, rita wilson, had tested positive for the virus in australia, where he is making a film. the trump administration says travel restrictions on people from china and iran helped slow the spread of the virus here, and that widening such restrictions could prove the answer. yet many of those affected haven't been involved in overseas travel, and the backlog in testing makes discovering their numbers all the more difficult. david willis, bbc news.

let's speak to our washington correspondent, gary 0'donoghue. what reaction has there been to this ban? speaking to one of the airport officials here this morning, they said things here were much quieter than they would normally expect at this international airport for washington, dc than they would at this time on a normal day so people are this time on a normal day so people a re clearly this time on a normal day so people are clearly starting to heed the warnings. the president at the white house had to mop up a lot of confusion after his statement last night, not least that there will be trade with europe and also that american citizens and those with the right of residence here will be able to travel back to the us in the 30 day period. there has been an angry response from brussels, the president of the council and commission issuing a statement that they disapprove of the unilateral

way, without consultation the decision was made. they say it is a global crisis not limited to one continent, and that is a direct dig at the president i think, because last night he firmly pointed the finger in the first sentence of his statement at china. gary, many thanks. gary 0'donoghue. the travel restrictions announced across the world are a major threat to airlines and the tourist industry. 0ur transport correspondent, tom burridge, is here. how badly is it affecting them? don't think the picture we are getting from gary in the united states won't have an impact here. british airways, all of its short—haul traffic if you like from europe effectively comes through heathrow so their bookings will be hit by this too. it will have a massive impact. passenger numbers broadly are plummeting. i havejust come off the phone with one source who said it is cataclysmic, the worst it has been since 9/11, and

they are livid with the government because there was no package of measures for the aviation industry which has been hit so hard, whereas the budget did announce a raft of other measures for other parts of the economy. and it is a confusing picture for travellers, isn't it? the general advice stands to follow the foreign office advice. it is very good and quite extensive. the general advice is people should keep using public transport in britain, but i'm told passenger numbers on the trains in london are down. people are working from home, but cleaning measures i'm told are being ramped up and it's like every aspect of this story, a watch this space scenario. tom, many thanks. schools and colleges in the republic of ireland are to close because of the pandemic. the country has more than a0 cases, and one death. 0ur correspondent shane

harrison is in dublin. this is drastic action, given the numbers. why has the irish government decided to do this? the irish prime minister made the announcement in washington where he is attending saint patrick's day festivities, and he made the announcement because he says he is taking the best legal and medical advice to try to get ahead of the curve on this pandemic. the measures include closing all schools, colleges and childcare facilities from 6pm tonight, museums as well, an end to all mass gatherings including gatherings of 500 people outdoors or 100 people indoors. public transport will continue. you talked about the number of cases, we have a3 cases of covid—19, 18 in northern ireland. that's far less for example than in iceland, which has the population of a provincial irish city like cork. there will be

some surprise the measures are being taken now some surprise the measures are being ta ken now but some surprise the measures are being taken now but the government says they want to try to get ahead of the curve. 0k, many thanks. the number of coronavirus cases in spain has soared to nearly 3,000, the second highest in europe. 0ur correspondent damian grammaticas is outside one of madrid's main hospitals. the government is considering putting the capital in lockdown? well, there is nothing official on that at the minute. there have been rumours circulating about that, but there are as you say there is a real acceleration in cases here. there are 100 people now being treated inside this hospital, for covid—19. we were speaking to a nurse involved in the treatment who said they have been creating extra space, they have cleared a gymnasium to put 20 facilities in there. the icu has

cases in as well. he spoke about the shortage of protective equipment for the staff, particularly cleaners and nurses. this nurse had been on shift he said for more than 2a hours and the pressure was mounting. he said he felt spain was behind and needs to get in front because those cases, 2900, have increased by about 600 from just yesterday. what we know todayis from just yesterday. what we know today is the minister for equality has tested positive today, her partner is the second deputy prime minister and he is in isolation. the entire government now is being tested today to see if they are exposed to it, and so is the royal family. 0n exposed to it, and so is the royal family. on top of that, spain's football matches have all been cancelled for two weeks. damien, many thanks. italy is closing all shops except those selling food

and medical supplies. the country has more than 12,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and more than 800 people have died. sima kotecha reports from rome. this isn't normal. a street in the centre of rome, deserted. police patrolling the streets, trying to maintain a sense of calm. yesterday the prime minister introduced further measures to try to curb the outbreak. just to convey the mood here in rome, we've been here a couple of hours now and a woman just stopped us and said that we need to make sure when we are working that we are always a metre apart from each other. now, yesterday, prime minister conte announced more restrictions to be put in place. from today, all shops across the country will be closed apart from pharmacies — you can see that one open, there — and also supermarkets. inside this shop, there is concern. we are worried for the future,

for the business, for italy. and for europe, because i think that what is happening here probably could happen also in other parts of europe. hospitals across the country are feeling stretched as the death toll rises. now 827 people have died, with most fatalities in the north. the situation is getting worse day by day, because we are reaching the top of our capability in icu beds as well as ordinary wards. in milan, the army and police are making sure people are travelling across italy for urgent reasons only — a restriction put in place by the government. this country is renowned for its beauty, its fashion and food. but it's now at the heart of the deadly outbreak, taking lives every day. sima kotecha, bbc, news, rome.

the time is 1:19. our top story this lunchtime: the government's emergency cobra committee is meeting this lunchtime to discuss whether to step up its response to the spread of coronavirus. it could introduce new measures to restrict movement. and coming up, we'll answer some of your questions on the outbreak here. coming up in the sport on bbc news — la liga in lockdown. real madrid players are in self—isolation and the next two match days have been postponed in spain. the respected think—tank the institute for fiscal studies has delivered its verdict on the chancellor's budget yesterday. it's warned that rishi sunak‘s plans to spend billions more could see the deficit rise if the coronavirus inflicts permanent damage

on the british economy. let's go over to our economics correspondent andy verity at the ifs for us now. good afternoon. the big message from the ifs is the economic outlook is not looking very good. george 0sborne used to talk about fixing the roof while the sun is shining. well, it is a bit sunny, sometimes a bit cloudy at the moment. economic growth, the outlook for that is one of the weakest on record. it is just about growing, but nevertheless, the government is proposing to spend more and the ifs director pointed out to me that that could be problematic, especially if coronavirus has a permanent effect or if we hit a downturn. 0ne one of the things we have not talked about enough in the context of this huge raft of measures is that the economic forecasts are really pretty abysmal and that is ignoring coronavirus, these were all done before coronavirus, productivity growth, earnings growth, the growth of the economy looks really poor by

historic standards. we are not in a particularly robust situation to deal with whatever coronavirus throws at us or indeed whatever the new trade deal with the european union throws at us. we are starting ina union throws at us. we are starting in a pretty weak position. the indication is that the debt is going to be much higher and the government is going to have to borrow much more, some of it at short maturities come in other words, paying the money back quite soon and that will leave the economy and the government finances much more vulnerable to shocks in the future, for example, if interest rates rise. the ifs also identified some groups of people who won't be helped by the chancellor's emergency measures, so whereas they might help for example the hospitality sector if they don't get the customers coming in, they don't do much for manufacturers who might not be able to have their workers come in and might not be able to produce as much. similarly, some people won't be able to access statutory sick pay if they are

self—employed or the low—paid. so quite a few groups left out of the chancellor's out. andy verity, there, thank you. the government has announced plans to improve the safety of smart motorways. the transport secretary grant shapps said evidence suggested the roads were as safe as conventional motorways in most respects, but removing the hard shoulder increased the chance of an accident. new measures include more places to stop in an emergency, and a faster roll—out of technology to spot broken down vehicles. an official in the scottish government has told a court that she was shocked when the former first minister kissed her on the mouth "out of the blue". the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, says alex salmond had been drinking heavily when he went on to grope her in the bedroom of his official residence, bute house. the witness says the former first minister later apologised. mr salmond denies all 1a sexual assault charges against ten women. a british soldier has been killed in a rocket attack on a military base in iraq.

the missiles were fired on a camp near baghdad where coalition forces were training iraqi soldiers. an american soldier and a contractor were also killed. four teenage boys have been taken to hospital after being stabbed in east london. police said they arrested seven people following the attacks in walthamstow around 9 o'clock last night. none of the victims have life—threatening injuries. more now on the coronavirus outbreak. as the pandemic spreads, more sporting events are being put in doubt. the flame for the tokyo 0lympics was lit this morning, but no one's sure they'll go ahead. the nba basketball season has been scrapped in the us, and manchester united's europa league match tonight will be played without fans. here's laura scott. tonight's game has been postponed. not the first sporting suspension and it won't be the last. an unpopular decision but one facing every sport across the globe.

0vernight, the nba announced all matches are off until further notice after a utah jazz player tested positive elsewhere. you think this is not going to affect us, we are the nba. 0ne is not going to affect us, we are the nba. one of our players has the coronavirus. who knows what that means for their team on the other teams that have been with them? so, you really get concerned for what is going on, notjust here in the nba but in the entire world. it is... these are things that you watching movies, you know? you watch a movie about this stuff and now we are living it. the formula1 about this stuff and now we are living it. the formula 1 season is due to get under way this weekend in australia, but the grid will be without mclaren. the british manufacturer has withdrawn after a member of their team tested positive for coronavirus. the decision to go ahead with the grand prix had already been criticised by the world champion. for me, it is shocking that we are all sitting in this room, so many fans here already today and it seems like the rest of the world is reacting, yet formula 1

continues to go on. a rare moment of calm amid the chaos as the olympic torch was lit ahead of the games this summer. 0rganisers of tokyo 2020 have said cancellation would be unthinkable. i think the 800 to start. it would be british middle distance runner‘s gere maree key‘s first 0lympics but despite the uncertainty, she told me she is remaining positive. i think being only 22, i'm in a very good position because it means i have hopefully quite a few olympics afterwards. it is more that i feel sympathy for the athletes who may be deciding to retire after this olympics. but yeah, so, i think i'm retire after this olympics. but yeah, so, ithink i'm in retire after this olympics. but yeah, so, i think i'm in a good position and if it does not go ahead then we will alljust get our heads down and train hard for the next thing. they were told not to come but they came anyway. last night, the paris saint—germain fans celebrated outside their stadium as

inside, their team scored to empty stands. but sport without fans or sport in any guise, just how long will it continue? laura scott, bbc news. all day, we are answering your questions about coronavirus, how to best protect yourself, and how to interpret the government's public health guidelines. here's our science correspondent pallab ghosh. thank you, reeta. our first question from a person who is concerned about the impact of the epidemic on the elderly. i have elderly parents, so how do you look after them? the elderly are particularly at risk of developing severe symptoms of the disease. so the best advice is to try and avoid getting the disease in the first place by avoiding crowded areas. but if you do get the disease, then stay in touch with friends, family and neighbours and ask for help if necessary. if you do start developing some of the severe symptoms, then call your doctor

immediately. our next question is from john mcgall. i have a heart condition. what would happen to me if i couldn't go to a doctor is due if i couldn't go to a doctors due to the doctor's shutting or the nhs hospital shutting? where would i go for treatment? rest assured, doctors surgeries won't close. they have been given extra resources to make sure they stay open and so people with conditions that need regular treatment should continue as normal. and our last question is from rebecca vidler. can dogs get coronavirus? viruses can jump from species, that is probably how coronavirus got into the human population in the first place. but the evidence so far is that dogs can't get coronavirus from us, although for your own safety, you should wash your hands after stroking your pet. you can get more information on coronavirus through the day on the bbc news channel

and news online. many thanks. just to reiterate what palla b many thanks. just to reiterate what pallab ghosh was saying, you can find out more about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to protect yourself on the bbc news app and also on our website. time for a look at the weather. here is mel coles. thanks, march continues to show us it's thanks, march continues to show us its numerous faces. we have had snow showers across scotland today, nothing unusual about that at this time of year. we have got low pressure firmly in charge today but there are signs as we head into next week that it will turn more settled for some of us and we will get a taster of that tomorrow. on this area of low pressure, today on the southern flank, strong winds, gales for some. notice that the milder air we had across the southern half of the uk yesterday has drifted down towards the near continent. we are all in cooler conditions. this is the earlier radar, you can see the

showers packing in, we've had snow across scotland. through this afternoon, that will become confined to the hills. elsewhere, we have got further showers for northern ireland, scotland and northern england. some of these will be quite heavy. no one is immune to the showers but there is a good deal of fine and dry weather out there, even some sunshine, but the winds are strong, gales across northern ireland, southern scotland and northern england. it is windy across the board and that is reallyjust taking the edge of the temperatures, which are about average for the time of year. but it does feel quite chilly out there. into this evening and slowly, the wind starts to ease down. we start to bring in more of a northerly flow across scotland. where we see the showers, they will turn wintry. snow even to lower levels and the risk of ice first thing on friday morning. here, temperatures dropping, perhaps as low as —a celsius. the further south, the colder air does not make inroads but it will still be quite chilly and there could be one or two pockets of frost here and there so a

chilly start to friday morning. but look at the difference, a ridge