this is bbc news i'm geeta guru—murthy. the headlines at eight. the worst public health crisis for a generation — the government steps up its response to the coronavirus — and says there could be as many as ten thousand people already infected in the uk. anyone with a new continuous cough or high temperature is told to stay at home for seven days — but the prime minister stopped short of closing schools and universities. i must level with you, level of the british public. more families and many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time. in the us, president trump suspends travel from 26 european countries to try to control the spread of the virus. eu leaders have reacted

with anger to the flight ban — which does not include the uk and ireland. that move by president trump caused global stock markets to plunge — the new york stock exchange was temporarily suspended after big losses — while in london the ftse 100 tumbled to its lowest level since the 1987 crash. and in ireland, the government has closed down all schools, colleges and other public buildings for more than two weeks. stay with us here on bbc news — in the next few minutes i'll be putting your questions about the virus to an infections specialist at the university of st andrews. good evening and welcome to bbc news. borisjohnson has said the uk faces the biggest public health crisis in a generation. the prime minister and his senior public health advisers have set out how the country should tackle

the growing threat from coronavirus and its in stark contrast to what is happening around the world. the uk's chief medical adviser said that there was a danger in moving to more drastic measures too early — it could do harm than good. they are working on the assumption that the uk will not see peak infection rates for weeks — possibly up to three months away. so, for now, there will be no uk wide ban on large sporting gatherings. and schools will remain open. but as the uk moves from the containment phase to trying to delay the spread of the disease there was new advice on what we should be doing. if anyone in your family or workplace has a persistent cough or a fever, they should stay at home for a week. it comes amid anotherjump in confirmed cases — to just short of 600. but health experts believe there could be up to ten thousand undetected cases.

the total number of deaths also rose — it's now ten. so far nearly 30,000 people have been tested. throughout this hour — we'll be answering some of the questions you've been sending us today on various aspects of the outbreak. but our first report this evening comes from our political editor, laura kuenssberg. for self—employed mike, stuck at home waiting for a test... there is no statutory sick pay for me and i haven't earned a penny since the start of march and i'm now hoping to get on with life. 0r kay, who has been told to wait for her symptoms to go before she goes out again. it's my husband's birthday tomorrow so we have cancelled our plans and will have an isolation party at home, just the two of us. johnny has symptoms but can't get a test. in some ways it is understandable because i am young, fit and not likely to die from this thing, but at the same time, the day before i came down with it i spent it sat next to my 90—year—old grandad watching the england against wales rugby game. now there could be many more changes to most of our lives. good afternoon, everybody,

and thank you very much for coming. the virus is already affecting many of us and from tomorrow we are in a new phase with some new rules, but not yet the most drastic action. this is the worst public health crisis for a generation. i must level with you, level with the british public. more families, many more families, are going to lose loved ones before their time. from tomorrow, if you have coronavirus symptoms, however mild, either a new, continuous cough or a high temperature, then you should stay at home for at least seven days to protect others and help slow the spread of the disease. we advise all those over 70 with serious medical conditions against going on cruises and we advise against international school trips. how sure are you that the approach you are taking, holding back from some of the more drastic

measures, is the right one? asking elderly people to stay at home, that's one thing you've really got to time, as chris and patrick have been explaining, so that it coincides with the period at which the epidemic is really at its peak. people start off with the best of intentions but enthusiasm at a certain point starts to flag. if you start too early and then people's enthusiasm runs out at the peak, which is exactly the time we want people to do these interventions, that's not a productive way to do it. but hang on — in scotland, the first minister has pushed further. mass gatherings require to be policed and require emergency ambulance cover. we are minded now that we will advise the cancellation, from the start of next week, of mass gatherings of 500 people or more. that is principally to protect the resilience

of our front line workers. and listen to this — ireland's leader taking more drastic steps already. schools, colleges and childcare facilities will close from tomorrow. where possible, teaching will be done online or remotely. cultural institutions will close as well. our advice is that all indoor mass gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor mass gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled. number ten is well aware, outwardly they are taking a less stringent approach than some other countries, even our near neighbours. but that is based on what they say is the best scientific evidence they have in the genuine belief we are in this for the long haul, perhaps three months from the worst. and more draconian measures will only have an effect if they are taken at the right time. rushing into drastic action might not be the safest route. should schools be shut? above all else, this pandemic means the firstjob is to protect

the nation's health. but this is also a test of the politicaljudgement and competence of those in charge. 0ur political correspondent helen catt is at westminster. a lot of questions from people but in the medical profession and politically about whether the government is taking the right approach, we compare it with many others around the world. there is a pressure for them to explain very clearly why they are doing the things that other countries are doing that even now missing parts of the uk doing if you think that nicholas, is set to ban mass gatherings. a a pressure to do that but if you take that approach and it does not work, there can be very serious consequences. some the

questions that have been asked jeremy hunt, the former health secretary has been saying that he would like to see the modelling that suggests that people were tired of these measures after a few weeks and thatis these measures after a few weeks and that is something that is been echoed by the shadow health secretary who has been saying that he's said that perhaps people will be more willing than is thought to continue with this sort of action, given the gravity of the situation. people are voting with their feet. people are voting with their feet. people are voting with their feet. people are already taking social distance measures. they have bit that choice themselves. i think the government is underestimating the extent to which the public is willing to make adjustments to their lives so we can all defeat this virus and our loved ones safety first. following the best scientific advice for bringing in measures of the appropriate time and he was also pretty clear earlier that this does not mean that we will get to the stage for more draconian measures

are bright and common factors talking about it being pretty likely that we will move to a point at the moment you're talking people who have symptoms like fever in that new persistent cough to stay at home for seven days, he was talking about moving to a situation in time where entire households would be having to stay at home and certainly he said they are considering the question of banning mass gatherings. it was a suggestion it is like that the uk will get to a point where there are more draconian measures being brought in, just use is not now. across the bbc we have seen an almost unprecedented demand for information about the virus and how it might impact you. so now it's time to get your questions answered. joining me now to answer your questions is dr muge cevik, a virolgy clinician and researcher at the university of st andrew's, she's an expert on infectious diseases.

thank you very much forjoining us today. we have had many questions sentin today. we have had many questions sent in and starting with the first question in cambridge where they ask, can the coronavirus be transmitted through the skin? thank you so much for the question, based on our knowledge so far, which are learning on a daily basis, but we know is that it is not transmitted through the skin, but this virus, similarto through the skin, but this virus, similar to the other viruses we have seen similar to the other viruses we have seen oui’ similar to the other viruses we have seen our spread by respiratory droplets, such as those produced by when infective person coughs or sneezes. do you know at the moment how long those droplets last either in the airaftera how long those droplets last either in the air after a sneeze or on services? what we know so far is that it does not stay in the air that it does not stay in the air

that long unless there is a medical procedure done in a patient, but he could stay on the surfaces, especially on metal and plastic and thatis especially on metal and plastic and that is why the uk government and public health england were given very clear advice to the public to wash their hands regularly for a minimum of 20 seconds and also cough and sneeze on a piece of hanker chief and then it and also keep close to be away from people living with the virus. the elderly of the most

eve ryo ne everyone has a role to play to slow down the spread of the virus and during this period, it is important to follow the public health england's guidelines and public health experts have been giving lots of advice to stop the spread and during this time, it is important to follow this advice such as washing oui’ follow this advice such as washing our hands and having good personal hygiene and we should all minimise oui’ hygiene and we should all minimise our close contacts and visits in general with the elderly and public health england suggestions. but at the moment, there is no advice to self—isolate if you're otherwise well. but perhaps avoid hugs and kisses if you're worried? if you are worried, on a personal basis committee could decide to minimise those contacts, yes. and someone in

the order age bracket says: and someone in the order age bracket you may be asked to stay at home and avoid contact with other people“ you have been in close contact with someone you have been in close contact with someone with coronavirus or while you're waiting for results. at the moment, soft isolation is not advised if you are well. but soft isolation means that you should stay at home, not go to work or school, did not use public transport where there will be lots of people in a confined space and avoid visitors to your home for example but you could go out and do your regular exercise, but it is generally advised to avoid

work or public areas were there lots of people. people can in that case go for a walk, go to the garden, go to the park as long as they're not coming into contact with a lot of people at close quarters. yes. avoiding public areas but not open space. lots of people might be if you have a cleaning based 0cd disorder, with or be more support for people to recover it and obviously it is going to be difficult on many levels of the next few weeks. absolutely. i know that there have been lots of parties involved working towards to prepare the nhs for lots of struggles coming for all of us, the health workers, the public and we are thinking that

many other things, giving support to people who were in need and including mental health support. this is part of the planning. yes. i think across scotland and england, we test to confirm that they no longer are infectious, so all patients who test positive advice to self—isolate are given to negative tests to make sure that they are no longer infectious. we also saw in china people being discharged and they were found still potentially to have the virus comes or can extend the system even after you are technically not likely to be

ill with it? generally what we see in the data coming from china and singapore for example, is that most patients feel well before the test becomes negative. that is the reason why we ask people to stay at home at least for a week after they feel well. but at the moment, we are still learning but most of the advice is quite conservative. i think you are know more once you have more data but at the moment, our advice is based on evidence and as long as people stay home for seven days, and they are tested negative, it means they're not infectious. in them me ask one more question from brian. —— let me ask.

absolutely. good question. some patients may have other bacterial infections, so i think it is good that people who are receiving vaccines, for example an ammonia, the influence of vaccine, these are the influence of vaccine, these are the things that could be preventable and this could definitely help to treat the virus because once there is an additional infection, it will ta ke is an additional infection, it will take longerfor is an additional infection, it will take longer for patients to recover. thank you very much for your time today, much appreciated to get some of those questions answered.

and you can find out more about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to protect yourself on the bbc news app and on our website bbc.co.uk forward slash news. uk shares have suffered their worst day since 1987, with investors fearing the coronavirus will destroy economic growth. the uk index dropped 10 per cent, with one hundred and sixty billion pounds wiped off the ftse100. us shares plunged with the announcement of trump's travel ban from europe, but saw some recovery after the federal reserve pumped money into the system to limit losses. 0ur economics editor faisal islam is here. it has been a very turbulent few days, what does this mean for most people? primarily a grave public health crisis but it is having an

impact on the real economy and this is where it is different from 2008. it is through this economy the markets are then reacting, notjust the stock markets but also the corporate debt markets are really important and where they are spotting the big companies and whether they are airlines and travel companies, this is the stock market actually and see the very latest figures there is that although it did recover when that extraordinary trillion dollar intervention the federal reserve, it fell again and ifa federal reserve, it fell again and if a practically 10%. that is the sharpest fall when that happened a few minutes ago since 1987. uk in 1196, few minutes ago since 1987. uk in 11%, the sharpest fall, worse than black monday 1987. but there was one more stay, down 12%, spanish index 1496, more stay, down 12%, spanish index 14%, the more stay, down 12%, spanish index 1a%, the italian indexes actually down 17%. these are huge numbers this crash territory. and as a set,

this crash territory. and as a set, this is an assessment or reassessment of the prospects of companies and yes, we have seen bailouts, funding, interest rate cuts and concerning thing about the american stock market was that they did pump in this trillion dollars and it had a bit of a sugar affect and it had a bit of a sugar affect and then it fell back again and a lot of this hinges on concerns that we heard about donald trump poss plus speech in the early morning because what it meant for european airlines, just the sight of a president not talking cooperatively about what is a global pandemic but almost saying that this is europe's fault and it's led to this. can governments afford to bail out eve ryo ne governments afford to bail out everyone who needs it because jobs, income is going to slow down significantly for some time?

yesterday, we saw the budget, £12 billion focused mainly on small and medium—size business, the bank of england focused small business. but this is a change in trading conditions and there will be some real effect in retailers that have reported that there are problems and airlines go out of business and other problems and there is a real impact here and not every company will be saved in the situation. the government says that is the case but it is trying to focus its efforts on medium—size businesses that for most people can help them fund the fact that they want people to stay at home with sick pay and self—isolate. sport now and let's get a round up on how coronavirus has

been impacting fixtures and events here's chetan pathak. the government at the moment says that they are considering banning sporting fixtures and the uk because the coronavirus outbreak but it will not happen immediately. 0ne football match is off next weekend, it's the big one and it's the champions league. manchester city second against real madrid on tuesday and it has been postponed because real metrics player is in quarantine over concerns over coronavirus. 0ne tested positive, one is been suspended for two rounds of matches. the premier league continues as normalfor the premier league continues as normal for now but the leicester city manager says that three of his players of self isolated after showing symptoms of coronavirus and

roger says the clubs follow procedures of the players being kept away from the rest of the squad. we do not know which players have been quarantined and there due to play watford on saturday. this is more than football, this is about health, players and their families and children. so when those risks are there for their health and everyone else's, we have to mitigate against that. so yeah, the few players that have had or shown symptoms, obviously we have self isolated them and we will see how that develops over the next couple of days. we should get more clarity next tuesday because european football's governing body is called a meeting to discuss its response to the outbreak. discussions will include all domestic and european opportunities including these

postponement of the championships. matches are being played in the europa league tonight, manchester united have threshed the austrian side last 5—0 because of fears of coronavirus there only 500 people in the stadium in austria, the majority of them being media and is connected to the teams and despite the atmosphere of a training session, putting in a professional performance getting their biggest win in seven years. capping off the victory. playing in the early kick—off, involving british teams under way at the moment, wolverhampton plank increase against the 0lympians, close store is still 0-0. in the 0lympians, close store is still 0—0. in the formula 1 season opening grand prix is off according to two senior sources and that is after a worker tested positive for the virus

earlier today and he was one of eight workers that had been assessed and tested, the other seven were cleared and they have been coming to criticism for their handling of the situation, including from lewis hamilton and an official statement is still being awaited. tennis is also been affected, the taurus been down for six week due to escalating health and safety issues, the miami open was cancelled earlier on thursday following the postponement of the finals and the wta is yet to make its intentions known but it is expected that there will be no tour until late april. concerns abound large gatherings, thousands attending in 50 to one shot, 0scar because the biggest shock of the festival by wending it this afternoon's feature rates and this

is the first festival when for the jockey. and that is all your support for now, head over to the website for now, head over to the website for the full list of what has been suspended because of the coronavirus there. and i'll have more for you in sports day at 1030. back to you. well throughout the day, you've been getting in touch with questions about how coronavirus will affect you. the government have made big announcements on rate relief for businesses, and sick pay for workers, but what if you're self—employed? joining me now is alasdair hutchison who is a policy development manager from the association of independent professionals and the self—employed. of of about 70,000 members, software people people in the economy that you're watching. and we have at a number of questions on this, let's talk about one from peterborough. will it be available for those that

rely on face—to—face encounters such asa singing rely on face—to—face encounters such as a singing teacher, i can do skype lessons but i cannot charge the same amounts as i can in the school. lessons but i cannot charge the same amounts as i can in the schoolm is tricky and you've heard a lot of similar things from freelancers as suppose the main thing that we can stress is if you're self—employed, you should think of your health first and probably speaking there are two things to think about. your client, how do you look at the business that you run and the clients that you have and can you speak with them and engage with them, renegotiate your rates for the amount of areas that are working in comic you find a remote working solution would you deliver? try to be open and flexible on both sides to come into an arrangement on that and in terms of the key point of what assistance is available, the government and the budget yesterday did two big things. number one, they tried to make it easier and quicker for self—employed people to access

the welfare and benefit system, primarily through universal credit and support and the second was they announced a package of financial support, business support measures around the business interruption. and the british bank, isn't it was it depends on the specific circumstances but one thing we're going to be on this detailfor circumstances but one thing we're going to be on this detail for how the self employed or considered as pa rt the self employed or considered as part of these business funds because we know it is going to be tough big princes but we cannot forget the others that are a part of that. you may have to borrow some money because the payments are going to be at only such a level. yes, it will be critical. my husband and i are

self—employed. .. it would depend on what types of employment you are in, if you have a limited company and you get the coronavirus or your advice to self—isolate according to the government guidelines, it does look as though announced yesterday, you will build to effectively pay yourself statutory sick pay. which is £94 yourself statutory sick pay. which is £91; a week. yourself statutory sick pay. which is £94 a week. but at least you will be refunded by the government and the bulk of self—employed people, it will unfortunately look like you'll have to go those two routes of universal credit and the government is made a very welcome change and out of the minimum income flow operates but those are the kinds of two main welfare sites and there is some business support measures available. that isjust not going to

be enough for people who are supporting families, especially if it's a couple of weeks, this could go on for a month. in the round to the budget, some position parties and organisations are calling for an emergency fund for the self—employed simply to extend statutory sick pay to the self—employed and that comes in around £95 a week and broadly speaking, because there are means tested out, but universal credit, thatis tested out, but universal credit, that is lower per week and the sick pay amounts and it is looking like a tough time for self—employment. pay amounts and it is looking like a tough time for self-employment. they say they rented to us that he make domestic and commercial and advice is slim. we are in a position to manage and infection control but many businesses do not have necessary training. this is utterly crucial for everyone, necessary training. this is utterly crucialfor everyone, isn't necessary training. this is utterly crucial for everyone, isn't it? necessary training. this is utterly crucialfor everyone, isn't it? this industry is health. grease the

wheels the economy and often do not really see that they're there, but there are huge number now many percentages of the workforce in particular, one of the things we are really going to be pressing the government for some more detailed guidance for companies and for businesses that use self—employed workers to make sure the guidance being given to them about things and making contingency plans as simplistic as fundamentally, it is different if you're a full—time employee and forced into a locked in situation where you can kind of rely on salary still coming in, versus if you're self—employed and you get ill and you're force to navigate potentially steep loss of income in moving into the welfare system instead. and some sources we need deep cleaning and they will need staff to be able to do that and

someone staff to be able to do that and someone named david has asked us about nurseries, we talked about potential closures of schools and other parts of the world, in england it does not look like it's happening yet but it could happen obviously on the horizon and david asks. would nurseries be able to claim sick pay for staff who have not tested positive but have been able to self—isolate? positive but have been able to self-isolate? as far as i'm aware, the government announced yesterday that they would effectively pay for the statutory sick pay forms for small companies that still only applies to people who have the virus or have been advised to self—isolate. it does not apply if there question is a general shutdown of activity. it is then available, this is why the packaging measures

around a business interruption scheme and some the business rates although it does not apply to nurseries, unfortunately for this person. but that is what they're trying to do is build a package of support beyond sick pay. trying to do is build a package of support beyond sick paym trying to do is build a package of support beyond sick pay. if a company is employing people but has to close, even if people are not ill and they're to close, even if people are not ill and they‘ re not to close, even if people are not ill and they're not able to go to work, through a big company, the company might reimburse you, but if you're reliant on the economy come what i'm supposed people. this is an issue at the moment, if you have one main thing, especially with self—employed workers come you feel as though you are having to choose going into work despite health risks because you're afraid of losing income and self—employed people towards the

field they have enough money coming into this so they do not risk themselves getting ill. but not where the government has stated with the huge number of questions for the last three to four hours thank you very much hutchinson they're turning us very much hutchinson they're turning us for some very important points. let us catch up with the weather now. i , though showers will fade too. we will keep us a few showers feeding ona will keep us a few showers feeding on a northerly flow through scotland's 0e event to lower levels they could be wintry. elsewhere they will tend to fizzle out. lengthy clear skies, elsewhere they will tend to fizzle out. lengthy clearskies, lighter winds, it's going to be a chilly night particularly for the northern half of the uk where we're expecting a widespread frost. 0ne half of the uk where we're expecting a widespread frost. one or two pockets farther south. there friday a quieter story, thanks to a ridge

of high pressure that's building in. notice we have got rain waiting in the wings. through friday, a very different feel to our weather. we will have a cool breeze down the snorts north sea coast and the chance for isolated showers, but many places remaining dry with some good spells of sunshine. hello, this is bbc news with geeta guru—murthy. the headlines. the worst public health crisis for a generation. the government steps up its response to the coronavirus and says there could be as many as 10,000 people already infected in the uk. anyone with a new continuous cough or high temperature is told to stay at home for seven days, but the prime minister stopped short of closing schools and universities. in the us, president trump suspends travel from 26 european countries, not including the uk or ireland, to try to control the

spread of the virus. that move by president trump caused global stock markets to plunge. the new york stock exchange was temporarily suspended after big losses, while in london, the ftse100 tumbled to its lowest level since the 1987 crash. and in ireland, the government today closed down all schools, colleges and other public buildings for more than two weeks. and stay with me here on bbc news for more on how the coronavirus is disrupting holidays worldwide. in a few minutes, i'll be putting your questions to a travel consultant. president trump has announced severe restrictions on travel between european union countries and the us to tackle coronavirus. the restrictions, which don't apply to the united kingdom, suspend travel from the 26 countries in the schengen agreement, the area of the eu where people are allowed to move freely from one country to an other. the eu has strongly criticised

president trump's decision. there are now more than 45 us states affected by the virus. 1,364 people have the disease and 39 have died. nick bryant is in new rochelle in new york. the national guard on the streets of american suburbia, here not to maintain public order, but to safeguard public health. boots on the ground for a mercy mission. how many kids? 0ne. 0ne kid. providing food to needy families whose children have stopped getting free meals because of the closure of schools. people won't go hungry, but they are getting sick and increasingly fretful. i think people are worried. i think people are nervous. the idea is with the resources that are available, it's about coming together and maybe perhaps it will ease a lot of people's nerves. new rochelle, on the outskirts of new york city, has now become ground zero in america's coronavirus outbreak. it's not yet in lockdown. there is still freedom of movement, but they have created a containment

area where schools, colleges and houses of worship will be shut for the next two weeks. residents here complain the trump administration has not done enough, especially with testing people for the virus. i think they are approaching this situation very slowly and it's not fair to the communities that are infected. it's not. i think they need to do more, produce more tests as fast as possible. new rochelle is a satellite town for new york city, and the fear is people who commute to manhattan will fuel the contagion. further down the tracks, they are worried the subway system could become a super spreader, so they have been disinfecting turnstiles and trains. but the big apple already has more than 50 cases. the trump white house has been accused of minimising the crisis, of wishing it away. and last night, the president tried to project an air of calm, although the shock announcement of a european travel ban only added to the confusion. we made a life—saving move

with early action on china. now we must take the same action with europe. we will not delay. i will never hesitate to take any necessary steps to protect the lives, health and safety of the american people. at european airports, passengers rush to beat the travel ban, which comes into effect tomorrow, but doesn't include the uk. it was announced without any consultation with the european union and without even alerting us airlines. bell rings. at the opening bell on the new york stock exchange, they were bumping elbows — that new coronavirus greeting. but soon, it was head in the hands as the markets nosedived in response to donald trump's speech. trading had to be temporarily suspended for the second time this week. so the president who promised to make america great again is struggling with his biggest crisis yet, of trying to keep it healthy. nick bryant, bbc news, new rochelle.

0ur correspondent barbara plett usher is in washington. what is your sense of the mood there today after that big announcement from mrtrump? today after that big announcement from mr trump? you know, public health officials have been warning about the threat of coronavirus for about the threat of coronavirus for a while, but i think american people haven't really been taking it that seriously. now they are. i think the penny really dropped yesterday, perhaps there was a sort of critical mass of concerns and cases. they all seem mass of concerns and cases. they all seem to come together. also the stock market seems to be a free fall. we started to get these e—mails of things getting cancelled. everyone saw them in their inbox. you had a —— advisories from officials and it was because of all officials and it was because of all of this, officials said president trump felt he had to address the nation. he gave that speech where he made those statements. but i think the international —— internationally, they focus on the

travel ban. here, other news was getting the fact that the nba cancelled its seeds in. that was huge here. also tom hanks tested positive. people are really paying attention now. it's beginning to affect their real lives, especially as certain schools are starting to announce closures and there's the possibility that more will close. so people have had to think, what am i going to do with my children? there are many people in america who don't have paid sick leave, how do you deal with that? there isn't universal health care coverage here. these are the kind of things politicians are having a grapple with here. we've seen some criticism of president trump and us —— with slightly mixed signals in recent days. is there since the white house is getting a proper grip of this? well, i think it's too soon to say that people feel the white house is getting a proper grip of it, but

certainly that is what they are trying to project with the speech as well as with the force the president has set up. public health officials continue to speak quite blunt a about the challenges ahead. they said that health care system isn't ready to deal with the testing that needs to be done. there is a lot of concern and mr trump has been taking this more seriously. i think especially the stock market plunges have focus his mind. he has kind of down played the severity of the virus. it's very much a threat on american soil at this point. he's also kind of dismissed the possibility that he might have come in contact with the virus. he was hosting the brazilian president last week at one of the members of the party has tested positive with covid-19 party has tested positive with covid—19 since, but mr trump has said "i didn't have very much

contact with him, i'm not very concerned about it. " contact with him, i'm not very concerned about it." he's trying to downplay the threat. thanks very much. the travel restrictions announced across the world are a major threat to airlines and the tourism industry. thousands of flights have already been cancelled as fewer people choose to travel abroad following the outbreak. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge has more. the us restrictions will hit british airways. many of its passengers connect from europe. but more broadly, the picture for airlines is catastrophic, with a raft of travel restrictions kicking in worldwide. the foreign office is currently advising people not to travel to mainland china, and these three cities in south korea. the same is true of italy. so with these countries, you need a really good reason not to follow that advice. india has suspended all visitor

visas from tomorrow for a month, and other countries have other types of restrictions. for example, anyone entering israel will have to self—quarantine for two weeks. the travel industry says future bookings to pretty much everywhere are way down. most people would say this is the most significant impact we have seen since probably 9/11. passenger numbers and passenger bookings, forward bookings are all down across the uk and that's having a really bad knock—on impact on airports. so we are seeing numbers, traffic numbers, down by anything between 25%, 50% and upwards. so what about travel insurance cover? the government's advice is key, so if the government advises against travelling to your destination, most policies will pay out. but you probably won't get your money back if that is not the case. check with your operator first and your insurance provider, and of course, look at your policy.

0n the trains, passenger numbers are down as more people work from home. in london, they are using a more powerful disinfectant. what we can do at the moment is try and make it the safest environment possible by more frequent cleaning, especially in high touch areas like train doors for example, or ticket vending machines. it's emerged that norwegian air will lay off half of its workforce. it employs 1,200 people in the uk. i'm told uk—based airlines are livid that the government gave them no emergency support in the budget. tom burridge, bbc news. so time now to get some of your questions answered on the travel impact of coronavirus. joining me from lincoln is independent travel agent sheila stamp. sheila, thanks for your time. of course, we should stress that eve ryo ne course, we should stress that everyone has got to do their own checks and make their own judgement,

but we're just trying to get people some guidance here. we had lots of questions. if i can start with one here on travel to the united states following the trump announcement, someone following the trump announcement, someone saying they are planning to travel to the us friday morning. he's been in munich in the last 14 days. that would mean obviously he wouldn't be allowed into the us because he's been in the strict and european country. what should he do? he has to... because it's such an involving situation, things are changing all the time but what's been put in for the usa is will stick. either he lands before the embargo comes in place or he doesn't land at all. so it's not clear whether he would be definitely let in or not? you think you should be let in? because it's an involving situation, the situation could

change when he's in the air. it could change before he takes off. it's an evolving situation. it's changing day by day, minute by minute. uncertain that one. terry says he has a long condition. it he more at risk of this? we know he is. he was hoping to visit family in barcelona. should he cancel? he needs to take medical advice from his doctor. of course. we know anyone with health conditions must get medical advice directly. and specifically. we have a question from greg hoodoo to be flying on sunday. —— who is due to be flying. he knows a lot of places will be closed by the country is not on any list that they should not fly to. the british government hasn't said anyone shouldn't fly to many places, but he's right about insurance not covering if he cancels. that is a

really big question that affects many people. if the foreign office is not giving you a travel ivory to my advisory to stay at home, what do? if they say that area is ok for travelling, the choice he has to make is whether he wants to travel or not. if he does travel, obviously the attractions are closed. if he doesn't travel, that's his choice, his insurance will not pay out, no. people have just got to decide simply whether they would lose the money. do you think there should be more pressure from governments to ask everyone involved in these bookings, flights, hotels to allow some flexibility? a lot of the airlines have put flexibility in place. but we can only go on what the government guidelines are. we don't influence them at all. they make their own decisions. let's get a question what second to for him?

exactly what it says. he will need to self—isolate at home, not a hotel. again, if he's gotta go on holiday but because according to the whole period —— be quarantined. we have a question from c that says they are a couple in their 60s due to be going to france this weekend. it's on the italian border. how high is the risk considering their ages, and if the government is serious about protecting vulnerable people over the age of 60, should they stepping out to help them cancel holidays without losing large amounts of money? this touches on the same point that i've heard a lot of, people are feeling very frustrated. they committed money but they're not gonna get it back. that's correct. again, particular

ages, they need to take medical advice as well. if they have underlying health conditions, if they choose to travel and it's not within embargo, then no, their insurance doesn't cover it i'm afraid. one from graham who says -- all the information covers is flying and travelling by train. this is more about working rather than being on holiday. but there isn't actually any uk government advised not to drive through many countries in europe. exactly. if they're not embargoed, they can still drive through them. again, it works when the government says you can't, you can't. it's an involving situation. it changes day by day. minute by

minute. you have tojust it changes day by day. minute by minute. you have to just go with the flow, i'm afraid. that'sjust minute. you have to just go with the flow, i'm afraid. that's just the way it is. thanks very much indeed for your time on that. health is the key question that everyone is asking. joining me now is dr rebecca cooper in worthing. she's a doctor and a public health consultant who is currently working on the coronavirus outbreak worldwide. thank you for your time. we've had many questions coming in and the situation is changing all the time. ijust want situation is changing all the time. i just want to pick up situation is changing all the time. ijust want to pick up on one that many people are concerned about and thatis many people are concerned about and that is schools. kathy says why our schools carrying on as normal but others are not. i'm confused about the advice, what's the right way to proceed. the british government is not saying large gatherings should be stopped just yet, although scotla nd be stopped just yet, although scotland is giving slightly different if i. it's interesting. i think we're always looking forward

to the cobra meeting to see what will come out of it. we know our scientists are working with the government, looking at how the virus is unfolding here in the uk. also looking at how it's unfolding in other countries such as italy and spain. as we been talking about and as our chief medical officer has said, we think we're about four weeks behind where italy is currently, and in terms of what we now look to do, there is obviously ongoing debates about should we start now? should we start closing schools was? should we start saying no to big public gatherings? i think there are debates to be had around that, and what came out of the cobra meeting today is that we're not doing that right now and the reason for that is that we have to do at the right time because if we don't, then we can only really do it once and we need to be able to make sure we're doing it at the right time. if we're doing it at the right time. if we take the peak out of the infection numbers. people have

talked about it a lot on the bbc news channel, about trying to flatten that peak and getting those numbers toa flatten that peak and getting those numbers to a point where the health syste m numbers to a point where the health system can cope. that we can get the infection to a point where if we can't stop it, we talk about that now, but we can delay it and we can try and make sure that we're doing everything we can in terms of good hygiene, making sure the most vulnerable population, that we're helping them to help dap —— take every precaution possible. i have two young children myself. i think it likely that —— some point we will hear the schools will close. it likely that —— some point we will hear the schools will closelj it likely that —— some point we will hear the schools will close. i got lots of questions if we can quickly get through as many as we can. brittany asked, i'm eight and a half months pregnant. it's her baby at risk if she gets a virus? there's no evidence of the moment to say that unborn babies are at particular risk for this particular sort of virus. obviously you need to take cautions.

you're pregnant, you need to make sure you're having good nutrition and getting good sleep. take very good care of yourself. make sure you do all the things you would do as an expectant mother and keep going with all of those things. obviously it's early in terms of evidence for coronavirus, but it is showing signs of having to —— it is early. coronavirus, but it is showing signs of having to -- it is early. dance has advice on self isolation so just should separate yourself from other members of your household? what the point of this? i would have done so do during the incubation period. is there any point in separating if anyone shows any sign of symptoms? very good question. in pre—symptoms stage, we think it's possible to catch the infection, you're right. once you start showing symptoms, you

are infectious. that is a good way to reduce infection by a point, there is a sign that before you become infectious, there is a possibility that you've already got the disease. it's good practice. just a short period time and then you can go back to. sarah asks why aren't we going on lock down now before it's too late? look what happened in italy. aren't we allowing it to spread further. that the mother really big question. -- another really big question. the outcome of that, i know some of my colleagues have been calling for bands in terms of sporting events happening behind closed doors. i think it's an evolving process. i think it's an evolving process. i think of the previous person talked about, it's good to evolve day by day, really quickly. we might find

those conversations about closing down public events are going to happen much, much faster as we see the virus evolving. i don't think we have one cobra meeting, one set of guidelines and then we don't talk about it for the rest of the week. i think we will see that of all quickly. sarah asks how long can the coronavirus —— i bleach and sprayed everything i can think of but if you touch a service afterwards, you have touch a service afterwards, you have to clean it again. what do we know for sure? absolutely. no one knows for sure? absolutely. no one knows for sure. people are doing lots and lots of research and there are virus ends in source relation. we think that possibly — — ends in source relation. we think that possibly —— circulation. what we do need to bear in mind is how the virus is transmitted and even though the virus might be on the surface, that doesn't necessarily mean that is how you will get the infection. you have to have something called an infectious load,

we don't know how much of the infection is on the surface. the evidence so far is that people tend to catch it from each other. coughing, sneezing. ithink definitely keep surfaces clean, definitely keep surfaces clean, definitely practice good hygiene. in terms of catching it, it's more about being close to people who are showing symptoms really. finally, what medications will help with the symptoms of the virus? we know there's not a cure yet, but is there anything people can take to help them get through the worst of it? sure. the symptoms now, dry cough, fever and sometimes to both sort of have breathing difficulties. fever can help to take down a temperature, just simple pain relief measures, taking good care of yourself. the majority of the symptoms will be mild. let us hope that most of us

are in that position. thanks for your time. we are continuing with that stream of questions and answers every day as far as we can hear on bbc news. that's it for today, let's cut it up with the weather. the winds overnight will gradually start to ease at some of those showers will fade to. we will keep a few showers feeding in through scotland's, so he and then to levels they can be wintry. lengthy clear skies, and then to levels they can be wintry. lengthy clearskies, lighter winds, it's going to be a chilly night particularly for the northern half of the uk, where we're expecting a right spread for us. even one or two pockets possible further south. through friday, a quieter story thanks to a ridge of high pressure that's building in. we have got rain waiting in the winds.

through friday, a very different feel to our weather. we will have a cool breeze down these north sea coast, and the transfer isolated showers, but many places remaining dry with some good smells of sunshine. it would start to cloud over as that rain starts to show its hand.

hello, i'm philippa thomas, this is outside source. boris johnson spells out the government's latest plans for tackling the coronavirus pandemic. the prime minister calls it the worst public health crisis for a generation. i must level with you. level with the british public. more families and many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time. france closes all schools and universities — across the country. president macron asks people over 70 to stay at home. in rome, catholic churches have been ordered closed, that's never happened before in modern times. and global stock markets are hit by spectacular falls —