tonight at six: the world health organization declares europe the focal point of the global coronavirus outbreak. in the worst affected country, italian doctors are treating patients in field hospitals because of the pressure on services. europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from china. here the premier league, english football league and scottish fa fixtures are all off until april and there's no six nations rugby this weekend. with alarm deepening around the world, we'll have the very latest on the spread of the coronavirus. there's new uk guidance for those with flu—like symptoms —

don't visit relatives in care homes. a shutdown on one side, and life as normal on the other. how the irish border divides strategies to tackle the virus. and, the tiny changes to our daily routines — how the coronavirus is tranforming our daily lives in the uk. and coming up on bbc news. more on the impact of the coronavirus on sports. england's test series against sri lanka is one of many events postponed. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the world health organization says europe is now the epicentre, of the global coronavirus pandemic.

the news emerged as organised sport, both professional and amateur, across much of the uk, came to a standstill because of the outbreak. the premier league, english football league and scottish football association have all called a temporary halt to fixtures until the 3rd of april. in rugby, all six nations matches have been cancelled this weekend, and next month's london marathon has been postponed. in the uk, 798 people have now been infected, up by 208 since yesterday, but it's thought the actual number may be much higher. 11 people have now died here, and the government says it expects more deaths in the weeks and months to come. the advice now is that if you have a high temperature, or a new persistant dry cough, then you should self—isolate for seven days. we'll have more on all that in a moment, but first, on an extraordinary day for sport and the virus, here's our sports editor, dan roan. whether it's football, rugby, golf, or formula one, world sport has come

to a stand—still. this morning, the premier league finally confirming an unprecedented shut down. after an emergency meeting, saying it was unanimously decided to suspend the premier league with the intention of returning on 4th april, subject to medical advice and conditions at the time. the decision followed the news that arsenal manager mikel arteta positively tested for coronavirus. hudson—odoi then the first player to confirm he had the disease. as you may be aware, i've had the virus the last couple of days, which i have recovered from. i followed the guidelines and self isolated from everyone. liverpool have enjoyed a glittering season but with the club on the brink of a cherished title, the fans have been left in limbo. it's disappointing that 30 years, we've waited 30 years for the title, we've waited 30 years for the title, we can wait another three or four months. typical liverpool, we can only do it the hard way! hopefully we'll do it in the next few months.

it is quite tough but it's only suspended, it's not... it's not cancelled, so... we will still be there. with a host of clubs with players now in isolation, the whole of the english professional game has been suspended. those in the cash—strapped football league facing an uncertain financial future. we had six home games left and if we don't play them, we will be looking ata don't play them, we will be looking at a quarter of £1 million hole in oui’ at a quarter of £1 million hole in our finances at least. it's very worrying for any industry, which footballers, which relies on people paying to come to watch it for the majority of its income and all the associated things. it's extremely worrying. with british football entirely derailed, matches in scotland, wales and northern ireland we re scotland, wales and northern ireland were also suspended. this afternoon, april's london marathon also cancelled on a day when world sport went into meltdown. the start of the f1 season suspended until may, with four races f1 season suspended until may, with

foui’ races cancer. f1 season suspended until may, with four races cancer. golf, the prestigious masters tournament due to start in april was called off. on a chaotic day, tomorrow's six nations between england and wales was off and then on. we thought from the point i made from other sporting events, for us to be the only sporting event to be going on when other people were mindful of the seriousness of the situation. i think wejust took seriousness of the situation. i think we just took into account supporters, players, our staff. and what of the biggest event of total? today the torch relay cancelled over mounting concern over tokyo 2020. despite questions over whether it should have taken place, the cheltenham festival concluded today, with 69,000 fans present. this last action major sport could see for quite some time. the coronavirus has left british sport in a very difficult position, caught between official government advice to carry ona official government advice to carry on a mounting pressure to stop. within football, they hope will be

back next week euro 2020 is postponed by an entire year, creating space for the league season to be resumed and concluded. but there are real concerns within the game that that may prove impossible and this campaign is abandoned. that of course would be extremely cruel on liverpool football club. tonight, their managerjuergen club said the suspension of the season had his support and that if it saved just one life, it would be worth it. damn, thank you for that. dan roan live at anfield. the uk's chief scientific adviser says the coronavirus is here to stay and more deaths are still to come. the number of people who've died worldwide has now reached 5,000. but is the uk government taking the right approach, to tackle the virus? here's our medical correspondent, fergus walsh. this is italy, one of the most advanced health care systems in the world. in the northern city of brashear,

they are reduced to treating patients in warehouses and tents because of coronavirus. italy has the worst outbreak by far in europe, but other countries are catching up. europe has now become the epicenter of the pandemic. with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from china. the uk government is hoping to avoid scenes like this by trying to change the course of the outbreak here. so what is the science behind the government's delay strategy? well, if no action was taken, there would be a huge peak of cases crammed into a few weeks, well above the capacity of nhs intensive care units. the government's aim is to flatten that peak. and have more of the cases towards the summer when the nhs is better able to cope. that strategy only

works if we all follow the new advice. if you have a continuous cough or a fever at or above 37.8 degrees, you stay at home for a week. it's reckoned if that happens, it will cut the peak of cases by 20%. what about closing schools? plenty of other countries are doing that. the scientific advice here is it wouldn't have much impact, because children are not driving transmission of the virus. and it would mean nhs workers were stuck at home. i'm about to do an online shop, so that my daughter can have some microwave meals in and get her food, because otherwise she will be preparing food for other people. sophie began self isolating today after waking up with a fever. she's a single mum with a 13—year—old daughter. every time i use a room,

i'm wiping down the surfaces in there with usual household cleaners, so that everything's clean and safe to be in contact with. the government acknowledges that millions of us may get covid—19 in the coming months, because the virus can't be stopped. our aim is not to suppress it completely. also, because most people, the vast majority of people get a mild illness, to build up some degree of herd immunity as well, so that more people are immune to this disease and we reduce the transmission, at the same time we protect those who are most vulnerable from it. the government's strategy is at odds with what other countries and major sporting bodies are doing. but ministers are convinced the science here is correct. fergus walsh, bbc news. the government has announced that local and mayoral elections in england, due to be held in may, will be postponed for a year due to the outbreak.

0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is at westminster for us now. democracy has been hit by this outbreak as well? yes, an extremely unusual step. when foot and mouth hit in 2001, elections delayed by months, these delayed by a year. downing street said it was impractical to go ahead because the elections are likely to coincide with the peak of this outbreak. having campaign is out knocking on doors and making speeches on council is trying to concentrate on coronavirus, concentrating on elections wasn't possible. but if you look at all of these developments today, what they tell us developments today, what they tell us is in the coming months and for several months, the way we live our lives is going to change fundamentally in a way that many of us fundamentally in a way that many of us have never experienced before. for a prime minister leading the country through this crisis, this will be an enormous test of leadership. 0k, thank you. vicki young at westminster. the government published new guidance on what care homes should do to try to prevent

the coronavirus spreading amongst the most vulnerable. the advice is that people with flu—like symptoms shouldn't visit relatives. the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions, are much more likely to develop serious complications from the virus, as our social affairs correspondent, alison holt, reports. at this nursing home in scarborough they have already gone further than today's government guidance by asking relatives not to visit as they try to protect their vulnerable elderly residents from the virus. lyn, with her hands carefully washed, sees her very poorly 91—year—old father matthew several times a week. did you have a good night's sleep? yeah. but she accepts this could be her last visit for a while. we can always telephone, and ask how our relatives are, and i'm sure the carers will explain to them, you know, the reason why visitors aren't coming. our own common—sense should tell us, you know, we have to think for them. today's guidance says people

shouldn't visit if they have flu—like symptoms. the the home's owner, who also represents other local care providers, isn't convinced that has gone far enough. are we acting quick enough because we are looking at making sure that visitors perhaps can't come in into the home in the future unless it is an emergency, so we are own actions now to prevent something more serious later on. this is our general store room. many care providers are also worried about getting enough stocks of hand gel, gloves and other protective gear. the government now says additional equipment will be provided for them. alcohol gel is a big thing, hand washing equipment, everything we need for that and it is becoming more of a struggle to get hold of things like that at the moment. this meeting in york is a chance for care and public health professionals to plan together. the challenge is introducing measures that can be sustained. it might be that stopping visitors

might help their physical health but it might have a really poor impact on their mental, emotional health. and getting that balance right to protect older people will have to be kept under constant review. alison holt, bbc news, york. the welsh health secretary, vaughan gething, has said 20,000 people could die in wales from coronavirus in a worst case scenario. routine surgery is to be cancelled in wales from monday, in a bid to tackle its spread. non—urgent outpatient appointments will also be put on hold, and waiting time targets and monitoring are being relaxed. calls to nhs helplines have more than doubled, since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, with ten of thousands of us dialling in every day. but now the government's moved to the delay phase of it's action plan, the advice is that anyone who has a high temperature or a new persistent cough should self—isolate or stay at home for seven days — without first calling 111.

the new advice is to only dial the helpline or your gp if symptoms are severe. here's our health correspondent, dominic hughes. hello, you're through to the nhs111 service. it's been a busy few weeks at this nhs call centre in bolton. services like 111 and nhs 2a in scotland say they're receiving more than twice the normal number of calls, and the coronavirus epidemic is presenting health experts with a fast—moving situation. they no longer wish to provide any further swab testing at the moment. the advice we are all being offered on coronavirus has changed. now, we're being told that if you have a persistent cough or a fever, you should stay at home for at least seven days. you won't get tested, you don't need to call 111 and you certainly don't need to turn up at yourgp's surgery or a hospital. however, if you are still feeling unwell after seven days, or your symptoms worsen, then you should seek medical advice. just extremely hot and

a horrible headache. elsa scales and her husband have been self—isolating, after falling ill following a trip to spain. she struggled to get through to the 111 service, and was then told she didn't need a test and will now probably never get one. i'd like to know one way or another whether i have or i haven't got it, because i'm isolating now, until 22nd march at least. and if i haven't got it, is there any danger of me getting it again? because both of us, both my husband and i, are vulnerable adults with underlying health issues. more and more of us are likely to find ourselves isolating like elsa. this is where we are confined, which isn't a bad place to be confined. and that could present some logistical challenges. what that means, practically, is to stay about two metres or three steps away from anyone else that you live with, so that might mean sleeping in a different bed, and it will mean having your own crockery, cutlery, toothbrushes, etc. nhs officials say the information available on their dedicated web page should be the first

port of call. but the likelihood is that as the epidemic builds, some of that advice will change too. dominic hughes, bbc news. let's take a look at other news concerning the coronavirus. as we've heard, the biggest concern in europe remains italy, which saw the largest rise in cases in a single day. confirmed infections now top 15,000, with 1,016 people having died. the european commission has promised the country whatever support it needs. in spain, the prime minister has declared a state of emergency from tomorrow over the coronavirus outbreak, allowing the authorities to confine infected people and ration goods. the madrid region has also decided to close restaurants, bars and shops from tomorrow, with only supermarkets and pharmacies allowed to open. spain has the second—highest number of coronavirus cases in europe, after italy. and in iran, the coronavirus has claimed another 85 lives, the highest single day death toll

in the country so far. iran's military chief has ordered the security forces to clear city streets in the next 2a hours, in the latest attempt to halt the spread of the disease. the education secretary for england, gavin williamson, has told teachers the government is "clear" that schools should remain open despite the outbreak, unless advised otherwise by public health england. butjust how are schools dealing with the current crisis? 0ur education editor, bra nwen jeffreys reports. 0k, any internet enabled device, you will be able to go on to get access to... getting ready to take school work online. with their gcses looming, plenty of questions. but again, today, head teachers told to stay open. the minister asking them at their conference to remain calm. in the overwhelming majority of situations, there is absolutely no need to close a school, or to send pupils or staff home. obviously, there is action to be

taken in the event of a positive test, but even then, your local health protection team can help stabilise the situation. in one country after another, schools are shutting, some parents and politicians asking why the uk is out on its own? head teachers arejust trying to keep going. we are trying to stay open, not just for the school and for the learning, we are a vital cog in this community. but he also knows some families may have to self—isolate. we are very aware about who our most vulnerable students are, and we will be working with them to put a bespoke package round them. exams start next month in scotland, early may elsewhere. so how are you all living with the uncertainty? even if the school does now close, it isn't going to panic us to do everything from home. not a lot of people will revise at home, and if people do, it won't be as well as they would at school.

for the moment, at least, the government is holding back from school closures. that's partly because they would cause massive disruption. parents would have to take time off work, pupils revise for exams from home, and it is the vulnerable children who would lose out most. want to try meat balls? at this charity warehouse, they are getting ready. some children rely on school for their main meal. we know already that three million children are at risk of hunger through school holidays when they don't have access to free school meals, so we know those children, if schools do close, are potentially at risk of going hungry. ministers say they will look out for poorerfamilies, but any plans haven't yet reached these grass roots. branwen jeffreys, bbc news, birmingham. in ireland, the measures introduced to tackle the corona—virus outbreak are much stricter than in the uk. in the republic, all schools and colleges are closed until the end of the month.

our special correspondent, ed thomas, looks at the different approaches on either side of the border. 3pm, and instead of the school run, just silence. ireland has woken up to isolation, an invisible virus that's changing lives. whoa! he attacked. how did you do that? danielle now stays at home with her sons, with a makeshift kitchen classroom and a sense of being alone. day—to—day life, we've completely hunkered down. we're not seeing friends, we're not seeing family. so, it's pretty isolating. i couldn't ask anybody to help, because... so you said to your family, "stay away?" i rang my dad this morning and i said, "listen, "i'm not going to see you for 2—3 weeks." we were due to go and see them this weekend, and ijust said we will do a facetime. that's it, i'm not risking it.

they're too precious. all schools and colleges are now closed. no face to face, all on audio. yeah, no face to face. for katie, a psychology student, lectures are online. a sudden end to her final year. it's quite saddening. you want to see your friends and just have a good college experience. so i feel that my college experience has been cut short because of trinity closing. but it has to be done. but this is the picture north of the border, in northern ireland, life and learning goes on. schools are trying to stay open for as long as they can. i feel the school is a safe environment for the children. there should be a consensus between both the north and the south, and there shouldn't be any division. and questions too from students at queens university in belfast. the virus isn't going to stop at the border, is it? i think we should shut down. shut down the schools because it will stop the spread of it. i'm from spain, actually, and, like, the university is just starting to close right now, so i don't know why they're not following.

but the irish republic did act to slow the spread of the virus. the question for northern ireland maybe not if, but when it follows. but the irish republic did act to slow the spread of the virus. the question for northern ireland maybe not if, but when it follows. ed thomas, bbc news, dublin. let's take a brief look at some of the day's other stories. the pilot of the plane that crashed killing footballer emiliano sala was not licensed to fly the aircraft. that's according to the air accidents investigation branch, which published its findings today. 28—year—old sala and pilot david ibbotson died in the crash in the english channel, two days after the striker signed for cardiff city injanuary 2019. in the trial on sexual assault charges of scotland's former first minister, alex salmond, a worker for the snp has claimed he kissed her on both cheeks then tried to kiss her on the mouth. the witness, known as womanj, said the alleged attack, shortly before the independence referendum in september, 2014, had been "like an awful nightmare". mr salmond denies all 1a charges against him.

the colleague of a police officer, killed after being dragged behind a carfor more than a mile, has told a court that pc andrew harper's feet were "whipped out from under him" as he ran after a suspect. pc andrew shaw had responded to a report of a stolen quad bike with pc harper in berkshire, in august last year. the accused, henry long, who's 18, and two 17—year—olds, all deny murder. an independent public inquiry has found that corruption wasn't the reason for the failure of high profile energy scheme in northern ireland, which led to the collapse of the assembly. it found the project to pay businesses to switch from oil and gas to more environmentally friendly heating was a "project too far" for the northern ireland executive. let's return to the coronavirus outbreak, and with the uk government taking less stringent action than many other countries, how much has everyday life here, been affected so far? danny savage reports now from york.

york is the city where the first two uk coronavirus cases were identified and successfully isolated. the station is now a much quieter gateway. people aren't travelling, so obviously it has a knock—on effect. we aren't working, you know. currently, i'm not earning enough a day for what i need to earn, so... so you're going to have a big shortfall? at the moment, yes. there are now lots of empty seats on lots of trains. friday is one of the busiest days of the week for travel, but not now. it feels like first thing on a sunday. everybody is feeling it. bookings are down, cancellations are up. john relies on travellers for his income. nothing is off the table for the coming weeks. it is alarming, you know, because obviously the bills will still continue to come in, the direct debts will continue to go out, so, you know, it may be that i have to look at doing something else this year, but i'm sure it's not

just me in that situation. even though the government is broadly advising people to carry on as normal, they obviously aren't. this would normally be thronging with people, down the side of york minster, but it's virtually deserted. this street is generally normally absolutely heaving the whole time and the street is very, very quiet. and then you think, well, i don't want to move away from them because it looks a little bit too obvious. life has changed. we are acutely aware of things we may have ignored before, like someone who looks like they've got a cold. far more conscious of that? far more conscious about it, about where i'm sitting and if the people around you are coughing i might not go and sit next to them next time. everywhere, things are being cleaned and cleaned again. products even mention the virus on their packaging now. but with peak infection rates potentially months away, are people really prepared to avoid public spaces for such a long time? danny savage, bbc news, york. thousands of you have been sending in your questions all week on coronavirus, from how to protect yourself, to what's being done to try and tackle it. our health correspondent,

catherine burns, has more details. what's being done to create a vaccine for it and when's that likely to be available to the general public? sorry to say this, but don't expect a vaccine any time soon. we're looking at maybe a year to 18 months. scientists around the world are working on this and some of them have reached a stage where they are doing trials on animals. the next stage, after that, would be human testing. but even if that all goes perfectly, once they've got a vaccine, they've got to mass produce it and that will take time. so what you might find is that they will prioritise certain groups first, for example, health workers. i'd like to know what effect the virus is having on people with asthma, and in particular on children with asthma? so, we're dealing with a respiratory infection here, which can, of course, make asthma symptoms worse. there is some advice on how to manage this, though. first of all, always make sure you're taking your preventer inhaler as you've been prescribed to do.

make sure, as well, that you have your blue reliever inhaler with you in case you have some kind flare up. and if you do think coronavirus is making your asthma worse, get in touch with health professionals. you mentioned children there and there is some positive news here. they don't tend to be too badly affected by this virus. i've been wearing a face mask in public spaces and i get funny looks, so what should i do — should i wear one to protect myself? i think we're all getting quite used to now seeing people walking down the street wearing face masks. but if you want to protect yourself, this is not the best way to do it. the evidence just isn't there to show that they're effective. so, the thing that we keep saying over and again is true — wash your hands, wash them well and wash them often. we're now at the stage where this isn'tjust about protecting yourself but everyone else too. so, if you develop a temperature or get a new and persistent cough,

it's time to self—isolate. officials say you must go home and stay there for a week. you can find out more about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to protect yourself on the bbc news app and our website, which is, of course, bbb.co.uk/news. time for a look at the weather. here's helen willetts. much drier, brighter day today. we have all enjoined some welcome spring sunshine, as we had here, we have had one or two showers around as well, so at times the skies have looked a bit more threatening and there are one or two showers round at the moment but it has been dry. it won't stay dry. this is the current satellite radar picture, you can see the rain, the next band of rain to the south and west and that will spill eastwards as we go through the night. what that means is it won't be as cold because the cloud thicken, we will see rain and hill snow, in scotland, where the cold air still just about hill snow, in scotland, where the cold air stilljust about hanging on but gradually, temperatures lift through the night and it gets milder through the night and it gets milder through the night and it gets milder

through the weekend. milder and breezier with outbreaks of rain. so damp and grey murky start, courtesy of the first band of rain this is the next area of low pressure. it doesn't look exceptional but any rain at the moment is not welcome. with still a handful of flood warnings in place. that whisks through on sunday. there is some uncertainty how quickly it moves. so a damp start tomorrow morning, still wintriness over the hills. brightens up. already for northern ireland, the end of morning more rain, south—west parts of scotland, western england and wales as well. it is milder tomorrow, in that interim of dry weather but the lain does come back into the west later and through tomorrow night, it staggers slowly southwards, it could hang round for parts of northern england land and wales for a few hours giving 30—110 millimetres not good news. it could take most of sunday to get to the south and east. a tale of two halves for most parts

this weekend. looks a bit milder but we have to keep an eye on that rainfall. is thank you. that is it, so, goodbye from me, now on bbc one let us join that is it, so, goodbye from me, now on bbc one let usjoin our that is it, so, goodbye from me, now on bbc one let us join our news teams where you are. have a very good evening.