this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at nine. the world health organisation declares europe the focal point of the global coronavirus outbreak. 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. in the usa, president trump declares a national emergency as it's confirmed 46 states have cases of coronavirus. the action i am taking will open up access to $50 billion, a large amount of money for states and territories and localities in our shared fight against this disease. 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. there's new uk guidance for those with flu—like symptoms — don't visit relatives in care homes. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the world health organisation 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. 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 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 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 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 were also suspended. this afternoon, april's london marathon also cancelled on a day when world sport went into meltdown. the start of the fi season suspended until may, with four races cancelled. 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 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 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 klopp said the suspension of the season had his support and that if it saved

just one life, it would be worth it. the uk's chief scientific adviser says the corona—virus is here to stay, and more deaths are still to come. the number of people who've died worldwide has now reached 5 thousand. 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 this city, they're 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 epicentre 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'd be a huge peak of cases crammed into a few weeks well above the capacity of an nhs intensive care unit. 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, a temperature above 37.8 degrees, you stay at home for a week. it's reckoned if that happens, it'll 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 and get herself food because i shouldn't 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 wipe down the surfaces with usual household cleaners so that everything is clean and safe to be in contact with. the government acknowledges that millions of us may get covid—i9 in the coming months because the virus can't be stopped. or 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 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 for 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 welsh health minister vaughan gething says 20 thousand people could die in wales from the 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. the government has announced it is bringing forward legislation to postpone may's local and mayoral elections in england for a year due to the coronavirus outbreak. our chief political correspondent vicki young has more from westminster. well, the government's saying that because they think that the peak of this virus outbreak will be

in a couple of months' time. we heard yesterday from the chief medical officer that they thought that would be in about 10—14 weeks. that means that these elections would actually be really in the run up to that very difficult time, so they say it's just simply not practical to do that. so they're postponing the elections for a year, and it's important to say what these are. these are council elections in england. that involves 2,700 counsellors, the mayor of london, the london assembly, the four combined authority mayors in greater manchester, liverpool, tees valley, and west midlands. and then there are single authority mayors in bristol, liverpool and salford, and police and crime commissioners in england and wales. now, earlier today, the electoral commission wrote to the government saying they had massive concerns about holding these elections. and that's for various reasons. in a democracy, voters need to hear what the candidates have to say, and in the current climate, that would be extremely difficult.

large meetings, for example, maybe people would be reluctant to go to those. people knocking on doors. again, maybe something that's not practical. and, also, they expect that local authorities will be very much focused on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the coming weeks. so having to think about elections where you have to staff polling stations, get all the paperwork there. even if you do postal votes, that simply won't be enough. as well as the fact that you probably think that lots of people will be at that point, either isolating themselves because they think they have the virus or they have it. so, for all those reasons, the government has decided to postpone this for a year. tonight, president trump has declared a national emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic in the country. speaking at rose garden of the white house, he told reporters that this action will give the administration the ability to access a fifty billion dollar disaster relief fund. vice president mike pence reported

that coronavirus is now present in 46 states. this is what president trump said. to unleash the full power of the federal government, i am officially declaring a national emergency. two very big words. the action i am taking will open up access to up to $50 billion a very important in a large amount of money for states and territories and localities in our shared fight against this disease. emerging every state to set up emergency operations centres effective immediately. you'll be hearing from some of the largest companies and greatest retailers and medical companies in the world standing right behind me and beside me. we're also asking every hospital to activate its emergency

preparedness plan so that they can meet the needs of americans everywhere. well, at that news conference, president trump appeared to suggest the uk might be added to the list of countries banned from travelling to the united states. here's the question he was asked and the president's answer. i want to ask you about the european travel ban goes into effect tonight. and the exemption you've offered to the uk, there are 17 countries that are in the so—called schengen zone that have fewer coronavirus cases in the uk, andjust in the past that have fewer coronavirus cases in the uk, and just in the past 24 hours, the uk has added 208 coronavirus cases to their total. why did they deserve an exemption and would you consider adding them to this travel ban list? we are looking at it based on the new numbers that are coming out and we may have to include them in the list of countries that we will, you

could say ban or whatever it is during this period of time, but the yes the numbers have gone up over the last 24 hours so we may be adding to that and we may be adding adding to that and we may be adding a couple of others, and we may frankly start thinking about taking some off. let's speak now to our washington correspondent, gary o'donoghue. is it clear that this will happen? as he looking at it? what's the likely outcome of that do you think? in terms of the uk being added to the list, it's clearly a possibility. he looked also, he mentioned he might take some countries off the list. bear in mind that man starts midnight tonight for the 26 countries. it can have a huge impact on the airline industry. americans returning from those countries in that period will be allowed in, but they're going to be recommending to them to do 14 days self quarantine. they won't impose

that, it's just going to be a recommendation to them that they do that. i think clearly, the british government will have to work very closely —— look closely on whether they would be added to the list because that will have a huge impact, particularly on london and the flow of people to and from financial centres and you london. there have been those criticising the speed of reaction, but he was very bullish in his press conference, wasn't he? one of the things they've been criticising him for is the level of testing or the lack of testing that's been going on in his country. only around 11,000 tests have been done entirely and the industry is trying to ramp up that. it's going to be used and implemented by these two big companies in this country, who do a lot of the testing for doctors around the country, blood tests and nasal tests like this one. the other thing is they're gonna, because this

is america, they will set up testing centres as drive—through ‘s and supermarkets and others big stores, and during a press conference the president also seem to go from the position where he didn't feel like he needed a test where he thought where he most likely would have a test and they were just working out the schedule for it. gary, thank you as ever. 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 taking our 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 headlines on bbc news. the world health organisation declares europe the focal point of the global coronavirus outbreak. in the usa, president trump declares

a national emergency as it's confirmed 46 states have coronavirus. 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. calls to nhs helplines have more than doubled since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, with tens of thousands of us dialling in every day. but now the government's moved to the delay phase of its 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 7 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 24 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. over the past week,

you've sent uas thousands of questions about the coronavirus, and to day many of them centre around a term we've been hearing rather a lot lately — ‘self—isolate'. but what exactly does it mean? some of you feel there is some conflicting information. so, we've spoken to england's top gp, dr nikki kanani, who's been answering common questions. if you're self isolating, the most important thing is to keep well hydrated. drinking plenty of water is of really good idea. you can also have over—the—counter medications, if you're feeling unwell. that will help you to feel a little bit better. please do make sure you prepare with friends, families or neighbours to have some if you are so neighbours to have some if you are so vital to leading. —— self isolating. if you need to get hold of your prescriptions, you can use the nhs app. there's a way that you

can organise your prescriptions through that. many pharmacies do organise deliveries and you can also get medications delivered from online providers as well. first of all,/ coronavirus. if you feel like you're getting worse, you can use nhs one—on—one online. as the chief medical officer said yesterday, please don't call nhs 111 unless you absolutely have to, because we need to make sure that service is available for those who really need it. at the moment, we've advised for just the person with symptoms to isolate and what that means practically is to stay about two metres or three steps away from anyone else you live with, so that might mean sleeping in a different bed and it will mean having your own

crockery, cutlery, toothbrushes, etc. i know that's hard to do if you have close family or relatives at home or children, but do bear that in mind. it's two metres away or three steps away and probably being ina three steps away and probably being in a separate bedroom is a helpful way to manage that. if you're self isolating with people around, make sure the first of all, you are staying to metres away, which is about three steps away. that can be developed the cold —— difficult, but we advise three steps away at all times. that might mean sleeping in a defere nt times. that might mean sleeping in a deferent bedroom, using different toothbrushes, things like plates, cups, and if you use the bathroom or the kitchen, cleaning it out after you've used it and washing your hands as often as you can as well. you will see and lots of different ways of doing that, but mainly cleaning your hands for 20 seconds and using hand sanitizer as well. at the present time, anyone else in your household, if they don't have

symptoms they can carry on with their normal daily lives including going to school and work. some of the questions you've been seeking a nswe i’s the questions you've been seeking a nswers to the questions you've been seeking answers to today. let's look at some of the the day's other coronavirus related news. denmark and vietnam are the latest countires to announce a closure of their borders to the uk and eu countries in the schengen area. meanwhile, paris' eiffel tower will shut down to tourists in the next hour until further notice. in a similar move, the uk parliament is to restrict access to the majority of visitors from next week. and, 24 hours after closing all of its theme parks, disney has announced it will halt production on its live action feature films. 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? our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys reports.

ok, 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. 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. the government is holding back 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. ed thomas, bbc news, dublin. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. there is some rain on the way tonight. if it hasn't reached you already, it's been raining across some western and southwestern parts of the uk, but there is not an awful

off of