this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 11:00: the world health organization 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. 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. 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 up to $50 billion, a large amount, of money for states and territories and localities in our shared fight against this disease. there's new uk guidance for those with flu like symptoms — don't visit relatives in care homes. and the government says schools should remain open despite the outbreak, unless advised otherwise by public health england. and at 11:30 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers mirror columnist, susie boniface and the deputy editor at the daily express, michael booker — stay with us for that. good evening and welcome to bbc news. 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 matches have all been halted until the third 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. we'll have more on an extraordinary day for sport in a moment, but first here's our medical correspondent, fergus walsh. this is italy, one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the world. in the northern city of

recio, they are reduced to treating patients in warehouses and tents, because of coronaviruses. 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. denmark announced it is closing its borders to foreigners from tomorrow. nearly a dozen european countries have now imposed border controls. in spain, a state of emergency will come into effect tomorrow, which could see restrictions on movement. the foreign office has advised against all but essential travel to madrid and some other regions. france announced it is limiting gatherings do no more than 100 people. the eiffel tower and other key monuments

and museums will close. a shutdown of schools will last at least two weeks. all of europe wants to avoid scenes like these in italy. the uk's approach is in stark contrast to measures taken elsewhere. so what is the science behind the government's delays 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, a temperature above 37 you stay at home for a week. it's reckoned if that happens

it will cut the peak of cases by 20%. i'm about to do an online shop, so that my daughter can have some microwave meals and get herself food, because they shouldn't be preparing food for other people. sophie began self isolating today after waking up with a fever. she is after waking up with a fever. she is a single mom with a 13—year—old daughter. and every time a use a room i'm wiping down the surfaces. 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 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

is adamant is a strategy to fight coronavirus is the right one. lives will depend on it. fergus walsh, bbc news. well, tonight it's emerged that ministers are considering plans to ban mass gatherings here in the uk from next weekend. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker is at westminster. watmore is known on this at this stage, jessica? as you say, ministers are drawing up plans that could see big public events, mass gatherings stopped from as early as around next weekend, although exact timescales aren't exactly clear at the moment. this is, of course, after football authorities decided to suspend elite football matches until early april. and we heard from the government's chief scientific advisor, sir patrick vallance, this morning, saying that the government still felt that stopping big events would not have a big effect on stopping the spread of the virus, although he didn't rule out looking

at stopping large events in the long run. and, of course, it is part of the government's possible number of measures in his action plan. i think some people, though, critics perhaps of the government, will suggest this is something of a u—turn after they didn't seem to go down this line of banning big public events, whereas other places across the world have stopped but what i'm told from michael sources is it is not a change of heart, they are still doing their signs led approach, but what they are particular concerned about is not the spread of the bar isa about is not the spread of the bar is a big public events, but the necessity to have, say, ambulances and health officials present as well as police, and they feel that those public resources, those public services will be better used elsewhere going forward —— westminster. i think beefed up ours and maybe some plans as well for compensating those organisations who could lose out from big events being stopped for a time being, that is going to form part of some emergency legislation that we already expected

to see next week, a package of measures to deal with the coronavirus, but i think we big headline news tonight, that the government is, after all, looking at banning mass gatherings for a temporary period of time, we don't know exactly how longlj temporary period of time, we don't know exactly how long. i suppose it is just another illustration of how the moving the salt picture is? yes. i think sources in the government are keen to stress that this is a fast pace situation, perhaps again conscious that some will point to what has been said by government officials by borisjohnson over the past couple of days and suggest that things do move quickly and they have a lwa ys things do move quickly and they have always been honest about the fact that they have a number of measures in their armoury that they have a number of measures in theirarmoury and that they have a number of measures in their armoury and they will have to pull out one of those measures at any given moment. but, today, it's just proof of how fast moving events can be. there has been breaking news after breaking news, whether it's the london marathon being put back, whether it's the new advice for those going to visit care homes, so many different lines and measures

emerging, so it does feel very fast paced and i think we are sort of in for more of those developments as time goes on, because they think the government has always been quite clear in the sense that things will change as the virus spreads and mitigation measures have to develop along with that. jessica, thank you very much. jessica parker at westminster. well, it's been an unprecedented day for sport, with the coronavirus outbreak leading to the suspension of the premier league until april, and the cancellation of six nations rugby matches this weekend. next month's london marathon, has also been postponed. here's our sports editor, dan roan. whether it's football, rugby, golf, or formula 1, world sport has come to a stand—still. this morning, the premier league finally confirming an unprecedented shut down. the decision followed the news that arsenal manager mikel arteta positively tested for coronavirus.

hudson—0doi 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 but 30 years, we've waited 30 years for the title, we can wait another three orfour 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've got six home games left and if we don't play them,

we will be looking at a quarter of a million pound 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. here at enfield they will be desperate to resume. it will be cruel on clubs like this and hugely damaging to the game as a whole. but it is not just damaging to the game as a whole. but it is notjust football, the pandemic sending world sport into meltdown. this afternoon, next month's london marathon is postponed. the start of the 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 we just took into account supporters, players, our staff. was it really essential to maybe subject them to that risk? and what of the biggest event of total? today the symbolic greek leg of the 0lympic today the symbolic greek leg of the olympic torch relay cancelled over mounting concern over tokyo 2020. despite questions over whether it should have taken place, as photo as - photo retain the gold cup. this last action major sport could see for quite some time. dan roan, bbc news. 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. 0ur 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. vicki young at westminster. the headlines on bbc news: the world health organisation declares europe the focal point of the global coronavirus outbreak. the premier league, english football league and scottish fa fixtures are all off until april, and there's no six nations rugby this weekend. in the usa, president trump declares a national emergency as it's

confirmed 46 states have cases of coronavirus. the government is now advising people with flu—like symptoms not staying with the usa, donald trump has declared a national emergency in the us in response to the coronavirus thread. he has also said his administration may ban travel from the united kingdom to the us due to the increase in cases here. nick bryant has more details. grand central station on the first full day of new york city's state of emergency. morning commuters so far unaware that the entire country was about to be placed on a similar crisis footing. in the city of his birth, there has been fury at donald trump for not taking the pandemic seriously enough, fumbling the federal government's response. the

federal government's response. the federal government's response. the federal government has watched this, absolutely out of control. there has been little to no testing. they have been little to no testing. they have been completely misinforming people. what we are hearing has changed from monday the next. he doesn't believe in science, for heaven 's sake. could i say that trump is completely clueless? it is all about him. in the fragrant setting of the rose garden, he addressed what for many americans as the most frightening crisis of his presidency.” americans as the most frightening crisis of his presidency. i am officially declaring a national emergency. two very big words. he was asked about his controversial european travel ban, and why it didn't include the uk, a decision thatis didn't include the uk, a decision that is clearly now under review. 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 you could say ban or whatever it is during this period of time, but yeah, their numbers have gone up fairly precipitously over the last 2a hours, so we may be adding about. his tone tonight was

self—congratulatory, and they were still indications he doesn't quite get the magnitude. 0k, still indications he doesn't quite get the magnitude. ok, i like that. i'm a crisis he has minimised four weeks. our numbers are lower than just about everybody. everybody has to be calm, it is all going to work out. i like this stuff, i really get it. people are surprised they understand it. everyone of these doctors said, how do you know so much about this? it will go away. i think people are revealing us as having done a very good job. but in the suburbs of america, graphic reminder of where the superpower has fallen short, in testing for the virus. here in new rochelle, a hotspot on the outskirts of new they have opened up drive—through testing centres under the eye of the national guard. and tonight, the president was asked if he should be tested for the virus. are you going to be? most likely, yeah. when? not for that reason, but because i think i will do it anyway. he is a president so often at the centre of chaos, at the head of the nation thatis chaos, at the head of the nation that is yearning for calm. a little earlier, i spoke to our washington correspondent gary 0'donoghue about

president trump's travel ban. in terms of the uk being added to the list, i mean, it is clearly a possible merger. he also mentioned he might take some countries off that list, and bear in mind that ban begins at midnight tonight, from the 26 schengen area countries. it is going to have a huge impact on the airline industry. americans returning from those countries in that period will be allowed in, but they are going to be recommending to them that they do 1a days of self quarantine. they are not going to impose that, it is just going to be a recommendation to them that they do that. i think clearly the british government will have to look very closely at whether or not they get added to the list, because that could have a huge impact, particularly on the city of london and the flow of people to and from the major financial centres of london and new york. what of the bigger picture in the us? there have been those criticising the speed of the reaction, but he was very bullish in this press conference, wasn't it? yeah, i mean, one of the

things they have been criticised for is the level of testing or the lack of testing that has been going on in this country. 0nly of testing that has been going on in this country. only 11,000 tests of testing that has been going on in this country. 0nly11,000 tests have been done entirely. the industry is trying to ram up that, and the pharmaceutical company roche has developed a test, which will be implemented by two of the big pharmaceutical companies in this country which do a lot of the testing for doctors, blood testing and nasal swabs like this one. the other thing, of course, and nasal swabs like this one. the otherthing, of course, because and nasal swabs like this one. the other thing, of course, because this is america, they are going to set up testing centres as drive—through is in supermarket car parks and other big stores. and during the press conference, intriguingly, the president also seemed to go from a position where he didn't feel he needed to have a test to one where he thought he most likely would have a test, they were just working up a schedule for it. british airways has warned its survival is at stake, saying jobs will be lost and planes grounded, due to the mass cancellation of flights.

industry is in trouble. what we have here is alex cruz, the chief executive of british airways, pa rt chief executive of british airways, part of one of the most powerful aviation groups in the world, saying that this is a crisis the likes of which the industry has never seen before. and he is not the only one saying it. other allied bosses are saying it. other allied bosses are saying very similar things. the problem they have is that because of travel restrictions, in many respects and we can't fly. they have had to ground our craft. now, grounded aircraft aren't making money. they are costing money. 0n other routes, like across the atlantic, for example, passenger numbers are right down. in some cases they have been halved. so the revenue side coming in there either, so that meant something has to give and jobs may have to go. alex cruz made these comments in a video to staff members at ba, that it is pretty clear there is another audience for this sort of stuff as well, which is the government. it is a fa ct well, which is the government. it is a fact that over the past 2a hours the aviation industry in the uk has been lobbying hard for the

government to give them some kind of support to help them whether the crisis before they can even consider what kind of shape the industry will be in afterwards. the government is now advising people with flu—like symptoms not to visit relatives who may be in care homes. the new guidance is an attempt to prevent the coronavirus spreading amongst the most vulnerable. the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions, are much more likely to develop serious complications if they're infected. here's our social affairs correspondent alison holt. at this st cecilia's 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 harmer, 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 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. 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 advice is that if anyone has a high 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 your gp‘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. meanwhile in italy, italians found an alternative way to enjoy the time spent in the government—imposed coronavirus lockdown. people up and down the country took to their windows and balconies playing instruments, singing and clapping together the national anthem to lift up the spirits in this difficult time.

and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, the mirror columnist susie boniface and the deputy editor at the daily express, michael booker. that's coming up after the headlines. now it's time for the weather with tomasz. hello, thanks forjoining me. let's see what the weather is up to over the next few days. in the short term, the weather is going to be quite changeable. in fact, this weekend, rain, sunshine, a bit of wind and the forecast. so far this week we have seen the jet stream moving across the atlantic. we've seen slightly colder weather in northern areas. we are seeing undulations in the jet stream through the course of the weekend and into next week, but does mean that we will see a couple of areas of low pressure moving across the uk, bringing spells of wind and

rain. later this week, thatjet strea m rain. later this week, thatjet stream will perhaps move a bit further north and things will start to settle down across southern parts of the uk. that is still to come. here we have saturday. early on saturday there will be some patchy rain around, and the skies are going to clear. the anticipation is that london, birmingham, liverpool, at least through the bulk of saturday should be fairly bright, but noticed there is low pressure here approaching the west and the north—west, so that does spell rain for places like belfast, the lake south—west that south—western parts of scotla nd south—west that south—western parts of scotland as well. —— the lake district and south—western parts of scotla nd district and south—western parts of scotland as well. this is the forecast for sunday. you can see a weather front crossing the country here, bringing a spell of rain during the morning. then perhaps a few spells of showers. sunday itself, the second half of the day across many western parts of the country will look absolutely fine. the winds will be pretty brisk as well. particularly around some of these western coasts. here is the

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