welcome to bbc news. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: president trump declares a national emergency, unlocking billions of dollars to fight coronavirus in the us. 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. as italy struggles to cope, the world health organisation says europe is now the epicentre of the pandemic. more uropean countries seal their borders, and the uk prepares emergency legislation to ban mass gatherings.

hello, and welcome to bbc news. president trump has declared a national emergency in response to the coronavirus outbreak, with more than 1,700 confirmed cases in the united states and 47 deaths. the move gives the government access to up to $50 billion dollars in emergency funding. nick bryant reports. 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 has watched this, absolutely out of control. there has been little to no testing. they have been completely misinforming people.

what we're hearing has changed from one day to the next. he doesn't believe in science, for heaven's sakes. could i say that trump is completely clueless? it's all about him. in the fragrant setting of the rose garden, he addressed what for many americans is 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 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 we will, 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. ok, i like that. of a crisis he has minimised four weeks. 0ur numbers are lower

than just about everybody. 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 york, 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 do you think that'll happen? 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 that is yearning for calm. the national emergency allows donald trump to throw more money at this problem, and to cut through regulatory redtape. but the criticism has been that he views this pandemic through the prism of november's presidential election, but he is worried about the impact on the economy, but he is worried about the impact on the markets, and he's worried about the of his chances of spending four more years in the white house. 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. fergus walsh reports. this is italy, one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the world. in the northern city of brescia, 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. 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 to 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 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 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 37.8 degrees, 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 i shouldn't be preparing food for other people. sophie rivett began self isolating today after waking up with a fever. she's a single mum with a 13—year—old daughter. and every time i use a room i'm wiping down the surfaces. the government acknowledges that millions of us may get covid—i9 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 is adamant its a strategy to fight coronavirus is the right one. lives will depend on it. fergus walsh, bbc news. a remembrance service marking a year since the attacks and there is much more information available on our website, including this guide to what symptoms look like and how you can protect yourself. let's get more on how the us is handling coronavirus there. joining me now is dr eduardo gomez, an expert on public health policy and associate professor at the college of health at lehigh

university in pennsylvania. how do you rate the us response to the virus? well, i read the response as very slow and sudden. this has been a delayed response at the federal level, especially in the local level, to some extent. but now and escalated increase, a rapid increase in federal attention and funding to the situation. i think today's declaration of an emergency from president trump was a positive step forward in increasing awareness and providing assistance to the states. in general we started off very slow, but we have accelerated very quickly in federal attention to assisting the states. how much parted public opinion play in today's announcement on a public emergency? 0bviously announcement on a public emergency? obviously the trump administration has faced a lot of criticism for acting too slowly. yes, public opinion has

affected, in many ways, one is pressure on politicians, pressures on state governments, washington state governor, for example, due to pressures, put a lot of pressure on the trump administration this week to make this announcement and go public. so i think it has played a major issue. i think as more citizens you find out the importance of this virus, how easily it is spreading in the states, the endless information on social media and in the news, more and more pressure has been exerted on state representatives and on governors, and i think this week it finally came to a tipping point where this pressure did have an impact on the trump administration's announcement of a declaration of emergency. we obviously looking at a national level. what are states doing to react? america is a very big place in different states have different needs. sure, well, the states with the biggest needs, california and washington state, new york, weather most cases have been, have been the

most aggressive, in terms of closing schools, imposing florentines, in new york, in new rochelle, bringing in the national guard to cleanse the area and provide services, providing a containment area, not a quarantine. i think we have seen the most aggressive movements in those states with the most cases, those three states. a lot of activity in other states, we are seeing social distancing initiatives. again, closing universities, schools, asking people to watch their contact with others, to limit their involvement in mass events or sporting events. you have also seen national sport associations close big events, national competitions, but i think most of the concentrated effort and resources, i mean, going to these three problematic states, california, new york and washington state, have had the most severe cases.

and you think really, though severe cases in those states that you are talking about, the best way is really to go down the route of china, with a very aggressive quarantining of people. do you think that is the best way to sort of minimise the effect of the virus? i think currently, the emphasis is on social distancing. encouraging people to be careful of where they are going but also, as they have been doing now, to close down venues, closedown parades, i think a quarantine would be very extreme, i think in the coming weeks the number of cases continue to emerge in other states and that could be possible, not the best case scenario, but highly likely. i do think that because of social media and venues, i think more citizens will be becoming aware and concerned, and social distancing policy, as i mentioned earlier, i think that will be very effective in the near term. but again, will be very effective in the nearterm. but again, if will be very effective in the near term. but again, if cases

do not improve, if cdc officials believe that this continues to escalate and it is a lot more than we thought, i would not be surprised if the quarantine in these states is imposed by the state governments. doctor gomez, very interesting to get your point of view there. that is all the we have time for now. thank you for that. thank you very much. let's stay with the impact of the virus in the us, and our north america correspondent david willis joins us now. david, a national emergency, there has obviously been much criticism of the us response. is there a sense that there is call for a national emergency, or that this announcement has come too late? well, i think it is interesting, isn't it, simon, but donald trump has gone from playing down this pandemic, even calling reports about it a hoax, to approving billions of dollars in federal aid money in the matter ofjust aid money in the matter ofjust a few weeks. the announcement ofa a few weeks. the announcement of a national emergency frees up of a national emergency frees up to of a national emergency frees $2 of a national emergency frees up to $2 billion in total in federalfunding,

up to $2 billion in total in federal funding, and as up to $2 billion in total in federalfunding, and as he put it himself, it is a way of unleashing the full power of the federal government to fight the federal government to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus. president trump, of course, having been criticised for, as i mentioned, downplaying the crisis, dragging america's feet in its response, well, that response will now be centred around a website, which will advise those with symptoms of the coronavirus of where their nearest drive—through test centre is, which promises also to have results within hours rather than days. certainly there markets here liked it. the dowjones there markets here liked it. the dow jones index there markets here liked it. the dowjones index in the final half—hour was trading just after president trump was my press conference put on nearly 2000 points. that was the biggest points gain ever, in fact. and questions about donald trump himself and if he

should get tested after those photographs with brazilian diplomats? that's right. he of course shook hands with jair bolsonaro, the brazilian president, tamara largo last weekend, and it was also photographed alongside one of mr bolsonaro's needs. now, while mr bolsonaro was cleared of the coronavirus, the aide was not, and they have been calls for the president to get himself tested. those calls he has resisted, there was a press conference today he conceded he probably will get tested and probably will get tested and probably sometime fairly soon. it will be interesting to see exactly how that pans out. thank you for that update. that was david willis, via los angeles. it's emerged that ministers are considering plans to ban mass gatherings here in the uk from next weekend. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker has more details. 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. but what i'm told from whitehall sources is it is not a change of heart, they are still doing their science—led approach, but what they are particular concerned 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. i think beefed up powers 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 the 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 long. jessica parker, reporting there. this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump has declared a national emergency in the united states, unlocking billions of dollars of federal funds to fight the coronavirus. the government is understood to be drawing up plans to ban mass gatherings, possibly from next week,

in response to the health crisis. 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 6 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 i, world sport has come to a stand—still. this morning, after an emergency meeting, the premier league finally confirmed an unprecedented shut down until at least early april. the decision followed the news that arsenal manager mikel arteta had tested positive for coronavirus. callum hudson—0doi then becoming the first player to confirm he had the disease. hi, guys, as you may be aware, i've had the virus the last couple of days, which i have recovered from. i'm following the health guidelines and self isolating myself from everybody for the week. 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, yeah, 30 years, we've waited 30 years for the title, we can wait another three or four months. but typical liverpool, we can only do it the hard way! so 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'll 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 football is, 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 anfield they'll be desperate to resume. but senior figures within the sport fear that they may prove impossible and the season is abandoned. that would be cruel on clubs like this and hugely damaging to the game as a whole. but it's notjust football, the pandemic sending world sport into meltdown. this afternoon, next month's london marathon was postponed until october. the start of the formula i season won't start until may, with four races now cancelled. in golf, the prestigious masters tournament was postponed. and on a chaotic day, tomorrow's six nations rugby between wales and scotland was first declared on and then off. 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 show of all? today the symbolic greek leg of the olympic torch relay cancelled over mounting concern over tokyo 2020. despite controversy over the government's support of such events, the cheltenham festival did conclude today. 69,000 fans present as al boum photo retained the gold cup. this last action major sport could see for quite some time. dan roan, bbc news. 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 poorer families, 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 people should only dial the helpline or their gp, if their symptoms are severe. here's our health correspondent, dominic hughes. hello, you're through to the nhs 111 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. dominic hughes, bbc news. covid—i9 has spread to a number of high profile people including the hollywood actor tom hanks. and some celebrities — including the castaway star — are using their platforms to spread the right message. freya cole has the story. #to # to think i lay down and die. i will survive. a 1970s smash it which has a powerful message for the world today and to take it i—step fervour gloria gaynor

has travelled her words of wisdom into a social media challenge and it is going global. # oh no not i, i will survive. people are mimicking her hand washing techniques to lower the risk of catching the virus. who knew, washing your hands could be so much fun. # as long as i know how to love, i will stay alive. # i got all my life to live... of celebrities are doing their bid to spread at the right message. tom hanks and his wife, rita wilson, had both been diagnosed with coronavirus and have told fa ns with coronavirus and have told fans they are in isolation and taking one day to time. high profile government figures have also fallen ill. canada's prime ministerjustin trudeau is running his country in self isolation after his wife sophie was diagnosed. the brazilian pyrite president has also announced his test results came back negative, other one of his

close staff members has the virus. during such uncertain times, there is i—shot fact, that this virus is indiscriminate in the way it spreads and who are targets. freya cole, bbc news. finally, on a lighter note — italians have found an alternative way to enjoy the time spent in the government—imposed lockdown. singing people up and down the country have taken to their windows and balconies, playing instruments, singing and clapping along to the national anthem, in an attempt to lift their spirits. now the weather with chris fawkes. hello again. well, yesterday, what a glorious start to the day it was. most of us did have a lot more in the way of sunshine, and some stunning weather which pictures were sent in from scotland. you can see the snow glistening under those clear blue skies in the spring sunshine. it wasn't like that everywhere, though. we did have this line

of showers that developed from merseyside down towards the midlands. that is where some of the heavier showers were during friday afternoon. and of course the skies looked quite different. this was the scene in tamworth, as it turned pretty cloudy through the afternoon. and we had the heavy downpours and of course a few rainbows. the latest satellite picture, though, shows an area of cloud coming in across england and wales. this weather front is weakening quickly because out in the atlantic we have a developing low pressure system, and it is really starting to take over. and what it means over the next few hours is that the rain, as it pushes east across england and wales, is fragmenting, becoming light and patchy, whereas further north in scotland there is still a bit of oomph to the rain as it comes in across western areas in the next few hours, and indeed there will be hill snow in scotland about 200 metres of elevation. the weekend is quite unsettled. it will be windy, some rain and sunshine as well. many of us will start on a grey note, although some sunshine quite quickly for northern ireland. eventually, as the patchy rain clears england and wales and later in the day for western scotland, we will see some sunshine coming through, then quite quickly, the next low pressure system comes in and that is going to be feeding rain back into northern

ireland. rain getting into western scotland, western parts of england and wales, as we go into the afternoon. it will be mild and quite windy as well. through saturday night, this weather front becomes quite slow—moving for a time across wales and south—west england. over the hills, we could see around 30, maybe a0 millimetres of rain building up. it will be a very mild night, temperatures nine or ten for england and wales. cooler air for scotland and northern ireland. on sunday, that rain pushes east, but as it does so the front will be decelerating, slowing down, so really dragging its heels as it works into east anglia and south—east england. behind the front, the cool air extends in across many areas, so feeling pressure. a mixture of sunshine and showers around, some of the showers heavy with some hail and thunder in those heavy ones for scotland. now, into next week, pressure rises towards the south of the uk, so the weather is becoming settled across southern areas, whereas further north we have got rain and showers in the forecast. something of

a north—south split. in the south it's notjust dry, it will get quite mild, up to 16 in london. showers at times for the north. that's your weather.