this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. plans to ban mass gatherings are being drawn up to curb the spread of coronavirus. the whole approach has been, what does the science tell us? what is the guidance we're getting from the chief medical officer and the other experts around him, bringing in behavioural science so we that take the right steps at the right time. there are now 798 confirmed cases of the virus in the uk, and 11 people have died. many sporting bodies have already cancelled events, including professional football leagues. a number of european union countries say they'll close their borders to most or all foreigners. us president donald trump declares a national emergency — releasing £40 billion in federalfunds. and in half an hour dateline will look at all the week's

coronavirus related developments. the government is drawing up plans to ban mass gatherings in response to the escalating coronavirus outbreak. ministers have faced questions about whether existing measures are stringent enough to tackle the virus. the prime minister is meeting officials in downing street to discuss the crisis. there are now 798 confirmed cases of the virus in the uk, but there are believed to me thousands more undetected. the number of deaths here now stands at 11. sporting events across the uk have already experienced unprecedented disruption with premier league and football league games suspended until april. the trade body representing hotels, restaurants and other hospitality

businesses has warned that large chains are at risk of collapse because of the epidemic. the government is also drawing up emergency plans to avoid disruption in prisons in england and wales with unions saying their members face "unprecedented" challenges further afield, several european union countries have now said they'll close their borders to most, or all, foreigners because of the coronavirus. they include denmark, poland, slovakia, czech republic as well as cyprus. a ban on travellers from most of europe entering the united states has come into force. president trump indicated that the uk may soon be included in the measures. the virus has spread to at least 19 countries across africa with cases confirmed for the first time in kenya, ethiopia, sudan, mauritania and guinea. we've reports from around the world, but first this report on the situation here in the uk from our correspondentjohn mcmanus. this time last weekend, britain was still in the containment phase of the outbreak. now, with 11 deaths and nearly 800

confirmed infections, new measures have been introduced to slow the spread of the virus. this may's local and mayoral elections will be moved next year. all premiership football has been suspended until april. and this weekend's six nations has also been kicked into touch. prisoners who catch the virus may also have to be isolated in special accommodation. and the uk government may be about to go further. the bbc understands that it will follow scotland's lead next week and ban all mass gatherings. sources say it's not a change of heart on the science, however they are concerned about the burden big events may put on health services and the police. for now schools remain open, but some european countries have closed theirs. the labour party has welcomed the measures, but says the prime minister's decisions must be more transparent. when members of the public are getting in touch with us, raising their concerns, telling us that they don't think there's enough information coming out, asking us questions which i believe

are legitimate questions about why is ireland going down one particular route and why is france going down one particular route and we are not, i think we have a duty as an opposition to be raising those concerns. with more than 1,200 deaths in italy, a 50%jump in fatalities in spain, and the closure of borders in denmark, ukraine, and poland, much of europe's normal life has stopped. europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined. the foreign office is warning against all but essential travel to italy, poland, and some parts of spain. and the advice here is clear — if you have a new, persistent cough, or a fever, stay at home and isolate yourself. this morning, bbc breakfast spoke to the care minister, helen whately, and asked her about the suggestions that government policy on mass

gatherings has changed. well, we're following the evidence on what i will say is that after chief medical officer said and i have been advised, that the evidence tells us that stopping mass gatherings does not have a huge impact on the spread of the virus, but, for example, the decision has been taken in some countries because of the impact on public services and because when you have a mass gathering, that draws on the police and the ambulance service who need to support it. but the important thing is that all the way through, we are taking the right steps at the right time to best protect the population, drawing on the scientific advice on the guidance of experts. to be clear, we can expect an announcement on mass gatherings within days? i do not thinkl should... i have given you my response on the question of mass gatherings, but i just response on the question of mass gatherings, but ijust want response on the question of mass gatherings, but i just want to say, one of the things we have seen is that in general, you try to get people advance notice, so if you would do last week, there were some

conversations that ran up to the decisions on the shift from containment to delay so that people knew what was coming down the track. all the time, we are considering what is going to be the right decision to take at the right time to best protect people. joining me now is our political correspondent matt cole. matt, this question of mass gatherings, a lot of headlines in the papers today saying is this a u—turn because the government had previously sought a voucher bit of caution about this and it does look as though we are going to get an announcement. we are understanding that there is legislation being put in place. there are already powers in existence to ban mass gatherings, but it seems some legislation might be in the pipeline to potentially expand on the scope of how that works. in terms of is this a u—turn? well, the government would say no. they would say here is our plan for tackling coronavirus from a week ago. we had the idea in that that it

might be required. briefings over the last few days, ministers have made clear and officials that this is simply something that may be needed. yesterday, indeed, the chief scientific adviser did say he did not feel that in terms of stopping the spread of the virus this would necessarily be a useful thing, but as we are hearing from the health minister today, the care minister, thatis minister today, the care minister, that is not slickly speaking what this is about. this is about freeing up this is about. this is about freeing up the resources of the emergency services, so i have been having interesting discussions with officials about what is a mass gathering? because a lot of people, for example, would say will schools because in? as things stand, they are still working on the definition of what could be covered by this, but as a rule of thumb, i do not feel we have been steered way too much from working of the idea that events that take up emergency services resources, ambulances on standby like at football games, police on standby, those events could be banned from as early as

next week. a gathering of a school does not take up ambience provision, policing. that might be dealt with separately, but as i say, they are still working on that definition. we know that boris johnson is still working on that definition. we know that borisjohnson is making officials in downing street at the moment to look at the whole coronavirus crisis as it is work is going on all the time. there has been a lot of questioning, hasn't there, bad government strategy because it looks so different to the international reaction and calls for the government to publish some of their evidence and modelling of how they think people will respond to they think people will respond to the advice if that is what is pushing them against being too tough? that's right. opposition parties are now saying effectively can we see you're working, please? yes, you say you have these models, can we see them as well to see if you have made the correct assumptions based on the advice you have been given. borisjohnson is in downing street having meetings this morning. we do not have a full cast list of what who's there but i am led to believe that the sort of advisors you would expect to be in a

meeting about coronavirus, although it is not what formerly gets dubbed a corporate meeting, so not physically in the cabinet office —— cobra meeting, so not at that level, but we may get some word of what is being discussed and never started has been going on for a we while, so we may get some steer as to whether there are steps this weekend to change the position we are in compared to the starting today. thank you, matt. europe has been declared the new epicentre of the pandemic with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world apart from china. spain is the latest country to declare a state of emergency after a rapid increase in the number of new cases. while italians — hardest hit so far on the continent — are doing what they can to boost spirits. freya cole reports. singing. they may be confined to their homes, but italians haven't lost their fighting spirit. singing.

music and singing fills the streets, a rallying of community spirit from the safety of windows and balconies. operatic singing. life in italy under the grip of covid—i9 is grim. emergency medical tents have been set up to cope with the influx of patients and the death toll has surpassed a thousand people. translation: the first test we do to our patients, the most immediate test is a chest x—ray that shows us if there's pneumonia or lung thickening. italy's neighbours are in a race to avoid a similar fate. almost all schools across the continent are closed. many countries have shut their borders. austria, switzerland and slovenia have closed some with italy. while the czech republic has barred people from 15 countries, including the uk. our message to countries

continues to be you must take a comprehensive approach. not testing alone, not contact tracing alone, not quarantine alone, not social distancing alone. do it all. spain has now declared a state of emergency after becoming the second worst hit country in europe. tourist operators are reeling the loss of visitors france, however, is resisting a lockdown. cafes will remain open until further notice. coronavirus is also making its way into eastern europe. these pictures show empty supermarket shelves in bulgaria, where case numbers are still low but will likely rise. the world health organization has warned not to let this fire burn, putting pressure on all governments to do more before it's too late.

we are hearing that the airlinejet2 has been cancelling all flights to spain and planes from the uk to spain and planes from the uk to spain were turned back in midair as the airline announced that it was cancelling all flights to the country amid this coronavirus outbreak. new infections have risen sharply in spain and this is the notice thatjet2 has put up online. it is based at nine uk airports, flying to destinations including alicante, malaga flying to destinations including alica nte, malaga and flying to destinations including alicante, malaga and lanzarote. it said it was cancelling all flights to maine in spain, the valere islands in the canary islands with immediate effect and a statement from the airline is urging any customers not necessarily to call them but that if you are currently in those destinations and due to travel or due to travel from the uk, they will contact you to give you more information. the scene is fast moving and complex, of course. that is just moving and complex, of course. that isjust one airline

moving and complex, of course. that is just one airline that is being affected and, of course, life across the globe is being affected at the moment. president trump has declared a national emergency in america after more than 1700 confirmed coronavirus cases and 47 deaths. it means the government can access up to £40 billion in emergency funding. our north america correspondent, david willis, has the story. president trump has gone from playing down this pandemic and branding concerns about the virus a hoax to approving billions of dollars in government funds to fight it. i am officially declaring a national emergency. two very big words. never mind that the optics of his address offered something of a contrast to the social distancing government agencies here recommend. not to mention their suggested avoidance of handshaking. declaring a national emergency frees up to $50 billion in federal government funding to combat the coronavirus. central to the trump administration's response will be a network of drive—through test sites run by the private sector.

in south korea, they played a key role in getting a handle on the crisis. a shortage of test kits has meant that only around 15,000 people in the us have been tested for the virus, but the president said that by next month millions of kits would be available. pressed on why the uk had been exempted from the ban on european travellers entering the us at a time when coronavirus cases there are growing, mr trump indicated that decision was 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, the numbers have gone up fairly precipitously over the last 2a hours so we may be adding that. wall street reacted favourably to the president's announcements, gains on the dowjones doubled in the last half hour of trading on friday. and later it was announced that

congressional democrats had reached agreement with the white house on a series of financial measures, including paid sick leave for workers affected by the coronavirus. but such is the partisan nature of politics here, even at times like these, that both sides claimed credit for the legislation. our correspondent, gavin lee, is at schipol airport in amsterdam where many passengers are concerned about how they will get home, since president trump put the travel ban in place. well, here at amsterdam's ship all airport, it has beenjust a well, here at amsterdam's ship all airport, it has been just a few hours now since president trump put that travel ban in place from 26 european countries that share the open border schengen agreement and those countries, it doesn't matter where you are from, if you have a british passport for example or any passport other than a us passport, if you have been in these european countries for the last two weeks,

you cannot travel to the states. this queue we are seeing here are all people with questions for their airline suddenly thrown into chaos and not just for the airline suddenly thrown into chaos and notjust for the us. there's also many other countries. in the space of the last 48 hours, they have suddenly shut their borders to foreigners coming into those countries, ten in europe, elsewhere around the world, india, for example, russia, any country that has had more than 1000 cases and people are suddenly struggling to get home. given trump as my travel ban, trying to get back as fast as possible. i am ban, trying to get back as fast as possible. lam not ban, trying to get back as fast as possible. i am not a ban, trying to get back as fast as possible. lam not a us ban, trying to get back as fast as possible. i am not a us citizen, ban, trying to get back as fast as possible. lam not a us citizen, i ama possible. lam not a us citizen, i am a dutch german citizen. but imo a permanent residence, so i am just trying to see if i can enter. now i am trying to get to surname, but i do not know what will happen. i do not have any information yet, i do not have any information yet, i do not know if able send us or not. i have idea what will happen, but i hope that my government will do something about it because the gates

are closed there and not in europe. translation: they have cancelled the flight translation: they have cancelled the flight to italy, but the airline did not tell me. i booked the ticket yesterday to get home and it cost quite a lot, but it seems there will not be any flights for days and i will be stuck you're alone in amsterdam. the other big factor is the fear factor. people do not want to travel because of the risk of the spread of coronavirus on top of the fa ct spread of coronavirus on top of the fact that many countries have banned in place. in terms of the industry, the world travel and tourism council say that 850,000 europeans will not be flying to the us or other countries in the next month. we are looking for £1 billion of lost revenue around the world for stopping the analyst a potentially £100 billion. this is an unprecedented crisis for the aviation industry. some news coming into us, some latest data from wales because

doctor chris millions, the incident director for the outbreak of public health wales has said that they can confirm 22 new cases have tested positive for covid—19 in wales, bringing the number 260. coronavirus is rapidly changing the way we live our lives. we're now encouraged to socially distance ourselves from one another to help stop the spread of the virus. it means making sure there's enough space between people in public spaces and not shaking hands. john maguire's been speaking to businesses in bristol to see how they've been adapting to a new normal. diners arriving at the urban tandoor in bristol are left under no illusions — these are far from ordinary days. this time 12 months ago the restaurant was packed with race—goers from the nearby cheltenham festival, but not this year. behaviour‘s changing. we're back to the namaste pattern of mumbai — no more handshakes. i mean, people try to keep distance. if anybody is coughing, theyjust run away.

so you can see the change. they don't want to sit close to each other. and, ah, yeah, it's all happening. you can definitely see the changes, there is no doubt about that. they've decided to offer free food and delivery to those with the virus who are self isolating and give their drivers very clear instructions. we leave the delivery outside. once we reach there we give a call and the drivers need to follow the precautionary measures, as in the gloves, the face mask, and once they are back they need to wash their hands. but they don't come in contact with the guest at any point in time. some businesses are taking the initiative to protect their staff and customers. at this vehicle repair garage in ipswich staff are being monitored closely for any signs of illness. the coronavirus is coming. it's not if, it's when. and i think there's a lot of apathy out there where people aren't taking this seriously and, as a company director, i've got a duty of care to, first of all, my family, my extended family, which is my team, and, obviously, all my customers.

could small changes make a big difference? this polite notice at a school parents evening reminds people of the new normal. the owner of this cafe in bristol is half italian, so being in touch with family in tuscany she understands fully what might happen and is thinking how best to adapt to a rapidly changing situation. our tables, for example, are fixed to the wall, so we can't make them any further apart. but working next to such a big office means that if we have large crowds coming in, maybe we will try and stagger that, if the office staggers that it maybe it will be even easier for us, actually. hopefully it will remain a sane, rational set of instructions, rather than any panic—based protocols, although i'm not seeing that in ireland. hopefully the same goes for england. so keep calm and carry on, it's what we do best. but this is a challenge like no other in our modern history. today everything's different and

tomorrow it may well change again. the headlines on bbc news: plans to ban mass gatherings are being drawn up to curb the spread of coronavirus. there are now 798 confirmed cases of the virus in the uk, and eleven people have died. many sporting bodies have already cancelled events, including professional football leagues. premier league clubs will hold a second emergency meeting on thursday to discuss the coronovirus pandemic after every elite british football game was cancelled until at least the 3rd of april. liverpool were hoping to take a giant step towards winning their first league title in 30 years with a game against local

rivals everton on monday. jurgen klopp's side are 25 points clear at the top of the premier league. but now there are real questions about what will happen to the rest of the season. liverpool's manager jurgen klopp was keen to put things in perpective saying, "of course we don't want to play in front of an empty stadium and we don't want games or competitions suspended, but if doing so helps one individual stay healthy — just one — we do it no questions asked. if it's a choice between football and the good of the wider society, it's no contest. really, it isn't. ijust think there's i just think there's dark forces around because of livable's title win. i know that is ridiculous, but thatis win. i know that is ridiculous, but that is the way i sometimes think about it. but the whole thing just drives me insane. they got to do it, haven't they? people's lives are at risk and it is a sensible decision. it'sjust 30 years risk and it is a sensible decision. it's just 30 years we have been waiting for this and let's hope they make the sensible decision that 25 points ahead, we have won it.

it's not just football but the whole world of sport that's been rocked by postponements. the eagerly antipicated first golf major of the year, the masters, was due to start on the 9th of april but that's also been put back. last year the augusta national was the scene of tiger woods' comeback win after 11 years without a major title. this yearjames sugrue, won a coveted place by winning the amateur championships. all the information that i have received is just that it has been postponed. i suppose that was a big relief was just knowing that it was postponed and not cancelled. obviously, if it was cancelled, it would have been very unlucky for myself, but, yeah, just delighted it's postponed and hopefully it'll be up and running again sooner than later. the six nations game between wales and scotland had been given the go—ahead to take place today, but was called off only 24 hours before kick—off. the welsh rugby union defended its decision saying it was the "proper and responsible thing to do". many travelling fans were left out of pocket with the call coming at such a late stage.

i sympathise with that sort of scenario. there is not a lot we can do, i think, in that respect because i think we took the responsible decision for 75,000 people in the stadium possibly being subjected and open to this killer disease. next month's london marathon has been rearranged for the 4th of october because of the outbreak. there's also due to be a marathon at the olympics and paralympics in tokyo this summer. japan's olympic minster said "there was no intention of cancelling or even postponing the games. " but all eyes will be on the olympics as the next possible event to fall. despite all the cancellations there is some sport to tell you about — over 68,000 people were at cheltenham to watch the gold cup. and they saw the willie mullins trained al boum photo beat santini by a neck to become the first horse since 2004 to successfully defend the gold cup. jockey paul townend on board for the irish champion trainer.

the last horse to win it more than once was best mate, who won the race three times between 2002 and 2004. leeds could have gone top of super league this weekend after leaders wigan suffered a shock defeat last night. they led salford14—2 at one stage, but the home side fought back to win18—14. leeds match with catalans dragons has though been postponed because of concerns over coronavirus. the world rally championship is another event still taking place. round three is under way in mexico. after 13 stages britain's elfyn evans is third, more than half a minute behind toyota team mate sebastien ogier of france. esapekka lappi's rally ended in dramatic fashion. the finn's ford catching fire. marshalls couldn't put it out, so he had to drive it to a safe place, where it burnt to a wreck. and there'll be a few aches and pains this morning

after sport relief yesterday. olympic hockey champion sam quek and comedian lloyd griffiths will probably be suffering — they were involved in 2020 penalties. quek won in the end — scoring more than he saved. over 1400 of her spot kicks found the back of the net whilst griffiths was in goal! plenty of highlights on the bbc sport website. that's all the sport for now. now for the weather with louise. if you're craving some spring sunshine, bear with me, if you're craving some spring sunshine, bearwith me, i might be able to help with that, but further time being, we have seen some rain around during the early hours. as you can see, it is starting to ease away from eastern england and we have rain and mountain snow in scotland. that will clear as well but it is a real messy picture, really, this weekend. there will be some rain at times and it is going to turn increasingly windy. so a legacy of cloud for the next few hours. hopefully that cloud will

thin and break for some brightness to come through, but by the end of the afternoon, more wet and windy weather arrives into northern ireland. at least the wind direction coming from the south—westerly, so it will be others but milder than yesterday, temperatures ranging from eight to 14 degrees is a maximum that afternoon. that might in windy weather will push in from northern ireland. it's going to beans and heavy rain for a time into scotland. the wind strengthening as well and during the early hours of the morning, the heavy rain will then push into north england and wales. we could see as much as 30—40 millimetres of rain as well a blanket of cloud just outside of the country, a mild night with overnight lows of 5—9d. we will start off sunday morning with some rain, some of it heavy and persistent. as it moves of it heavy and persistent. as it m oves a cross of it heavy and persistent. as it moves across the midlands into south wales and across the channel coast. it may well say driver much of the day into east anglia and the south—east corner. behind it, sunny spells and scattered showers and with the wind direction turning to a northerly, here it will feel a

little bit colder with top temperatures of 56 degrees. elsewhere, looking at a maximum of nine to 12 celsius. as we move out of sunday, monday and tuesday look like this. monday will actually start are frosty with some decent spells of sunshine, but we have more cloud and rain moving in on tuesday and then the weather story is set to change. so, yes, we have a weather front. that is going to move in but look at this, later next week, an area of high pressure is set to build and it will stay with us right into the weekend, so a good deal of dry, settled and sunny weather to go with it. let's take a look at those five days, then. yes, some rain around on the tuesday. it is worth bearing in mind that although we will see some sunshine, it could just feel that little bit colder. hopefully the sun will concentrate. goodbye.

hello and welcome to dateline london. i'm carrie gracie. this week: the new coronavirus is now a pandemic and its epicentre has moved from china to europe. people are dying in large numbers — in italy of course, but as infections soar, now in spain and france too. beyond europe, other countries are also in big trouble — iran still, but also the united states. africa and south america are now seeing a scattering of cases. and with many governments moving to close borders and ban mass gatherings, the global economy is at risk. my guests today: iain martin of the times, author thomas kielinger, political analyst eunice goes, and political

commentator and broadcaster jonathan sacerdoti. welcome to you all. let's start with the question of europe. i'm going to leave this open to all four of you, who wants to be first in answering? do we think that europe missed a trick in not taking me draconian measures that we have seen, notjust in china, but also be quite fast measures we have seen in china, but also be quite fast measures we have seen in taiwan, singapore, japan, hong kong? possibly. i think possibly, asia and hong kong particularly it was a very quick, they were closing down schools. testing a lot of people. perhaps that has prevented the spread of the disease, but europe, that was not as quick, but there are other characteristics. europe is a much more open continent in the sense that the movement across nations, the movement from all different parts of the world, so europe is, to a large extent, more

exposed than those