this is bbc news. i'm geeta guru—murthy. the headlines at 12: 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. jet2 cancels all flights to spain, the balearic islands and the canary islands with immediate effect. 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. many sporting bodies have already cancelled events, including professional football leagues. and in half an hour, click will show you

how to keep your devices coronavirus free. 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 820 confirmed cases of the virus in the uk, including 22 new cases in wales. the number of deaths in the uk stands at 11. the airlinejet2 has cancelled all flights to the mainland spain, the balearic islands and the canary islands with immediate effect. the trade body representing hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses has warned that large

chains are at risk of collapse because of the epidemic. it follows a national emergency being declared in spain yesterday. 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 — and speaking to a couple impacted by the jet2 cancellations — 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. the uk airlinerjet2 has cancelled

all flights to spain amid the coronavirus outbreak. the bbc understands that government could be banning mass gatherings as early as next week. this morning, bbc breakfast spoke to the care minister, helen whately and asked her about the suggestions that government policy has changed: well, we're following the evidence on what i will say is that after the 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 think i should... i have given you my 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. the care minister there. what happens if you have bought tickets to summer festivals and sporting events which may have been cancelled or are at risk of being cancelled? what are your rights as a consumer? joining me now to discuss this is consumerjournalist harry wallop who joins me via webcam. thank you for your time today. broadly, what are people's rights if events have been cancelled like the football matches that we are hearing about, of course, already? well, in short, it depends on the small print, but in most cases, consumers

should get their money back if an event has been cancelled, especially if it has been cancelled on the advice of the government. we have seen, for instance, yesterday, the london marathon has been postponed and the london marathon has said that if you cannot make the new date, which is now in october, then don't worry, you will get your entry fee refunded. so i think most people, most companies will do the right thing, will give real refunds. the slightly more tricky thing is all the subsidiary things that go around that event, so the train tickets to go somewhere or the hotel room and there, you are far less likely to get your money back unless it was booked specifically as part ofa it was booked specifically as part of a package, you know, as part of oui’ of a package, you know, as part of our london magnet kick marathon package or a glass to be package, you are package or a glass to be package, you a re less package or a glass to be package, you are less likely to get your money back due to the small print. what about flights or hotels abroad because of the government has not issued a travel advisory not to go and if the airline does not pull the

flight, and if the airline does not pull the flight, again, what are your rights there? well, this is a very difficult one. so, obviously, most airlines and insurance companies ta ke airlines and insurance companies take their cue from the fco, the foreign & commonwealth office, so the moment that advice is given, you shouldn't fly to that place, flights definitely are not going, then that is fine. you will get your refund or at least you should get your refund in all but the most exceptional circumstances. the more difficult one is when you do not want to go somewhere, you one is when you do not want to go somewhere, you are one is when you do not want to go somewhere, you are what is known as disinclined, to use the jargon, because frankly what is the fun of, say, going to japan if everything is closed down, disney world there is closed down, disney world there is close down, all the museums are shut, i am afraid to say that you are very unlikely, a travel insurance policy is very unlikely to pay out just insurance policy is very unlikely to pay outjust because you, understandably, do not want to go. you need to wait for the government toissue you need to wait for the government to issue the specific warning that you cannot travel to that country.

so, for instance, and there are a lot of people with tickets booked for america in this full liberal position at the moment whereby in theory president trump has said you can travel to america, the uk has a special exemption, and yet last night he hinted strongly that that might not last forever. so it is all up might not last forever. so it is all up in the air at the moment. and we have seen today already, you know, flights potentially being cancelled from jet2 once they have taken off. if that happens to you, you covered by travel insurance? yes, so if you your flight is cancelled, your travel insurance should cover you. travel insurance should be taken out the moment she book your ticket. what a lot of people do is that they book their tickets months in advance. they only then get their travel insurance a week before hopping on the plane. that is potentially going to leave you in all sorts of trouble because if your flight all sorts of trouble because if your flight gets cancelled, obviously before you book insurance, it is too

late. if you do not have insurance, the moment the flight is cancelled, you are going to be in trouble and understandably, travel insurers are going to be hitting readily hard as a industry and many have stopped offering new travel insurance was that if you have an annual policy, i would implore people to make sure that it rolls on. you should be able to roll on your annual travel insurance, but because slots, as it were. if it is running out in april, make sure you book some travel insurance now so make sure you book some travel insurance now so that in april you are not insurance now so that in april you a re not left insurance now so that in april you are not left with a gap of a key couple of weeks which may see you in trouble. if those companies are not wanting to take on new customers, either they are obliged to allow you to extend? probably not. well, as i understand it, if you are on an annual travel insurance, you should be able to roll onto a new policy,

essentially an existing customer. you will be treated as an existing customer rather than a new customer, but it will come down, i suppose, to individual insurance companies. but it will come down, i suppose, to individual insurance companiesm it possible to say with any confidence at all how long people are going to be able to look ahead to these events being cancelled? we know that this could roll on for many months, not just know that this could roll on for many months, notjust weeks. to make family plans, to try to budget for all these changes that people are looking at is incredible complex, isn't it? well, yes. unfortunately, we are all how long is a piece of string? we are relying on, and i'm not a scientist, we are relying on the scientific advice and it seems to be currently that it will be at least, gosh, the next 14 weeks or so i going to be very, very difficult on the problem is that the british economy is not just on the problem is that the british economy is notjust a service economy is notjust a service economy now but is increasingly an experience economy. summertime, book festivals, music festivals, the

edinburgh festival, they have all exploded in popularity over the last decade and vast industries are attached to this now, be at the ice creams sellers in the programme sellers and all the subsidiaries and thatis sellers and all the subsidiaries and that is where a lot of the money is made, you know, the food vans and the drinks, so all these companies now are hoping that the government measures that were unveiled in the budget, this £30 billion to help people through coronavirus, will it trickle down to enough companies? exactly, and we are hearing also, just finally, about airlines, british airways extraordinarily saying that they too are at risk and we have seen others saying that they will have to shed jobs. how long does this crisis have to go before it becomes critical for even the largest companies? well, i do not think that long. most people work with not that much slack in the system and i have been following the supermarket panic buying and the extraordinary scenes of empty

shelves of liberal and people are behaving... you know, it's easy to say they are behaving irrationally and irresponsibly, and in some places they are and people need to count as there is enough toilet roll in the system, but supermarkets do not plan, they find for christmas and for easter for a surge not plan, they find for christmas and for easterfor a surge in not plan, they find for christmas and for easter for a surge in sales of maybe 30 or 40% for a couple of weeks and they have that all planned out but when it suddenly arrives and they do not have these contingency plans in place, theyjust physically do not have enough workers, enough lorries on the road, that is what has caused problems. if you are the likes of british airways or a hotel and your demand falls through the floor, not just for and your demand falls through the floor, notjust for a few days because of terrible weather, but because of terrible weather, but because for a few weeks or possibly even a few months, most companies do not have enough cash flow in the system to cope with that, so i think the government are going to have to act as if... as they did during the

banking crisis and pour in tonnes of taxpayer's money. the taxpayer is likely to be picking up the bill for this for the next, gosh, i don't know, many, many years because i do not envision a scenario whereby we can not envision a scenario whereby we ca n allow not envision a scenario whereby we can allow the likes of british airways just to can allow the likes of british airwaysjust to go can allow the likes of british airways just to go bust. i think, can allow the likes of british airwaysjust to go bust. i think, as i understand, behind—the—scenes all sorts of rules are being ripped up, because that is does make a lot of copies will be in dire, dire straits and the company statement government will have to decide how much they can pour into it so that they can get through the summer. a very sober message. thank you very much for your time today. the uk airlinerjet2 has cancelled all flights to spain amid the coronavirus outbreak. planes from the uk to spain were said to have turned around in mid—air when the announcement was made. spain declared a two week state of emergency after the death toll in the country rose to 120. jet2 has cancelled all flights to mainland spain, the balearic islands

and the canary islands with immediate effect. christinejones and her husband les were due to fly to out on a jet2 plane this afternoon from manchester to tenerife — but are at home in rochdale after their flight was cancelled. thank you forjoining us. how did you find out? via my son-in-law. he actually sent me a message on facebook that all the flights were cancelled. i did not believe him, so i went onto the website. there was no news on there. i tried to phone the airport, nobody answered. i tried on facebook, on the airport website to have a look for, the flight website to have a look for, the flight did not come up so i knew it was possibly gone. when will you supposed to be flying exec the end where to? my flight was 420 past this afternoon and i still

haven't. .. i still this afternoon and i still haven't... i still haven't heard from jet2. right. when did you book this? was it before the whole crisis started ? this? was it before the whole crisis started? we were going for 11 days. sorry, how long ago did you book it? months ago and we were going for 11 daysin months ago and we were going for 11 days in a hotel. how are you feeling now? very disappointed. we were really looking forward to it. i mean, we were a bit concerned about the virus, but we decided that we we re the virus, but we decided that we were still going to go. i had looked on the uk government website and tenerife was not mentioned. spain was, but not tenerife. i put on alert on to be informed about would it be cancelled and i had nothing from that. the only thing i had from

jet2 was last night when it was saying 15 hours before you are going on yourflight saying 15 hours before you are going on your flight and, like saying 15 hours before you are going on yourflight and, like sa, up to now, i have not heard from them. i know they will be busy and i do understand, but i do think that if i hadn't, we would have set off for the airport and then had to come back because my daughter was taking us, so we would have had to form my daughter to come and pick is up again. are you covered by travel insurance? we have travel insurance, yes. i did look at it last week, so i think we are still covered. but i am just hoping that everything will be, you know, re—compared. travelling anywhere looks like it is getting incredibly difficult now. i knew content now to wait at home before you book another trip? definitely! i just before you book another trip? definitely! ijust mentioned about going down south for a couple of

weeks. stay in the uk, yes. yes. good idea. don't unpack your suitcases, find somewhere else to go nearby. thank you very much indeed and good luck with what comes next. thank you. the headlines on bbc news: plans to ban mass gatherings are being drawn up to curb the spread of coronavirus. jet2 cancels all flights to spain, the balearic islands and the canary islands with immediate effect. a number of european union countries say they'll close their borders to most or all foreigners 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. 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—19 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. 0ur 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. 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. 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. 0ur 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 24 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. 0ur 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 schipol 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 notjust for the us. there's also many other countries, in the space of the last 48 hours, 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's travel ban, i'm trying to get back as fast as possible. i am not a us citizen, i have dutch—german citizenship. but i am a permanent resident, so i am just trying to see if i can enter. now i am trying to get to suriname, but i do not know what will happen. i do not have any information yet, i do not know if they will send us or not. i have no 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 to italy, but the airline did not tell me. i only 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 here 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 fact that many countries have bans 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 at £4 billion of lost revenue around the world industru analysts say potentially £100 billion. this is an unprecedented crisis for the aviation industry. and at 1.30pm this afternoon virologist professor george

lomonossoff will be here to answer any questions you might have about the virus so do get in touch. you can contact us via the hashtag bbcyourquestions or on email at yourquestions@bbc.co.uk or by texting 85058. standard message rates apply. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello, there. it's an improving weather story across the uk as we go through the rest of the day. early morning rain has eased away, leaving a legacy of cloud in its wake but hopefully that will then and break in a few places, maybe staying drizzly in scotland. and by the end of the afternoon into northern ireland, we'll some heavier rain and stronger winds developing. but with the wind direction coming from a south—westerly, a little milder than the last couple of days, 8—14 celsius the high. so this area of low pressure will bring wet and windy weather across the country overnight tonight. the heaviest rain likely to be across north—west england and parts of wales. so that's going to be the story first thing on sunday. that moves south and east, perhaps not arriving into east anglia and the london area until the end of the day.

and following on behind, sunny spells and scattered showers but with the wind direction here turning to a northerly, it's going to start to feeljust that little bit colder. now into next week, a weak weather front to clear away, but generally speaking high pressure builds giving us some dry weather but early morning frost. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. plans to ban mass gatherings are being drawn up to curb the spread of coronavirus. our whole approach has been, what does the science tells us? what is the guidance we're getting from the chief medical officer and the other experts around him? and bringing in behavioural science so that we take the right steps at the right time. jet2 cancels all flights to spain, the balearic islands and the canary islands with immediate effect. 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. many sporting bodies have already cancelled events, including professional football leagues. now for a full round up of the sport. good afternoon. 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 in years. liverpool 25 points clear at the top. are real questions about what will happen to the rest of the season. liverpool's manager was keen to put things in

perspective, saying that of course we do not want to play in front of an empty stadium and we do not want games or competition suspended, but in doing so helps one individual stay healthy, just one, we do it, no question. asked if it is a choice between football or at the good of the wider society, it is no contest, really. it is not. there is continuing to be an impact right across football. it might be what talking about the premier league, but lower league clubs will be feeling for the economic and financial impact to their season two. for this for as it has the thick end of £300,000. that includes the gates and that food and beverage around the stadium. we might lose another hundred hundred and 50, but it fit goes into the summer. for us it will be about half a million. you tell me the plan was to relay the system, but it is

not just financial terms, practical things as well. financially wheeling your pitch is costly. we had not planned for that. —— relaying. we need 12 weeks to reconstruct the picture and right at the end of the season, 27th of april, we were going to be out taking up the pitch and putting in a new pitch. does any practical difficulties that people do not see. because of the merseyside derby on sunday, i was hearing that you may see a lot of scandinavian fans coming to see that. we do actually feed off the that. we do actually feed off the that all tourism that happens and it is becoming increasingly common for people to come over here for a full weekend and enjoy the premier league games, but also enjoy some of the lower leg stuff, which again, for them it is a great experience. they can get access to the club —— lower league staff. 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.