this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm... 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. some european union countries are to close their borders to most or all foreigners as spain prepares to put the country into lockdown. 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 we'll bring you highlights from the winning entries of this year's bbc young reporter competition. after new to you and welcome to bbc news. 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 has been 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. some turned back mid flight. holidays to spain organised by tui due to begin in the next few days have also been cancelled. 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, but first this report on the situation here in the uk from our correspondentjohn mcmanus. on your marks, get set, go! it's business as usual for these park runners in richmond, many across the country are still going about their weekend is normal. but the uk has moved into the next phase in its fight against covid—i9, an attempt to delay the spread of the virus. so far that hasn't involved banning mass gatherings, but now the bbc understands the government is drawing up emergency legislation to take more robust measures from as early as next weekend. the evidence tells us that stopping mass gatherings doesn't 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. many sporting events are being affected — most football matches have been suspended and this weekend's six nations rugby is cancelled. the world health organization says europe is now the epicentre. there have been more than 1200 deaths in italy, which is still in lockdown. spain has declared a state of emergency, and this morning, airline jet2 announced it was suspending flights to the mainland, the balearic islands and the canaries. holiday company tui has also now cancelled holidays to spain that have flights leaving between now and monday. a ban on non—americans travelling to the united states from 26 european countries has also begun, with president trump suggesting the uk could be included very soon. here, the advice remains anyone with a new, persistent cough or a fever must stay at home. and experts aren't immune from catching this virus. i thought when i became ill in the middle of this week,

or last week, this must be corona because i'm very, very rarely ill, and i had, as many people who have got corona who are listening, a terribly, terrible sore throat, dry cough and a very high temperature. if you are ill, self—isolation is the best way to protect others. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news. the first and deputy first ministers of northern ireland have been meeting leaders from the irish government, including the prime minister leo varadkar, to discuss a plan for responding to coronavirus on an all—ireland basis. in a news conference after the meeting, first minister of northern ireland arlene foster explained the steps they have agreed. we have both moved from the container face we have both moved from the containerface to we have both moved from the container face to the delay phase and in this new phase there are a number of staged actions, some of which we have taken, some of which will be taken in the coming period.

obviously all based on scientific and medical advice pundit whilst these actions will have a significant impact for a period of time in ourdaily significant impact for a period of time in our daily lives, they are designed with one objective and that is to save lives. it has been very good today to hear the details of the particular medical circumstances in bothjurisdictions the particular medical circumstances in both jurisdictions and the particular medical circumstances in bothjurisdictions and it is detail that informs the timing of oui’ detail that informs the timing of our decisions. and our approach in northern ireland as well. but we are certainly not complacent. we are certainly not complacent. we are certainly not complacent. we are certainly not and we are continuing to ta ke certainly not and we are continuing to take the expert advice that is provided to us in terms of the timing of everything that we do. that was arlene foster, the first minister of northern ireland speaking in the last hour. with me now is elisabetta groppelli, lecturer in global health at st george's university of london. thank you for coming in. let me ask you firstly about the kind of dilemma that governments have. give

it your area of expertise as a virologist, does social distancing work? from my point of view, yes it does. because the virus enters the human body and replicates and then it needs to go on to infect somebody else. it does that travelling on droplets and those droplets travel between one and two metres. if you keep that distance or longer, the virus cannot travel that much. very scientifically based. what it like in your country of origin? because italians are very expressive people, love to hug and be in close contact. it is challenge absolutely. at italians but as human beings normally, that is what we do. we shake hands as well. and this is white not only the situation is serious but requires a change of mindset for all of us. there are practical questions about how quickly you can apply these

measures. we talked for instance about what the republic of ireland is doing, closing schools, northern ireland, the deputy first minister was saying they don't understand why they had not been the same as the republic because there are schools only a mile apart with some closed and some opened. practically, with the is it that important? actually this is very interesting from a scientific point of view point that it is important but also part of the little good news about the situation. children seem to be able to be infected but only have mild symptoms or none at all. however, if this is good news, when it comes to put into context of public health, you think of the different authorities needing to look specifically at their realities and to see how this plays a part in spreading it further in the nation pundit i suppose the difficulty is you could shut schools, kids go home, mum and dad have to work so

what do they do? they send kids to grandparents and the kids give it to them rather than in the playground? absolutely. we think of school and the priority is children and the focus is on them, but it is the teachers and support staff, the canteen, the parents doing the school run. they are coming into contact with each other. talking about something the government raised yesterday, the question of the possibility of herd immunity opened the chief scientific adviser saying there might be a case of lots of us being exposed to the virus in order that we can effectively develop some immunity to it. we have had it once and will not get it again and hopefully we then reduce what you talked about, the opportunity to pass it on. what is the science behind that? the science behind it, as you said, we get infected and become immune in the sense that we cannot catch it again.

at the moment we don't know how long that would last but certainly a few months and then the data and we will note if it is the case. this is the way it works and how we can protect ourselves and it's also how vaccines work. the science behind herd immunity camps both for the disease itself but also it is the fundamentals of vaccination. it is quite important. let me interrupt you for a moment if i make with some breaking news from public health england. this is confirmation that there are ten further deaths here in england asa ten further deaths here in england as a result of coronavirus. we also have some figures coming from scotland. they are the number of coronavirus cases in scotland which has written to 121, an increase of 36 since yesterday —— has risen. yesterday there were 85 positive

tests. to be specific, there's been an increase of ten cases in greater glasgow and clyde and the highland health board area has registered its first case of coronavirus so it is spreading around scotland to put it no great surprise in these figures and presumably in the casualty rate which is consistent with what we we re which is consistent with what we were expecting? absolutely and the by minister said it very clearly, the number of cases will go up —— prime minister. that is why we need to act. and the data and evidence we have learned from italy and china would support that. the death rate is in that range pundit literally finally ask you about the question of timing. that has been a lot of talk about where we are and it's important to remember we are at different stages. china is much further ahead than anyone else, south korea also, italy ahead of us. what is our trajectory? i think ahead of us. what is our trajectory? ithink our ahead of us. what is our trajectory? i think our trajectory is not yet

set. because we are the players and we can change it. we have heard about models, and beaux arts scenarios. that we get those are scenarios. that we get those are scenarios. we do defined where we are going. in the short term, transmission and cases will go up and some of the high risk groups will be affected but now is the time to think at every level. what do we do to get the best direction? that is good advice. thank you very much for coming in. a lecturer in global health at st george's university. as we've been hearing, 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—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. 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. freya cole, bbc news. the doctor was telling me she had had one of those video messages from herfamily in milan which had one of those video messages from her family in milan which was very moving so people are trying to keep their spirits up. we've been hearing of the extreme pressure on medical services across italy in recent days. our news correspondent sima kotecha is in rome and earlier told my colleague geeta about the situation there. i'm outside a hospital, geeta, where they are treating people who have coronavirus. the preference for media who are working on the site is to wear a mask, hence i'm wearing one. today we heard from doctors from wuhan province. they have come over from china, they were working there during the outbreak, and they are here giving advice to medics and doctors. they say the italians are doing very well but there are two points they want to hammer home. they said it is about early detection and early quarantine. they said if you can do those two,

this illness will be defeated. now, in the meantime, strict measures are in place across italy preventing people from moving around freely. the government hopes that they will start to make an impact soon but every day the figures are rising and, as i said, these measures are really affecting the way people live here on a daily basis. the headlines on bbc news... ten patients who tested positive for the coronavirus have died, bringing the death toll in the uk to 21. 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. we can state with that story. 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. mark harrison and his wife jen are in alicante. they were supposed to be heading home to manchester this evening on a jet2 flight but are stuck in their hotel. markjoins me now via webcam. do you know what is going on? we have no idea what's going on. we have no idea what's going on. we have had no correspondence from jet2 or anything so we're just in limbo waiting to find out how to get home. what about your accommodation? presumably you were meant to check out this afternoon? get out of the room and obviously we need to find out if we need to stay here or what. .. find out if we need to stay here or what... mark, we are having some

problems with your line, i'm sorry pundit we will try to come back to you if you can bet with us and we will speak to you again but the line is dropping out so people cannot hear you. thank you very much. that was mark harrison, we will try to get him back to get a better line and heara bit get him back to get a better line and hear a bit more about his situation and that of his wife, who are waiting to get home from spain and find themselves stuck. the trade body representing uk hotels, restaurants and the hospitality industry has warned that large businesses are at real risk of collapse because of the coronavirus outbreak. uk hospitality has written to the chancellor asking for more support for what it called an "existential threat". our business correspondent katy austin reports. in eastbourne, on the sussex coast, businesses are worried. many depend on visitors coming to stay or locals eating and drinking out. but, amid coronavirus fears, customers are staying away. after a string of cancellations, takings at this guesthouse are down £12,000 on last year.

i'm very worried about what's happening at the moment. we live here as well, so if we can't pay our bills, which is a very stark reality going forward, what happens to our home? it's notjust a business, it's our home as well. next door, there's the larger york house hotel, one of a group of three in the south—east. bookings here are down 60%. we've got the money to carry on for maybe two or three months, and then we are out of money. and then what do we do? with paying staff? paying the vat? paying the veg man and the butcher, you know. we will run out of money. wednesday's budget promised billions to support the economy through the crisis, but in a letter to the chancellor that i have seen, the uk's hospitality trade body warns that support for small businesses with things like business rates and sick pay is welcome, but there is little for larger firms who employ the most people, and it warns the pandemic threatens their very existence without more government help.

uk hospitality says the situation for well—known high street cafes and restaurants and major hotel chains is increasingly serious. if nothing is done, put simply, these businesses will run out of cash in four to six weeks. they simply won't be able to trade because the bills coming through the door remain there and are so substantial, if they've got no income coming in, they can't sustain that drop in footfall and that drop in income. the treasury insists help will be on offerfor those in need, but businesses who rely on people physically turning up to spend money fear for their survival. katie austin, bbc news. lets get back to mark in alicante. thank you for coming back to us, we will try again. when were you expecting to head to the airport today? six o'clock today, we were meant to fly just after eight

o'clock tonight. and when did you hear? at about ten o'clock this morning, just on social media. you saw the post online saying they had stopped flying. they have not been in touch with you yet? not at all. they said that they would contact all of their customers. we have heard nothing, and we actually rang them back but itjust goes dead. heard nothing, and we actually rang them back but itjust goes deadm goes to voice mail pundit the company said that having made the decision, the reason they stopped flying was because they did not want to send passengers into a situation where everything is shut down and it looks like everything has pretty much shut down in some of the key tourist areas. they say they are reviewing their programme as a matter of urgency so that they can fly customers back to the uk. it is encouraging but no indication how long you might have to wait. we have

looked at other flights on line and they are coming in at over £1000. we're just waiting jet2 really. they are coming in at over £1000. we're just waiting jet2 really. and you could find yourself... have you spoken to the hotel about whether it might be possible to have the room for further days if you might be possible to have the room forfurther days if you have might be possible to have the room for further days if you have to question ...itis it is going to ourselves which is an issue. and hopefully that is something the airline would have to pick up since it is their cancellation as put you in this situation. i suppose they might say that they had to do it because they couldn't responsibly deliver passengers into the middle of a state of emergency. that's right, but it is... everything is shut and we only have close enough for the

trip... of course, it must be worrying. thank you very much for speaking to us, our best wishes to you and jen and we hope you get better at news soon and of course, if we hear anything, it will be straight up on bbc news and online. and indeed, if the airline would like to talk to us, they are very welcome and we would be pleased to hear from jet2 welcome and we would be pleased to hearfrom jet2 or welcome and we would be pleased to hear from jet2 or if they have a spokesman or press officer who would like to tell us what is happening so we can get that information out to passengers and where loved ones. kathryn stancyzyn is with me now. we can update people on the news of further deaths? we have heard in the past few minutes that ten patients in the uk who tested positive for covid—19 have died. that brings the total death toll in the uk up to 21, thatis total death toll in the uk up to 21, that is from nhs england who have confirmed that here for us. just

under 800 people had tested positive so far in the uk and ten of those people, not ten further people but ten, doubling in essence, of the death toll is a significant development. more figures coming out of scotla nd development. more figures coming out of scotland as well in terms of the breakdown of where some of the new cases of infection are, not fatalities but infection. we know that the number of cases has risen up that the number of cases has risen up to 121, an increase of 36 since yesterday in scotland. ten more cases in greater glasgow and clyde and the highland health board area has registered its first case of coronavirus. these are official figures from the scottish government, which are released daily as we get updates. that is the very latest. one thing you will not have seen as you came into the studio, it

has just hit the news wires we get here in the studio, is that the chief medical officer, chris whitty, is saying that all of those who died we re is saying that all of those who died were in the at risk group, in other words people presumably with pre—existing health conditions. words people presumably with pre-existing health conditions. and thatis pre-existing health conditions. and that is what we have been hearing a lot of. people i think it is people in those at risk groups with maybe lung disease or elderly people, people with other complex conditions like diabetes, they are at risk. we know of course today that the government is talking about how it might bring in more emergency legislation, possibly starting next weekend but we are not sure about mass gatherings. that has not been the advice so far. we heard from the chief medical officer yesterday, that it chief medical officer yesterday, thatitis chief medical officer yesterday, that it is not necessarily the best thing, to stop the spread. but actually now the government is saying it might be necessary for things like restricting the impact on the health services. that might

be something that is coming up. we understand there are meetings going on today and we might hear more from those a little later on about how that might pan out. we were hearing the prime minister with meeting health officials today but we have not heard from downing street. nothing from number 10 as yet but it is changing all the time. it is a moving situation and we had that update from northern ireland as well where we know there is tension between the position adopted uk wide, which is that schools stay open, and the deputy first minister, michelle ryan, saying she does not understand why schools are staying open because a mile away over the border in the republic they are shutting. and a lot of people are asking those questions as well, what the reasoning is behind it and if it is the most sensible reasoning. all we can say is that is what the experts and the government are going with and saying at the moment but it

is changing rapidly so who knows what we might hear by the end of today? the breaking news is that ten patients who tested positive for coronavirus in the uk have died, bringing that total death toll from covid—19 up to 21. bringing that total death toll from covid-19 up to 21. thank you very much. we can give you a little more information about the areas of england, of the uk in which these further fatalities have occurred. we have statements from the health trust. they have been released by nhs england pud bucks health care has said that sadly they have confirmed a man who was cared for in wickham hospital has died, he was in his late 70s and was admitted with underlying health conditions and subsequently tested positive. the family has been informed and their thoughts are with them at this difficult time. they will not be commenting further on the case put another statement from sandwell, west birmingham hospital nhs trust you also confirm that a man who was

cared for at a city hospital and tested positive for covid—19 has died put at the patient was in his mid—80s and had underlying health conditions that you can see the pattern emerging here. the family had been informed and i thought i would then. wolverhampton nhs trust also confirm that a man being cared for at new cross hospital has died. the patient was in his 80s and had underlying health conditions. his family has been informed and their thoughts and condolences are with them and the media has been asked to respect the wishes of the families. another statement from the university hospital of leicester nhs trust. we can confirm that a man was being cared for at the leicester royal infirmary who had tested positive for covid—19 and since died. the patient was in his 80s it was later confirmed he had tested positive for covid—19 and his family has been informed. the trust is continuing to follow the appropriate

infection counter guidance to provide safe and effective care to patients. patients with appointment at leicester should still attend as normal unless they have the new and continuous cough or temperature in which case the advice of cause it to court 111. a spokesperson from barts health trust in london, they can confirm two people being cared for at barts health nhs trust who had tested positive for, 19 have died pud the families have been informed —— covid—19. and a statement from the chief executive of st george's university hospital nhs foundation trust, confirming that a patient in his 90s who tested positive for covid—19 has died at st george's hospital. he had been extremely u nwell hospital. he had been extremely unwell with it significant other health conditions. at the thoughts of staff with the patient‘s family at this difficult time. there are two more pud north middlesex university hospital confirm a man being cared for at the hospital that

tested positive for covid—19 has died, he was in his 80s and had underlying health conditions. and the chief executive at london north west university health care nhs trust confirming that a patient being treated for covid—19 has died at northwick park hospital pulled at the man was in his 60s and had underlying health conditions. their thoughts are with his family at this difficult and distressing time. one more from the countess of chester hospital, the chief exec of saying that sadly they can confirm a man being cared for at the hospital at who had tested positive for covid—19 has died. he was in his 80s and had underlying health conditions. our thoughts are with the family, are indeed those of us. i'm sorry to have rushed those, i know it is very distressing every time you hear this news read out if it is one of your relatives but we want to keep people up—to—date as much as we can wear these cases are and the fatalities are. we know that in all but one of

those cases, the