hello. you're watching afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. today at 2. an emergency government cobra meeting on coronavirus discusses plans for social distancing for the elderly and the vulnerable. having had pneumonia several times and asthma all my life, which is regulated, i know what it feels like to not be able to breathe and i don't want to be then feeling that i might die and i'm all alone. so, i'm trying to do all my best to avoid it. as the pressure grows on the nhs, there are concerns about the health of front line workers. the immediate priority, from my end, representing the nation's doctors, is to keep them protected, keep them free from infection. because if they fall sick and they aren't able to work, we won't have a workforce. germany becomes the latest country to close borders, as europe tightens up its response.

british airways, virgin and easyjet all say they are grounding the vast majority of their flights, as customer demand plummets. bell dings. another volatile day on global markets. in new york, trading was halted temporarily after the opening bell. the dowjones fell by almost io%. coming up on afternoon live all the sport with holly hamilton. or lack thereof. cancellations and postponements. still to be decided, a couple of big ones. the euro 2020 and the olympics. we hope to have some more answers in the next 2a hours. thanks holly. and susan powell has the weather. good afternoon. in the midst of this challenging time, we turn to mother nature to find some brightness and oui’ nature to find some brightness and our weather watchers have been sending in energies so we will take a look at what things are like where

you are, whether you have been out and about or just looking you are, whether you have been out and about orjust looking out the window. there have been some lovely scenes. thanks susan. also coming up... my my family myfamily and my family and friends were in the thick of it. but i was lucky, i was evacuated... tributes are paid to roy hudd, host of radio 2's the news huddlines for 26 years and also a star of coronation street, who has died at the age of 83. hello everyone, this is afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. downing street says the government's next emergency cobra meeting this afternoon will discuss social distancing measures for the elderly and vulnerable, after a cabinet minister said yesterday that people over 70 could be asked to self—isolate in the next few weeks. it also said the government was not recommending schools be shut at this time. it comes as restrictions were tightened across europe due to the crisis.

germany has become the latest european country to limit people's movements, closing the border it shares with france, austria and switzerland. global stock markets have plummeted. the ftse 100, that's the top 100 companies, plunged more than 7% in early trading. the new york stock exchange had to be halted because of steep losses immediately after the opening bell. trading has now resumed. meanwhile, as restrictions come in and passenger numbers drop sharply, airlines have been cancelling thousands of flights. the owners of british airways, iag, say they will be cutting at least 75% of flights in april and may. virgin atlantic say staff will be asked to take eight weeks unpaid leave. and easyjet said it may have to ground most of its planes. in the us, interest rates have been slashed again to 0.25%. in new york, schools are closing, and the city, along with los angeles, is to shut bars and restaurants, to try to control the spread of the virus. in the past half hour, health

officials in wales have confirmed the first death in the country from the virus, a 68—year—old patient from wrexham. later this afternoon, the government is to hold the first of what will now be daily news briefings on the measures it's taking to deal with outbreak. ourfirst report this afternoon is from our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. the health secretary arriving at number ten today ahead of another emergency meeting on the coronavirus pandemic. at the entrance to downing street, a small group of campaigners echoed more widespread concerns about whether ministers should implement a major shutdown, like other countries. and those on the front line, treating patients, say they need more information. we need to know much more from the government about the preparedness. we have real concerns about the number of doctors. we are already short of doctors in the uk and the immediate priority, from my end representing

the nation's doctors, is to keep them protected, keep them free from infection. because if they fall sick and aren't able to work, we won't have a workforce to look after acutely ill patients. and there are growing concerns about whether enough is being done to protect elderly people and those with underlying conditions. ministers have said those over 70 could be asked to stay at home in the coming weeks. but some have already taken action themselves, staying away from other people are doing online shopping. staying away from other people and doing online shopping. i feel extremely vulnerable. and because i am alone and i have no family, ijust don't want to be in that position where i don't know what to do and i can't breathe. i've had pneumonia several times and asthma all my life, which is regulated, i know what it feels like to not be able to breathe and i don't want to be then feeling that i might die and i'm all alone. so i'm trying to do my best to avoid it. i want to make sure everybody knows

how to wash your hands... schools across the uk are still open, despite blanket closures in other european countries. the education secretary is meeting head teachers later to discuss their concerns. some universities have halted classes and moved all their lectures online. in scotland today, measures came in advising gatherings of more than 500 people to be cancelled. officials warned it could be in place up to 4 months. it's not clear when similar measures will be introduced in the rest of the uk. we are absolutely, religiously, if you like, following the advice of medical and scientific officers. we think the best way to handle this is not to do what politicians think is the right thing to do, but to do what the experts, the scientists, the medical experts, tell us and needs to be done. the scientists, the medical experts, tell us needs to be done. and following a clamour for more information, borisjohnson and ministers will now hold daily televised briefings to update the public on how to stay safe.

35 people have now died in the uk from the virus and there are nearly moo confirmed cases. but the true figure is believed to be many thousands more. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. our health correspondent, michelle roberts is here. we are awaiting an update from the uk government on figures but we have others? scott and say they have 171 confirmed cases, an increase of 18 on yesterday. numbers will keep going up as we are expecting but we are only testing those patients who are only testing those patients who are in hospitals. so it is very difficult to compare what we were doing last week with current numbers. this is the problem. i spoke to a family member with a virus last night. she rank 111, they said yes, it looks like you have it.

self—isolate. she needs to know if she really does have it. there is no test. how will the government respond if it doesn't have that information to hand 7 respond if it doesn't have that information to hand? because we know there are lots of cases around in there are lots of cases around in the community, it is more productive to test the most vulnerable people who are in hospital, so you have a goodidea who are in hospital, so you have a good idea of what treatment they need, whether they have actually got it ora need, whether they have actually got it or a different infection. testing people in the community who are otherwise quite well, but who are self isolating who are mixing with other people, is the best way forward. we are about to get the latest figures, but we are waiting for the cobra committee results. can you just elneny what we are expecting in terms of the over which does seem to be the most vulnerable and the most concerned group who are perhaps feeling a little bit let out. current advice is that they

still don't need to self—isolate, they can go about their normal business. but as we will hear later on this afternoon, that could easily change to stay—at—home, avoid contact with other people. what hearing is that they can still go out and about a bit. you can go for a walk, you can go to the park, as long as you are not coming in to close contact with people who might have the virus. i think you can probably give us the latest figures. we know for the uk there housed now been 15113 positive tests as of 9am this morning, up from yesterday. so far in the uk, we have had over 44,000 far in the uk, we have had over 114,000 people tested. far in the uk, we have had over 44,000 people tested. we ourselves waiting to hear from the government what their next move is that what we don't seem to be hearing much of is people who have recovered from this, their experiences and perhaps they

will message the programme throughout the afternoon, but also, those that are self isolating, how thatis those that are self isolating, how that is working and if you are living without people, is it all right to mix with them or do you really have to through doors? we are learning a lot in terms of a lot of people have had this around the globe now. which, although that is not fortunate, it gives us more data. we know that most people do recover well and we know that if after seven days, you have recovered from your cough and your fever, you should be fine and don't need to isolate and are not infecting other people. in terms of if you are living with somebody else who has coronavirus, at the moment, you won't know, they won't have a test as we have said, in the community, thatis as we have said, in the community, that is not the way health professionals a re that is not the way health professionals are going in terms of testing everybody although we do have tests that we can use on suspected cases. at this point, it is only people with the cough or the

fever who are being told to stay—at—home. that may change, it may be whole families that are told to isolate if there is one case in the family. we know that it is spread by infected droplets, cough droplets, sneezes, so again, it is good hygiene. if you have some of the atom is a cough and high—temperature, you won't find out whether they actually had coronavirus are not what they should be staying at home for seven days, not mixing with others and ideally not mixing with others and ideally not with the people in their household. 0k, thank you very much for that. until its european plants until march the 27th. the closure will take place over the rest of the week. among the pla nts over the rest of the week. among the plants shutting their doors will be vauxhall‘s ellesmere port factory

which. working tomorrow, the luton commercial vehicles plant will shut on friday, staff will continue to be paid, the company said that there are three aspects to its decision. safeguarding staff, problems obtaining parts due to disruptions to the supply chain and the steep decline in demand for vehicles, all due to the coronavirus crisis. closures affect everyone of their 50 manufacturing plants in europe, in the uk, france, germany, spain, portugal and slovakia. coming in from our correspondence, feel like more later. our political correspondent, helen catt is in westminster. daily briefings on coronavirus from the government are to start this afternoon and that comes after a lot of criticism of their methods and messages? this seems to be downing street's trying to take control of the communications agenda. there has been some criticism over the weekend about confusion that has appeared over several things. the first being what will happen to people over the

age of 70, what the government's next step for those people may be. also, this idea of gatherings. the government saying last week there is no reason to suggest they restrict them but then there are suggestions over the weekend that they could because of the pressure on emergency services and this confusion over the idea of herod immunity. matt hancock saying that was not the goal of government policy. the goal was to protect the vulnerable in the nhs and protect lives. after all that confusion over the weekend, there has been some criticism. from today we will see daily televised press briefing is led by the prime minister or another senior minister, to extend what the government's next steps are. that decision for the daily news conference follows considerable disquiet over the weekend from people saying that there was a lot of off the record briefing and things need to be more transparent. yes, lots of confusion over the weekend. today, we will see those daily press conferences kicking in. before we get to that,

there is this cobra meeting, the government emergency meeting, we expect that will be looking at things like the measures on how to shield older people and vulnerable people over the weekend, the government's scientific advisory group on emergencies said that the next steps or the next effective interventions that they have planned would need to be instituted soon and they specifically talk about shielding the vulnerable and about this idea of isolating households. we have not heard any more about that today, we expect that any more detail on that will come out in that press conference later today. thank you very much. around the world, countries are taking steps to limit social activity and the movement of people across borders. the head of france's health service says the situation in the country is "deteriorating very fast" — with the number of cases doubling every three days. america's two biggest cities — new york and los angeles — are shutting down all entertainment

venues and placing restrictions on restaurants and bars. germany is introducing strict border controls from today. as ski resorts in europe close. efforts to repatriate 30,000 british tourists from resorts in france are under way. spain has reported more than 1,000 new cases in 24 hours and at least new cases in 24 hours and at least 26 countries in africa have now reported cases — prompting many to announce measures to control the disease. kenya is blocking entry to all non—nationals without a residence permit. and south africa has declared a state of disaster and is closing its borders and schools. in total, we now know that the number of cases of coronavirus outside china now exceeds that in china itself, where the pandemic began (read on)the european commission says where the pandemic began. the european commission says closing borders is not the best way to make sure the eu contains the virus. jenny hill has the latest. another day, another country tries to slow the spread. travellers from france and austria and switzerland turned away if they have no valid reason

for their journey. translation: commuters are excluded from these measures and the movement of good. for now, we have to rely on people telling us the truth. in future, they will have to present a document from their employer if they have to cross the border even if they have no symptoms of the disease. paris is under a shadow. the speed of the spread has alarmed the authorities. translation: the epidemic in france is very worrying. it's getting worse very quickly. it's a very fast moving epidemic. we see the number of cases doubling every three days now. shops and restaurants have closed and most anticipate an end to their time in the sun. a complete lock down is expected. translation: we are worried that we port our bicycles. translation: we are worried but we brought our bicycles. today it is sunny, we felt

like going out, but we are careful, we are not touching other people. translation: at the moment, our schedules have become completely broken because we have no more classes and we have two to three weeks added to our school holidays. how do you make the most of this time? what do we do with all this time? do we just stay home? already, in spain, empty streets, a state of emergency. people have been ordered to stay at home, allowed out only to go to work, the supermarket, the pharmacy or the hospital. in the last 24 hours, spain has reported 1000 new cases. but it's switzerland which has, per head of population, one of the highest infection rates in europe. the ski season here cut abruptly short for many as the government ordered the closure of lifts and gondolas. it is annoying because i am out of work.

we will see what is decided and will do what is the best. the crowds disappeared from italy's tourist traps, too. the country the epicentre of the outbreak in europe, the situation considered so desperate that even china, where the outbreak began, sent a plane to take its citizens home. singing. the virus is spreading. daily life disrupted. but it hasn't silenced this florentine opera singer. as europe mourns it's dead, tires to heal its sick, in communities, people are doing what they can. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. well, holly moy is studying a teaching english as a foreign language course in san sebastian in spain. she had booked a flight home and at the last minute decided to stay. shejoins me now. nice to see you but explain why?m

was a really difficult decision because i was planning to be here until may. i was doing my course which i was really excited about doing, to weeks into the course. and things just changed really quickly here. on thursday, the school was talking about shutting down, most of the classes but letting our class carry on because we were only ten people and only had ten or 20 students. and then, that was the decision friday morning. by friday, all of us were collectively thinking i don't know this is the right thing. everyone else was staying home, maybe we are being reckless, maybe it is... maybe we should put other peoples health first. so we started thinking maybe we should not come in. the school came to the same decision. by lunch then we had all decided that would be the last day. and then on friday afternoon, one of my fellow students discover that the time she was staying in was going on lock down that night. she lives in france so decided to go home to her

boyfriend. and everyone was saying what are you going to do? i said i don't know, if i go home, what does that name? we decided we would delay the course until the 20th of april, which we will start again, everything being well. so i really don't know what to do. i spent all weekend talking to my parents, saying what do i do, do i come home? they are in the uk? yes, my family are all in the uk. you see all these things in the news, you don't know what is happening. we had lots of conversations about should i come back? with ab worried if i stayed, would i be worried if i stayed. if there aren't any flights on, and i can't get home and something happens to them or me out here in a foreign hospital, it was really difficult to know what to do. i really didn't know. in the end, i thought about it overnight, i woke up in the morning, and that i am going to go home because i don't want, if things go bad, iwant

because i don't want, if things go bad, i want to be near my family. i booked a flight home and then i started hearing that travel agents... insurance companies were not issuing travel insurance any more and people were stopping fight to europe. and i thought, actually, ifigo to europe. and i thought, actually, if i go home, i might not be able to come back. and my realjob as being a freelance documentary maker in tv andi a freelance documentary maker in tv and i am looking on my facebook feed and i am looking on my facebook feed and everyone is saying jobs are getting cancelled left right and centre. a bad time to be a freelancer in general. centre. a bad time to be a freelancer in generallj centre. a bad time to be a freelancer in general. i will come to that, i get that but you are in effect in lockdown on your own. and could be so for quite a while? basically, my decision was if i am going to get stuck i would where do i want to be stuck? my plan was to spend a summer out here in spain, i was going to work and see about maybe finding a way to stay here long—term. if i go home, i may not be able to come back and that might ruin my plans. i thought actually,

if everyone is going into lockdown here, if i go home i will have to go to self quarantine for two weeks to nature i don't infect anyone so i won't be seeing anyone anyway. by that point, the government is talking about different things, but i believe that in a week's time, the uk will be in a similar position so i thought if i stay here, to go home i would have to get on a train, full of people, go to an airport full of people, get on a plane full of people, get on a plane full of people, get on another train in england full of people, just to go back and put myself in self quarantine, by which time i could have either caught the virus are given the virus to who knows how many people. whereas if i stay here and do what everybody else is doing, which isjust a home, you know... it feels quite safe. it feels set the sensible thing. you haven't got much to do but watch television. what do you make of the different approach you make of the different approach you are seeing there in spain and what you are seeing on the response you. i mean, yeah, we have all had endless conversations about that and

there are conversations going on about it on facebook and with friends and family at home. i have friends and family at home. i have friends and family at home. i have friends and family in italy have beenin friends and family in italy have been in the situation a lot longer soi been in the situation a lot longer so i talk to them about what they're experiencing and i suppose what i really feel when i talk like pa rents, really feel when i talk like parents, i feel really feel when i talk like parents, ifeel like... iactually feel quite safe here. everyone is in quarantine, it is very calm, eve ryo ne quarantine, it is very calm, everyone is at home, just going to the shops if they need to and going home again and that is plenty of food in the shops and things are very calm. and it is funny because a sinner that is a situation you are and, when you everybody at home —— when you are in that situation. you about deck events still happening at home, you think what is everyone so doing, this thing is spreading so fast. but i have to remind myself, less tha n fast. but i have to remind myself, less than a week ago, my dad was calling me saying are you worried about this coronavirus thing in spain andi about this coronavirus thing in spain and i literally hadn't paid any attention to the news and had my head down my course unknown was

talking about it. and it changed so quickly in spain. literally a couple of nights ago, me and my friends we re of nights ago, me and my friends were out eating dinner in the bars like everybody is in england now. so i have to remind myself that england is probably only a week behind we are. and what feels normal to you is what everybody else is doing. but it does... industrial like everything is unlocked and it feels a lot safer and that the numbers were going up really quickly here and now you just think 0k, really quickly here and now you just think ok, well, i am really quickly here and now you just think ok, well, iam in really quickly here and now you just think ok, well, i am in a flat by myself, i was staying with family, with a woman and when everything lockdown, heard two daughters came home from university to be with her soi home from university to be with her so i moved into this flat by myself so... sorry. good to hearfrom you, good to hear from you, so... sorry. good to hearfrom you, good to hearfrom you, good luck with your lockdown. let's go live to new york because we have a shot. that is just off times square. as you can see, what would

normally be a really busy, bustling morning in new york is everything but. this comes as a new york governor announces the will be sent into a town not far from manhattan. as you can see, things very far from normal in new york city. as we mentioned earlier, in the us, two major cities, los angeles and new york, are now taking drastic steps to try to contain the virus, shutting schools, bars and restaurants. our north america correspondent david willis reports. life in many major cities here will soon resemble that of europe. restaurants, bars, and other public places are about to start shutting their doors and the government is recommending that gatherings of 50 or more people either be cancelled or postponed. amid the looming prospect of a global economic meltdown, america's central bank, the federal reserve,

announced it was cutting interest rates and buying bonds in an attempt to flood the economy with cash. it was their toughest move since the financial crisis of 2008. and music to the ears of a president unnerved by the recent market volatility. that's really good news. it's a really great for our country. it's something that we are very happy... i have to say this, i'm very happy. travellers from europe found themselves crammed into just the kind of crowded spaces that health officials have been urging people here to avoid as they rush to beat the trump administration's travel ban. that ban widens on monday night to include passengers from the uk and ireland. and it did save the economy. but social distancing was on full display at a closed doors democratic presidential debate involving joe biden and bernie sanders. the discussion dominated by questions about the coronavirus. as a result of the virus here,

the coronavirus, what we have got to do also is understand the fragility of the economy. and how unjust and unfair it is that so few have so much. and so many have so little. people are looking for results, not a revolution. they want to deal with the results they need right now. and we can do that by making sure that we make everybody whole who has been so badly hurt. with panic buying gripping stores in many parts of the country, president trump is urging calm, insisting america's supply chains remain strong. relax. we are doing great. it all will pass. night clubs, cinemas and other entertainment venues are to close in new york, as well as restaurants, at the order of the city's mayor, who, in a statement, warned residents of the big apple that the coronavirus threat calls

for what he described as a "wartime mentality". david willis, bbc news, los angeles. major airlines are now announcing that they will largely ground their fleets of aircraft through april and may. iag, the owner of british airways said it would reduce its capacity by 75% in those months. virgin atlantic staff will be asked to take eight weeks unpaid leave, and easyjet says it's likely to see the grounding of most of its entire fleet. our business correspondent sarah corker reports. with an increasing number of international borders on lockdown, airlines are slashing more flights, as demand plummets. british airways owner iag is cancelling 75% of flights in april and may. easyjet has warned it could have to ground most of its planes. the uk aviation industry wants more help from the government to survive a long—term travel freeze. there are lots of different ways to do that. one is to prevent those flights from having to take off nearly

empty, those ghost flights that we have been dealing with, then there's things like time to pay, facilities through hmrc. be in no doubt, we understand the severity of what is going on. and other operators, including ryanair, have warned that the grounding of entire fleets cannot be ruled out. so many airlines are cutting capacity. some are also laying off staff. it's not just the airlines but the other businesses that rely on airlines to get customers around. it's a crisis of unprecedented scale and the industry is struggling to get its head round it. meanwhile, on the railways, monday morning rush—hour was much quieter than usual. more companies are asking staff to work from home, over fears about the spread of the virus. passenger numbers at train stations across the uk have dropped considerably in recent days. and like in the aviation industry, rail bosses want the government to put emergency measures in place. options could include running fewer services and also some flexibility

on the payments that train companies make to the government. and transport companies have stepped up their cleaning regimes, including using hospital grade antiviral disinfectant. virgin atlantic is the latest airline to announce mass cancellations. from tomorrow, it will cut 80% of its flights and staff will be asked to take eight weeks of unpaid leave. for all of the latest developments on the coronavirus outbreak, including what symptoms to look out for, and how to reduce your risk, just visit our website at, bbc.co.uk/news or go to the bbc news app. if you have any questions on coronavirus — please send them in — you can contact me directly via twitter @bbcsimonmccoy and use the hashtag afternoon live.

we'll be answering your questions on coronavirus throughout the afternoon. we'll be hearing from the government later on. testing is only being done to those in hospitals, not those of you who are self isolating and may well be watching me from home. we'd like to hear your story as well, so get in touch on twitter and we will be reading some of those out. in other news — the comedian and actor, roy hudd, has died at the age of 83. he started his career as a butlins redcoat, and later hosted the radio two show the news huddlines which ran for more than 25 years. he also appeared on tv shows including coronation street and call the midwife. time for a look at the weather.

i'm not trying to encourage people to go out and about, but at a time like this we need to seek solace we can and are weather watchers are sending as beautiful images. i'm not sure whether they have been captured through the window are someone has braved the walk. the daffodils are still there and we carry on, so some beautiful images today and a lot of sunshine across the uk. we had a lovely clear skies. this is warwickshire, a beautiful day no matter where you are across the uk. one notable exception is the north—west, a little more cloud. it will turn rather mild for many of us the next few days. let's take a look

at what that picture looks like across the uk for the coming days. here we are with the auto fine weather and sunshine across the uk currently, because of high pressure to the south of us. to the north a weather front coming to the south of us. to the north a weatherfront coming in, and as to the south of us. to the north a weather front coming in, and as that gets into the mix this evening and overnight will start to bring heavy rain forced the ball into scotland and northern ireland. for england and northern ireland. for england and wales, we are talking about a fine afternoon and the sunshine bringing temperatures of 11—12d, but through the next few days will become significantly milder for some of us. this weather front is basically a boundary between the milderair in the basically a boundary between the milder air in the south and cooler air further milder air in the south and cooler airfurther north. milder air in the south and cooler air further north. through this evening, heavier rain will affect parts of the north of scotland and northern ireland and through the course of the night we will see the front sinking down into northern england and wales. clear skies to the north, showers to the north—west of scotland, turning chilly here too

and chilly with clear skies ahead of the front. it may be a little of a shock for simon getting up, if you spots in the south—east down to one or2 spots in the south—east down to one or 2 degrees. tuesday, what's left of the plant will largely be cloud, further north if the pulse of heavier rain comes into northern ireland and scotland, so quite a 5°99y ireland and scotland, so quite a soggy story, particularly for the higher ground of the highlands and the southern plains as we look at tomorrow afternoon. further south, hopefully if you glimmers of brightness. this front is in no worry to work its way away from the uk, so will still be with us on wednesday. it is a boundary between milderairto wednesday. it is a boundary between milder air to the south and colder airto the milder air to the south and colder air to the north and that will be pronounced on wednesday. we'll still get more rain coming out of that front, but if we do see some decent amounts of sunshine, it isn't f, across the south east of england there is the possibility of getting

up there is the possibility of getting up to 17 degrees. further north, clear skies, there will be sunshine but temperatures more around eight or9 but temperatures more around eight or 9 degrees mark. at the end of the week, just about clings on close to the south coast, so thursday and friday quite a bit of cloud around across southern areas of the uk. some rain could be quite persistent towards the south—west, particularly on friday. for devon, cornwall perhaps even reaching into south wales. we look further ahead on to the weekend, high pressure will begin to build. temperatures will be below average and it should be fine and weather for saturday and sunday.

this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the uk rises to 1543, that's up 171 from yesterday. an emergency government cobra meeting this afternoon will discuss plans for social distancing for the elderly and the vulnerable. having had pneumonia several times and asthma all my life, which is regulated, i know what it feels like to not be able to breathe and i don't want to be then feeling that i might die and i'm all alone. so, i'm trying to do all my best to avoid it. as the pressure grows on the nhs, there are concerns about the health of frontline workers. germany becomes the latest country to close borders, as europe tightens up its response.

british airways, virgin and easyjet all say they are grounding the vast majority of their flights, as customer demand plummets. another volatile day on global markets — in new york, trading was halted temporarily after the opening bell. the dowjones fell by almost ten percent. and the bbc delays its plans to charge some over 75s for the licence fee, because of coronavirus. sport now on afternoon live with holly. well, a lack of sport perhaps and lots more development due to the coronavirus? it does feel like a series of cancellations and postponements. i think the problem at the minute is that it think the problem at the minute is thatitis think the problem at the minute is that it is ok to delay these events, but many of them like the premier league have to be completed still. there is still no answers about that. the olympic qualifiers as well and with tokyo just nearly five months away now, it brings us to a

huge question, one we are all wanting to know, should the olympics in tokyo go ahead? well, organisers are holding crisis talks tomorrow. our sports correspondent, andy swiss can tell us more about it. we understand that tomorrow the ioc will hold talks with the various international sports federations because a lot of them are struggling to hold their olympic qualifying competitions because of coronavirus. the ioc will also have an executive board meeting, their second in a fortnight to discuss the latest elements. we are not expecting anything concrete, it is being described as an update but with just four months until the games that is clearly growing concern. uefa are also set to meet on tuesday to decide what happens to all european competitions. a mini—tournament to decide the champions league and europa league will be one option put forward to ease fixture congestion. meanwhile euro 2020 could be postponed to allow league

seasons to be completed. the italian football federation is among those calling for a postponement. rome is due to host the first match of the tournament onjune the 12th. a source close to the situation says all parties must be ready to sacrifice something to reach a solution. england's rugby premiership is set to be postponed due to the pandemic. european cup competitions are also set to be put on hold. our rugby union correspondent, chrisjones has all the details. football has put the season on hold for three weeks but nobody realistically thinks it will resume in three weeks even though premiership rugby might say four weeks, there is also a feeling among some clubs that a suspension may be 10 or 12 weeks is going to be needed but with so many things

and with coronavirus, that is very much a case of let's wait and see what unfolds. the british horseracing authority have closed its doors to fans — and in the past couple of hours also shut their headquarters with some staff self isolating as a precaution. for today — racing continues as normal, at hereford and southwell. kelso has already banned spectators. it's the first meeting in britain without a crowd. that's due to scottish government guidance banning all gatherings of more than 500 people. trainer, nick alexander has four runners there and joined us a little earlier. it is going to feel very odd, and seems a little absurd to be going ahead with racing but the other side, it is important to keep any bits of the economy going that can be safely kept going so it is going to be on but i think we are doing the right thing. and in just the last hour simon — we've also heard the wta has extended its suspension until at least 2nd may and cricket in south africa has been

suspended for the next 60 days — including junior and amateur cricket. all in all — it's fair to say we're struggling in the sports centre. so not much sport to get excited about? well, funny you ask — as you might imagine — there are a few sport commentators and fans who've been left at a loose end. but all is not lost. marble racing is here for you. there is a look at your course. neck and neck race. greg woods there with the commentary. who needs the premier league? without match of the day — this is what the likes of gary linekar has been tuning into. it's actually oddly compelling and before you say anything — i'm not alone.

the terms "comet" and "pollo loco" — which are the names of two of the marbles — have been trending on twitter. so i'm not losing my marbles here, this is a sport we have to contend with now. you lost your marbles some time ago. this is oddly compelling because i was showing this in the newsroom earlier and everybody stop what they were doing. i think at the moment, we all need a bit of marbles, don't we? turquoise wins, the biggest comeback of the week, and guarantee you that much. i don't know, i can live in hope. that's all the sport for now. hundreds of you sending in questions. better leave it there

before my twitter account crashes. a lot of them will need a proper medical response. thank you to those of you have tweeted in questions. some quite distressing stories. a look through those and try and get some response to those. the bbc is to delay tv licence fee changes for the over—75s until august in light of the coronavirus situation. our media editor amol rajan is here with more details... this is a backdown, you climb them? something of that. i think the bbc have bowed to the inevitable, making a pragmatic decision. to be clear for those that don't know, as a result of the last charter of negotiation between the bbc and government, it would be up to the bbc to decide whether over 70 bouts continue to get the free tv licence. they conducted a review and decided that as of june they conducted a review and decided that as ofjune in the past this year, only those on pension credit should continue to get this free

benefit. the decision they take on the day is to delay by at least a couple of months, so august the press rather than during the press, forup to 3.7 press rather than during the press, for up to 3.7 million people who have been getting this free tv licence will have to start paying. if the coronavirus situation develops in ways we can't predict, which may well do, it may be delayed even further. the free benefit will continue to at least august the 1st. i think it is a pragmatic thing. this will cause lots of bad headlines with bbc. millions of people who treasure the bbc are very very cheesed off about losing this benefit, to take away at a time when a lot of people are staying at home would be viewed at school. is a cbbc decision or the government decision? there is a complex and typical answer. the bbc statement was put out today with a quote from the culture secretary who make clear that the bbc and government had worked in conjunction on this. the cultural secretary's cope made reference to that, whereas the cup

and the chairman of the bbc didn't refer to working with the government. so i think the government. so i think the government would like it to be known they had a conversation about this. there is a question of who has skin in the game financially, who's going to pay for who's going to pay for it was might have heard a figure of 80 million mooted. that is a lot of programmes appears bbc, and the bbc will take that course. up to see the finance of the receiver not the most important when it comes to the health of the nation, but the bbc is position where its finances are very much under strain. taking this decision to make a change much in the first, so the only on pension credit will get this benefit in order to try and save some money, it will now have to try and change its financial planning to absorb this cost which could be tens of millions, up to 80 million. there is another element, at the moment the bbc is having an extraordinary and unprecedented demand for its services. to take bbc news online,

last week was a record for bbc news online in terms of the audience reached and that record was 36% up on the previous record. extraordinary numbers for bbc linear programmes, for this programme, a huge demand for bbc news and information. beyond that, if there are information. beyond that, if there a re lots of information. beyond that, if there are lots of people sting at home in the coming months, presumably the audiences for bbc tv programmes is also going to soar. this isn't about ratings for the bbc... but netflix will have the same argument and all programmes, not just bbc will have the same argument and all programmes, notjust bbc news prams, they are all showing higher figures. television generally, but thatjust inform the bbc‘s thinking, because they think this is a particular bad time to take that service away from up time to take that service away from up to 3.7 people, many of whom would be very upset about it. there is a political context of this which is that the bbc has had a tense relationship with the government in

recent certainly month since the general election. i think the bbc feels this is a moment which continue to provide for the public, rather than generate negative headlines about a benefit been taken away. we now know the government will give these daily news compasses, under some pressure, after some things there they began people weren't happy with. you'll make the government's media strategy has come under a lot of scrutiny. there is two issues, one being whether they should be daily compasses. . . whether they should be daily compasses... lots of social media. they have done that. this of the record briefing for some journalists who are putting out huge news stories about what might be happening to all of us, often with anonymous sources inside number ten being quoted. i don't think it makes a huge amount of sense to hold it against unless you are doing their jobs and trying to get the scoops, it is more a question of whether or not the government is as open and transparent as it ought to be. it is worth saying they are learning and have changed over the course of recent weeks and have responded to

requests for these news compasses, . . . requests for these news compasses, . .. thank requests for these news compasses,... thank you very much. some of the treats have received, i have a temperature of over 37.8, dry cough and pain in my body, couldn't get tested, now recovering from the symptoms. i think i coronavirus, there is no way to confirm whether i had or whether i am now immune. i wa nt to had or whether i am now immune. i want to know. that is one of hundreds of tweets coming in. we will be looking at these questions and putting them to somebody, for some answers today, tomorrow and throughout the week on afternoon live. the family of an 88—year—old man from greater manchester, who died after testing positive for coronavirus, have asked for acts of kindness to be carried out in his memory. darrell blakeley, from middleton, died in hospital on friday. he had underlying health conditions. our correspondent fiona trott is at his local church in middleton. fiona. darrell blakeley was a well—known and well—respected member of the

congregation here at saint michael's church. that is why people in this pa rt church. that is why people in this part of manchester talking about this today, the fact he coronavirus. he was a member of the quire and came to this church for 50 years. let speak to the reverend. you knew him well, when did you proceed about his illness? we heard he had collapsed at home and had been taken to hospital on tuesday the 3rd of march. that was the price we had heard about that. so he was ill and taken to hospital and then it transpired he had coronavirus and hospital? yes, he had underlying condition so collapse from that, was taken to hospital because he had beenin taken to hospital because he had been in contact with somebody that had returned from a skiing trip in italy. he was put in isolation at that particular point, but was negative for the virus at that point. that would have been the heartbreaking thing for his family, the fact he was quarantined and they couldn't be with him, i'm guessing, when he passed away. did you manage

to speak to him when he was in hospital? he dead, the hospitalwere wonderful. what they did for him was to help to facilitate phone calls, so he was able to receive them and make them as well. i spoke with him a couple of days before he died, we prayed together. he is gifted with the most beautiful boys, both reading and speaking, and we read psalm 23 together beginning with the words i believe the lord is my shepherd. it was a beautiful moment. and at times like these, the church is very important to people when they are concerned. they are concerned about members of their family. do you find yourself in a position where it is difficult because there might be older members of the community, vulnerable members, who can't make it to church and they want to be here? yes, this isa and they want to be here? yes, this is a very worrying time but equally an opportunity for us to be with each other, to be together, to be

looking out for each other, to have a plan b if we are either a caregiver for someone a plan b if we are either a caregiverfor someone or a plan b if we are either a caregiver for someone or being cared for by somebody. so, yes, the community here is very much coming together. not just the folk from st michael's but all around offering help and support. thank you for speaking to us here this afternoon. another important thing to mention today, members of his family have not asked for flowers, but asked instead for people to share experiences of people caring for each other that they are putting on the church's facebook page, and what we are hearing here, we understand from other parts of the country too, people are thinking embers of hospital staff who are looking after patients like darrell blakeley and theirfamilies. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. global stock markets have sunk despite central banks co—ordinating efforts to ease the economic

impact of coronavirus. london's ftse 100 fell more than 7% in early trade following losses in asia, where markets closed sharply lower. and it's travel stocks that have borne the brunt again. ba owner iag says it will ground up to 75% of its fleet and lay off staff. easyjet, ryanair and jet2 are also facing similar pressures as countries close hotels, bars, restaurants and urge people to stay inside. and in an bid to protect the economy from the effect of coronavirus, america's central bank has cut interest rates to almost zero and launched a $700 billion stimulus programme. the central bank had already cut interest rates by half a percentage point after an emergency meeting on march 3rd. bt and other broadband firms have said their residential network can cope a surge in demand — even though many more people are working from home because of coronavirus. the rapid rise in the number of people using skype,

facetime and other video conferencing has led to concerns over bottlenecks and slowdowns. the problem would also be made worse if schools were to close — with higher levels of computer game, movie and tv streaming being used. a repeat of last week, the market fell by more than 7%, temporarily suspended before it reopened again. let me show you the current state of play across europe and the us. ftse 100 down more than 6%, initially opening 7% lower. in frankfurt, the dax is now in nearly 6%. brent crude dipping below $30 a barrel. that's because factories don't need oil, airlines are not using fuel so therefore a slump in demand. we have seen a glut of supplies while saudi arabia continue to produce. the dow in new york, now open, moving a

percent lower. there is this global worry right now, i'll show you the second page of that stock market board, it will give us a sense of some of the firms affected by this. it started just being the travel firms that were affected by this, clearly as people were told either to stay at home or not to go out. now it is other leisure, sign a world group one of the biggest bowlers as well. marstons, the pub and brewery chain, really struggling. all sorts of things like that. really struggling as far as its share price is concerned as investors are worried about what happens next. car—makers are a triple whammy, stop falling ill, can get the parts they need and demand has fallen through. ba, 75% of its

fleet, ryanair,... has fallen through. ba, 75% of its fleet, ryanair, . .. citron has fallen through. ba, 75% of its fleet, ryanair,... citron and vauxhall saying they will close their european plants until the end of march. in the uk that affects the plant at ellesmere port and the van factory in luton. citroen and vauxhall says it will close its european plants until march 27th. the closures will take place over the rest of this week. among the plants shutting their doors will be vauxhall‘s ellesmere port factory, which will stop working tomorrow, and its luton commercial vehicles plant which will shut on friday. samira hussain is at the new york stock. another turbulent day on the markets. we were talking last week about that, the trigger kicking and because the markets have fallen so much. it has happened again today. so if you can lip read, you may be able to tell that... will try and

establish some sound was to me that he was on the floor of the new york stock exchange. russ mould is investment director at aj. give us a sense, what has happened in the us, a familiar tale, markets down an investor is really nervous right now. unfortunately everybody was hoping the markets would initially policy of not huge gain on friday, up 10%, then the interest rates were moved into zero very quickly over the weekend. although that... the ten biggest moves in the american history since the 1960s, nine of them... american history since the 1960s, nine of them. .. the issue, i was talking to simon about it there,

whilst we would expect it perhaps with big manufacturers like the car—makers and with airlines and hotel groups, we are now seeing an effect on more day—to—day stock, so retailers and in cine world's case, cinemas. people aren't going. the particular problem for forensics any world as they have a lot of debt, and marstons has around a billion. city rob made a multi billion acquisition in the us a couple of yea rs acquisition in the us a couple of years ago, so they have bills to pay, interest, whether customers are coming through the doors or not. this is why the banking shares are starting to go down, because they're the ones who lent the money, and other non—cons. at the moment the footfall is going down very sharply as well. stand by for us, i'm going to try and go back to new york to semi—wrap. give us a sense of what is happening there. what is the

current state zhuhai we have seen those big mass... automatic halt that kicks in... i'm sorry, we tried. everyone getting used to new ways of working but they make not holding out for us there. that's all the business news. headlines coming up any moment... now it's time for a look at the weather. the where is behaving itself reasonably well across the uk. some

cloud and rain in the north—west. in the south, dry weather and some sunshine and the daffodils that there are glowing and that brightness. why the contras in a whether? a ridge of high pressure to the south. this front coming into play from the north—west. this is going to be our forecasting headache, it won't clear very prom ptly headache, it won't clear very promptly or clearly. through this evening and overnight, this front will slowly slide its way south eastwards. this afternoon some heavy rain to come out of that for scotla nd rain to come out of that for scotland and northern ireland. to the south, some sunshine. quite a windy afternoon across much of the uk, but critically gusty footage that weather front are the west. our top temperatures getting into... probably around 8—9d as we look underneath that rain band. to this evening and overnight, some heavy rain. the northern ireland... by the end of the night, that rain will sit across northern england and wales. tomorrow, more cloud for england and

wales. hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at 3. the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the uk rises to over 1,500, up 171 from yesterday. the government's emergency committee meets this afternoon to discuss plans for social distancing for the elderly and the vulnerable. having had pneumonia several times and asthma all my life, which is regulated, i know what it feels like to not be able to breathe and i don't want to be then feeling that i might die and i'm all alone. so, i'm trying to do all my best to avoid it. as the pressure grows on the nhs, there are concerns about the health of front—line workers. the immediate priority, from my end, representing the nation's doctors, is to keep them protected, keep them free from infection. because if they fall sick and they aren't able to work, we won't have a workforce.

germany becomes the latest country to close borders, as europe tightens up its response. british airways, virgin and easyjet all say they are grounding the vast majority of their flights, as customer demand plummets. bell rings. another volatile day on global markets. in new york, trading was halted temporarily after the opening bell. the dowjones fell by almost 10%. coming up on afternoon live all the sport with holly hamilton. there's very little sport to talk about! these days it's just meetings about what sport can go ahead. we'll look ahead to crisis talks around the euros and the olympics. more at 3.30. thanks holly. and susan powell has all the weather. susan... thanks susan. also coming up... my family and friends

were in the thick of it. but i was lucky, i was evacuated... tributes are paid to roy hudd, host of radio 2's the news huddlines for 26 years and also a star of coronation street, who has died at the age of 83. hello, everyone. this is afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the uk has risen to over 1,500 — up 171 from yesterday. downing st says the government's next emergency cobra meeting this afternoon will discuss social distancing measures for the elderly and vulnerable — after a cabinet minister said yesterday that people over 70 could be asked to self—isolate in the next few weeks. it also said the government was not recommending schools be shut at this time. it comes as restrictions were tightened across europe due to the crisis. germany has become the latest european country to limit people's movements, closing the border it

shares with france, austria and switzerland. global stock markets have plummeted. the ftse100, that's the top 100 companies, plunged more than 7% in early trading. the new york stock exchange had to be halted because of steep losses immediately after the opening bell. trading has now resumed. meanwhile, as restrictions come in and passenger numbers drop sharply, airlines have been cancelling thousands of flights. meanwhile, as restrictions come in and passenger numbers drop sharply, airlines have been cancelling thousands of flights. the owners of british airways, iag, say they will be cutting at least 75% of flights in april and may. virgin atlantic say staff will be asked to take eight weeks unpaid leave. and easyjet said it may have to ground most of its planes. in the us, interest rates have been slashed again to 0.25%. in new york, schools are closing, and the city — along with los angeles — is to shut bars and restaurants, to try to control the spread of the virus. later this afternoon, the government is to hold the first of what will now be daily news briefings on the measures it's

taking to deal with outbreak. ourfirst report this afternoon is from our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. what new measures are we announcing today? the health secretary arriving at number ten today ahead of another emergency meeting on the coronavirus pandemic. at the entrance to downing street, a small group of campaigners echoed more widespread concerns about whether ministers should implement a major shutdown, like other countries. and those on the front—line treating patients say they need more information. we need to know much more from the government about the preparedness. we of course have real concerns about the number of doctors. we are already short of doctors in the uk and the immediate priority, from my end representing the nation's doctors, is to keep them protected, keep them free from infection. because if they fall sick and aren't able to work, we won't have a workforce to look after acutely ill patients.

and there are growing concerns about whether enough is being done to protect elderly people and those with underlying conditions. ministers have said those over 70 could be asked to stay at home in the coming weeks. but some have already taken action themselves, staying away from other people and doing online shopping. i feel extremely vulnerable. and because i am alone and i have no family, ijust don't want to be in that position where i don't know what to do and i can't breathe. having had pneumonia several times and asthma all my life, which is regulated, i know what it feels like to not be able to breathe and i don't want to be then feeling that i might die and i'm all alone. so i'm trying, doing all my best to avoid it. i want to make sure everybody knows how to wash your hands... schools across the uk are still open, despite blanket closures in other european countries. the education secretary is meeting head teachers later to discuss their concerns. some universities have

halted classes and moved all their lectures online. in scotland today, measures came in, advising gatherings of more than 500 people to be cancelled. officials warned it could remain in place up to 4 months. it's not clear when similar measures will be introduced in the rest of the uk. we are absolutely, religiously, if you like, following the advice of medical and scientific officers. so, we think the best way to handle this is not to do what politicians think is the right thing to do, but to do what the experts, the scientists, the medical experts, tell us needs to be done. and, following a clamour for more information, borisjohnson and ministers will now hold daily televised briefings to update the public on how to stay safe. 35 people have now died in the uk from the virus and there are nearly 1400 confirmed cases. but the true figure is believed to be many thousands more.

our political correspondent, helen catt is at westminster. that helen catt is at westminster. code meeting under afternoon? that code meeting under way this afternoon? quite a lot going on in westminster today. the environment secretary, george eustice, hosted a meeting with major supermarket chains to talk about ensuring continuity of supply for food. boris johnson is due to host a call with manufacturers about upping the manufacturers about upping the manufacture of ventilators. also on the agenda for him, talking to g7 leaders about the coronavirus epidemic and talking about how to marshal the force of government to do whatever is necessary. a lot going on but as you said, the big things we're looking at are the cobra meeting and we understand they will look at the latest data modelling on the epidemic here in the uk and they will look at what the government might take next, particularly around that idea of shielding vulnerable and older

people. over the weekend, the scientific advisory group on emergencies had said the next steps, talking about shielding the vulnerable and household isolation, would need to be instituted soon. then, later this afternoon, we expect that first live daily televised press conference fronted by the prime minister. we expect us to happen every day from now on. that follows some criticism over the weekend on the lack of transparency from the government over this? there was a lot of confusion over the weekend. around several things. firstly around the idea of what measures might be taking to shield and protect people. people over 70, that appeared on a journalist dog over the weekend, causing some confusion. there was also some confusion. there was also some confusion over the head immunity, talked about by the chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance talked about some sort of degree of herd immunity could help to reduce transmission rates. that got a lot

of confusion over the weekend. we had the health secretary matt hancock saying that was not the aim of the government policy. the aim was to protect life and protect the vulnerable and the nhs. and there we re vulnerable and the nhs. and there were issues around the idea of mass gatherings. government last week said there was no reason to restrict mass gathering because they were unlikely to be a primary cause of transmission. but then suggestions of the weekend that perhaps that could be revised because of the strain it could put on the emergency services. the idea of these daily press briefings means, televised briefings, rather, peter geta briefings, rather, peter get a clear message out. and also because what the government is doing is not in line with what other countries are doing so i think there is a pressure to explain really clearly people why they are our not doing the things they are our not doing the things they are our not doing the things they are doing. thank you for now. joan bakewell is an english journalist, television presenter and labour party peer who says she has been self—isolating. we can speak to her now.

how long have you been self isolating and why? i has a normal cold so i was already under doctor's ca re cold so i was already under doctor's care and antibiotics and when that ran out, i said, should care and antibiotics and when that ran out, isaid, should i care and antibiotics and when that ran out, i said, should i come can i go back into real—life now? she said better not. so the self isolating arose from that because i had already had a condition. to you sense that we're being told enough? i found it all very confusing. i have simply focused on what i am doing and what people like me are doing and what people like me are doing and what people like me are doing and i talk to them and we share advice and consolation plans and suggestions. i don't get caught up and suggestions. i don't get caught up any longer although i do watch it late at night in television with all the explanations on why we're doing this and heard immunity. iam interested in all of that intellectually but it is not actually practical help for me as to what to do. it is notjust you

yourself, but people over 70, their families don't know what to do. should they be dropping food and supplies? what can they do to help? what would you like to see being done? i feel very much that we have to make our own decisions for ourselves. i think there are too many difficult , the government saying families should do this and that, i think we should focus on our particular group and stay in touch with other people in the same group and decide what we're doing and how to help. in my area for example, we have already set up a next—door system in which there are ten volu nteers system in which there are ten volunteers who you can phone who will bring your round for you. people are helping and giving each other advice. i think it is very important for the old that they all stay online and familiarise in ways i have failed to do with how to manage skype and how to stay in touch because that is going to be an absolute lifeline for us in terms of

intimacy, not feeling lonely, being in touch with friends, but also able to tap into advice and the latest things that are being recommended as well as seeing what is happening around the world. a lot of people will just want to know if they have the virus. they may feel unwell but there is no way of finding out. the virus. they may feel unwell but there is no way of finding outlj think it is a big error not to have tested. i know people who have an ailment they believe there was the virus and they think they have recovered and can go into the world and help but they don't know whether it was or not. unless you know whether you had it, you might be putting other people at risk. a lot of people are confused about how to behave and that makes them anxious and more confused and at that point it is rather hard to take in information. this is a crucial point. you are very much one of the lucky ones. there are elderly people in homes, perhaps with dementia for whom this is a terribly frightening moment. i am very fortunate. i have my own home, i am comfortable and i

am fit. that is valuable. and i am a middle—class comfortable person with lots of support systems. it must be difficult for people living at home infirm and difficult for people living at home in firm and living on their own. what are they to make of this? this is very difficult for them. i don't know what is going on in care homes. i should think they are probably acting rather ad hoc waiting to be told what to do but i think if there were very simple, very basic lists of things for us to do, we would all do them exactly as we were told.|j should ask about the bbc decision today to delay the changes for over 75. the licence fee? of course, one of the things we are depending on, my social life is in ribbons, you have been watching television night after night and it was very good to realise how dependent i am on information coming by television and radio. where else? i get a newspaper, but i could get that

online too. so we are both greedy for information but also greedy for clarity. and the two don't quite coincide. you're going to no doubt be watching this live conference later from downing be watching this live conference laterfrom downing street. what do you want to hear from this government and from its medical advisers? i really thinki have had enough now of extremely complex expositions of the strategy and how we wa nt expositions of the strategy and how we want it to flatten the sombrero or whatever the boris remark is. i think i have got all that now but what i want to know is what to i do and for example how can i go out for a walk? i do, i have all the people saying what i do about my pet? a lot of old people care about pets and depend on them. sometimes the only friend they have got. people need practical stuff about where your

food is, to come from, who will supply you, what you are going to do about visits, i have a dental appointment, that has gone missing. what should i do? can i go for a dental appointment? i have no idea. will someone please happy out? when they do, i'm sure someone will message in. good to talk to you, thank you for your time this afternoon. thank you. doctors and nurses on the front line of the epidemic are facing serious challenges ahead. an exponential rise in the number of patients. shortages of vital equipment. and the very real prospect that they themselves or their colleagues will get sick. nicki credland, chair of the british association of critical care nurses joins me from hull. i don't know which of those rings true for you at the moment but too you get a sense of trouble ahead? true for you at the moment but too you get a sense of trouble ahead ?|j think you get a sense of trouble ahead?” think it is safe to say that we do. we are very concerned, as a critical ca re we are very concerned, as a critical care community, that we simply don't have the staffing or the equipment

to peel to deal with potential influx in patients requiring support. we have put in contingency plans and have been working over the weekend to develop a strategy to support critical care nurse nationally to try to provide safe ca re nationally to try to provide safe care to our patients. but we are very concerned about the situation, yes. what specialist nurses, what are you advising those who might be called in the next few days, what are you advising them to do? for intensive care, we work on a one—to—one staffing ratio. for every critical care patient within an intensive care unit, they have one to one nursing support because of the complexity and technicality of the complexity and technicality of the nursing interventions that are required. simply don't have any more intensive care nurses, we can't miraculously find some extra very expert staff. so we are looking to

get ways of redeploying staff from other areas in the hospital to be able to support the intensive care workforce. thank you very much. in the last few moments, the european union has proposed an incoming 30 day plan on travellers. there is a news conference going on right now. these travel restrictions should be in place for an initial day of 30 days but can be prolonged if necessary. she said exemptions include long—term eu residents. let's hear from the council president on his feet now. let's hear the. to ensure small and medium—size companies are protected. so that we can leveraged investment

to support economic activity as much as possible and reduce any negative impact as much as possible. translation: currently, the ministers of finance are meeting by video conference, we have been able to prepare this with the president of the group, president of the european central bank and the clear message that we want to send out as the political mobilisation behind this, to ensure that all of the instruments, and there are a lot of incidents, all the instrument that we have, to help our citizens, to help the families that will be hit by these economic consequences and help companies of all sizes. which is also what we're doing within g7 framework. and extend that to other countries through the g20 as well and other ways of incorporating

multilaterally. i think that we all european citizens the truth. this is a serious crisis, there will be a long crisis, it will be a difficult crisis, but that is why it is even more important that we show a united front, that we stand together more than ever and that each individual citizen has a role to play. they need to respect the instructions that they receive internationally and nationally. and indeed locally, because we are all responsible for this. economic contribution to ensure that we can win the battle in this difficult crisis that we have to face. obviously, our individual decisions have to be responsible and thatis decisions have to be responsible and that is very important. thank you very much. we face a global health crisis. this global health crisis has a severe impact on people but

also has a severe impact on our economies. this today, indeed, in the g7 conference, we were sending a very strong message that, by staying together, by working together and coordinating, we are able to weather the storm which is a global storm without any question. coordination is of the utmost important. you mentioned it and therefore, we had several topics we were working on. first of all, the fact that we have to take measures to limit and to slow down the spread of the virus. this is important, that our health ca re this is important, that our health care system is able to deal with the amount of patients that are severely ill and therefore it is of utmost importance to take all of these measures member states are taking to slow down social contacts, to slow down public life and therefore to slow down the spread of the virus. on the other hand, this poses a lot

of question on how to maintain the rapid flow of goods and how to keep our economy agile and fatal. in this context, —— our economy agile and fatal. in this context, — — vital. our economy agile and fatal. in this context, —— vital. we inform our g7 partners that we propose to introduce our temporary restriction on nonessential travel to the european union. why? because we think nonessential travel should be reduced right now and audition not spread the virus further, be it within the european union or by leaving the european union. but also to avoid nonessential travels, not to avoid nonessential travels, not to have more potential strain on our health care system. of course, there will be exemptions. for example, for eu citizens coming back home. for health care workers like doctors and nurses but also scientists working

on the solution of this health crisis. we do see but also people commuting on borders who are working on both sides of the borders. for example will be exemptions. it is a restriction that should be in place foran restriction that should be in place for an initial period of 30 days and we have been talking about that with the g7 partners. second topic. we must coordinate the measures we take to avoid negative impacts on our people, our economies and our supply chains. this was a big topic and is a big topic between the member states. it is important to look at the different measures, how they are taken andl the different measures, how they are taken and i think of utmost importance is that neighbouring countries harmonise their measures so that this is the same strong message to the people that the member states are conveying because here this increases then the

certainty for people to know that it is yes difficult at the moment but it is for the best of their health and for the moment, this is necessary. third, we need to restore global economic confidence. and indeed it is time to support our economies with determination. that is what we're doing with all the appropriate instruments we have. we support the sectors that need it. we support the sectors that need it. we support our companies, we support small and medium enterprises and above we support people. we support them in theirjobs, we support them with their income losses, so right now, the focus is on strengthening our economies and investing whatever is necessary to have the economy going on further. as i announced on friday last week, the european union has put in place and ambitious framework and we will not hesitate

to take further action, as the situation evolves. fourth and last point, indeed, we need to boost research on vaccines and therapies and diagnostics. it was interesting to hear in the g7 debate that there isa to hear in the g7 debate that there is a strong focus or strong support foran is a strong focus or strong support for an initiative we started together although those members of g7 started after ebola so it is coming from the lessons learned from a bowler, a platform of renowned scientists —— bowler. a message of strong coordination here to put a lot of a promising project, a platform that has already proved that it is very effective in this area. finally, the international response should be broadened. and therefore we agreed

today to also call upon gzo, to accelerate work so that our responses as effective as possible globally. thank you. we will take question, david? we see today the guidelines from the commission about internal border controls that are being imposed, concerns were you have to remind member states to allow eu citizens to travel home, people who are sick should get healthier and not be turned away at the border. that in fact goods and services must be able to cross. that has raised questions in some peoples minds about whether the core freedoms and corpus is of the eu are injeopardy because of freedoms and corpus is of the eu are in jeopardy because of this corona crisis. are you concerned about the eu at that level? i understand the member states, the government in member states, the government in member states, the government in member states, do everything we can to protect their people. but indeed

we have to be very careful to find the right balance between, on one hand, restricting the social contact and therefore the virus to spread, but also not to camper our single market because right now, we need a very well functioning single market to develop deliver the goods we need. therefore we put out in every guidelines that we recommend to install so—called green corridors, fa st install so—called green corridors, fast lanes, to forego transport so that the trafficjams will end and that the trafficjams will end and that we —— so that trafficjams will end and this will keep up the single market and keep up our economy. next question please. during the phone call, did you discuss with president

trump on what is happening with the german company and a media reporter of the us wanting to have exclusive access to this vaccine cure like i know you are discussing with this company later on today. i wondered if you spoke with mr trump about this issue and did he confirm that he wanted exclusive access? we considered that it is very important to work together, we stressed, to develop therapies, develop vaccines, we mentioned to create an initiative, a proposal during this video conference, we felt very strong common political will in order to make progress together. also in this field. a couple of questions now. a question for you

both. as a travel ban been approved by member states or should the european council decide tomorrow and wellness apply to uk citizens? we have worked together the last hours in order to inform different member states that we are working together in order to take some measures regarding the borders. it was important for stubble to inform officially the g7 countries which did during this phone call. tomorrow we will have our video conference with the 27 member states and in the next hours we will continue to inform and explain what the commission is proposing because as you public know, this proposalfor the commission has to be agreed by each member state, each member state has the possibility to implement what the commission would propose. we did reach out over the weekend to the majority of member states and

there was a strong support. officially, tomorrow, we are going to finalise that. and your question on the uk citizens, the uk citizens are european citizens, so of course, there are no restrictions for the uk citizens to travel to the continent. one last question from the financial times for both presidents. are you confident that member states will sign off on the ban on nonessential travel into the european union because it seems like a couple of countries like romania, the baltic states, have been caught by surprise. also have the associate countries agreed to this. a question from the financial times.” countries agreed to this. a question from the financialtimes. i had from the financial times. i had the opportunity to talk beforehand for example to norway and switzerland andl example to norway and switzerland and i am aware of the fact that they already introduced measures that are very close to that. so for them, it

was first of all, very positive to see that there will be no changes for their citizens, but that they are included in this scheme we want to put up. studio: we will pull away there, calling for a 30 day ban on nonessential travel to the eu. also hearing that germany plans to tighten its restrictions, planning to close shops, limit restaurants opening hours and ban church services and further efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. it is europe's biggest economy and says it is threatened, its largest selling newspaper is reporting this. if confirmed, these moves will bring germany a step closer to a state of total lockdown like that in italy and in spain. where people are confined to their homes. germany looks set to tighten its restrictions. we'll bring you more on that as we get it.

the government is planning to ask everyone over the age of 70 to stay at home for an extended period to protect themselves yesterday the health secretary matt hancock warned it could be for up to four months. with me now is margaret dangoor — a volunteer and member of the alzheimer's society and a local ambassador for carers uk. shejoins me now. what at the moment for you is the most urgent need for people?” what at the moment for you is the most urgent need for people? i think thatis most urgent need for people? i think that is very difficult to say because there are so many issues in one's mine. i now am no longer a caterer, but i am a trustee of a local charity which provides respite care, goes into homes of very vulnerable people and support their caterers. it's really a bit of a nightmare. i think we hear the international picture, but for every

individual, this issue of isolation has ramifications. i spoke to a carer this morning who has a very vulnerable husband with advanced alzheimer's. she is absolutely confined to the home anyway, unless her carers come in, and she does have good carer support, she is lucky, but it is a real worry about ca re lucky, but it is a real worry about care support workers coming into the home, having families themselves, travelling on public transport. i don't think we, all of us, are going to be 100% isolated anyway, however, whatever the instructions are or the advice, because many, many of us are so dependent on support in one way or another. it just sort

so dependent on support in one way or another. itjust sort of... although i'm usually a very active person, it has pulled me up a bit, because you are thinking when you go out, i have two trustee meetings this week, should i travel on public transport etc? every facet of your life it is affecting. i'm not one of those that hordes, but i went into the local supermarket yesterday and the local supermarket yesterday and the shelves were absolutely empty for so many products and here we are, vulnerable people, if we are going to be isolated, all these issues that we have to confront, the issues that we have to confront, the issue of shopping, loneliness is a very big issue. certainly i know that if i'm in for one day without doing something active outside in the community, it pulls one down immediately. it's very odd, but one is all right when one is it out in the world, but when you are confined

at home, it is extremely difficult. so, margaret, duchess people in your age bracket and there may be more news on whether you should be self isolating if the government advises that later on. i'm wondering about who care for, i know your husband has passed away, for those with those conditions, this is a very frightening time because they don't fully understand what is going on in the very people they would trust to tell them can talk to them. well, exactly. of course, people with early alzheimer's who are able to live on their own, you know, that is going to be a long—term issue, because alzheimer's advances anyway. people will become more frail as time goes on, and this doesn't look as though it is just going to... well, it's not going to last a week ora well, it's not going to last a week or a month or whatever. so anybody thatis or a month or whatever. so anybody that is vulnerable, even if they do

have capability but are very frail, you know, it is a very frightening when you're living on your own and then you don't feel well and you don't know who to call and you don't know if anybody is going to come, with all those around you. there are many ramifications. margaret, very good of you to join us. many ramifications. margaret, very good of you tojoin us. thank many ramifications. margaret, very good of you to join us. thank you very much. if you have any questions on coronavirus — please send them in — you can contact me direclty via twitter @bbcsimonmccoy and use the hashtag afternoon live. we'll be answering your questions on coronavirus in a few minutes' time. i want to read this one we had in the last few minutes, from a lady called monday. i'm 56, i've had the virus which i believe was the cobit one, i was bedbound for two weeks with a dreadful dry cough. so bad

was the cough that it made my droplet. after ten days of isolation, i eventually called 111 crying as i was in so much pain. they arranged a doctor to com you are prescribed antibiotics and painkillers over the phone. what i had would definitely kill another person, it was so painful. i'm two weeks over it now but still feel very weak. it really is a horrible virus. many of you asking also, having not known whether you have the virus, having known whether you have in fact recovered from it. that will be a —— that will be a vital issue. as to whether the virus can re—infect. will be answering those questions within the next few minutes here on bbc. to get your questions in. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller.

some of us keep the sunshine, others arejust turning some of us keep the sunshine, others are just turning weather. northern ireland into western scotland, later in the afternoon into this evening, some heavy rain around and strengthening winds. across much of england and wales, we are holding the sun train. we'll be breezy here but the average speeds are 60 mass per hour in the wrestler and earl isles. —— western isles. temperatures will be up compared to last night, still may be a touch of frost to clear up parts of south—east england and north to scotland. a cloudy day tomorrow bring and wales. some light rain and drizzle, more substantial rain coming towards northern ireland and scotla nd coming towards northern ireland and scotland once again during the day. many places, it will be feeling milder despite the cloud.

this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the uk rises to 1543, that's up 171 from yesterday. an emergency government cobra meeting this afternoon will discuss plans for social distancing for the elderly and the vulnerable. as the pressure grows on the nhs, there are concerns about the health of front line workers. the european commission president proposes a temporary restriction on nonessential travel to european union for 30 days. nonessential travel should be reduced right now in order not to spread the virus further. further bh within the european union or by leaving the european union but also to avoid nonessential travel is, not to avoid nonessential travel is, not to have more potential strain on our health care system. another volatile day on global markets — in new york, trading was halted

temporarily after the opening bell. the dowjones fell by almost 10%. and the bbc delays its plans to charge some over 75s for the licence fee, because of coronavirus. sport now on afternoon live with holly hamilton. very little sport to talk about.. it feels like we're mostly talking about meetings about sport being cancelled or portponed... this week you'll find a lot of the focus on the euros which are due to start injune. and of course — the big one. the olympics in tokyo — organisers until now have insisted it will go ahead as planned — and tomorrow the international olmypic committee will stage crisis talks with the international sport federations as they try to respond to the latest information available. with more on this here's our

correspondent andy swiss. we understand that tomorrow the ioc will hold talks with the various international sports federations because a lot of them are struggling to hold their olympic qualifying competitions because of coronavirus. the ioc will also have an executive board meeting, their second in a fortnight to discuss the latest elements. we are not expecting anything concrete, it is being described as an update but with just four months until the games that is clearly growing concern. uefa are also set to meet for crunch talks on tuesday to decide what happens to all european competitions. we still have no answers over how or if the champions league or europa league will reach a conclusion — one suggetion put forward is a mini tournament. hey‘ll also discuss euro 2020 which could be postponed to allow league seasons to be completed. the italian football federation is among those calling for a postponement. the first match of the tournament is supposed to be in rome on june the 12th. a source close to the situation says

all parties must be ready to sacrifice something to reach a solution. england's rugby premiership is set to be postponed as well as european cup competitions.. our rugby union correspondent, chrisjones has all the details. we've seen in football with the premier league, they have put the season on hold for three weeks but no one realistically thinks that the premier league football will resume in three weeks. even though the premiership rugby might say four weeks to start up with, there is also the feeling among some clubs that a suspension of ten or even 12 weeks is going to be needed. but like with so many things around the coronavirus, it is very much a case of let's wait and see what unfolds over the coming weeks and months. we've also heard the wta has extended its suspension until at least 2nd may. and cricket in south africa has been suspended for the next 60 days — including junior and amateur cricket. all in all — it's fair to say we're struggling in the sports centre.

not much to get excited about? earlier we gave you marble racing... we were dtermined to provide you with some more sport today — there's not a lot of it around. but simon — who needs the australian grand prix... when you've got banger racing? the ‘summer season' started in west sussex... about 150 hardy souls turned up to watch yesterday. turns out it's on once a fortnight. and to think we never knew? the fun doesn't stop with banger racing. you can head there on the 13th april for the caravan spectacular. we'll stick with the marbles. if you don't know what i'm talking about, if you missed the last hour, go online, go to my twitter account. it is it, it you will be sucked in, you will be a fan forever, i promise.

that's all the sport for now. you've been sending me your questions about coronavirus and the current measures the uk is taking to prevent its spread. to help answer some of those, i'm joined by dr elisabetta groppelli, who's a lecturer in global health at st george's university of london. she is an expert on the spread of viruses and social distancing measures. and also here is our health correspondent michelle roberts. what we mean by social distancing? we mean the distance between people, how much we need to be close to each other and, if we are better, how much we should be stingray. how much is that? is this a safe this seems a 93v is that? is this a safe this seems a gay safe distance because we the virus. .. gay safe distance because we the virus... we know it can travel

between one or two metres. wright lets go to the questions. jo via twitter. my worry with coronavirus is that if the government decide vulnerable people need to isolate but keep schools open. i'm in the vulnerable category but my daughter will be required by law to go school. how am i supposed to isolate and protect myself? this is a particularly challenging situation because there are two clearly different groups at play. at the moment i would strongly suggest to try to minimise the risk. it's not about completely isolating but for example thinking about if there is someone else who can come up example, take the daughter to school. if someone else can do the shopping so that every listener can actually stay—at—home and take care of herself. wright michelle, this is going to be a problem for a lot of people, particularly where children are concerned at the moment. there are concerned at the moment. there are things you can do in the home. even very young children can learn

how to wash their hands very well, they can be told about the importance of using separate towels, toothbrushes, anything that could potentially spread within the home, it's good to educate them on that as well and it's good to educate them on that as welland minimise your it's good to educate them on that as well and minimise your risk as much as you can. 2.laura lou via twitter. if i end up with the virus, what medication is recommended to relieve the symptoms? i will pass this question directly to michelle. you can curate but you can minimise? we haven't got a vaccine yet although there are lots of trials going on. that would be something to prevent people getting it in the first place. if you think you might have it, if you have a high temperature, a cough, either or, then paracetamol, really simple. paracetamol that you can buy from the shop, hopefully. i know some people have been buying too much of it. if you can find stocks. that is

really good for bringing down a fever and relieving some of the symptoms. it won't make you get better quicker, but it will help. these painkillers, because there is either broken, there are many off the shelf painkillers. is there anything best when talking pretty bad as? paracetamol is good, the one the nhs recommends for a fever. other pain relief medications like ib protein and nonsteroidal anti—inflammatory drugs, they also help. for some people, it can be tricky for some people to take those. we know that if you take insights for a long time, they can irritate the stomach lining. so people who have had a stomach ulcer before should be on those. some people with heart conditions. paracetamol is probably the first one you should go to if you have a high temperature. let's go back to the questions. 3.peter reed via twitter. how does anyone really know that they've had covid19 and recovered from it, assuming they may have just had

a cold? this is a problem here. people are ringing one—on—one and told south isolate without a test. —— self—isolate. isolate without a test. —— self-isolate. the only way to know for sure someone is infected is doing the test, looking for the viral genome, so the genetic material of the virus and samples. in terms of having had the infection is, once you are cured and cleared, is, once you are cured and cleared, is having a different test, the memory your immune system might have. at the moment there is in a standardised test available when it comes to the memory of your immune system. when it comes to the diagnostic test, actually, this is a time where we need to be absolutely careful about how we use it and for the patients actually need it. if you have mild symptoms and you can self—isolate and stay at home, that really good. 4.anne greensmith via twitter. why is the government not testing for coronavirus? the "figures" released every day

are totally meaningless. how will government know if strategies are working if no statistical evidence? the public of england labs and nhs la bs the public of england labs and nhs labs are doing a lot of testing. they have done more than 30,000 tests, so it is about detecting... it is about choosing the patients and the cases and the potential cases that actually have more impact when it comes, for example, if the patient is already presented to the hospital, it is very important to determine if they are positive or not, because we need to keep the health care workers are safe and we need to provide the right care to the patient. 5.richard myers via twitter. a colleague of mine phoned work to inform them he had symptoms — but he was told he had to provide a sick note. is that what is meant to happen? employers are being told to be discretionary with the evidence that they need. at the moment, if someone thinks they might have it, so they cop the fever, they should be self isolating an employer should be with

that. if you do need a signal, you can go into the nhs one—on—one website or you can contact your gp and they should be able to give you one of these notes to satisfy those employers. matthew stuart via twitter. once you've recovered from coronavirus, how long are you contagious for? how long do i need to leave it after fully recovering before visiting vulnerable family members? you need to wait until the symptoms have cleared, until you are well, no fever, no cop, nothing at all like that. because we know that the virus is spread when you have symptoms. specifically in the very early stages, when the symptom star, that is when you're at most risk of passing it on to someone else. so wait until you are very well.

as we mentioned earlier, in the us, two major cities, los angeles and new york, are now taking drastic steps to try to contain the virus, shutting schools, bars and restaurants. our north america correspondent david willis reports. life in many major cities here will soon resemble that of europe. restaurants, bars, and other public places are about to start shutting their doors and the government is recommending that gatherings of 50 or more people either be cancelled or postponed. amid the looming prospect of a global economic meltdown, america's central bank, the federal reserve, announced it was cutting interest rates and buying bonds in an attempt to flood the economy with cash. it was their toughest move since the financial crisis of 2008. and music to the ears of a president unnerved by the recent market volatility. that's really good news. it's really great for our country. it's something that

we are very happy... i have to say this, we're very happy. travellers from europe found themselves crammed into just the kind of crowded spaces that health officials have been urging people here to avoid as they rush to beat the trump administration's travel ban. that ban widens on monday night to include passengers from the uk and ireland. and it did save the economy. but social distancing was on full display at a closed doors democratic presidential debate involving joe biden and bernie sanders. the discussion dominated by questions about the coronavirus. as a result of the virus here, the coronavirus, what we have got to do also is understand the fragility of the economy. and how unjust and unfair it is that so few have so much. and so many have so little. people are looking for results, not a revolution. they want to deal with the results they need right now.

and we can do that by making sure that we make everybody whole who has been so badly hurt. with panic buying gripping stores in many parts of the country, president trump is urging calm, insisting america's supply chains remain strong. relax. we are doing great. it all will pass. night clubs, cinemas and other entertainment venues are to close in new york as well as restaurants, at the order of the city's mayor, who, in a statement warned residents of the big apple that the coronavirus that calls for what he described as a "wartime mentality". david willis, bbc news, los angeles. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. global stock markets have sunk despite central banks co—ordinating efforts to ease the economic impact of coronavirus. london's ftse 100 fell more than 7% in early trade

following losses in asia, where markets closed sharply lower. trade in new york was suspended temporarily after the market slumped 7% on opening. trade has now resumed. and in an bid to protect the economy from the effect of coronavirus, america's central bank has cut interest rates to almost zero and launched a $700bn stimulus programme. the central bank had already cut interest rates by half a percentage point after an emergency meeting on march 3rd. bt and other broadband firms have said their residential network can cope with a surge in demand — even though many more people are working from home because of coronavirus. the rapid rise in the number of people using skype, facetime and other video conferencing has led to concerns over bottlenecks and slowdowns. the problem would also be made worse if schools were to close — with higher levels of computer game,

movie and tv streaming being used. coronavirus is causing massive uncertainty everywhere. that uncertainty can lead to depression and anxiety. i have to enter in, we are going to the world health organization have started their news conference. who media team will continue to provide normal services through skype, e—mailand normal services through skype, e—mail and phone. our normal services through skype, e—mailand phone. our regular briefings will be virtual press conferences and audiovisual team will continue to provide necessary support, so from now on we will not have journals in the support, so from now on we will not havejournals in the room support, so from now on we will not have journals in the room and we will inform of changes. the second

information is that we already set you the media advisory for tomorrow. who european office will convene a meeting, an online meeting, tomorrow on the 17th of march about covert 19. and representatives from all the member states of the who region. after the meeting, the director and emergency experts will brief the press on the situation. that commerce will be at two o'clock, central european time. in the media advisory you will have details of how to access this press conference again tomorrow at two o'clock. i'll give the floor to the doctor for his opening remarks. thank you. good afternoon, everyone. in the past week we have seen a rapid escalation of cases of covert 19. more cases

and deaths have now been reported in the rest of the world than in china. we have also seen a rapid escalation in social distancing measures, like closing schools and cancelling sporting events and other gatherings. but we have not seen an urgent escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing, which isolation and contact tracing, which is the backbone of the response. a social distancing measures can help to reduce transmission, and enable health systems to cope. hand washing and coughing into your elbow can reduce the risk for yourself and others, but on their own, they are not enough to extinguish this epidemic. it is the combination that makes the difference. as i keep saying, all countries must take a

comprehensive approach. the most effective way to prevent infections and save lives is breaking the chains of transmission. to do that, you must test and isolate. you cannot fight a fire blindfolded. we cannot fight a fire blindfolded. we cannot stop this pandemic if we do not know who is infected. we have a simple message for all countries, test, test, test. test every suspected case. if they test positive, isolate them and find out who they have been in close contact with up to two days before symptoms and says those people too. every day, more tests are being produced

to meet the global demand. who has shipped almost 1.5 million test to 120 countries. we are working with companies to increase the availability of tests for those most in need. who advises that all confirmed cases, even mild cases, it should be isolated in health facilities to prevent transmission and provide adequate care. but many countries have already exceeded their capacity to care for mild cases in dedicated health facilities. in that situation, countries should prioritise older patients and those with underlying conditions. some countries have expanded their capacity by using stadiums and gems to care for mild

cases. with severe and critical cases. with severe and critical cases cared for in hospital. another option is for patients with mild diseases to be isolated and cared for at home. caring for infected people at home may put others in the same household at risk. it is critical that caregivers follow who's critical that caregivers follow who's guidance on how to provide ca re who's guidance on how to provide care as safely as possible. for example, both the patient and their caregivers should wear a medical mask when they are together in the same room. the patient should sleep ina same room. the patient should sleep in a separate bedroom to others and use a different bathroom. assign 1% to care for the patient, ijulie's someone who is in good health and has no underlying conditions. the caregivers should wash their hands

after any contact with their patient ortheir after any contact with their patient or their immediate environment. people infected with covid—19 can still infect others after they stop feeling sick. so these measures should continue for at least two weeks after symptoms disappear. visitors should not be allowed until the end of this period. there are more details in who's guidance. once again, our key messages test, test, test. this is a serious disease. also, the evidence we have suggested that those over 60 are at highest risk. young people, including children, have died. who has issued new clinical guidance with specific details on how to care for children.

older people, and pregnant women. so far we have seen epidemics in countries with advanced health systems, but even they have struggled to cope. as the virus moves to low income countries we are deeply concerned about the impact it could have among those with high hiv prevalence or among malnourished children. that is why we're calling on every country and every individual to everything they can to stop transmission, washing your hands will help to reduce your risk of infection. but it is also an act of solidarity because it reduces the risk you will infect others in your community and around the world. do it for yourself. do it for others. we also ask people to express their

solidarity by refraining from holding essential items, including medicines, hoarding can conduce sausages of medicines and other essential products which can exacerbate suffering. we are grateful for everyone who has contributed to the solidarity response fund. since we launched it on friday, more than 110,000 have contributed, almost 19 million us dollars. these funds will help buy diagnostic tests, supplies for health workers and support research and development. if you would like to contribute, please go to who website and click on the orange donate button at the top of the page. we are also grateful for the

way different sectors of society are coming together. this started with the safe hands challenge. which is celebrities and road leaders and everybody everywhere demonstrated how to wash their hands. this afternoon, who and the international chamber of commerce issued a joint call to action to the global business community. the icc will send regular advice to its network of more than 45 million businesses to protect their workers, customers and local communities and support production and distribution of essential supplies. i would like to

thank the support and cooperation. who will launch solidarity sessions, as series of virtual sessions with musicians from around the world. this is the defining global health crisis of our time. the days, weeks and months ahead will be a test of our resolve. a test of our trust in science and test of solidarity. crises like these tend to bring out the best and worst in humanity. like me,| the best and worst in humanity. like me, i am sure the best and worst in humanity. like me, lam sure you have been me, i am sure you have been touched by the videos of people applauding health workers from their balconies or the stories of people offering to do grocery shopping for older people

in the community. this amazing spirit of human solidarity must become even more infectious than the virus itself. although we may have to be physically apart from each other, for a while, we can come together in ways we never have before. we are all in this together. and we can only succeed together. so, the rule of the game is together. i thank you. thank you very much for these remarks. i will remain journalists who are dialling and by phone it is asked of name. if it is possible to have one question perjournalist. so we can get as many questions as possible from differentjournalists and we will start with brazil. thank you.

my question is about brazil and the fa ct my question is about brazil and the fact that president bolsonaro yesterday on the weekend not only helped to call the mass protests in several cities in the country but also took part himself in one of them. how do you see this as helping or not fighting the virus and what is your suggestion on protests, street protests, in this case specifically that where we are. thank you very much. thank you for the question. what we know that will be helpful during this time of covid—19, in terms of what the dg just said is everything that we can do to reduce the possibility of

transmission between people. and one of the ways that countries are doing this is to stop gatherings together. in some countries, have taken different decisions based on the number of people where they have restricted those gatherings. it is important that people do restrict themselves to go to gatherings where there are large numbers of people. and doing so, that will reduce the possibility that people who come in close contact with one another can potentially transmit the virus to one another. together with testing and aggressive case and contact finding, it is important that we limit our... and mass gathering events. if at any time you would like to add something from the phone, just unmute and start talking. studio: we will pull away. a couple

of lines worth reporting. people with covid—19 can still infect people even after the stop feeling sick so measures should continue for two weeks after symptoms disappear. visitors should not be allowed until after this period. the official advice from the who. he also said both covid—19 patients and their carers should wear a medical mask when they are together in the same room and the patient should sleep in a separate bedroom to others and use a separate bedroom to others and use a different bathroom. more advice, there will be all the details on what the who is recommending on the bbc news website. advice to all those concerned as we all are on the coronavirus outbreak. let's be new up—to—date a patient in their 60s has become the first person to die in wales after testing positive for coronavirus. it brings the total number of deaths in the uk to 36.

the number of confirmed cases has risen to over 1,500. the government's emergency committee cobra is meeting right now to discuss the situation, in particular social distancing measures for the elderly and vulnerable. meanwhile, in the past hour, the european commission has called for a 30 day ban on all nonessential international travel into the european union. it comes as restrictions were tightened in many countries. germany has become the latest european country to limit people's movements, closing the border it shares with france, austria and switzerland. global stock markets have plummeted. the ftse100, that's the top 100 companies, plunged more than 7% in early trading. the new york stock exchange had to be halted temporarily because of steep losses immediately after the opening bell. meanwhile, as restrictions come in and passenger numbers drop sharply, airlines have been cancelling thousands of flights. the owners of british airways, iag, say they will be cutting at least 75% of flights in april and may. virgin atlantic say staff will be asked to take eight weeks unpaid leave. and easyjet said it may have

to ground most of its planes. in the us, interest rates have been slashed again to 0.25%. in new york, schools are closing, and the city — along with los angeles — is to shut bars and restaurants, to try to control the spread of the virus. later this afternoon the government is to hold the first of what will now be daily news briefings on the measures it's taking to deal with outbreak. ourfirst report this afternoon is from our health correspondent sophie hutchinson. what new measures are we announcing today? the health secretary arriving at number ten today ahead of another emergency meeting on the coronavirus pandemic. at the entrance to downing street, a small group of campaigners echoed more widespread concerns about whether ministers should implement a major shutdown like other countries. and those on the front—line treating patients say they need more information. we need to know much more from the government about the preparedness.

we of course have real concerns about the number of doctors. we are already short of doctors in the uk and the immediate priority, from my end representing the nation's doctors, is to keep them protected, keep them free from infection. because if they fall sick and aren't able to work, we won't have a workforce to look after acutely ill patients. and there are growing concerns about whether enough is being done to protect elderly people and those with underlying conditions. ministers have said those over 70 could be asked to stay at home in the coming weeks. but some have already taken action themselves, staying away from other people and doing online shopping. i feel extremely vulnerable. and because i am alone and i have no family, ijust don't want to be in that position where i don't know what to do and i can't breathe. having had pneumonia several times and asthma all my life, which is regulated, i know what it feels like to not be able to breathe

and i don't want to be then feeling that i might die and i'm all alone. so i'm trying, doing all my best to avoid it. i want to make sure everybody knows how to wash your hands... i want to make sure today that everybody knows how to wash your hands... schools across the uk are still open, despite blanket closures in other european countries. the education secretary is meeting head teachers later to discuss their concerns. some universities have halted classes and moved all their lectures online. in scotland today, measures came in, advising gatherings of more than 500 people to be cancelled. officials warned it could remain in place up to 4 months. it's not clear when similar measures will be introduced in the rest of the uk. we are absolutely, religiously, if you like, following the advice of medical and scientific officers. so, we think the best way to handle this is not to do what politicians think is the right thing to do, but to do what the experts, the scientists, the medical experts, tell us needs to be done.

and, following a clamour for more information, borisjohnson and ministers will now hold daily televised briefings to update the public on how to stay safe. 35 people have now died in the uk from the virus and there are nearly 1400 confirmed cases. but the true figure is believed to be many thousands more. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. the government says it is not going to test you, it is reserving those four people in care homes in residential settings where there has been an outbreak so obviously, the uk approach at the moment is different to what the world health

organization is saying and there are other ways as you head in the report, other countries closing schools. the uk are seeing at the moment we are not ruling that out but not now. there will be questions for the government to answer about why its strategy is perhaps not the same as others and by questions about what is the next phase for the government. over the weekend, we had from the scientific advisory group on emergency script that it was progressing and they would need to move into some pretty soon. talking about things like isolating households in this idea of shielding the vulnerable and older people. there will certainly bea older people. there will certainly be a lot of questions for the government answer later. also issues like respirators, things that people urgently need. we are in the crisis and action needs to be taken now. it is coming from all sides, isn't it? it is a bit ofa is coming from all sides, isn't it? it is a bit of a deluge of problems the government has to do with and

there is a lot going on in westminster to try and look at these things today. for example on the issue of ventilators you talked about, boris johnson is about, borisjohnson is hosting a call with manufacturers later today to try to work out how to boost production of those. there have been meetings going on between the environment secretary and major supermarket chains to ensure that the food supplies are ok, the government has confirmed it won't look at things like food rationing in its emergency legislation so there are issues on all sides. they also have the chance of chairing a business and economic response committee so there are issues on all sides of the government is having to deal with, quite apart from the strict health issues around us so a lot of work going on westminster and hopefully part of the idea of this daily tv briefing is to try and bring that together and get across a clear message about what is being done. thank you.

dr alison pittard is dean of the faculty for intensive care medicine — shejoins me now from leeds. on the issue of ventilators, it is one thing having the equipment but people need to be able to use them? i'm sure the whole profession is grateful that the government is looking at trying to source more ventilators but they are only a very small part of what we do inside critical care. so it is notjust the ventilators but there is other equipment and the staff as well. we work and multi—professional team and it is absolutely vital that we look after them and one of the things that we a re really them and one of the things that we are really concerned about is the availability of personal protective equipment and without that, staff will expose themselves to unnecessary risk. one of the things that i would like to see is more time being put into looking at manufacturing more protective

equipment to look after our staff so that we can continue to look after our patients. i amjust our patients. i am just seeing the health chief in birmingham city council has said the spread of coronavirus in that city is moving more quickly than first anticipated. he said the focus has moved away from testing and we have just heard from testing and we have just heard from the who, saying that there are three words that matter and they are test, test and test. it is very confusing. it is very confusing if you have different advice from different people. all that i would say is the government and the chief medical officer who is advising the government and he is the expert and we should listen to what the government are telling us in terms of testing people, i am not an expert in that area but we have to make sure that we test the right people at the right time to make sure that we don't run out of testing equipment and also if we testing equipment and also if we test too many people, then that will

overrun laboratories so we will nature we have a measured approach. i wonder how you are projecting things over the next few weeks. what are you planning for and your worst—case scenario? are you planning for and your worst-case scenario? obviously the nhs is always prepared for emergencies. we have very well rehearsed and urgency strategies. what everyone is doing is looking at their capacity within their own hospital to see where they could expand and develop and make shift intensive care units. we have heard that there are facilities in ventilators and operating theatres so many organisations would be looking at using these areas, what is most important is that we look at areas in hospital that meet the basic safety requirements so that patients are our first priority. the other priority is your own staff and i wonder how you are making sure that they are looking after themselves as best as possible? we

have to make sure we look after each other and work together and it is absolutely vital. the personal protection equipment will be the first line to protect our staff. we need to nature that working patterns are consistent with maintaining yourself throughout this incident. because obviously, if staff go off sick, then we will reduce the workforce. one of the things we're looking at is looking at the skills across the health care system, particularly with our anaesthetic collea g u es particularly with our anaesthetic colleagues and the royal college of anaesthetists so we working to look at skills other health care professionals have to see if we can introduce some training and knowledge and expertise so we can work together as a team, using those skills to provide the highest quality of care to patients. many more people watching this programme now because a lot of people self isolating and they may be watching you now and i suspect the question

eve ryo ne you now and i suspect the question everyone wants is, they want reassurance. they want someone to say we can cope. can you give that assurance? i can't see we can cope because we don't know exactly what we're going to be faced with. but what i can see is the health services are used to dealing with emergencies. there are very good plans in place, we are preparing for the worst case scenario, and we will a lwa ys the worst case scenario, and we will always put patients first. we will prioritise care and give you the highest quality of care that we can. to you and all those you work with, our thanks for sure and we wish you well over the coming weeks and months. the president of the european commission ursula von der leyen has confirmed that she's proposing a temporary ban on non—eu nationals entering the eu for 30 days. this would initially be a decision for the schengen member states, and the non—schengen members would only be

"invited" to take part.she spoke in the last hour. we propose to introduce our we propose to introduce a temporary restriction on nonessential travel to the european union. why that? because we think nonessential travel should be reduced right now in order to not spread the virus further, be it within the european union or by leaving the european union. but also to avoid nonessential travels, not to have more potential strain on our health care system. of course, there will be exemptions. for example, for eu citizens coming back home. for health care workers like doctors and nurses but also scientists working on the solution of this health crisis. we do see but also people commuting on borders who are working on both sides of the forders. for example there will be exemptions.

it is a restriction that should be in place for an initial period of 30 days and we have been talking about that with the g7 partners. our correspondent adam fleming is in brussels. the difficulty here, we have heard from the world health organization who are emphasising and really emphasising the importance of testing. and yet, different governments still have a different approach. i wonder if we're sensing the eu is getting behind that? approach. i wonder if we're sensing the eu is getting behind that7m terms of testing, the eu is trying to do a joint procurement so that there are enough testing kits for all the member states. as one of the things we are trying to do along with strong procurement of protective equipment for doctors, and eventually, ventilators for hospitals. in terms of this travel ban, so—called travel ban, i think it is worth looking at a few aspects of this so people are really clear about what is happening and the caveats. first of all, this is a proposal from the european commission which is kinda like the civil service of the eu. it will not

a reality until the governments of the shang and associated states including norway and switzerland have a say as well. there will be meeting tonight in brussels of ambassadors and then a video conference of all the prime minister is, presidents and chancellors tomorrow. then we will know if this is happening or not. eu sources are trying to play down this division between schengen countries and the non—schengen countries. this is the passport free countries where there are no border checks. eu sources saying they want all eu member states to apply this together so it isa states to apply this together so it is a joint decision to put a dotted line around the entire almost the whole continent of europe. then there is the fact that there are lots of exemptions. third country nationals, for example people from the united states or brazil or china or australia or whenever who have the right to live in the eu would still be able to come into the eu along with their family members and they would be exemptions for people

who worked in essential areas like health care or people who were transporting goods. there would also be exceptions for diplomats and people travelling for important personal reasons into europe. then you have the issue of the uk and ireland. neither of which are in the schengen zone, ireland is in the eu, the uk has left the eu but is still in the transition period. adam, you lost me hours ago. this is a problem, because you say it needs 27 people to agree. this virus is here and it is here now. and you're discussing a timetable, amazing that within 24 hours they may get an a nswer within 24 hours they may get an answer from brussels within 24 hours they may get an answerfrom brussels but there answer from brussels but there is a real frustration that isn't a united approach and it is here! now! simon, i can sense the frustration and your voice at me and the eu institutions. what is going on is two things. one, the eu institutions think that the best way of slowing down the spread of the virus into the eu is by

closing their external borders but they want to do it and as cuddly away as possible, hence why there are away as possible, hence why there a re lots away as possible, hence why there are lots of exemptions. they also have to because the eu institutions don't have the power, blanket, to do it themselves who have to get eve ryo ne it themselves who have to get everyone on board with it. that is why it takes time and there are lots of pics and exemptions. the second thing they are trying to do is to protect the schengen passport free zone. what has been happening over the last few days is that loads of individual eu countries, whether it is poland, the czech republic or germany, have said we are closing our borders to other eu countries. that is seen as a massive threat to the freedom of movement so the response the eu institutions have come up with is, why don't we put this big ban on foreigners coming into the whole eu which would maybe encourage the eu countries to lift the bans on eu citizens travelling to each other‘s countries. so it is political and health —based as well. not aimed at you, i promise. thank you very much adam, good to talk to

you. its been a very turbulent day on the markets. share prices in new york have plunged more than 10%, amid continuing concern about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. there have also been sharp falls on the ftse 100 index too. ben thompson is here. we are getting used to the turmoil of this. the opening bell of new york and that shuts down almost immediately. we rn... incredible times? it is frankly astonishing that we are here talking about falls on markets that we have not seen for a very long time. and yet, those falls still coming after a huge injection of cash. $700 billion was pumped into the financial system by the us central bank over the weekend and that was not enough to stem the losses. i will take you to the market boards. this is the current state of play, five minutes or so left of trade in london. a similar picture in frankfurt and paris. doi

jones, dowjones. let me show you some of the movers, these are worth looking at initially we have in talking about shares in travel firms. international consolidated airlines, the parent company of ba, iberia and aer lingus 25% lower on the top of some massive falls we saw last week. easyj et some massive falls we saw last week. easyjet law, all of those down but we're getting a sense of how this affects day—to—day life as well. away from tourism, oil down another 10% to $30 a barrel. marstons, a big restau ra nt 10% to $30 a barrel. marstons, a big restaurant chain 44% lower and sent a world but cena rolled 13% people are not going. that is a real concern. over the course of the day we have seen airlines slashing their

route, laying off staff, and now we are getting a sense of what individual businesses are doing. peugeot, shutting plants at ellesmere port and luton to try to deal with not only staff going homesick but non—availability of parts. loads of issues. business trying to count the cost of this. talk to you later, ben thank you. in a moment my colleague huw edwards will take you through a bbc news special as the government outlines its plans to deal with the coronavirus outbreak here in the uk. we outbreak here in the uk. will hearfrom we outbreak here in the uk. will hear from the we outbreak here in the uk. will hearfrom the prime i shortly. we will hear from the prime minister shortly. now it's time for a look to the north—west, more cloud around for the day and through the evening

and overnight, rain will sank south and overnight, rain will sank south and the rain clearing scotland and northern ireland, leaving showers into the small hours and then wetter for northern england and wales. ahead of the front, quite chilly in a few spots across the far south—east, temperatures down to one or2 south—east, temperatures down to one or 2 degrees. for tuesday daytime, a lot of cloud but actually overall quite a lot of dry weather, another pulse of heavier rain across northern ireland and later in the day into scotland. particularly heavy across the western highlands and the southern uplands. look at the temperatures to the south of that weather front, into the mid teens for some. another windy day across the uk, particularly blustery close to the front.

it's for 30 pm, you are watching a bbc news special with the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, and we will be live in downing street for the prime minister's news conference very shortly. so far, there are 1543 confirmed cases in the uk. government ministers have held an emergency cobra meeting today to discuss measures to protect the elderly and vulnerable. it has been another volatile day for global financial markets, the us stock exchange temporarily suspended again after the dowjones fell by 10% shortly after opening. the european

commission is calling for a