the uk prepares for a new reality, as the country adapts to sweeping plans to tackle coronavirus, with no clear end date in sight. a suspension of normal life —

usually congested streets deserted as people are urged to avoid all travel and all non—essential contact. i have the rock and a hard place of remaining open so i do not invalidate my insurance. all closing and not having anything to pay my staff. stay away from restaurants, pubs and clubs — that's the official advice. it's left some businesses in despair. we cannot make money to pay the rate and rents. the staff, i have had to send two of them home. the chancellor is later expected to announce more help for the uk economy through this unprecedented peacetime crisis. also this lunchtime. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, advises uk citizens against all nonessential global travel for an initial period of 30 days. in france, tough new measures requiring people to stay at home — only those with

documents spelling out their reasons are allowed out. and a big decision forfootball as the euro is prepared to move, delayed, it seems, by a year. i sing happy birthday to nursery and then wash my hands. and why is it important to keep your hands clean? because you might spread germs when you cough in your hands. and how schools are getting the hygiene message out to the very youngest citizens. and coming up on bbc news, could the euros be postponed for a year? uefa holds crunch talks to discuss european football's response to the coronavirus outbreak.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. ordinary life in the uk has been put on hold, after a dramatic shift in the government's strategy for dealing with the coronavirus outbreak — with britons being urged to avoid all nonessential travel, to work from home where they can, and to avoid socialising in pubs and clubs. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, has set out new travel guidance for british nationals, advising against all non—essential foreign trips for an initial period of 30 days. later, the chancellor rishi sunak is expected to announce a package of measures to help businesses, including airlines, cope with the loss of custom. france has been put on virtual lockdown for at least 15 days. president macron pledged over £40 billion aid for business, declaring that no french company would collapse, whatever its size. our first report is from our health correspondent

lauren moss. london victoria train station, usually a bustling hub of commuters in rush hour but this morning, fewer passengers. it is the first day since the dramatic shift in emphasis was announced by the government to the way we live our lives, minimising contact, to reduce the spread of coronavirus here and around the world. uk travellers abroad now face widespread international border restrictions and lockdowns in various countries. the fco will always consider the safety a nd the fco will always consider the safety and security of british nationals and so i have taken the decision to advise them against nonessential travel globally for initial period of 30 days and of course subject to ongoing review. from now everyone is advised to avoid public transport unless essential and when possible to work from home, to avoid gatherings with family and friends, and

in pubs, cinemas, theatres and restaurants. those over 70, with underlying health conditions or pregnant are advised to follow the guidelines. ba rs advised to follow the guidelines. bars and clubs that would have anticipated busy st patrick's day celebrations are now preparing for the opposite and for summit means uncertainty. what they have done is landed me with the guilt. i have the rock and a hard place of remaining open so i do not invalidate my insurance, all closing and not having anything to pay my staff. cinema chains including 0deon and cineworld announced they are closing until further notice. ministers cineworld announced they are closing untilfurther notice. ministers met to discuss what further steps might need to be taken and an update is expected this afternoon. keeping a distance from reporters, some explained they are not fully isolating yet. i am going into day to make sure my staff

members are ready to work from home to alleviate any concerns. i have to go to work today because at the moment working at the office is the only way i can work. i have a prearranged commitment with other people turning up commitment with other people turning up that needs to go ahead. further steps to protect older and vulnerable people will likely be made in the coming days. the advice is very realfor made in the coming days. the advice is very real for everybody, it is stronger device for the over 70s, and in the next week or so they will be an announcement over people who are extremely vulnerable irrespective of age where the advice is even stronger about staying in the home. the internet will be important, being on the phone, connecting to family, using whatsapp to talk to friends. that will be important and increasingly important social structure support. roads and pavements are already quieter than usual and the uk is only

at the beginning of what medical advisers said will be a marathon, not a not a sprint in keeping the disease under control. 0ne sprint in keeping the disease under control. one thing that is certain is we should be prepared for these changes to alter lives for the longer term. health editor hugh pym is here. the hope is these measures will help the nhs to handle this? the advice yesterday from the scientific advisory committee was that if you do not change the measures, the nhs could simply be overrun with the number of cases coming into hospitals. the government plan is the measures that the prime minister said were draconian yesterday, big changes, we'll do something to reduce the spread of the virus and reduce the spread of the virus and reduce the spread of the virus and reduce the number of people seriously ill going into hospitals. but we have been worn to the peak of

the epidemic, probably injune, even earlyjuly, we will see over a three—week period 50% of all cases so hospitals will be extremely busy and it will be challenging and difficult. is the nhs prepared? there have been critics saying not enough has been done in good enough time to create more intensive care beds, ventilation equipment. the government appealed for manufacturers to create that sort of equipment, but hospitals are creating new beds and wards, using operating theatres for intensive care. at some stage, all routine surgery will be cancelled to free up beds for these cases that are expected. the welsh government has already said that. the nhs is working hard to prepare for what they know will be a big task ahead. later this afternoon, the chancellor rishi sunak will set out measures to help the economy through the crisis — it will come less than a week after he announced £12 billion

of emergency funding in the budget. simon gompertz reports. businesses are suddenly on their knees, like alfredo's in the city of london. people are working from home, or wary of gatherings. sales have disappeared, the bills cannot be paid and he is likely to close. we are losing money, we cannot make money to pay the rent and rates and everything. my staff, i have to send two of them home. what about the food? we throw it away. for places where we sit inside to eat and drink the situation is if anything worse. what do you do when people are warned not to come to your business? restau ra nt warned not to come to your business? restaurant c 100% cancellation of bookings, some are closing. for pubs, it has turned from hoping for the best to a battle for

survival. there are a million people employed and under threat massively and these are community assets. if they close for good they will be gone for ever so we need help from the government, action now, a package that will get the cash flowing and they have literally 2a hours. the cash flowing and they have literally 24 hours. shops that sell essentials have seen a rush but for the rest of the high street coronavirus is turning into a disaster. mountain warehouse said takings were down last week and is suffering more this week. we are making things up as we go along but at the moment we look at potentially 2000 redundancies later this week, for a business that is profitable under normal circumstances. i speak directly to anybody listening in the treasury, we need an urgent response and by urgent i mean today or tomorrow. now some traders thought they could claim on insurance policies that cover business

interruption but that turns out not to be true with insurers not paying out and they will not in most cases evenif out and they will not in most cases even if the government tells them to stop trading. the sad reality is that most firms will not have taken out the insurance cover that protects them against a loss of profits and close down of business due to covid—i9. profits and close down of business due to covid-19. the anxiety is heightened by carphone warehouse that says it will close all stand—alone shops with almost 3000 jobs being cut. and by laura ashley, which called in administrators. in neither case is coronavirus directly to blame but the worry is that this could be the start. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. some very worried voices. the chancellor is under pressure? most of us are probably stunned by the

scale and speed of restrictions put in to safeguard our health yesterday andi in to safeguard our health yesterday and i suspect today we will get the economic equivalent of that, at least that is what business wants, particularly in the travel and leisure sectors, where they face a catastrophic falloff in demand. travel bans in force all over the world, and we heard the foreign secretary telling british people forget about travelling anywhere the next 30 days. bad news for pubs, clu bs next 30 days. bad news for pubs, clubs and cinemas being told even if the government were to order the closure, rather than encouraging people not to go, you probably still would not be eligible for insurance. it means that when the chancellor unveils his package this afternoon he will have to go a lot further than just extending some of the measures we saw in the budget such as tax relief, business rates holidays, that sort of thing. i think you are talking about billions

having to go to prop up the economy. you listen to the head of one chain in britain this morning saying they needed enormous state intervention just to travel bans in force all over the world, and we heard the foreign secretary telling british people forget about travelling anywhere the next 30 days. bad news for pubs, clubs and cinemas being told even if the government were to order the closure, rather than encouraging people not to go, you probably still would not be eligible for insurance. it means that when the chancellor unveils his package this afternoon he will have to go a lot further than just extending some of the measures we saw in the budget such as tax relief, business rates holidays, that sort of thing. i think you are talking about billions having to go to prop up the economy. you listen to the head of one chain in britain this morning a rescue package running into 300 billion euros. this is notjust about saving lives, it is about saving people's livelihoods. it is notjust a health emergency but an economic emergency. france's president macron has taken sweeping action, and placed his entire country on lockdown for fifteen days. people can only leave their homes to shop for food, go to work — or to seek medical help. and 100,000 police officers will enforce the restrictions. hugh schofield reports. french national anthem

plays. france is on a war footing. it was the president who said it. a health war against a virus, and the only way to win it — to mobilise the entire country into self—isolation. translation: we are at war, a health war. we are not fighting an army or another nation, but the enemy is here, invisible and making progress. for french families, life is going to be very different probably for weeks to come. children given home—schooling, parents working from home, and the infrequent trips outside the house heavily regulated. translation: honestly, i was kind of expecting it. we saw a lot of people, myself in particular. i went out yesterday and there were lots of people outside and, honestly, i'm not too surprised with being restricted. i don't know yet to

what extent we will be confined. with the restrictions coming at noon, paris, the external face of paris, has been gradually emptying of life. translation: along the champs—elysees, there are usually loads of tourists. now there is really no one. no one. i think it is strange to see a neighbourhood like that in paris. with so many tourists not here. you wonder what is going on. many have headed for the railway stations to leave for the country. years ago, that was the instinct, too, at the start of another crisis — world war ii. these are measures which, outside of wartime, france has never seen before. notjust one city, notjust one part of the population, but an entire nation of 60 million people ordered inside because of an invisible and potentially deadly enemy. the times are indeed eerie and they are alarming. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris.

the foreign office has advised uk citizens to avoid all "non—esssential" travel anywhere in the world for an initial period of 30 days. it comes as european union leaders are expected to officially close the eu's external borders in a conference call this afternoon. let's speak now to adam fleming in brussels and also to james landale, who's here. why these measures from the foreign secretary? it is unprecedented, the system of the british government giving advice is recent, since 1990 and it has never said no nonessential travel anywhere in the world and it did it because partly it is reflecting advice given by the government about making sure of social distancing and the health reasons, but also because the government wants to ensure they do not have large numbers of vulnerable british people trapped overseas and they said they do not want the number to get higher. what the

government is not doing is yet advising those overseas automatically to rush back. they are saying if you want to come back, you can but it is a fast moving situation. the government reflecting the fact that it is chaotic with borders going up and travel restrictions being imposed and they said it will be hard for the british government to get involved in repatriating those overseas finding themselves in difficulty. also speak and, adam, stringent measures expected, too, from the european union. yes, in a couple of hours' time, the members of the eu states will have a video conference and discuss this policy, which is, very simply, people from outside the eu will not be able to enter the eu for a period of 30 days, although there will be some exceptions. people from the uk would still be able to travel because of that post brexit a transition period, where britain is still treated as if it

was a britain is still treated as if it wasa memberof britain is still treated as if it was a member of the eu, even though it has left. there will also be exemptions for people doing essential services, whether it is health—care, scientific research, bringing in goods. also people from the rest of the world who have the right to live in europe anyway, with their families. although, listening to james, you realise that maybe this is a bit more political rather than practical, because not a lot of people will be travelling anyway and one of the big objectives of this is by putting a kind of ring around the european union, the eu authorities and institutions out there that will convince the eu member states and countries to drop the restrictions they've applied to each other. also today, we've had some big announcements from the eu about changing the rules to subsidies for companies so changing the rules to subsidies for companies so governments can changing the rules to subsidies for companies so governments can step in and help firms. adam fleming and james landale, thank you. the time is 1:18pm. our top story this lunchtime... the uk prepares for a new reality,

as the country adapts to sweeping plans to tackle coronavirus — with no clear end—date in sight. it's left some businesses in despair. i have the rock and the hard place of remaining open, so that i don't invalidate my insurance, or closing and not having anything to pay my staff. coming up on bbc news, japan's olympics minister insists the country is still planning for a complete hosting of the tokyo olympics, as organisers hold crunch talks to discuss qualifying events affected by the virus. italy has had the worst outbreak of coronavirus in europe so far, and it's now a week since stringent measures were put in place across the country to try to contain its spread. streets across the country are silent. more than 2,000 people there have now died — that's more than in any other country after china. sima kotecha reports from rome.

applause. a display of resilience and solidarity. locals in rome feeling optimistic about what lies ahead, as the country tackles the worst health crisis in a generation. how do you feel the government is doing? sorry? the prime minister, do you agree with what is happening? yes, i do. why? because it's the right thing to do, i think. i've never seen rome in this situation. popular streets, empty. no tourists, nothing open. orlando is a taxi driver. he tells us the soul has been ripped out of italy. i'm not busy because there are no people. only to the hospital... some tourists... but very, very dull. the country has enforced

rules preventing people from moving around. stay indoors, especially if you're older, they're told. but some are choosing to rebel. the advice for people who are older is to stay indoors? yes, yes, we know. you are not staying indoors? no, because we think we have to walk a little bit. every two days, we take a walk. the contrast is stark. we are in the centre of rome, and usually these steps are packed with tourists. men are selling roses, but, today, this. bell rings. completely deserted. a week on from when the measures were first announced, and churches are providing a place of solace for worshippers. the pope recently said he wanted clergymen to give those infected comfort. the government has put 25 billion euros into the economy to give it a cash boost, as many businesses remain closed. but everyone has to eat.

and on some corners in rome, takeaway places remain open. translation: it's a special emergency situation. every one of us has a responsibility to do our bit. so you mustn't approach each other, everyone must stand at least a metre apart. the world is now watching italy closely to see whether what it's doing succeeds in killing this virus. sima kotecha, bbc news, rome. the dramatic gearchange in the government's coronavirus strategy was partly prompted by predictions from scientists at imperial college london, which warned the number of deaths in the uk could reach a quarter of a million — unless there was a new approach. bbc news's head of statistics robert cuffe is here. robert, what's changed? they've got a clearer of picture of demand that the virus is likely to put on the nhs and what we can cope with. they assume the nhs can provide this many

critical care beds — this red line. under last week's "delay" measures, the projected demand , here, exceeds that capacity by may and then gets even worse. the aim of the new measures like social distancing announced is to cut the spread of the virus. that red line is still that same number of nhs beds. we can see that the new measures bring the projected case numbers down closer to what the nhs can cover. but there's a price. without vaccines or drugs to eradicate the virus, it could bounce back as soon as the measures are lifted, overwhelming capacity again. so these steps put in place to avoid the scenes from northern italy could be with us for a long time. so what's changed since last week? well, the modellers cite two new key pieces of information. firstly, the hospitalisation rates in italy — they now assume that 1.4% of cases will need intensive care for an average of ten days. secondly, they have added a clearer picture of what the nhs can manage.

our understanding of the virus or nhs capacity is developing at breakneck speed, so the modelling will change. that said, the modellers are pretty confident in their main conclusion. controlling the virus comes at a high price and the tougher measures needed to contain the it may be with us for a long time. thank you very much, robert. as sporting events around the world are rapidly disappearing, european football's governing body uefa is holding talks on whether to postpone euro 2020. uefa is holding talks joe wilson is at wembley. uefa is holding talks what uefa is holding talks is likely to happen? well, we have what is likely to happen? well, we have not had any official confirmation from uefa themselves but we have already heard, for example, from the norwegian fa that was part of today's negotiations and discussions that, indeed, euro 2020 will in effect become euro 2021, the whole tournament will be delayed, effectively moved from their summer tour next summer. that is not

officially concerned but i have to say aye think it has been inevitable for some time. just consider the logistics of the way euro 2020 had been organised. wembley is one of the major venues but a tournament spread over 12 different cities, in excess of 2 million tickets available, can you imagine the logistics of that, with venues from dublin to saint petersburg involved, the potential for travel at a time when europe might still be in a state of lockdown or just when europe might still be in a state of lockdown orjust emerging from it. it has been seen for a while to be practically impossible. moving the euros for a year would create a lot of ramifications, not least because a lot of european football is already scheduled for next summer. what it would do is create a window this june, next summer. what it would do is create a window thisjune, so players not involved in playing for their countries could play for their clu bs their countries could play for their clubs and domestic leagues all over europe could try and resume all fulfilled their fixture list, they could have champions, settle promotion and relegation. that is potential bad, right now, it is all theoretical as to

when or where sport might resume —— but, right now. the former first minister of scotland, alex salmond, has started giving evidence in his trial over accusations of sexual assault and one of attempted rape. mr salmond denies all 13 charges against nine women. our scotland correspondent james shaw is at the high court in edinburgh. what happened in court this morning? well, the day began with alex salmond's lawyer gordonjackson running through all of the 13 charges that he faces and, in each case, mr salmond denied that a sexual assault had ta ken case, mr salmond denied that a sexual assault had taken place. he did add some significant detail in a couple of cases with regards to the charge of assault with intent to rape. he said there had been what he called a sleepy cuddle in the bedroom of his official residence in edinburgh and then the charge of attempted rape, mr salmond said there had been a consensual sexual encounter but not on the date

alleged by the crown. in general, he has said that events have been reinterpreted and exaggerated. he said there had been fabrication for what he called political reasons, and he said that one woman, one complainer, had encouraged at least five others to make complaints against him. and that really sums up everything we've heard in the high court in edinburgh today. we should stress that alex salmond denies all the 13 charges he is facing. many thanks, james. almost 3,000 jobs are being lost at carphone warehouse. the company is to close all its 531 standalone stores in the uk next month. our business correspondent emma simpson is here. is this anything to do with coronavirus? this is nothing to do with the outbreak, this is all about our changing shopping habits when it comes to mobile phones and technology. for instance, wejust aren't upgrading our phones as often

as we used to, so, today, dixons carphone is taking a difficult, pretty drastic step in closing all of its stand—alone phone stores and although they hope 40% of workers will get redeployed, it means, as you say, nearly 3,000 job losses. it isa you say, nearly 3,000 job losses. it is a very difficult time to do this but they say it is essential. they will continue selling mobile phones and services within curry‘s and online, and the other big retail news today is that a laura ashley is on the verge of collapse. another different story, it has been struggling for so long —— some time, trying to get a rescue deal and what are climate to do that. today, it is effectively out of time and options, it has filed a notice for administrators and coronavirus hasn't helped there, it has significantly impacted trading so we are talking about another potential 3,000 orso are talking about another potential 3,000 or sojobs on the line. are talking about another potential 3,000 or so jobs on the line. emma, thank you very much. while many adults

are now working from home, for most children, it's lessons as usual. but nurseries, schools and universities have been putting measures in place to try to limit the spread of coronavirus and to protect their staff and students. john maguire reports. this is why we need to wash our hands, let me give you some soap. washing hands is a game, a song and more important than ever here at the sunray nursery near malton, north wales. this close to the border, they sing in both english. # happy birthday to you # and welsh. # penblwydd hapus i ti # i sing happy birthday to nursery and then i wash my hands. why is it important to keep your hands clean? because you might spread germs when you cough in your hands. do you know what to do when you cough, what do you do if you cough? why are you washing your hands? because you get germs. yeah. got to keep them clean, haven't you? the children don't seem to have a care in the world.

but it's very different for the adults. we avoid, you know, play centres, places like that, we won't be going anywhere unnecessarily. stick to the park, stick to the outdoors. our three—year—old, she's been teaching us how to wash our hands, so that's new. but, otherwise, it'sjust trying to be sensible, really, not doing anything, not going anywhere that we don't need to go. i'm actually staying away from my mum at the moment because she's got a little bit of a sore throat and a cold, butjust in case, i'm not going near her. my little girl is only three, so she hasn't asked too much. but she just says, "do i have to wash my hands, now, mummy?" i'm, like, "yes, come on, now, wash your hands." the nursery has more than 270 children on its books, and around 40 staff. of course, this isn't the sort ofjob where people can work from home. and, as the virus spreads, then so does the uncertainty. often grandparents are involved with childcare.

but if they self—isolate, then that help disappears. a lot of our children share, you know, parents, their grandparents looking after them, them coming to the nursery on the other days. so, yes, i think it is going to have an impact, certainly. we haven't got any germs any more, have we? can you see in the water? just as the coronavirus is no respecter of age or international borders, it will affect and infect varying aspects of our lives, presenting many challenges and making everyday normal life anything but. john maguire, bbc news, north wales. and you can find out more about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to protect yourself on the bbc news app and on our website — bbc.co.uk/news.