spain reports nearly 400 more deaths from coronavirus. that's up by a third in 2a hours. the country's state of emergency has been extended by 15 days. the netherlands sees a 16% rise in confirmed cases of coronavirus. the death toll has gone up by 43 since yesterday. in india, more than a billion people have been asked to observer a m hour—long curfew to try to limit the epidemic. now on bbc news, the latest information and health advice on coronavirus, including what the symptoms are, and how to self—isolate. presented by victoria derbyshire. hello and welcome to this special programme.

i'm victoria derbyshire. over the next half an hour, we're going to try and tell you as much as we can about coronavirus to help you and so that you can share the information with others. for the latest on the spread of the disease, you can always head to our website for information on how it's affecting people in your community and your country. but first, here's the bbc‘s health and science reporter laura foster on what coronavirus is. coronaviruses are a type of virus. the one we're all talking about is new and it causes a disease called covid—19. now, most people will only be mildly affected by it, but it can kill. it starts by infecting our upper respiratory tracts, to which are the airways from your nose just above your vocal cords. you may develop a fever as your immune system starts to fight the virus, and a dry cough — that's one where you don't produce any phlegm. the virus can then spread to the lungs, making it harder for people to breathe, and it can cause pneumonia. in the most serious cases,

people can die from the coronavirus. this is because the immune system can go into overdrive and that can lead to organ failure. so we need to do what we can to stop this virus from spreading. as it gets into your body by breathing it in, or through your eyes and mouth, the best thing to do is wash your hands regularly and properly for at least 20 seconds, catch your colds and sneezes in a tissue, and avoid touching yourface. we know the most common symptoms of coronavirus are a persistent cough and/or a fever. but what else is there to look out for? here's laura again. the two main symptoms of coronavirus to look out for are a continuous dry cough and or a fever. if you're sneezing a lot, got a runny nose oi’ a if you're sneezing a lot, got a runny nose or a headache, you may be ill, but you've probably not got coronavirus. so how high a fever is a coronavirus one? and what exactly is a continuous dry cough? well, it's when you cough and there's no mucus or phlegm, basically no gooey substance in your tissue.

and this is not the odd cough here and there — it has to be coughing regularly for no other reason, such as clearing your throat or smoking. so how high a fever is a coronavirus fever? well, if you have one, you will know about it. technically, it's a body temperature of more than 37.8 degrees celsius or 100 degrees fahrenheit. but if you've not got a thermometer, basically you will feel hot and your chest and back would be hot if someone touched you. if you have either of these symptoms, then you need to stay at home for seven days. and if you live with other people, they need to stay at home for at least 14 days. but if your symptoms get worse or they don't go away, if you live in the uk, then you need to contact the online nhs iii coronavirus service. if you live abroad, then call your local health care provider. as you saw in laura's report, health authorities around the world have been saying from the start of the outbreak that washing your hands is key to preventing the virus from spreading. it sounds like an easy thing to do, but there is definitely a right way and a wrong way.

washing your hands often and for at least 20 seconds is vital in helping to stop the spread of coronavirus. not sure how to? well, here's how — and make sure you watch until the end when we've got a special treat for you. so first we create a lather. i clean the back of my hands. in between fingers. do the ends of my fingers. again my palms. my wrists. the top of my hands again. i'm going to rinse my hands, but i'm going to use a tissue to turn off the tap to stop cross—contamination. so that's how to wash your hands properly. but now, here's your surprise.

millions of us across the world are being told to self isolate. that essentially means shutting yourself off from contact with anyone else. it's been recommended for anyone suffering with flu—like symptoms as well as those who are classed as "at risk" such as people over 70 and those with underlying conditions like asthma and type one diabetes. but what does self—isolation involve? here's the bbc‘s medical correspondent, fergus walsh. if you're told to self—isolate, that means staying at home, not going to work, school or other public places. you shouldn't have any visitors. if you develop symptoms of fever or cough, then seek advice first by phone. don'tjust turn up at a medical centre or hospital.

if you live with others, then you need to stay in a well—ventilated bedroom with the door shut. if you have to share a bathroom, then use it after everyone else. don't share towels and toiletries. your waste should be double bagged. if you test positive, it'll be separately disposed of. if you live on your own, you can order shopping online or get friends to help. but they should leave it on the doorstep. the coronavirus causes a mild illness for four out of five people. self isolating will help protect older people and those with underlying health problems from getting infected. one of the main ways to stop

yourself from contracting coronavirus is to not touch your face. that can sometimes be pretty difficult. here's why. don't touch your face. contagious. and i haven't touched my face in weeks. because we can't help it. it's part of a...it‘s part of our dna. we're hard—wired to do it. we know this because humans as young as foetuses in utero touch their faces. every time you tell yourself, "stop touching your face, don't touch yourface. if i touch my face, i'm going to get really ill". you're telling yourself to do something that is entirely unnatural to you. when we touch our faces what we're really doing is calming ourselves down. when we touch certain areas of our faces, what we're really doing is we're activating certain pressure points, which then activate something for the parasympathetic something called the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the thing that makes us calm ourselves down internally.

we see the same response in dogs and cats. children often model the same behavior as their parents so if our parents when they're shocked, they touch their faces or when they're surprised they touch their faces, or if they're upset, they touch their faces, we're much more likely to do exactly the same thing. the irony is, at a time when it's more important than ever to not touch your face unconsciously, your mind is constantly moving to a place where it can better protect you by doing the things that it knows will soothe you, and so your unconscious mind will prompt your hands to go straight to yourface. whilst it's almost impossible to totally stop touching yourface, a key way that you can go about making it easier would be to take out the habits which lead you to do it. so that might mean wearing glasses instead of contact lenses. it might mean wearing less makeup so you don't have to top it up throughout the day. it might also mean creating habits around how you use your hands. so rather than perhaps

when you're always moving around and having your hands like this and making it so easy for them to land on your face, making an effort to cross your hands and put them on your lap, then when the urge comes to take your hands up and touch your face, you'll be more aware of what you're doing and you'll be quicker to catch yourself. i cleaned my hands before i touched my face. next, one of the common images from this pandemic is people wearing masks on public transport to some of the world's most famous places, like st mark's square. but how effective are masks in stopping the spread? one of the reasons that people wear masks is they think that it's going to protect them from virus. but the virus isn't floating around in the air. so it's not protecting me against anything because it's not there. it's probably going to be on my hands because of shaking hands with someone who's got the virus. and i have transmitted it. i have carried the virus to my face.

if you're in an environment where everybody else is wearing facemasks and you're not, then it may make you feel vulnerable because you feel that you don't have the protection everyone else does. but logically, if you're not close to people, they're not coughing and sneezing on you, then a face mask isn't necessary. the virus enters the body through mucous membranes — eyes and nose, the mouth and its transmits from person to person generally by us touching your eyes, nose or mouth. or if we're inhaling droplets directly from someone who is sneezing or coughing. the best way for the general public to protect itself against coronavirus and then

other respiratory viruses is really careful hand hygiene. so that's really washing your hands with either soap and water or alcohol gel if soap and water is not available, especially when you think that you've been exposed. so if you've been out in public places and touching the surfaces that other people might have touched. that really is the best way. and bringing attention to — am i touching my face? one of the problems, if lots of people who don't need face masks are using face masks, stockpiling them, it means that there aren't enough face masks available where they're really needed for people like health care workers who are on the front line and dealing with suspect or confirmed coronavirus cases. the vast majority of people are not susceptible to getting a severe infection. for most people, it will be a mild illness like having a cold or a cough or the flu.

it's the older people with co—morbidity who are at a risk, so you don't need to go in panic by face masks. throughout the week, bbc news, we've been trying to answer as many of your questions as possible, and there are so many. in a moment, we'll hear from dr rebecca cooper, a public health consultant in the uk working on the corona working on the coronavirus outbreak internationally. but first, here's drjeremy 0liver. he's a clinical psychologist with an expertise in wellbeing, explaining how people can manage their mental health during this crisis. anxiety is completely understandable. what i would say is anxiety is generally felt both in the head and also in the body as well. and so you are turning questions over and over again in your mind, wanting to get answers. and that's exhausting. it's telling your body to be on alert all the time. so where possible, try and have a section of the day where you try to answer the questions that you've got. look online, watch programmes like this, but also give yourself a break. recognise that there are some questions you won't be able to answer. like a key question might be,

am i going to get the virus? no epidemiologists can tell you. you can watch red dots on a map, but that's not going to tell you whether you get the virus. the question you can answer is to try and change it to a practical question. what can i do to help myself stop getting the virus or what can ido to help stop other people getting it? and there is plenty of information that. let's crack through some, because there are so many, as i said. so this is from somebody who doesn't leave their name. i run a large retail shop to staff, have been isolated for coronavirus, as have as they have all the symptoms. we had worked in store with these people for two to three days while off colour, but not realising it was the start of the virus. and before being isolated, should we now be isolating all staff and those who volunteered for 14 days for all who came into contact with them? i think in terms of what you should do with the staff, if there are staff that have demonstrated symptoms, if you have worked in close contact with that, then with those staff, you should now

think about isolating yourself. but obviously i understand about businesses, it is tricky, but i think for the public health, we need to be really aware. actually, we're trying to minimise the spread of that infection now and the staff have shown symptoms. then we should think about isolating now. nicholas says, i am a single parent. i lost my husband 18 months ago to cancer. i've got twin girls aged seven who are scared to death if i catch this virus. what will happen to them? who will look after them? if i'm poorly? i already take two immune suppressant drugs for arthritis and have a poor resistance to chest infections every year. how can i self—isolate and look after my kids too, if i get sick? the grandparents are in the at risk age category and my mum just had a stroke a few weeks ago. i will really struggle if i get sick and i have to go into hospital. what happens to the kids if so many people are in self isolation? that is a message that is representative of quite a few messages that are coming in.

single parents, single parents with a health issue and understandably really stressed and worried. absolutely. i think, as you say, victoria, that is something that's going to affect a lot of people. what we're doing locally is that we are, and i'm sure it's happening in the country, we're setting up community groups. so we're aware that there are vulnerable people in our community and we are starting to reach out and saying, look, if you need help, contact us as a local labour councillor. i can speak to constituents and get in touch with a council and try and arrange or help for range appropriate help. so if there are community groups in your area, i would encourage look—up or your local councillors and get in touch with us. we are there to represent you and to speak for you. you're not alone. i understand that you might fill that you are, at this time i think communities will step up and as a local councillor we are there to help an advocate for you as well. but for somebody who has 0cd, this is really, really alarming.

people with 0cd may have various different sorts of obsessions and fear of contamination is one of the main ones. but also other obsessions may be around order or counting. for those people have been through treatment, their psychological treatment for 0cd will be teaching them that the environment and the world is not the feared place that they think it is. so for some people, it will potentially undermine the treatment. it will make people think that they were right all along and that they were right to be fearful. a core feature of 0cd is if somebody feels that they're compulsive act hasn't been done properly. they often then feel compelled to redo it, to reassure themselves that they have done the compulsion properly. so for hand—washing, that can sometimes be what motivates people to keep

on washing their hands because they will think, oh, i'm not sure that i wash the base of my thumb properly. i'm going to have to repeat that. and then they may start to fixate on, oh, i didn't count that time, so maybe i didn't wash it for 20 seconds that time. and that may then lead to a repeated chain of hand—washing. being told to self—isolate could cause some concern because it could make the person think that this is a serious situation. i was right to fear this. it may also bring about some relief because for somebody who is anxious, they might find it difficult to leave the house anyway. but they also may have avoided in the past going out because they fear that they cannot control the environment outside the house. i think that some positive things that people can do

so they don't make their condition worse is staying in touch with people. if they are self isolating, make sure that there is still phone contact, make sure that there is contact via video messaging platform so that they stay connected. make sure that they do things that are distracting so things they might enjoy during jobs around the house, which might distract them from these thoughts. that's another key message. and the third thing is to make sure that you follow the advice, but don't upscale and excessively hand—washing and excessively clean, because that is going to make the situation worse. it would only usually be if somebody had a pre—disposition to 0cd. so, of course, there is the risk that in this outbreak that people could become very focused on something and it could become very obsessed with hand—washing. and that that repetition and that temporary relief that that brings may set off a pattern of obsessive compulsive symptoms.

so it is possible. it's not a high risk. it's not the case that the virus is going to, you know, excessively increase the incidence of 0cd in the country or in the world. but it is possible that for some individuals, it may lead to 0cd symptoms and it may bring that diagnosis about. now, across the world, medical researchers are racing to find a vaccine for the virus, but it's thought that could be up to a year to 18 months away. the bbc science correspondent richard westcott has been given special access to a team at cambridge university who are trying to find the key to beating the disease. the race to find a vaccine for coronavirus didn't start ina lab. it started on a computer.

so this is the dna of coronavirus? yes. wow. within weeks of the outbreak, the coronavirus dna had been read and put on line for scientists across the world to access. like many others, the cambridge team has been using it to find out exactly what they're up against. the sequence helps us to understand how the virus actually looks in terms of its physical properties. and that's really important because the spike protein that you see around the edge of the virus, that is what we need the antibodies to attach to to prevent the virus from entering our cells. that's interesting. so these letters give you a picture, a picture of what it looks like and how you can attack it. yes. things then move into a tightly sealed lab. they haven't got the actual virus in here yet. their early tests are done on safer manmade copies of parts of the virus. this is a highly restricted lab. very few people are allowed inside. and we are not allowed inside. but we are going to be able to talk

tojonathan, who's leading the research, using a bit of technology to get hold of him. jonathan, hi. can you hear me? nice to see you. are you collaborating with other people around the world? i mean, are all, you know, experts like you chatting online and sort of sharing ideas about what to do next? absolutely. this is this is a huge global effort. i was in australia. i was in british columbia, been in the us. and we are having teleconferences daily on the state of the situation, the variability, the transmission dynamics, and really trying to get as much information from the epidemic that will help us developed very best vaccine as quickly as possible. have you ever known anything like this in your career in terms of the speed it's happening? this is really, really unique. it certainly has spread globally very, very quickly and it's caught everybody off guard. they've already begun testing possible coronavirus

vaccines on animals. but to be sure, it's safe and effective. safe and effective, it could be next summer before a human version is finally approved. richard westcott on the race to find a vaccine for this virus. and while the number of people who have died from the virus continues to rise, at the same time, tens of thousands of people are recovering, including julie from singapore. she told the bbc her story about her isolation and recovery. i didn't have anything, not even a sniffle, or cough. however, on february 7th, really, early morning, like 3:00 in the morning, i woke up and the room was spinning. hello.

speaks only language. isolation is basically four walls with a door. i got my food through a secure hatch. my medication, my change of clothing, my towel. yes, you have a phone, you can text someone, you may have a video call, but just been completely someone, you may have a video call, butjust been completely no human interaction, i almost felt like i wa nted interaction, i almost felt like i wanted to go knock on the well and just talk to the other patient next door, just have some conversation with the human being. when i was going to the critical stage, one of the things that i encountered was really breathing. it was just a solar are just trying to get from my bed to the bathroom, which was like five metres —— it was so laborious. it was just challenging.

finally, around the world, despite the devastating impact the virus is having on tens of millions of us, many are coming together in acts of solidarity. here are just a few examples. music plays. applause that's it for now. a reminder, you can keep up to date with the latest on the virus on the bbc news website.

i'm victoria derbyshire. do contact me on twitter with your stories at any time @vicderbyshire. and thank you for watching. good afternoon there will be little change in any weather through out the rest of delhi today. we will see plenty of dry and sunny weather. it is still a bit chilly, particularly in the south and east. that is because we still have a bit of an easterly breeze around this area of high pressure and that has been keeping a weather rain at bay. we have had a weak weather front around today which has been pushed northwards. for most of us, the winds are not quite as strong as they were yesterday. it does not feel quite as chilly, but it is noticeable near the east coast and the south and in the cities as well because you get that blustery winter. the northey is at its cold est winter. the northey is at its coldest at the moment. we have a bit more thick cloud has well —— the

northey is at its coldest. for most of us, with a lengthy nights, starry skies tonight, little cloud around, the winds are falling light, it will be cold again, quite wildly with some sharp frost in some of the glens in the north. there could be a bit of mistiness around as we head into monday morning and the odd pocket of fog will pick up any mornings across england and wales. we may have some in northern ireland and scotland, but winds are strengthening here, bringing rain for the western isles and western and northern scotland and northern ireland. elsewhere, we have lost that easterly men, even the east coast should get two double figures. it will feel less cold, temperatures ready should be for the time of year. an overnight, under the clear skies, it is cold and frosty, as we head towards our tuesday morning. in the north and west, we have more clutter and tear, it is not as cold. that weather front and the author

has been warned about by the met 0ffice, has been warned about by the met office, a yellow weather warning out by mandy and szczesny, we could see over 100 millimetres of rain, four or five inches of rain over 100 millimetres of rain, four orfive inches of rain —— running out for monday and tuesday. murk i not learned in school, perhaps a little bit of rain. away from those areas, the sunshine continuing, even 16 inch ultra. that is 61 fahrenheit. the rain does start to spread its way across the rest of scotla nd spread its way across the rest of scotland and northern ireland come wednesday. more detail on the website.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the national health service could soon be "overwhelmed" if people don't practice social distancing to tackle coronavirus. that's the warning from the british prime minister. the number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in scotland has risen to ten. first minister nicola sturgeon says pubs that refuse to close are putting lives at risk. my message to them is, close now. we will have emergency powers within days to force you to close, and we will use these powers if we have to. nhs england writes to 1.5 million people who are most at risk, strongly advising them not to go out for 12 weeks, to protect themselves. spain reports nearly 400 more deaths from coronavirus. that's up by a third in 24 hours.