the light forjockey adam wade, his first ever win at the cheltenham festival.men written by —— those two will be looking to team up for a winning combination again tomorrow looking to become the first horse since best mate two years ago. england rugby playerjoe marler has been banned for 10 weeks for grabbing wales captain alun wyn jones' genitals, in last saturday's six nations match at twickenham. the bizarre incident was looked at by an independent citing commissioner, who gave marler the ban. his teammate manu tuilagi was given a 4 week ban for a dangerous tackle. courtney lawes, who was also cited for a dangerous tackle, has escaped punishment. that's all from sportsday. arsenal have confirmed their head coach mikel arteta has tested positive for coronavirus. more reaction from that on the bbc sport website. stay with us. coming up in a moment, the papers. hello and welcome to look ahead at what the papers are going to be us tomorrow. many of the front pages are in. let's have a quick look. in the metro, we are going to lose many more loved ones. the paper

cheltenham is one of british racing's biggest festivals.recedented challenge. in football, manchester united's game in austria on thursday is now behind closed doors, while in rugby union, england's and ireland's games in rome and paris this weekend have been postponed. unlike many european countries, sport in britain is carrying on for now, but for many here, these are uncertain times. it's really frustrating that some sporting events might get cancelled, and no one really knows what's going to happen in the future, so i think, you know, we are alljust hopeful that it doesn't get any worse and we can obviously stop it cancelling any of our fun, really. and today's crowd of 60,000 at cheltenham was 7000 down on last year's opening day. as epatante took the big race, the champion hurdle. amid the concerns, something for the fans to cheer as sport in britain presses on. but for how much longer? andy swiss, bbc news, cheltenham. time for a look at the weather. here's nick miller. a chance of showers at cheltenham this week, all part turning co

enough sport, let's head to the cheltenham festival.ing the coronavirus climate, let's speak to our sports correspondent andy swiss who is there. hi andy, i always think of day three there as a bit of a breather before the gold cup tomorrow, but there was a huge upset in the stayers hurdle. that's right, yes. a big surprise, as you say. all talk before hand was about paisley park, laster‘s winter, the red—hot favourite to win it again, but he was nowhere to be seen, came in seventh place. in the end, it was the 15—1 outsider, liz mikell oscar, who came through to wina commanding mikell oscar, who came through to win a commanding performance. we have seen some upsets at this festival, but that was arguably the biggest upset so far, adam wedge, the jackie, his first ever win at the jackie, his first ever win at the cheltenham festival, and also delayed for a trainer, rebecca curtis. he was brilliant, he was really cool. i think it helped that he galloped. it was a nice position, one thing he did a last time was a bit keen, he switched up

the cheltenham festival is going ahead today.ent is not yet bringing in measures to stop public gatherings but a lot of events, including saint patrick's day parades in belfast and dublin, have been cancelled by organisers. keith doyle, bbc news. let's get more on the measures being put in place across italy from our reporter mark lowen, who's in bologna. two days after swathes of the north of the country were placed under quarantine, the coronavirus outbreak continues to surge and so now the restrictions have been spread right across the country. the italian by mr giuseppe conte telling people to stay at home, movement being restricted unless there is an urgent medical professional need. people must show papers to obtain it and there will be fines for those who forge them. schools and universities closed until april the third at least. there are all the restrictions in the northern areas, to be spread out for the rest of the country as well. weddings, funerals are going to be cancelled, museums, libraries, discos, swimming pools

the cheltenham festival takes place over four days and traditionally over 60,000 punters head through. 0rganisers have put special measures in place for the festival, and our correspondent andy swiss was there as the first runners went to post. the usual cues, the usual excitement, cheltenham knows these are not usual times. the focus on hygiene as much as authors, with 2a specially installed hand sanitising nations dotted around the course. but despite the concern over coronavirus, fans were happy to be there. we have no concerns personally but i'm very pleased they are taking extra precautions. did you think twice about coming here? no, definitely not. we were quite worried it might get called off. no, definitely not. we were quite worried it might get called offlj think there is a difference between here and the extent and china and italy. if it had got worse but we would have understood, but it is ok at the moment, no worries. cheltenham is one of british racing's biggest festivals stopping the normally fell about a quarter of a million ticket so there is a lot of relief here that

mickey henderson with a record eighth victory in the champion hurdle on the opening day of the cheltenham festivaly winner. it was the perfect present forjp mcmanus on his 69th birthday. level managerjurgen klopp said after his side‘s 1—0 first league defeat to atletico madrid three weeks ago that the fa ns madrid three weeks ago that the fans at anfield could make all the difference in the second leg of their last 16 champions league match. he will be happy that again later is not being played behind closed doors, but he is aware that such restrictions could be implement it in the uk in the near future. the problem with football games is if you are not in the stadium, then you are enclosed rooms and watching it there, maybe together. i am not sure what is better in this case, to be honest. i need us. but whatever will be decided, we will respect. because we all have families, we are all pa rents, have families, we are all parents, we have families, we are all pa rents, we have have families, we are all parents, we have kids, we have pa rents parents, we have kids, we have parents and friends whic

you're watching bbc news, i'm 0f at the bbc sc, national hunt racings cheltenham festival is under waythe supreme novices hurdle has just gone off, attendance is slightly down on last year, but around a quarter of a million are expected to attend over the next four days and with the coronavirus outbreak at the forefront of organisers minds, extra hygiene measures have been put in place. we've certainly recognised our responsibilities in having a number of people here over the four days and have brought in plenty of additional resources to ensure the toilets are probably stuffed with soap and water throughout the event, we've brought in 2a hand sanitiser boards and have large quantities of hand sanitiser gel as well as asking all of our participants to follow the government guidelines. we have put a lot of precautions in place. so we can follow the government advice on hygiene, we have created hanson advisory boards. —— hand sanitiser, so that people can take every precaution possible. manchester united are due to play in austria on thursday. the first leg of their europa league tie aga

despite controversy over the government's support of such events, the cheltenham festival did concludepresent as al boum photo retained the gold cup. this, the last action major sport could see for quite some time. dan roan, bbc news. the government has announced that local and mayoral elections in england due to be held in may will be postponed for a year due to the outbreak. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is at westminster for us tonight. so, vicki, the outbreak is having ramifications affecting the democratic process? yes, it is extremely unusual to delay an election for a year but downing street said they feared that it would coincide with the peak of the outbreak, you could not have campaigners knocking on doors, or local councillors being diverted from the task of dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. but i think all of the developments today tell us all of the developments today tell us that for several months, the way we live our lives is really going to change fundamentally. and, of course, the prime minister has to lead the country through this crisis. he says

cheltenham. he really does, and he had the perfect start to the festival.ct start to the festival. he won the first race and then the feature race of the day, the champion hurdle. epatante came home co mforta bly champion hurdle. epatante came home comfortably in the end and that race, with that feature race of the day, and it was a real excitement for the crowd here to see that favourite come home. and it means with those two wins today that nicky henderson has returned to being the festival's winning most trainer. it's a euro's effort from everybody, from the whole team, and these are the four days that count more than anything in the world. i don't think anybody disagrees with that. we are going to have lots of fun at aintree and other things but i can't win a grand national anyway, what's the point? no, this is where it counts. and this has been a very lucky race for us. this is where it counts forjump jockeys, jump trainers, leading jockeys, jump trainers, leading jockeys, rachael blackmore, she has had a fantastic season, many people tipped to be the

political log was a surprise winner of the day's feature race on day two of the cheltenham festival.ry skelton led from the outset of the queen mother champion chase with no one coming close. another nicholls horse, dynamite dollars with harry cobden on board, was 2nd. i fancy both horses, ifancy both horses, actually. he's brilliant. they had a good preparation, i was very happy. it was a good performance today. it was very close to winning, he was in a better place. unbelievable. several jockey stoking the look to the right and looking at the fans here and across the line in front. barely saw another eye the whole way and he jumps and galloped and was very brave. there have been concerns about the festival not going ahead over the coronavirus. i think ithinka i think a lot of fans are relieved that this festival is happening. i think a lot will work fearing the worst last week, but the is clearly large concern about coronavirus here. there are signs to wash her hands everywhere, there are 2a hand sanitizing stations dotted around the course. concerns also about attendances. yesterd

nations — but what about one of the most famous meetings in the horse racing calendar, the cheltenham festivalcecourse has reiterated on monday that the event, which is set to start next week, is going ahead as scheduled. our reporter laura scott has more. cheltenham is the biggest four days in the racing calendar, and horses like these are having their final preparations. but the looming large over the racing industry is the threat of coronavirus which threatens to derail the whole festival. and for trainers like nikki, there is a palpable concern about what could be decided over the coming days. it is frightening because it is the combination of a whole years work goes into four days. it is the biggest and financially for the industry, the most important four days in that whole year. some sports have been held behind closed doors in recent weeks, including racing in hong kong. that doesn't seem likely to happen in cheltenham and henderson says if it is called off, then it must be rescheduled. obviously if it isn't on, then we have a whole lot of very horses bursting to go with nowhere to go.

yesterday we were reporting on the fact that the cheltenham festival is going ahead, mentioned sportingle, lots of parents have been saying, well, if this is to be stopped, why are schools not already being closed 7 to be stopped, why are schools not already being closed? so do you by that rationale for the gradual to this? by and large, i do. a lot of what they are saying would be dictated by infectious disease modellers such as the group imperial who will be looking at the potential impact of these activities on how the outbreak will play out. it's not an exact science. it is trying to balance different risks and the benefits in a way that is not very often been done in the past. when we look online, especially on parts of social media, we've seen some fairly alarming things from medical practitioners in italy, not least in places like bologna and areas in the north. do you think our health service is in a better position to cope than they seem to be? because some of the reports from their suggested they were overwhelmed by the scale of it. i think it is a lwa ys the scale of it. i th

mcmanus a birthday to remember with victory in the champion hurdle on the opening day of the cheltenham festivalhe 2—1 shot, trained by nicky henderson, well—placed throughout in tuesday's showpiece race. and it was a ninth success in the race for mcmanus, who was celebrating his 69th birthday. we all know it is a year's effort from me. from the whole teams point of view, these are the days that count more than anything in the world. identity anyone is disputing that. —— world. identity anyone is disputing that. -- i world. identity anyone is disputing that. —— i don't think anyone is disputing that. i won't win the grand national anyway. this is where it counts. it has been a happy race for us. there was another grade 0ne victory for jockey rachael blackmore aboard honeysuckle in the mares' hurdle. blackmore started the week as third favourite to be the meetings leading jockey and demonstrated all her ability. new york look set to become the first american side to play in rugby league's challenge cup when theyjoin the competition next season. the games authorities say they are in advance talks

the cheltenham festival continues. there was a surprise in the queen mother champiion chase.dlines let's cross live to the course and speak to our correspondent andy swiss. evening, andy. before we get to the racing, attendances were markedly down yesterday, things picked up today. yes, today has been slightly better as you say, all the fans are relieved that this festival is actually happening at all. a lot of them were fearing the worst but there is huge concern and signs everywhere telling us to wash your hands on 2a hand sanitising stations dotted around the course, and concerns also about attendances. the crowds down 7000 on the opening day last year. i can tell you the second they crowd is down just 2000 on last year's. around 57,000 fans here today and bearing in mind all the uncertainty in the build—up to the festival around coronavirus, you suspect that the organisers will be pretty satisfied with that. the champion chase had already had a couple of leading contenders pull out, but paul nicholls has joined the cheltenham party. that's right, a big shock in the big ra

altior is facing an "uphill battle" to defend his queen mother champion chase title at the cheltenham festivald he's battling a bout of lameness. in the europa league wolves look set to play thursday's round of 16 first leg match at olympiakos behind closed doors. this comes after the greek government announced all professional sport events will take place without supporters for the next two weeks. there are 73 cases of the coronavirus in greece. it's been announced that the bahrain grand prix will be the first ever formula 1 race to be staged without spectators due to coronavirus. organisers issued a statement to say it was halting ticket sales for the event later this month and would only allow participants into the event. april's chinese grand prix has already been postponed. the sport's governing body, the fia, has set up a crisis cell to monitor the situation. the virus has also affected upcoming tennis tournaments. players will be asked not to hand out used towels and sweatbands to fans. while they'll also not be able to accept pens or tennis balls for signing at upcoming atp and wta eve

the midst of all these cancellations and postponements, there is some sport to bring you,the cheltenham festivalas gone ahead this week. today was gold cup day. lizzie greenwood hughes is there and it's safe to say there was a popular winner. i feel honoured to bring you a result. willie mullins and al boum photo, that becomes the first horse since 2004 to win sit... it was that early success that caused the odds to planet on al boum photo. 130 favourite he was, and it was very close. if that race had been a few more yards, i think santini might have caught him on the line, but i spoke to willie on the —— after the race, and he said he was confident the horse would do well. the only worry he had was when he discovered a few months ago that he had escaped from his stable and was tucking into a bag of carrots, and he had to lead him back to the stable. he was confident the horse had the talent to do it again. he waited a long time for the first gold cup last year and he has two now in successive year and he has two now in su ccess ive years . year and he has two now in successive years. i was chat

i know this is the cheltenham festival, i'm working from home. the horse on the treadmill.r the first time. going into the weeks and months ahead, will this signal a major shift in the way that we worked after this crisis is over perspective is this proof that home—working, remote working works for companies? if it works, why don't we do it again because may be people's quality—of—life will be better if people do not have to commute. not everybody can do that. but maybe this will change the way that we were in future. white back we will find out. then, anna, thank you very much indeed. then anna will be back at half past 11 to look at the papers. you can see the front pages of the paper online. it is all there at the website. if you miss there at the website. if you miss the programme any evening, you can watch it later on bbc iplayer. thank you both very much again. hello there. the next few days will turn cooler and more showery. today, we had the warmest day of the year so far but at the same time we saw the number of flood warnings in england and wales increasing. this

the cheltenham festival is going ahead today. bringing in measures to stop public gatherings but a lot of events, including st patrick's day parades in belfast and dublin, have been cancelled by organisers. keith doyle, bbc news. our world affairs correspondent bethany bell sent us this update from bologna. italians are coping with a strange new reality, with massive restrictions on their movements. some people will be allowed to travel, if they have valid work reasons for doing so, if they have health problems, family emergencies, oi’ health problems, family emergencies, or if they need to return to their homes. they will need to self certify, and if people are found to have lied about their reasons for travel, they could face a fines or even a prison sentence. we are still not sure how the authorities are planning to enforce all these restrictions. at train stations, we know that people are having their temperatures checked. planes and trains are still running, and foreign visitors, tourists, will be able to leave italy, but th

last week's cheltenham festival went ahead with an overall attendance of over quarter of a million peopley slightly down on last year. tomorrow's meeting at kelso will take place without spectators after the scottish government ruling which bans gatherings of more than 500 people. ferrari has suspended its formula one team operations and closed its road carfactory in italy until the 27th march to reduce the spread of the virus. the company say they've taken the decision to protect its staff. 0ther f1 teams are still working for now, despite the uncertainty over when the season will actually start. netball‘s super league is the latest league to postpone their fixtures due to the pandemic. matches were played yesterday but the three remaining games that were meant to be played tomorrow, have been called off. the league's board and all clubs will meet on tuesday to consider options for the rest of the season. super league champions st helens have suffered back—to—back defeats after losing 28—1a at castleford, who are now joint top of the table, as michael redford reports. this has been a rar

but at horse racing's cheltenham festival today, life continued.old cup day and everything that goes with them, including tens of thousands of spectators. i was pretty shocked that this was going ahead, being a big event forfour days, but i suppose we are all glad that it was not cancelled. any concerns about coming? absolutely none at all, we are in the open air and as long as people take precautions, which we will do, obviously, it should be fine. looking ahead, what of the olympics and paralympics? tokyo presented a video of its mascots happily touring the world and japan's 0lympic minister insists there is no intention of cancelling or even postponing the summer games. well, one thing we have learned today is how quickly everything can change. joe wilson, bbc news. our sports news reporter laura scott, is here. laura, what could go next? literally come in the last few moments, we hear about the london marathon a. that is a really big decision, they've decided to move that until october the 4th. it's not entirely unexpected. we have been waiting

over 255,000 famous horse racing festivals. cheltenham. ther message is clear, it is business as usual. wolves' europa league last—16 first—leg match at olympiakos on thursday will be played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus outbreak. the greek government announced on sunday that all professional sports events for the next two weeks will be played without spectators. today, uefa confirmed it was the case for this game. wolves had sold 1,000 tickets for the match. and wednesday's champions league game between psg and borussia dortmund is another match that will be played behind closed doors. the paris police authority have ordered that no fans attend the last 16 second leg at the parc des princes because of concerns over the outbreak. harry kane has returned to training at spurs following a hamstring injury that has kept him out since new year's day. the england captain tweeted this video of him doing drills today. there'd been fears he might not return by the end of the season. his team—mates continued their preparations for to

was the winner of this afternoon's feature race — the champions hurdle — on day one of the cheltenham festivalogress in the champions league. they need to overturn a 1—nil deficit against rb leipzig in germany tonight, in the second leg of their last 16 tie. spurs have been ravaged by injuries and haven't won in 5 matches now. but mourinho is still confident. you can ask me how can you score two goals minimum without top players? how can you score two goals. there are many ways to score goals. even the opposition player can do the same in score for us. anything is possible in football and we are very very positive. katie ormerod has become the first british female to win a snowboard world cup title. she'd been leading the standings in the slopestyle with one event remaining, which was due to take place in the czech republic. but it was called off due to the coronavirus. this was ormerod's first season after undergoing back surgery — she says it's been the best of her life. no surprise there. congratulations. that is all your support for now. thank you. back to our main story now, and the coron

but at horse racing's cheltenham festival today, life continued.d cup day and everything that goes with them, including tens of thousands of spectators. i was pretty shocked that this was going ahead, being a big event forfour days, but i suppose we are all glad that it was not cancelled. any concerns about coming? absolutely none at all, we are in the open air and as long as people take precautions, which we will do, obviously, it should be fine. looking ahead, what of the olympics and paralympics? tokyo presented a video of its mascots happily touring the world and japan's olympic minister insists there is no intention of cancelling or even postponing the summer games. well, one thing we have learned today is how quickly everything can change. joe wilson, bbc news. figures released in the last few minutes say 798 people have now tested positive for the virus in the uk — up more than 200 from yesterday's figure. at nine o'clock yesterday morning there were 590 cases. the official advice is that anyone with a persistent cough or high temperature sh

in the uk are still on for now, including one of the highlights of the racing calendar, the cheltenham festivalur sports editor dan roan is there. what is the latest thinking there? 60,000 race fans are expected to come through these gates for the first day of the festival tomorrow and as many as almost 250,000 across the next four days. cheltenham is on and that's because the government has made clear today that according to their medical advice there is still no reason why a large—scale sports events should be closed or cancelled. but of course, elsewhere, sport is being badly affected. in the us and major tennis tournament was cancelled overnight, the third six nations match of this season's tournament was today postponed, and across italy, all sport has been suspended this evening. and of course, inevitably, that has raised questions as to whether it is right here in britain for sport to continue as normal. today, sports bodies and broadcasters were summoned to a meeting and told to ready themselves for sport to be ordered to go behind closed doors but i think it's fair to say the governmen

i tell you, this town of cheltenham, it really does rely on this festival.t has been very good for racing that it has been able to continue this week. we have had pretty good crowds and the official figure of 68,000 today, and if you, a couple of thousand down from the average, so pretty good. very few falls and very exciting finishes, and not least the finish to the gold cup, this is the elitejumps race of the season. this is the one they all wa nt to the season. this is the one they all want to win, and as you said, al boum photo winning in successive yea rs, boum photo winning in successive years, and it has been a wonderful festival for his trainer willie mullins. his seventh win of the festival for today, and it mullins. his seventh win of the festivalfor today, and it was mullins. his seventh win of the festival for today, and it was that early success that caused the odds on al boum photo to tumble prior to the race. he went off the ten — three favourite. he was pushed all the levels that santini could have done it if it had been three furlongs. he mi

altior is facing an "uphill battle" to defend his title at the cheltenham festival after being foundree days before the race. altior is aiming to become the first horse since 1985 to win the queen mother champion chase three times. the horse suffered his first career defeat over jumps at ascot last november, but returned to win over two miles at newbury last month. scotland will try to halt france's grand slam charge when the two sides meet at murrayfield at 3 o'clock this afternoon. scotland lost their first two matches, against ireland and england, but they beat italy in rome in week three. france are unbeaten so far. it isa it is a massive challenge. we put in a big team that are in form, who have the goal of the grand slam in two games time if they win both games. the pleasing thing this weekend as we are back at home and on the back of a victory, just like the french. we know how good a team the french. we know how good a team the french. we know how good a team the french are and how good we will have to player to beat and that we have to player to beat and that we have prepare

despite all the photos in the papers of ladies in hats, attendance at the cheltenham festival this week however, organisers were grateful the festival did go ahead — this morning, the premier league is having an emergency meeting to decide what to do about fixtures. chris skeith is the chief executive of the association of event 0rganisers — we're hearing so many conferences and exhibitions are being cancelled — this is having a devastating effect on the events business? it isa it is a critical time. things are moving on a minute by minute basis. we have had events happening this week by the dictated whether the event happened or not and everything was ok, following public health guidance of course. but going forward , guidance of course. but going forward, there has been a move to postpone a number of events, which has been great in the long term but in the short term, we need the supply chain, the organisers, the venues, the suppliers and the smes, we need to support them to make sure they are in a fit state at the end of this outbreak to make sure they can continue to deliver the eve

postponed. 6—1 shot politologue was the surprise winner of the day's feature race on day two of the cheltenham festivalase with no one coming close. dynamite dollars with harry cobden on board was 2nd. unbelievable. it is everyjockey ‘s dream to take a look to the right and look at all of the fancier and cross the line in front. everything went perfectly well. he jumped and galloped and he was very brave up to the last. and you can find the latest for the final two games featuring england women on the website. that is all your support for now. good night. chilly weather prospect to finish this week as the uk moves into polar air. sunshine and showers across the uk today and quite gusty winds across the board as well. the showers will be most frequent, close to the low centre. the polar air or the way south into the north of the front so even with the sunshine, it will still feel chilly. showers most frequent to the north. some is no possible across scotland, northern england with ice risks as well. showers remain infrequent for scotland, northern ireland and northern england. some pretty intense show a

the cheltenham festival will go ahead as normal, with authorities urging people to maintain good hand limit physical interactions. there is better news for the around 2500 passengers who were stranded for days on a cruise ship because of the virus. they have begun to disembark in california, so 21 people on board the grand princess contracted the illness during a trip to hawaii, but they have now started to disembark in oakland, which is where sophie long is for us. this is the moment the passengers on board the grand princess have been longing for. for days, they have been confined to their cabin is not knowing where or when their ordeal would end stop it now finally, the san francisco skyline is insight copy waiting at the dock, teams ready to take those in need of urgent medical care at hospital. this is a complex, high—stakes disembark hospital. this is a complex, high—sta kes disembark process which could take several days. last off are likely to be international passengers, and in the united states, there are concerns too, about the authorities's preparedness to stop the virus t

opening in a matter of hours one of the biggest horseracing festivals in the world the cheltenham festival is going ahead i'm told over the days of that there's about a quarter of $1000000.00 people attending if you had an elderly relative what would you say to them should day in france in the u.k. in germany should they attend sporting events of their over 70 what's your thoughts . well that's a very specific way of protecting people and yes i think it is important i mean all of these things are taking place as you say in the u.k. and in germany and to some degree that's really helpful for population the main we're human and we really you know we are a social people so it's very very hard this far this is not a war you know a disaster where it's a spirit of the bits and we can you know get together to to combat it because that is one of the ways the virus wins in the u.s. of course is much madness is i college in a the basketball season and it's you know this is a a very difficult time for lots of countries. and i think we do have to protect you know the groups that we know are particular

and coming up on sportsday on bbc news — it was full steam ahead for the cheltenham festival and it waspatante in the champion hurdle. good evening. we start tonight with the unprecedented measures being enforced right across italy — to try to limit the spread of coronavirus. as the number of cases and deaths rises sharply, italy faces growing isolation, with thousands of flights cancelled and stringent controls on its borders with austria and slovenia. public gatherings including sports events are banned — and schools and universities are closed. italians are being advised to stay at home. the number of confirmed cases has risen to more than 10,000. and the number of deaths in italy has increased by more than a third — to 631. here in the uk — a sixth person has died — and the number of cases here has risen to 382. more on that in a moment — but first our italy correspondent mark lowen reports. "all residents stay at home", orders the police. from naples in the south to the supermarkets of rome, to the financial capital up in milan, news of the restrictions spread as fast as the virus.

"i'm due to go to cheltenham festival today which will involve travelling by public transport.n involved in managing government outbreaks before of things like foot and mouth disease. is it time to start advising people who may be more vulnerable to stop going to these big public events?” more vulnerable to stop going to these big public events? i think that depends on what the scientific advice is in the first instance. if the scientific advice is that people with immunosuppressa nt problems should stay away from big crowds, thenit should stay away from big crowds, then it is time to say that. otherwise, if people feel safer by not going and it is not going to cause a problem, don't go. there's no point in worrying yourself. it may be a very small risk but if you are right, don't go. if you are going to disrupt your life dramatically, there is no strong advice on not mixing with people, but don't worry too much about it. i think the clear message here is that we need good and certain advice from government and good uncertain advice from people who run organisations, and action

here in the uk are still on for now including one of the highlights of the racing calendar the cheltenham festivaltor dan roan is there and sent this update. 60,000 is there and sent this update. race fans are expect through 60,000 race fans are expect to come through these gates, the first day of the festival and as many as almost 250,000 over the next four days. cheltenham is on and that's because the government has made clear today that according to their medical advice, there is still no reason why large—scale sports events should be closed or cancelled but of course elsewhere, sport is being badly affected. in the us, a major tennis tournament was cancelled overnight, the third six nations much of this season's tournament was today postponed and across italy, all sport has been suspended this evening and of course inevitably, that has raised questions as to whether it's right here in britain for sport to continue as normal. today, sports bodies and broadcasters were summoned to a meeting and told to ready themselves for sport to be ordered to go behind closed doors but it's fair to say the go

tomorrow sees the start of one of the world positive most famous horse race festivals, cheltenham. 0verover one quarter of the main people were hairdresser and for now the message is clear. it is business as usual. further afield, the decision was taken to further afield, the decision was ta ken to cancel the further afield, the decision was taken to cancel the indian wells tennis tournament in california with organisers saying it was just too big a risk to hold a gathering of this size. many of the players including rafael nadal had already arrived for the event, some only found out on social media. indian wells is sometimes referred to as the unofficial fifth grand slam. several european football matches will also take place behind closed doors was of the champions league game between psg and richard 0rtman is one of them. the paris police authority have ordered that no fans attend the last 16 leg because of concerns over the outbreak. —— bo received 0rtman. wolves with a tie in only be arcos increase will also be held behind closed doors. harry kane ‘s returned to training it spurs f

that is of course the cheltenham festival, with the gold cup later.s there for us. we know thousands of people are in attendance they are today, lizzie, certainly not put off by the coronavirus? no. incredibly, holly, we are going on here, racing at cheltenham. this is the big one in jump cheltenham. this is the big one in jump racing so many people relieved, because i think many thought the whole they would have been of today would be of or behind closed doors, as is racing in ireland at the moment. that will be with no spectators for the rest of the month. racing has been hit by this coronavirus, but not cheltenham. we are going ahead. we havejust had the first race, the jcb are going ahead. we havejust had the first race, thejcb triumph title, the top race for the champion hurdle is of the future. it has been an incredible race actually because leaving until the last harder,, the leader —— the leader until the last hurdle, somehow though ryderfell off, so willie mullins has had his first win of the day, and of course he is happening to when the big

in britain meanwhile sport continues, 65,000 at the cheltenham festival again today.ding sporting fixtures, not because they say it helps the spread of the outbreak because it is a strain on other public resources and services. this would cause massive financial ramifications of course throughout sport at all levels, and have a major impact on an already crowded diary, but the world of sport is having to face up rapidly to what would be an unprecedented peacetime closure. dan, thank you very much. throughout the day the bbc has received nearly 15,000 questions on coronavirus. you've been asking how to best protect yourself, and how to interpret the government's public health guidelines. our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, has been taking a look at some of your most common concerns. my dad's got a chronic lung disease, copd, and i would like to know, how dangerous is coronavirus for people like him? for anyone with a lung condition such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma, there is a raised risk from the coronavirus. charities are advising that

last week's cheltenham festival went ahead with an overall attendance of over quarter of a million peopleeeting at kelso will take place without spectators after the scottish government ruled that gatherings of more than 500 people are banned. the italian football federation has called for euro 2020 to be postponed to allow time for the serie a season to finish. it's one of many leagues that has been suspended due to the coronavirus. italy is the worst country to be affected in europe. the first game of the tournment is due to take place at the stadio 0limpico in rome on 12thjune. uefa will hold a meeting on tuesday to discuss its response to the pandemic. the former manchester city defender eliaquim mangala has revealed he's one of five valencia players to test positive for coronavirus. mangala says that he's self—isolating, but is ok. la liga was suspended on thursday, after the real madrid squad had to go into quarantine. super league champions st helens have suffered back—to—back defeats, after losing 28—14 at castleford. the home side were in control from the start, leading 14—0 at o

despite controversy over the government's support of such events, the cheltenham festival did concludeas al boum photo retained the gold cup. this last action major sport could see for quite some time. dan roan, bbc news. the education secretary for england, gavin williamson, has told teachers the government is clear that schools should remain open despite the outbreak, unless advised otherwise by public health england. butjust how are schools dealing with the current crisis? 0ur education editor, bra nwen jeffreys reports. 0k, any internet enabled device, you will be able to go on to get access to... getting ready to take school work online. with their gcses looming, plenty of questions. but again, today, head teachers told to stay open. the minister asking them at their conference to remain calm. in the overwhelming majority of situations, there is absolutely no need to close a school, or to send pupils or staff home. obviously, there is action to be taken in the event of a positive test, but even then, your local health protection team can help stabilise the situation. in one countr

despite questions over whether it should have taken place, the cheltenham festival concluded today, with. this last action major sport could see for quite some time. the coronavirus has left british sport in a very difficult position, caught between official government advice to carry ona official government advice to carry on a mounting pressure to stop. within football, they hope will be back next week euro 2020 is postponed by an entire year, creating space for the league season to be resumed and concluded. but there are real concerns within the game that that may prove impossible and this campaign is abandoned. that of course would be extremely cruel on liverpool football club. tonight, their managerjuergen club said the suspension of the season had his support and that if it saved just one life, it would be worth it. damn, thank you for that. dan roan live at anfield. the uk's chief scientific adviser says the coronavirus is here to stay and more deaths are still to come. the number of people who've died worldwide has now reached 5,000. but is the uk government taking the right appr

with the government not banning public gatherings, next week's cheltenham festival is set to go aheadg time for the sport. it is frightening because it is the culmination of a whole year's work that goes into four days. while the organisers of the six nations have said there will be no further cancellations, one player now ruled out of the tournament is england's mako vunipola. the prop in self—isolation as a precaution after travelling through virus—hit hong kong over the weekend. dan roan, bbc news. and there's more about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to protect yourself on our website. that's bbc.co.uk/news, and on the bbc news app. and we'll find out how coronavirus and other stories are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 11:30pm in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are sonia sodha from the observer, and madeline grant from the telegraph. in the us, voting has started in the series of contests called primaries to choose a democratic candidate to face donald trump in november. it's known as super tuesday because of the number of contests taking place — in 11! states

but at horse racing's cheltenham festival today, life continued.rived on gold update and everything that goes with them, including tens of thousands of spectators. i was pretty shocked that this was going ahead, being a big event forfour days, that this was going ahead, being a big event for four days, but that this was going ahead, being a big event forfour days, but i suppose we are all glad that it was not cancelled. any concerns about coming? absolutely none at all, we are in the open air and as long as people take precautions, which we will do, obviously, it should be fine. looking ahead, what of the olympics and paralympics? tokyo presented a video of its mascots happily touring the world and japan's olympic minister insists there is no intention of cancelling or even postponing the sum of‘s games. well, one thing we have learned today is how quickly everything can change. joe wilson, bbc news. our sports correspondent laura scott is outside the premier league's offices in central london. no ban on mass gatherings but this outbreak has effect

despite questions over whether it should have taken place, the cheltenham festival concluded today, withpresent. this last action major sport could see for quite some time. the coronavirus has left british sport in a very difficult position, caught between official government advice to carry on a mounting pressure to stop. within football, they hope will be back next week euro 2020 is postponed by an entire year, creating space for the league season to be resumed and concluded. but there are real concerns within the game that that may prove impossible and this campaign is abandoned. that of course would be extremely cruel on liverpool football club. tonight, their managerjuergen klopp said the suspension of the season had his support and that if it saved just one life, it would be worth it. the uk's chief scientific adviser says the corona—virus is here to stay, and more deaths are still to come. the number of people who've died worldwide has now reached 5 thousand. but is the uk government taking the right approach, to tackle the virus? here's our medical correspondent, fergus walsh. th

with the government not banning public gatherings, next week's cheltenham festival is set to go aheador the sport. it is frightening because it is the culmination of a whole year's work that goes into four days. while the organisers of the six nations have said there will be no further cancellations, one player now ruled out of the tournament is england's mako vunipola. the prop in self—isolation as a precaution after travelling through virus—hit hong kong over the weekend. dan roan, bbc news. so far coronavirus has spread to more than 60 countries, but the world health organisation has still not classed the outbreak as a pandemic. the last declared pandemic was swine flu in 2009. our medical correspondent fergus walsh looks at how coronavirus compares to flu outbreaks over the past century. it was a new virus which swept across the world. swine flu emerged in mexico in 2009 and quickly became a pandemic. there were dire warnings about what could happen here. swine flu is now too widespread to be contained. but it was such a mild disease for most, it had a limited impact on the nhs an

, though, are still on for now, including one of the highlights of the racing calendar, the cheltenham festivalor dan roan is there. are they still expecting a good turnout? absolutely, yes. 60,000 fans expected through these gates tomorrow, as many as almost a quarter of a million would you believe, over the next four days. trautmann is very much on and that is because the government insisted today there is no need based on scientific opinion to close our cancel spot. —— mcgregor cheltenham is very much on. but spot being impacted by the coronavirus. today, the third six nations match of this tournament was postponed. in the states, the indian wells tennis tournament was cancelled. italy tonight on the brink of cancelling all sport for the next few weeks. so inevitably, there are some who are questioning whether or not it is right the government is telling sport to carry on but that is the message they told sports authorities and broadcasters at a meeting earlier today held by the department of culture, media and sport. they did tell sport to start preparing itself or when or if sport is told

altior is facing an "uphill battle" to defend his title at the cheltenham festival according his trainerould be the first horse for 35 years to win the queen mother champion chase three times. the horse suffered his first career defeat over jumps at ascot last november, but returned to win over his preferred two miles at newbury last month. and on international women's day — bryony frost has won a double at southwell on the historic all—female race card featuring both jumps and flat racing. frost won on silent steps and clare du guy. that's all the sport for now. scotland now leading 21—7 at murrayfield. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you. time to get answers to some of your questions on the coronavirus. joining me to provide all the answers is doctor chris smith, a virologist at cambridge university and presenter of the naked scientist podcast. welcome. thank you. a lot of questions so i will head straight in and we will try to work through as many as we can. start with this one is it safe to go to the dentist or should i cancel my appointment? there is no threat that yo

this time 12 months ago the restaurant was packed with race—goers from the nearby cheltenham festivalhanging. we're back to the namaste pattern of mumbai — no more handshakes. i mean, people try to keep distance. if anybody is coughing, theyjust run away. so you can see the change. they don't want to sit close to each other. and, ah, yeah, it's all happening. you can definitely see the changes, there is no doubt about that. they've decided to offer free food and delivery to those with the virus who are self isolating and give their drivers very clear instructions. we leave the delivery outside. once we reach there we give a call and the drivers need to follow the precautionary measures, as in the gloves, the face mask, and once they are back they need to wash their hands. but they don't come in contact with the guest at any point in time. some businesses are taking the initiative to protect their staff and customers. at this vehicle repair garage in ipswich staff are being monitored closely for any signs of illness. the coronavirus is coming. it's not if, it's when. and i think there'

the cheltenham festival takes place over four days and traditionally over 60 thousand punters head throughdays that count more than anything in the world and i think anybody disagrees with that, we're going to have lots of fun today and other things, but they can't win a grand national anyway, so what's the point? no, this is where it counts, and be fair, this is been a very lucky race fora. and be fair, this is been a very lucky race for a. there was also a great when forjackie blackmore, demonstrating all her ability there, we will see how she progresses and the rest of the week. that is all the rest of the week. that is all the support for now, remember you can stay right up to date on all the latest stories on the bbc sport website. but from me, it is good night. hello there, tuesday was the warmest day of the year so far, we had temperatures of 16 degrees, , day of the year so far, we had temperatures of 16 degrees,, the air originated all the way from here, but there is cool into the north and thatis but there is cool into the north and that is going to win out in the next few days.