Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Kevin Rawlinson (now); Matthew Weaver, Damien Gayle and Helen Sullivan (earlier)

Canada closes borders to foreigners – as it happened

We are closing this blog now. Thanks for following along. We will be covering all the latest coronavirus developments at our new live blog.

A British cruise ship that was turned away from several Caribbean ports after passengers fell ill with novel coronavirus is scheduled to dock in on Cuba Tuesday after the island agreed to help transfer those aboard to planes bound for the United Kingdom, AP reports.

In this April 14, 2008 file photo, the Fred. Olson Cruise Liner Braemar is docked at the port in Havana, Cuba.
In this April 14, 2008 file photo, the Fred. Olson Cruise Liner Braemar is docked at the port in Havana, Cuba. Photograph: Ramón Espinosa/AP

The Cuban government said it had decided to allow the Braemar to dock in the port of Mariel, about 56 kilometres (35 miles) west of the capital, due to the urgency of the situation and the risk to the lives of sick people.”

Fred. Olsen Cruises said that the ship had 22 passengers and 21 crew members in isolation after displaying flu-like symptoms and five aboard who tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The ship with more than 1,000 people aboard has been turned away from ports in Curacao and Barbados in recent weeks, leading to an intense search for a way to get its mostly British passengers and its crew home.

Zimbabwe’s defence minister has described the coronavirus as God’s way of punishing the United States and other western countries for imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe, prompting the president to issue a statement Monday restating his governments commitment to fighting Covid-19.

A health worker washes her hands during a demonstration of preparations for any potential coronavirus cases at a hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 11, 2020.
A health worker washes her hands during a demonstration of preparations for any potential coronavirus cases at a hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 11, 2020. Photograph: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters

Oppah Muchinguri, the defense minister, appeared to mock Western nations while addressing a group of ruling party supporters at the weekend.

“This coronavirus that has come are sanctions against the countries that have imposed sanctions on us. God is punishing them now and they are staying indoors now while their economy is screaming like what they did to ours by imposing sanctions on us,” Muchinguri said at a rally in Chinhoyi, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of the capital, Harare, according to local reports. A video of her statement has gone viral.

“(Donald) Trump should know that he is not God. They must face the consequences of coronavirus so that they also feel the pain,” she said in the local Shona language.

Muchinguri’s utterances prompted massive criticism from opposition politicians, humanitarian organizations and ordinary Zimbabweans on social media.

Zimbabwe has not yet recorded a case of coronavirus but neighboring South Africa has more than 60 cases. Across Africa, 30 of the continent’s 54 countries have confirmed cases.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa issued a statement Monday saying his government empathises with the affected people around the globe. He did not mention Muchinguri by name, but the statement published in the state-run Herald newspaper appears to modify her criticism of the US.

Summary

Here’s a summary of the day’s latest events.

You can read a summary of the day’s earlier events here.

Actor Tom Hanks has been released from a Gold Coast hospital after being quarantined with coronavirus, AAP reports.

His wife Rita Wilson remains in isolation after also testing positive to the virus last week.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson arrive at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, January 19, 2020.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson arrive at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, January 19, 2020. Photograph: Monica Almeida/Reuters

Hanks is in Queensland filming a Baz Luhrmann biopic about Elvis Presley. Production has ceased for two weeks but he is not believed to have infected any other cast or crew. Singer-songwriter Wilson recently performed in Brisbane and Sydney. Nine Network entertainment editor Richard Wilkins has since also tested positive for the virus, saying he met Wilson twice in the week leading up to her diagnosis.

Hanks issued a statement last Thursday saying he and his wife went to hospital after feeling run down. He said they would comply with all Australian health restrictions relating to the virus.

While in hospital Hanks tweeted his gratitude to the medical staff caring for them. The post, which included a photo of two pieces of toast smothered in Vegemite, sparked a furious social media debate about the correct amount and application of the popular spread.

Wilson asked Twitter to help her compile a music playlist for those in isolation, calling it “Quarantunes”.

On Monday, Idris Alba became the next famous actor to confirm he had tested positive. He recently spent time with Sophie Grègoire Trudeau, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s wife, who tested positive last week.

Updated

Washington state has announced six more deaths, taking its toll to 48 people, Reuters reports.

The Australian stockmarket has risen more than 1.6% at the opening bell, defying the strong lead set by a crash overnight in the US.

The ASX is still down by about 30% since the coronavirus crisis started hitting markets about a month ago, and the extreme volatility we’ve seen in recent days means there’s no guarantee the relief will last.

Australian companies rushed out waves of bad news before the market opened, with flagship carrier Qantas saying it would cut international flights by 90% and domestic ones by 60%.

The move, which will ground about 150 aircraft including almost all the airline’s long-haul fleet, is the latest reaction in an industry put under extreme financial pressure by the coronavirus crisis. The Australian government has not ruled out a bail-out for the industry.

Elsewhere, soft-drink manufacturer Coca-Cola Amatil canned its profit forecasts, Auckland Airport cancelled its dividend, property developer Sunland called off a AUD$60m (£29.43m) share buyback program and Crown Resorts extended the closure of every second poker machine to its Burswood casino.

Qantas to cut international flights by 90%

Qantas has announced it will slash its international flights, cutting international capacity by 90% until at least the end of May as demand plummets.

Domestic capacity will be cut by around 60%.

The airline said:

  • This represents the grounding of around 150 aircraft, including almost all of the group’s wide-body fleet.
  • Previously announced cuts in place from end-May through to mid-September remain in place and are likely to be increased, depending on demand.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce will receive no pay for three months.

The number of coronavirus cases in Turkey rose to 47 on Monday, with 29 new cases confirmed, the country’s health minister Fahrettin Koca has said.

All recent 29 cases are directly or indirectly related to the United States, Middle East and Europe, while three cases have arrived from Umrah. Contact with foreign countries will remain a risk.

Sunak has come under pressure to do more – including from a Tory former cabinet minister who has told the Lords the financial support committed by the government is a “flea bite” compared to what will be needed. Lord Forsyth of Drumlean said:

It is absolutely obvious that these measures are going to result in us going into a deep recession in this country. Many businesses, which are good businesses, are going to go to the wall, unless they are helped with their cashflow.

Declaring an interest as a banker, the banks will want to extend credit to those businesses, but the regulatory rules and the senior mangers regime prevents them from doing so.

So it is of the utmost importance ... that the government actually enables the banks to be free to provide the support for those businesses. And that it recognises that the Budget package, welcome as it is, is a mere flea bite compared to what is required and that is required now.

Responding, the health minister, Lord Bethell, said:

Our priority at this stage is to ensure that the medical and clinical response is right and that the message gets across to the public about what they can and should do, both to protect themselves and to delay the spread of this virus.

The economic impact of this virus is fully understood and there will be a full package of measures that will be announced ... once we have got this initial response out the way.

Sources say the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has been in discussions with cabinet colleagues and that, following the £12bn package of support provided in the budget, will appear at Tuesday’s press conference with the prime minister to announce more measures to help businesses.

The Met Gala, one of the biggest dates in the fashion industry diary, has been postponed, its host Anna Wintour has said.

The gala, which benefits the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, usually takes place on the first Monday of May. This year’s exhibition, titled About Time: Fashion and Duration, had been sponsored by luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton and was scheduled for 4 May. Writing on Vogue’s website, editor-in-chief Wintour said:

Due to the unavoidable and responsible decision by the Metropolitan Museum to close its doors, About Time, and the opening night gala, will not take place on the date scheduled.

The Department of Health and Social Care has released this guide to its latest advice:

Department of Health and Social Care advice
Department of Health and Social Care advice Photograph: dhsc.gov

The former chancellor, George Osborne, has called on the government to dramatically expand its support for British businesses by underwriting bank loans worth hundreds of billions of pounds to support firms struggling as the coronavirus spreads.

He reckons the measures outlined by the incumbent, Rishi Sunak, at the budget last week fall far short of what is required as the economic downturn intensifies, with Britain on the brink of recession and as stock markets crash around the world.

At the budget, the government announced it would support up to £1bn of state-backed lending through the British Business Bank, as part of a wider £12bn package of support for households and firms. High street banks will also raise their lending by around £21bn to provide further support following talks with the Treasury.

However, the measures stand in stark contrast to much more substantial efforts elsewhere across Europe.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said the state will underwrite additional loans worth €300bn (£273.3bn) – more than 300 times the level of UK support. Last week, Germany said it would expand lending at its KfW state-backed investment bank from €460bn to €550bn, while saying there was no upper limit on the amount of loans it would issue.

Reuters is reporting that El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has accused Mexico of allowing a dozen confirmed coronavirus cases to board a flight due to leave Mexico City for San Salvador

He said he’s suspended all passenger air travel with immediate effect. Bukele, who made the assertion on Twitter, did not provide evidence or more detail about the situation. Mexican authorities, which Bukele described as “irresponsible,” did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle says parliament will stop all non-essential access. There will be no access to the public gallery and tours will be stopped. All pregnant MPs, those with underlying health issues and those aged 70 years or older will need to pay particular attention to the government’s advice. But parliament will remain open.

The Commons Speaker is making a statement on the coronavirus pandemic.

There are claims this evening that the UK prime minister’s decision to stop just short of ordering businesses such as pubs, restaurants and theatres to close down altogether will make it harder for them to claim back losses on their insurance.

The shadow digital, culture and media secretary, Tracy Brabin, has said:

It is a tragedy for any arts venue when they have no choice but to close. From the West End to community theatres up and down the country, many artists, actors, stage crew, producers and other workers face a terrible time ahead. It’s unacceptable that the Tories seem to be prioritising the needs of the insurance industry in what could be an existential crisis for our sector.

The prime minister must urgently clarify that theatres, music venues, and other organisations in the creative industries affected by his statement can claim insurance. The same goes for the UK’s incredible hospitality sector. These industries are part of the lifeblood of the nation and Labour will fight for their future.

France will mobilise 100,000 police to carry out checks on people’s movements, the country’s interior minister, Christophe Castaner, has said.

In the past couple of hours, the French president Emmanuel Macron announced stricter controls after a weekend during which he said many French people had carried on largely as normal and, in so doing, put the people around them at risk.

The Brazilian foreign trade secretary Marcos Troyjo, who was part of the delegation that met with the US president Donald Trump nine days ago, has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office has said.

Troyjo, who is Brazil’s deputy economy minister, was also in Washington last week. He is showing no symptoms and is working from his home in strict isolation, a statement said.

The leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price, has gone into isolation:

Tunisia will suspend international flights and close its land border, its prime minister Elyes Fakhfakh has said. He added in a speech that all gatherings and markets will be banned and work hours for state employees will be reduced.

Grand National cancelled

The Grand National has been cancelled due to the pandemic, its organisers have said.

There had been speculation the race would be run behind closed doors.

The United Arab Emirates has urged its citizens abroad to return home due to travel difficulties amid the spread of coronavirus and suspensions of flights from some countries, the state news agency WAM has said, citing the ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation. UAE has recorded 98 cases of the virus.

Boris Johnson has been accused of shutting down the hospitality industry without any support when he advised people to stay indoors on Monday. UKHospitality, which represents pubs, coffee shops, nightclubs and other leisure venues said the effect would be “catastrophic for businesses and jobs”.

The government has effectively shut the hospitality industry without any support, and this announcement will lead to thousands of businesses closing their doors for good, and hundreds of thousands of job losses.

Over the past few weeks, the industry has suffered unprecedented drops in visits and many business are already on their knees. This latest advice leaves the industry in limbo with no recourse to insurance.

The government must act now to stop them going under and protect the people’s jobs. These venues play a unique role as community hubs and it’s in all our interests to protect and preserve them so they are still there once we emerge from this crisis.

We need immediate and far-reaching support from the government, and meaningful business continuity measures.

Updated

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has recommended Muslim communities across the UK “suspend all congregational activities” following the government’s latest advice. It said the decision had not been taken lightly due to the importance of Friday prayers. Harun Khan, its secretary general, has said:

Muslim communities up and down the country, like others, have been carefully considering how best to continue with our regular social and religious activities, whilst trying to minimise the spread of the coronavirus.

With the increasing rate of transmission and the number of deaths, medical and scholarly advice all points towards the limitation of social contact as the key towards reducing the spread.

We all have a public duty to protect one another from harm and it is evident the most effective way to do this now is to avoid social contact as much as possible. This includes all walks of life, whether social, work or the mosque.

This leaves members of our society who are vulnerable and socially isolated at risk. Now is the time for British communities to come together to support one another, and work with friends, family and neighbours to ensure no one is left behind.

Whether it be at the mosques (particularly Friday prayers) which draw crowds including the elderly, vulnerable and those at high risk, weddings, social events or simple day-to-day activities, it is imperative that this extraordinary step is taken to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our communities, and our country as a whole.

The MCB is confident that the Muslim community will undertake the difficult measures needed in such unprecedented times and put our trust in Allah.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s three theatres will close, in line with government advice. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre and the Studio Theatre at The Other Place will all shut for an “undetermined period of time”, the company has said.

In the UK, opposition parties are beginning to put pressure on Downing Street over its response to the pandemic. The outgoing Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is due to meet Boris Johnson on Monday evening (GMT) and has said he will make five key demands:

  1. Extend full sick pay and lost earnings protection from day one for all workers – including insecure workers, low paid workers, and self-employed, during self-isolation and illness
  2. Raise statutory sick pay in line with amounts in other European countries
  3. Introduce rent and mortgage payment deferment options and ban evictions of tenants affected by outbreak
  4. Remove the requirement to present for Universal Credit, suspend sanctions and reduce the wait time for first payment down from five weeks
  5. Support local authorities working with food banks in the purchase and distribution of food stocks

In the Commons, the Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman, Munira Wilson, has called for all social care workers to be tested for coronavirus, alongside NHS staff.

Some of the most vulnerable in our society live in care homes. Shortages in the care workforce are already a problem. That’s why staff at care homes must be supported to the same level as staff in the NHS.

Montenegro has temporarily halted flights of its national air carrier, Montenegro Airlines, and all international railway and bus lines.

The former Yugoslav republic has tested dozens of people but has so far not reported a single case of coronavirus infection. More than 390 people remain in quarantine. The government has said:

All international public air, railroad and road transport is suspended. We will facilitate the return of our own citizens to Montenegro.

Last week, Montenegro’s health authorities banned public gatherings, closed schools and restaurants, and some border crossings with Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia Kosovo and Albania. The country, which earns most of its revenue from tourism, also last week closed its ports and marinas for all incoming cruiser ships and yachts.

The US president, Donald Trump, has stopped short of calling upon states to follow the lead of many other countries across the world – including the UK and France – and cancel elections, saying he does not think it is a “very good thing” and would be “unnecessary”.

One state just announced to have taken a different approach is Serbia, which has said its election commission has postponed general elections that were due to take place on 26 April. The Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, declared the state of emergency on Sunday.

In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said an employee has tested positive. The individual, who is now in good condition, has not been present in the CDC workplace since 6 March, and was asymptomatic at that time, the agency said.

It has not disclosed any more details about the individual, citing privacy concerns.

Egypt has reported two more deaths because of coronavirus, bringing the official total of related deaths to four, its health ministry has said. The individuals were a 72-year-old German who died in Luxor and a 50-year-old Egyptian in Dakahlia governorate, it added.

On Sunday, research published by the Guardian suggested Egypt was likely grappling with a higher rate of coronavirus infections than official figures:

Costa Rica has declared a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus outbreak and has become the latest Latin American country to close its borders to non-resident foreign nationals. From 11:59pm (CST – 5pm GMT) on Wednesday, non-citizens and non-residents will not be able to enter the country.

On Monday, the Costa Rican government said 41 cases COVID-19 have been recorded in the country, rising from 35 on Sunday.

In Greece, authorities are also ramping up measures after the health ministry said confirmed cases of coronavirus had risen to 352, an increase of 21 over the past 24 hours. Of that number 65 patients are hospitalised with nine in intensive care, professor Sotiris Tsiodras, an expert in infectious diseases told reporters.

With Greek officials unimpressed by the way Britain in particular has handled the crisis, it was announced that anyone flying in from abroad must now undergo two weeks of obligatory quarantine – or risk being penalised. Unveiling the measure at the health ministry’s daily briefing, the deputy civil protection minister, Nikos Hardalias, singled out the UK where people have not been subjected to the sort of measures applied elsewhere in Europe.

Greece, which has seen four people die from the disease, has applied some of the most stringent safety guards to date partly because of fears that after years of savage budget cuts the country’s fragile health system would collapse if overwhelmed.

After sealing borders with Albania and North Macedonia on Sunday and suspending flights to Italy and Spain, the centre-right government also announced the closure of all shops, bar supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, petrol stations, pet shops, food delivery outlets and appliance stores.

On the same day it said public beaches and ski resorts were also off-limits after Greeks converged on the coast en masse after being previously told that cafes, bars, tavernas, restaurants, casinos, brothels and barbers were also banned. Those violating the policies do so at their own peril: among those arrested in recent days was a hairdresser caught giving a customer highlights.

In Washington, Trump is discussing potential future measures.

He’s told reporters he’s looking at expanding sick pay requirements to companies with more than 500 employees and that the US government is taking over buildings to expand medical care capacity.

And Trump adds that the US may be heading into a recession.

Updated

France’s Public Health Authority has reported 21 new deaths from coronavirus taking the total to 148, an increase of around 16%. It says on its website that the number of cases had risen to 6,633, up from 5,423 on Sunday, which is a rise of more than 20% in 24 hours.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has put the country into almost total lockdown, introducing new rules stopping people from leaving home unless strictly necessary and banning them from meeting others and spreading the coronavirus.

In his second national address in less than a week, Macron reprimanded those who had not followed official advice and warned that those who broke the new rules would be punished. In his 20-minute live broadcast, Macron repeated several times: “We are at war.”

It’s a health war; we’re not at war against an army or a nations but against an invisible enemy.

Beginning on Tuesday, people will only be allowed to leave home for strictly necessary reasons including to go shopping – while keeping a distance of one metre from anyone else – to get medical help and for work if it could not be done from home. Individual sporting activity will be allowed, but no collective sports.

Macron said the reinforced measures will be imposed for at least 15 days.

He also postponed the second round of the municipal elections next Sunday and postponed pension reforms that saw months of protests, demonstrations and strikes after they were unveiled in December until the outbreak of the coronavirus. He told the nation:

It has become an immediate and pressing reality. We saw people gathering in the parks, markets ... not respecting official advice as if nothing had changed in their lives.

You are not protecting yourselves ... everyone is vulnerable even the young, and you are not protecting others. Even if you have no symptoms you can infect friends, parents, grandparents, loved ones.

Updated

An extraordinary G20 summit will be convened to discuss the pandemic, according to a statement from the office of the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, which says the decision was made during a call with the Saudi crown prince.

The Trump administration’s measures are particularly focused on older people, whom it urged to stay home and keep away from other people.

White House recommends isolation

The US president, Donald Trump, is announcing more radical White House recommendations; telling Americans to avoid any gatherings of more than 10 people over the next 15 days and advising all states with evidence of community transmission to close down bars, restaurants, gyms and other facilities.

France will also be closing its borders, in coordination with other EU nations, Macron says.

France is taking a slightly different approach. Macron has told the nation he wants no company to be exposed to the risk of collapse as a result of the pandemic. He has also said gas, electricity and water bills are to be suspended – as are rents – and the state will guarantee companies’ loans with a €300bn package.

Summary

Here’s a summary of the latest developments:

Updated

The economic impact on Ireland will be “severe”, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned.

Unfortunately, a lot of people are going to lose their jobs and businesses will have to close. The economy is going to slow down dramatically but we are confident that it will bounce back. Our first priority is to help people who have lost their jobs to get the social protection they need.

All Irish residents have been urged not to travel overseas. The deputy Irish premier, Simon Coveney, said the National Public Health Emergency Team has recommended the measure be put in place from now until 29 March. The guidance includes Great Britain, but not Northern Ireland.

In the UK, the health secretary Matt Hancock has said the illness is thought not to come back “for some time” for those who contract it. He has told MPs:

Most people tend to recover within the seven-day period from getting first symptoms - most people, not all - and many become very ill.

But for most people this is a mild to moderate illness and once they’ve recovered, the vast majority of the evidence is that the illness does not come back for some time - but all of this evidence is kept constantly under review.

Updated

Adding weight to his order, Macron says infractions will be punished – going significantly further than the measures announced by the UK’s prime minister in the last few hours.

France to step up isolation measures

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is telling the nation people’s movements will be severely limited, saying those who have ignored the government’s advice to isolate have put the health of other people at risk. He has ordered citizens to stay in their homes and only come out where it’s absolutely necessary.

Macron says all companies must now take steps to ensure employees can work from home. And he calls off a second round of municipal elections.

G7 will do 'whatever is necessary'

The leaders of the G7 group of nations – the UK and the US, France, Germany and Italy, as well as Canada and Japan – have promised to do “whatever is necessary” to combat the virus.

We, the leaders of the Group of Seven, acknowledge that the Covid-19 pandemic is a human tragedy and a global health crisis, which also poses major risks for the world economy.

We are committed to doing whatever is necessary to ensure a strong global response through closer cooperation and enhanced coordination of our efforts.

While current challenges may require national emergency measures, we remain committed to the stability of the global economy.

Focusing on the global scale and nature of the problem, a statement released by Downing Street said the seven nations would focus on

  • Coordinating on necessary public health measures
  • Restoring confidence, growth, and protecting jobs
  • Supporting global trade and investment
  • Encouraging science, research, and technological cooperation

Sergeant exams for police officers which had been scheduled to take place in large venues around the country tomorrow have now been cancelled.

The College of Policing said in a statement:

In line with the government’s advice published this afternoon, the exam tomorrow (17 March) has been postponed in the interests of public health.

We wanted to give officers every opportunity to take the exam and understand the time they invested in studying.

Updated

The Scottish government is calling on people to avoid all but essential contact in a rapid escalation to the response to the outbreak that will see also elective hospital procedures postponed.

The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, told a press briefing on Monday afternoon that Scotland is now on the cusp of a “rapid escalation” of coronavirus. The government is expecting to see a doubling of cases every few days and will step up the measures it needs to take to protect the most vulnerable.

The additional measures “reflect the seriousness of the situation that we face”, Sturgeon said. As well as the advice to ban gatherings of 500 or more people, Scottish residents are being told to limit social contact and stop going to pubs and cafes. And as in England, people showing symptoms should stay at home for seven days, while members of a household where someone has suspected symptoms should stay at home for 14 days.

Jeane Freeman, the Scotland’s secretary for health, confirmed the NHS will be scaling down and postponing elective procedures, such as hip replacement, in order to increase bed capacity.

Over the next few days the Scottish health authorities will be contacting the most vulnerable group in society, specifically people who suffer from compromised immune system, which is around 200,000 people in Scotland, to offer specific tailored advice to shield that group.

“There is no way escaping the fact that what we’re advising people to do will significantly and substantially change life as we know it for a considerable period of time,” Sturgeon told the sober press conference.

Dr Catherine Calderwood, Scotland’s chief medical officer, said: “there is no chief medical officer who wishes ever to be standing here to discuss the measures that we are talking about to the population of Scotland today.”

She added her NHS colleagues and those in social care have “extremely challenging times ahead.”

Updated

Idris Elba tests positive

The actor Idris Elba has announced he has tested positive for Covid-19.

Last week it emerged that Elba met Sophie Grégoire Trudeau at an event in London just over week before she tested positive.

The wife of the Canadian prime minister was photographed at the Wembley Arena We Day event on 4 March alongside the F1 driver Lewis Hamilton and Elba. Video of the event showed Grégoire Trudeau embracing the former Australia prime minister Julia Gillard. A spokeswoman for Gillard said she is self-isolating as a precaution.

On the same day Grégoire Trudeau also went to an International Women’s Day conference attended by the former supreme court president Lady Hale.

Updated

Some people are seeing the bright side of being on lockdown.

Layla McCay the international director of the NHS Confederation shares this video that her mother sent her from Spain.

Death toll in England increases to 53

The death toll in England has increased by 19 to 53 people, according an update from the NHS.

The victims were aged between 94 and 56 years old and had underlying health conditions.

NHS England said the patients died at the following hospitals:

  • Barts Health NHS: 1
  • Lewisham and Greenwich NHS: 2
  • Salisbury NHS Foundation: 1
  • University Hospital of Southampton: 1
  • Walsall Healthcare NHS: 1
  • Wexham Park Hospital: 2
  • University College London Hospital NHS Trust: 4
  • Mid Cheshire Trust: 1
  • Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: 2
  • North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust: 1
  • University Hospitals Birmingham: 1
  • St. Georges University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: 2

Total: 19

Updated

Anders Madsen, a nurse from Greenland’s capital Nuuk, has more on the island’s first case of Covid-19 (see earlier).

The announcement was made by Greenland’s premier Kim Kielsen at a news conference.

The government here has said the schools will be kept open, but the island’s only public indoor swimming pool will close. The tourism industry is worried, after many cancelled bookings.

As Greenland is a part of Denmark, when the Danish government closed borders the routes from Iceland to Greenland was also hit. But the route from Denmark to Greenland is still open as it’s within the Kingdom.

The health care system in Greenland has always been sub-par compared to Denmark. We are always in need of nurses and doctors from Denmark who travel to Greenland in order to work, typically for a couple of months at a time. Hopefully we won’t see a full-on outbreak, as we already lack the staff and the resources. Also, we don’t have testing equipment for the virus here in Greenland. So all tests are flown to Denmark for analysis, creating a delay in response.

Germany closes places of worship, bars, restaurants, museums and cinemas

Angela Merkel has announced a raft of further drastic measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Germany, including the closure of places of worship, playgrounds and non-essential shops.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin on Monday afternoon, the German chancellor issued new guidelines for restricting social gatherings, which the country’s federal state are expected to enforce in the coming days. She said:

These are measures that we have never had in our country, but they are necessary to reduce the number of illnesses and severe illnesses and avoid overwhelming our health services.

The more individuals stick to these rules, the quicker we will get through this phase. The benchmark [for these measures] isn’t what we want to do, but what scientists tell us is the right response”.

The measures include the closure of bars, clubs, theatres, museums, cinemas, trade fairs and brothels, as well as a ban on services of worship at churches, mosques and synagogues.

A number of shops will be exempted from the restrictions and may be allowed to open their doors on Sundays, the chancellor said. They include supermarkets, corner stores, pharmacies, petrol stations, banks, post offices, hairdressers, hardware stores and delivery services.

Restaurants are to open their doors from six am until 6pm.

The southern state of Bavaria had already announced on Monday morning it would implement state of emergency measures to the same effect from this Wednesday.

Canada to close borders

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, says he will close his country’s border to foreigners. Only four Canadian airports will be allowed to accept international flights, he said.

The closure will not apply to commerce or trade, Trudeau said.

Updated

Boris Johnson first daily briefing has come to an end. Here’s a news story on the main points:

The UK has defended its record on testing in response to that call by the WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to ‘test, test, test.”

Tedros told a press conference in Geneva that government’s cannot fight the pandemic blindfolded. Johnson was challenged about this at his Downing Street briefing, but left it to his chief medical officer, Chris Whitty to answer.

Whitty said:

Of course, we completely agree with the secretary general that testing is absolutely critical.

And within the UK, we have three levels of testing at the moment. We have testing in intensive care systems, which is across the whole system. We have testing in hospitals for people who have got pneumonia for people got milder disease, and we have the GP network, which is testing in the community.

The one thing which we did stop doing was testing based on geography ... at this stage geography is much less important in the disease.

We do intend to continue to scale up testing. But I think it’s important to realise the scale of UK testing which has been substantial. Over 44,000 tests conducted, of which over 42,000 were negative, and we will continue to scale up the testing every single week from here in moving out into the wider community.

The test we have at the moment only tests for people who’ve currently got disease. The thing which will be transformational would be a test to reliably tell us if someone has previously had disease, so we can pick up and find out what proportion of people get this infection without any symptoms. Currently, such a test is not reliable, but it’s being developed very rapidly by Public Health England.

A prison officer at HMP High Down, south London, UK, has tested positive for coronavirus.

A Prison Service spokesperson said:

One prison officer at HMP High Down has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating at home.

No other staff and no prisoners have tested positive. The prison is operating as usual and our dedicated prison staff are taking all necessary precautions to prevent the virus’s spread, in line with PHE guidelines.

Here’s video of the WHO’s very clear message on testing.

Death toll in Italy exceeds 2,000

The death toll in Italy from Covid-19 has increased to 2,158, with the announcement of another 349 victims.

Updated

Egyptian officials have announced that the country will close its airports and halt all domestic and international air travel from Thursday until the end of March.

The country has banned large gatherings, limited prayer times and curbed many public activities in order to respond to the spread of the disease.

Separately, Egyptian officials and the World Health Organization responded to scientific research published by the Guardian on the likely number of COVID-19 cases in Egypt.

Infectious disease specialists at the University of Toronto detailed how the total number of those infected in Egypt was likely higher than Egypt’s official infection rate, which currently stands at 126. “We estimated an outbreak size of 19,310 cases,” they said, adding that this figure is an average, with the range between 6,270 and 45,070 cases.

The disparity is likely due to a lack of widespread testing, Egypt’s overwhelmingly young population who are less likely to show symptoms, and a reticence among some to self-report their illness. At least 97 foreign nationals reported symptoms of COVID-19 after leaving Egypt since mid-February.

The Canadian scientists findings’ sparked angry rebukes from the Egyptian authorities, including Egypt’s Ministry of Health who denied the report and labelled it “a complete disgrace to health.” The spokesman for Egypt’s Ministry of Health, Khaled Megahed, added the “the ministry announces any cases who test positive for the emerging coronavirus.” He did not respond to further requests for comment by the Guardian.

The World Health Organization in Cairo said it could not verify the methodology used by the Toronto-based researchers. A WHO official told reporters that the organisation draws the data it publishes from hospitals, meaning there are normally reporting delays. “It is possible that there are many other cases with mild symptoms which did not result in hospital visits, and therefore are not detected and reported,” the official said.

The Egyptian authorities have repeatedly threatened anyone they believe is spreading “false news,” about the virus, arresting three on this charge on Monday after three were arrested last week.

Egypt ranks 163rd out of 180 countries on Reporters Sans Frontiers World Press Freedom Index.

Boris Johnson says the government will no longer support mass gatherings in the UK.

Mass gatherings are something “we are now moving emphatically away from”, he said.

He also urged people to stay at home for 14 days if any member of the household is ill.

Full details are on Politics live blog.

Nurses at the Royal Victoria hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in north east England have been forced to lock away masks and hand sanitisers after visitors stole the essential items from the wards.

Hand gels were previously housed at the bottom of each bed, with the masks left outside flu isolation cubicles, but they are now stored in coded offices outside of the ward – leading them to be used less since they are not left in close proximity to care-givers.

Staff nurse Jennie Mitchell told the Guardian:

People have just been helping themselves and stealing them. Here in the north-east our shops are bare, especially for hand gel and sanitisers. So people have gone, ‘Oh look, there’s free hand gel’, since it sits in the bottom of the bed in an open cage.

We noticed pretty quickly they were disappearing and locked them away. We’re using them less now because they’re out of the way.

There’s a potential for it to pose a risk. The likelihood of someone just doing patient care and not using hand gel could happen. I think there is a higher risk.

I just worry about the people who are doing this. Its very selfish behaviour. We’re a respiratory ward. We have elderly patients who need looking after.

Updated

Many doctors and nurses don’t understand why the UK isn’t doing more to control the spread, writes Prof Devi Sridhar chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh. We need decisive action now, she says.

Boris Johnson is about to give the first daily briefing on the UK’s response to Covid-19. For full details follow Politics live with Andrew Sparrow.

On this blog we will continue to focus on the global response to the pandemic. We will cover any major announcements made by Johnson during the briefing, plus a summary once its over.

As the number of cases of Covid-19 cases rose to 114 in India, the government ordered a shutdown across the capital Delhi from Tuesday.

All gyms, spas and social, political, cultural and religious gatherings of more than 50 people will be suspended until at least 31 March. Weddings, however, are exempt.

Delhi so far has reported seven cases of Covid-19, with one casualty. Schools in Delhi Maharashtra, Tripura, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir also all remain closed. A nationwide closure of all museums and major monuments has also been ordered.

The restrictions on cross border movement have been ramped up and the country’s borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar were all closed over the weekend.

The crackdown on foreigners travelling in India continues. A blanket ban on all travellers from the UK, EU, and Turkey will be enforced from 18 March and today the state of Odisha has ordered all foreigners to register their arrival into state and quarantine themselves for 14 days. The borders of the state of Kerala, where the first cases were reported, remain completely closed.

Hotels and private residences in Mumbai and Delhi are now being converted into private quarantine facilities to cater for the increasing numbers arriving back into India.

For a country with a population of 1.3bn , and where people often live in densely populated areas with poor sanitation, the current rate of Covid-19 infections remains very low and so far there have only been two recorded deaths.

However, there are currently only 52 testing sites across the whole of India and less than 7000 tests have been carried out so far.

Summary

• The head of the World Health Organizaion, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has implored governments to test more suspected cases, warning that they cannot fight the pandemic blindfolded.
In a strongly-worded attack on governments which have neglected or held back testing, he said: “We have not seen an urgent enough escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing, which is the backbone of the response.”

• France has warned of a “fast-deteriorating” situation and Spain has requisitioned its private healthcare sector as European governments imposed closures and lockdowns rarely seen outside wartime to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Jérôme Salomon, France’s top health official, said on Monday the epidemic in the country was “very worrying”, with the number of cases doubling every three days. “There is a real worry the speed of the outbreak could saturate hospitals,” he said.

• Mounting concerns over a possible global recession have sent financial markets around the world plunging, despite a coordinated effort by central banks to protect growth and jobs, amid the widespread disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The escalation of the worst turmoil since the 2008 financial crisis, came as world leaders prepared to hold a G7 video summit on Monday devoted to strengthening the financial markets during the coronavirus pandemic and improving coordination on finding a vaccine.

• Major airlines including British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic announced a dramatic scaling back of their operations on Monday, with cuts of up to 80% of their services.
The moves came as an aviation consultancy warned that the international airline industry will collapse within months, with the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, unless states worldwide inject billions of dollars of emergency funding to see it through the coronavirus “catastrophe”.

• Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, was preparing to appear at the first of a series of daily news conferences where he was expected to outline the next steps in the UK’s plan to fight the outbreak
Ahead of the briefing, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps rejected criticism the government is being too slow to introduce measures limiting the spread of coronavirus, saying ministers are rigorously following scientific advice rather than “doing things that just sound good”
Britain’s armed forces are meanwhile preparing to send thousands of military medics to assist in NHS hospitals in the coming weeks as part of Operation Broadshare – the Ministry of Defence’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Finland’s government has proposed emergency legislation to close all its schools and universities from Wednesday.

Announcing the plan, Prime Minister Sanna Marin, said: “You can be [in public], take care of your business, walk through the train station. But everything unnecessary should be stopped, also by private businesses. There would be no point in closing schools if students just gathered at other places.”

There were 272 confirmed coronavirus cases and no linked deaths in Finland as of Monday according to health authority.

The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) has called on additional measures from the Scottish government to support the industry as the number of cases jumped to 171.

Scrapping of business rates for all travel and tourism businesses for 2020 and deferring all corporation tax, VAT, PAYE and other tax payments for 12 months is just a few of the measures the STA is calling on the Scottish government to immediately implement in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The alliance has been engaged in several discussions with the government and called for widespread support “since these are unprecedented times, the rule book needs to be thrown out of the window”.

The Scottish government advice that gatherings of 500 or more be cancelled has come into force today. Though the advice, which was issued to reduce the impact of the outbreak on front line services, only applies to certain events, many organisations have taken it upon themselves to cancel large gatherings.

Edinburgh International Festival announced it would be postponing the launch of the 2020 programme. Organisers said they are still planning to deliver a festival this August.

“We are working as quickly as we can to provide certainty to everyone. Our focus remains on presenting the festival and getting artists back on our stages and audiences back into concert halls and theatres as soon as it is safe to do so,” Francesca Hegyi, executive director of Edinburgh International Festival said.

The Glasgow School of Art became the latest educational institution to cease all lectures and tutorials at its Glasgow and Highlands and Islands campuses from 6pm today.

Updated

Vauxhall’s major UK manufacturing facilities are to close until 27 March as part of a Europe-wide shutdown by owner PSA Group due to coronavirus.

Carmakers including Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot, Volkswagen and its premium unit Audi are reducing production at their European plants as they grapple with the Coronavirus.

Like factories in the UK they do not have clarity on social-distancing rules in the workplace.

Audi said workers have downed tools over concerns about exposure to the virus while Fiat Chrysler said it was halting production for two weeks to help protect staff and adjust to decline in demand.

French carmaker PSA, which owns the Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall brands, also said it was closing its European factories until March 27.

Ford said it was closing its plant in Valencia, Spain, for the rest of this week following a flurry of infections, and would reassess after talks with trade unions.

“We have had three positive cases of COVID-19 on the Valencia site in a 24-hour period, two of which involved more isolated workers who did not enter the assembly operations,” a spokeswoman said on Monday.

Ford employees who had close contact with the affected workers are now in self-isolation.

“We will take all other appropriate steps to ensure that risk from this situation is minimised,” Ford said.

Last week, some Spanish plants of the Renault-Nissan alliance and Volkswagen’s Spanish division Seat announced temporary stoppages that could last for days or weeks.

On Monday, Volkswagen’s Autoeuropa car assembly plant near Lisbon, Portugal, said it had reduced its daily output by 16% because of a shortage of workers after Portugal ordered all schools closed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Volkswagen also said on Sunday it was preparing to suspend operations at its plant in Bratislava after Slovakia declared a state of emergency in response to the virus.

Tedros also expressed alarm about the the spread of the disease to developing countries. He said:

So far, we have seen epidemics in countries with advanced health systems, but even they have struggled to cope. As the virus moves to low income countries, we are deeply concerned about the impact it could have among populations with high HIV prevalence, or among malnourished children.

That’s why we’re calling on every country and every individual to do everything they can to stop transmission. Washing your hands will help reduce your risk of infection. But it’s also an act of solidarity because it reduces the risk you will infect others in your community and around the world. Do it for yourself, do it for others.

And he urged people around the world to stop hoarding. Tedros said:

We also asked people to express their solidarity by refraining from hoarding essential items, including medicines. Hoarding can create shortages of medicines and other essential products which can exacerbate suffering.

Tedros also warned against treating Covid-19 patients at home. He said:

We recognise that many countries have already exceeded their capacity to care for mild cases in dedicated health facilities. In that situation, countries should prioritize all their patients and those with underlying conditions.

Some countries have expanded their capacity by using stadiums and gyms to care for mild cases, with severe and critical cases cared for in hospitals. Another option is for patients with mild disease to be isolated and cared for at home. Caring for infected people at home may put others in the same household at risk.

So it’s critical that caregivers follow WHO guidance on how to provide care as safely as possible.

WHO: 'test, test, test'

The head of the World Health Organizaion, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has implored governments to test more suspected cases, warning that they cannot fight the pandemic blindfolded.

In a strongly-worded attack on governments which have neglected or held back testing, he said: “We have not seen an urgent enough escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing, which is the backbone of the response.”

Tedros added:

The most effective way to prevent infections and save lives is breaking the chains of transmission. And to do that, you must test and isolate. You cannot fight the fire blindfolded. And we cannot stop this pandemic, if we don’t know who is infected. We have a simple message for all countries Test, test, test. Test every suspected case.

The regional leader of Spain’s Catalonia, Quim Torra, has tested positive for coronavirus.

Torra said he began noticing symptoms on Sunday, soon after the region’s deputy leader, Pere Aragonès, said he had tested positive.

In recent days, Torra has emerged as one of the fiercest critics of Spain’s emergency measures, joining the Basque country in claiming that the centralisation of powers could undermine the autonomy of Spain’s regions. The separatist was the only regional leader who refused to sign a joint document with the central government promising united action as the nation battles an epidemic that ranks among the worst in Europe.

Spain has confirmed 9,191 cases and 309 deaths, making it the second hardest-hit country in Europe after Italy.

Last week Torra called for Madrid to suspend all travel to Catalonia by closing airports and train stations in the region. On Monday he reiterated his call for stronger measures to stem the spread of Covid-19. “We can’t let another minute go by,” said Torra. Catalonia has confirmed around 900 cases and 33 deaths.

Several high-profile Spanish politicians have tested positive in recent days, including Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the leader of the Madrid region, as well as two ministers in the Spanish government, Irene Montero and Carolina Darias. Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, tested positive earlier this week.

On Monday, Malaga-based football club Atletico Portada Alta confirmed the death of Francisco Garcia, a 21-year-old junior team coach. Garcia had reportedly been suffering a form of leukaemia, leaving him vulnerable to coronavirus.

Two major online supermarket websites in the UK went into meltdown today and imposed “virtual queues” for their shoppers as retailers battled to cope with the ongoing surge of online grocery orders due to fears about the impact of coronavirus.

As panic buying continues to sweep the UK, Waitrose shoppers were left unable to complete their planned grocery orders due to “technical issues” while Ocado customers were also told they had to wait in a “virtual queue” of at least fifteen minutes.

After ongoing technical glitches over the weekend, which led to many Ocado deliveries this morning delayed and then cancelled at short notice, the online grocer also said that it will not be processing “new customers bookings” until further notice. It has also suspended its online shopping app which failed last Friday.

Existing Ocado customers logging into their accounts have been greeted with a message saying:

You are in a virtual queue. Sorry for the wait. Demand is very high at the moment so you may have to wait a little longer than usual to access the website. Your wait time will be more than fifteen minutes.

In a further update to its website it also explains that due to “unusual demand, we have made the call to temporarily prioritise deliveries for existing registered customers. We will not be processing new customer bookings for the time being.”

We apologise for any disappointment. We are working hard to increase our delivery capacity and we will contact all newly registered customers as soon as the situation changes.

Meanwhile, Waitrose shoppers unable to access their accounts or complete their grocery orders were told: “If you’re experiencing technical issues at this busy time, please bear with us. We’ll fix them as soon as we can.”

A Waitrose spokesperson said:“We are experiencing some intermittent technical issues due to high volumes, but we’re working to resolve them and are sorry for any inconvenience. We have a queue system in place to manage flow to the website.”

The fallout comes as grocery retailers continued to cope with a surge in demand for store cupboard essentials, including toilet roll, dried pasta and tinned tomatoes, as shoppers stock up in preparation for potential self-isolation amid fears of shortages or store closures. Even wet wipes, kitchen roll and biscuits are also selling out.

Malaysia has imposed sweeping measures to slow the spread of coronavirus, after the number of cases confirmed in the country rose to 553.

The country will ban all mass gatherings, including religious, sports and social activities. All citizens will be banned from travelling overseas, and any Malaysians returning to the country will be required to self quarantine for 14 days. No foreign tourists will be allowed entry.

All schools, kindergartens, universities and colleges will be closed, as will many government and private offices. The measures will be introduced on Wednesday for a two week period.

Officials earlier confirmed 125 new cases, part of a sudden wave of infections linked to a gathering at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, which was attended by 16,000 people.

The Freight Transport Association in the UK has confirmed that there are no hold ups for trucks bringing food in from Spain, France or elsewhere in Europe at the moment.

It insists that supplies are getting through to supermarkets, particularly of perishable foods that come from the continent including lettuce, tomatoes and winter vegetables.

However Elizabeth de Jong the FTA’s UK policy advisor are concerned about the sharp reduction in flights warning that 70% of freight is transported on passenger planes including critical pharmaceuticals, scientific equipment, some food and flowers.

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU travel ban proposal would not apply to UK citizens.

She told a press conference: “The UK citizens are European citizens so of course there are no restrictions for the UK citizens to travel to the continent.”

Von Der Leyen also endorsed tough social distancing measures being imposed in Europe. But she urged neighbouring countries to “harmonize” their measures they are taking to give a clear message to citizens.

She said: “It is important that our healthcare system is able to deal with the amount of patients that are severely ill. And therefore it’s of utmost importance to take all these measures member states are taking right now to slow down social contracts to slow down public life.”

On the proposed travel ban she said:

We think non essential travel should be reduced right now in order to not spread the virus further, be it within the European Union or by leaving the European Union.

There will be exemptions for EU citizens coming back home, for health care workers like doctors and nurses, but also scientists working on the solution of this health crisis.

Those commuting to work across borders will also be exempt

Guardian reader Clare Finnigan noticed that Paperchase in London appears to be banning cash payments. A sign on the window of a store in Islington’s Upper Street said it is only accepting credit card payments to “protect our customers and colleagues”.

Notice in Paperchase window
Notice in Paperchase window in Islington’s Upper Street in London. Photograph: Clare Finnigan

Hospital inspections suspended

In the UK, routine inspections for hospitals, GP surgeries and care homes have been suspended so health and care workers can concentrate efforts on battling coronavirus.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) announced it has temporarily paused inspections of health and care organisations where there are no immediate safety concerns.

The move was welcomed by health leaders, some of whom had warned that inspections could divert attention away from clinical care.

Ian Trenholm, chief executive of the CQC, said:

During this period, our priority will be to support those who deliver health and social care to keep people safe during this global health emergency.

We will therefore be stopping routine inspections from today. It may still be necessary to use our inspection powers in a very small number of cases when there is clear evidence of harm, such as allegations of abuse.

In adult social care, our inspectors will also be acting as a support for registered managers, providing advice and guidance throughout this period in the absence of a single national body equivalent to NHS England.

We are talking to social care providers about how to most effectively collect information from them to ensure that the Government has a clear picture of the impact that Covid-19 is having on the sector.

The NHS Confederation said frontline staff will “breathe a sigh of relief” as the NHS faces “the greatest challenge in its history”. The British Medical Association (BMA) said the decision was “common sense”.

A major push to provide provide food supplies and mental health support to older Irish residents – Britain’s oldest ethnic group and the most likely to already feel isolated even before the impact of the coronavirus pandemic - is being launched in London.

The switching of existing services at the London Irish Centre to door to door deliveries and a helpline coincided with the news that a food bank used by vulnerable people in the same part of the city is closing to minimise the risk of coronavirus infection

“We had our last lunch club at the centre today for the many older people who come and there was a look of shock on their faces but the response from people wanting to get involved in what we’re going to be doing has been incredible,” said Brian Hanley, Director of Community Services at the centre.

Hanley, whose colleagues work with 2,400 vulnerable people a year to provide benefits advice service, lunch clubs and a befriending service, said that an analysis had shown the Irish in Britain were likely to be older than members of other communities, have long term health conditions and live alone.

“What we’re doing is making plans to redirect all of our resources and services for the community and target it at those most in need over the coming months. We’re talking about a generation who moved to Britain in the 1950s and played a major part in building up London’s infrastructure, the NHS and more but who have high levels of need now.”

The centre, which has cancelled St Patrick’s day events that were due to take place there, requires donations and volunteers. Its coronavirus effort ranges from food deliveries of home-cooked food through to telephone calls and advice from a qualified nurse.

It comes after there was shock today/Monday when Islington Food Bank announced it was closing to the public from march 23.

“We understand that we provide a service to vulnerable people who may need us now more than ever, but still feel this is the best way to keep our volunteers and clients safe and minimise the risk of infection,” it said in a statement.

Updated

EU suspends non-essential travel

The EU is proposing suspending all non-essential travel for 30 days, the president of the EU commission has announced.

Updated

Italy’s top flight football league, Serie A, is considering splitting the current campaign over two seasons.

Northern Ireland has recorded seven new cases of Covid-19 since Sunday taking its total to 52 cases, Stormont health minister Robin Swann said.

The health authorities have expanded their definition of cases of the virus.

Swann said 88 intensive care unit (ICU) beds were available and there were plans to expand that to 126 adult beds.

At least 36 people have now died in the UK after being diagnosed with coronavirus, after Wales confirmed its first death.

The patient, who was in their sixties and had underlying health conditions, died at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Across the UK, 1,543 people have now tested positive for Covid-19, up from 1,372 at the same time on Sunday. However, many thousands more are estimated to have been infected.

Over 200 British and American passengers are among 609 people on a cruise ship in isolation in Recife in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Dom Phillips reports from Brazil.

Two passengers have been removed for coronavirus testing from the Silver Shadow - a Canadian male passenger, aged 78, tested positive and an Irish woman tested negative, local media reported.

Sailing from Buenos Aires to Fort Lauderdale after stopping in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, the Silver Shadow docked in Recife on March 12 and has been isolated there since the Canadian passenger left the ship, felt sick and was taken to a local private hospital.

According to a ship’s manifest seen by The Guardian, there are 109 British passengers – 62 female and 47 male – among the 318 passengers and eight British nationals among the 291 crew. There are also 103 US passengers.

A spokeswoman for the ship’s owners Silversea, part of the Royal Caribbean group, said:

Two guests aboard the Silver Shadow have been medically disembarked in Recife, Brazil, and one has tested positive for COVID-19. We have asked guests on the ships to temporarily remain in their cabins in accordance with our medical isolation protocols.

Olimar Cardoso, Pernambuco director of Brazil’s sanitary vigilance agency, ANVISA, told reporters on Saturday that passengers are only allowed to circulate around the ship in small groups and meals are left outside their cabins. “It is a situation nobody likes to go through,” he said.

A spokesman for the British embassy said it is working closely with Royal Caribbean on “how best to get British nationals home.” The US Consulate in Recife said it is “in contact with Brazilian authorities regarding the well-being and safety of U.S. passengers”.

A Pernambuco government spokesman said it has been meeting with health ministry, embassies and the navy to find a “safe way to return everyone to their countries.”

Germany closes shops

In Germany the federal government has announced the closure of a range of non-essential retail outlets in its latest bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.

There are hopes supermarket delivery services could ease tensions by getting supplies to those advised to self isolate and also avoid lots of people going to shops for their supplies, Vikram Dodd reports.

But on Monday morning they were buckling under the pressure.

Sainsburys had no delivery slots for the next three weeks, Ocado was closed to new customers and had introduced a “virtual queue” for existing customers and Waitrose was off line altogether.

An estimated 140,000 people have been laid off in Ireland since emergency measures to combat coronavirus were introduced four days ago, according to national broadcaster RTE.

This is a combination of 70,000 restaurant workers, 50,000 pub and bar staff, and around 20,000 crèche and childcare workers. it reported.

This is a huge shock to the economy and triple them monthly unemployment numbers in the 2010 crash and possibly gives a glimpse of the consequences to come if the UK’s follows EU countries and moves to close schools and introduce curfews on restaurants and bars.

The minister for social protection said they had 20,000 applications for benefits on Friday alone.

As the prime minister prepares for the first of what are to be daily briefings on the developing coronavirus situation in the UK, here’s the Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins on why he thinks that they may only make things worse.

Boris Johnson is to hold a daily press conference on coronavirus. If ever an accident was waiting to happen, this is it. Downing Street hopes to put a stop to days of scientists and ministers falling out over how the crisis should be handled. Good luck with that.

No one knows for sure how to predict the unprecedented – or how to handle it. Initially there was a sense, certainly among the doctors to whom I have spoken,that Britain’s position at the non-hysterical end of the spectrum was correct. The chief medical officer for England, Chris Whitty, took the view that the illness, though highly contagious, was most dangerous for those with a vulnerable immune system. The death rate was almost exclusive to this mostly elderly group. There was no immediate reason to upheave hospitals, close schools, ban social activities or plunge the economy into recession. There were reasons only for contingencies.

As the virus expanded and other governments reacted differently, this stance was challenged. But Whitty had accepted that, if circumstances altered, policy would shift from “contain to delay”. This was undermined as global hysteria rose to a peak. Other countries were reacting as had China and South Korea, and progressed to “lockdown”. England’s chief scientific officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, unwisely mentioned the technical term “herd immunity”, implying that Britain would over time develop resistance to coronavirus. That allowed Johnson to appear casual about “[losing] loved ones”.

Updated

Moscow has banned all public events with more than 50 participants in a new measure to stop the coronavirus that will also have a chilling effect on anti-Kremlin protests, Andrew Roth reports from Moscow.

The ban comes less than a week after Vladimir Putin endorsed amendments to Russia’s constitution that would allow him to run for a fifth and sixth terms as president, potentially prolonging his time in the Kremlin until 2036.

Dozens were arrested this weekend as Muscovites lined up to protest the move in individual pickets, the only protest actions allowed in Russia without prior approval from the government.

A man wearing a protective face mask waits for a metro train in Moscow on Monday
A man wearing a protective face mask waits for a metro train in Moscow on Monday Photograph: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images

The government had already banned large events of more than 5,000 people.
The Kremlin had scheduled a 22 April vote to endorse the constitutional amendments, but has signalled that it may be postpone it because of the spread of the virus.

The ban was announced on Monday as Moscow closed schools, sport academies and other educational institutions until 12 April.

Russia said that it has registered 93 cases of coronavirus, marking a jump of nearly 50% in the last 24 hours.

Updated

Humanitarian groups warn of Covid-19 "carnage" among refugee camps

Humanitarian organisations are warning of the risk of “carnage” when the coronavirus reaches the millions of people currently living in cramped refugee camps and other sites hosting displaced people, Damian Carrington reports.

Syria, Yemen and Venezuela in particular danger, they say, with Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Greece also at risk.

The lack of medical facilities at such sites and the poor health of the refugees means Covid-19 infection is likely to have a more serious health impact, according to UOSSM, which provides free medical aid to the people of Syria and runs 12 hospitals and 120 clinics.

A boy wears a surgical mask to protect from coronavirus at the Moria refugee camp near Mytilene on the Island of Lesvos last week
A boy wears a surgical mask to protect from coronavirus at the Moria refugee camp near Mytilene on the Island of Lesvos last week Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images

Dr Hussam Al Fakir, chairman of UOSSM International, said:

It is not a question of if, but when an outbreak will occur. We cannot let it start: there will be no stopping it. Our staff are still recovering from a relentless bombing campaign, how can they be expected to manage a pandemic without any protective gear?

The Syrian medical system already suffers from a shortage of masks, gloves, gowns, disinfectant and thermal scanners, Al Fakir said. and other medical supplies. He called on the international community to immediately provide supplies to prevent a further humanitarian catastrophe.

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said:

There will be carnage when the virus reaches parts of Syria, Yemen and Venezuela where hospitals have been demolished and health systems have collapsed. And when the virus hits overcrowded settlements in places like Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Greece, the consequences will be devastating. We must act now.

Iran is already a coronavirus hotspot and a coronavirus case was reported last week on the Greek island of Lesbos, which hosts the overcrowded Moria refugee camp. Syria’s government says there have been no officially registered cases of the virus so far, nor has Yemen reported cases. But cases have been reported in the neighboring nations of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Israel and Turkey.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the major NGOs helping refugees worldwide, has warned that the coronavirus will decimate refugee communities if countries do not act now, Jon Henley reports.

Jan Egeland, the organisation’s secretary general, said:

As world leaders brace for the worst within their borders, they must not abandon those living outside them. We must turbocharge our humanity and stand in international solidarity with refugees and displaced people during this time of widespread uncertainty.

Egeland,a former senior United Nations official for humanitarian affairs, said millions of conflict-affected people were living in cramped refugee and displacement sites with desperately poor hygiene and sanitation facilities.

When the virus hits overcrowded settlements in places like Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Greece, the consequences will be devastating. We must act now. There will also be carnage when the virus reaches parts of Syria, Yemen and Venezuela where hospitals have been demolished and health systems have collapsed.

He called for national contingency planning to include vulnerable communities inside countries’ borders and more flexibility from donors so that humanitarian organisations could scale up water, sanitation and hygiene facilities “and take other necessary actions to help avoid a catastrophe”.

Coronavirus “doesn’t discriminate or play politics”, Egeland said.

Neither should the world when it comes to supporting those most at risk of contracting the illness.

Lockdown across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has announced wide-reaching measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the north-east United States.

Iceland has tested a higher proportion of citizens than any other country, the government announced on Monday, saying its findings yielded “valuable insights” into the behaviour of the coronavirus, Jon Henley, the Guardian’s Europe correspondent, reports.

With a population of just over 364,000, Iceland has tested 2,868 people, most of them without symptoms of infection – a rate of 7,879 per million inhabitants, compared with 5,077 per million in South Korea and 2,065 in Italy.

It has so far confirmed a total of 180 cases and no deaths.

The government said the testing, performed by a private company, deCode Genetics, and the public healthcare system, “give a strong indication that efforts to limit the spread of the virus have been effective”.

Iceland’s containment measures have so far focused on testing, contact tracing of infections, social distancing, public education around the importance of hand hygiene, voluntary self-quarantine and strict measures at care institutions.

Of the country’s diagnosed cases, it said at least 100 of those infected contracted the virus while travelling abroad, mostly in high-risk areas in the European Alps, while 31 cases were traced to direct transmission from individuals who became infected outside Iceland.

Thorolfur Gudnason, Iceland’s chief epidemiologist, said about half of the cases that had been diagnosed are from individuals who had been quarantined.

Our focus is to protect those most vulnerable from contracting the virus, while trying to ensure that the overall spread of the virus remains slow.

We are optimistic that the combined efforts to test a large part of the population will provide insights that can contribute to the world’s response to this pandemic.

Updated

A spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in recent days has prompted closures across Canada, including schools, business-and even the courts, Leyland Cecco reports from Toronto. The country has recorded at least 314 cases, up from 193 on 13 March.

As the number of infections increased over the weekend, driven in large part by community transmission, the province of Alberta chose to shut down all public schools, joining a number of other provinces.

But in a move underscoring the level of concern, the province left open the possibility of keeping schools closed for the remainder of the school year. The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr Deena Hinshaw, said:

This pandemic will not end in a matter of weeks, and there won’t be a clear opportunity to reopen schools, likely not until September at the earliest.

On Sunday evening, Ontario’s court system announced all proceedings in criminal and civil courts would be adjourned until June at the earliest. The courts did make an exception for “urgent matters”, saying those cases would be heard.

The province’s superior court of justice said on its website:

The court plays a fundamental role in our constitutional democracy. Access to justice for the most urgent matters must always remain available.

Federal prisons have banned in-person visits with inmates, allowing only video and telephone conversations.

Prime minister Justin Trudeau is expected to address the nation at 1pm EST.

Updated

Amid the panic buying sweeping UK supermarkets, some people are trying to make a massive profit by selling toilet roll and hand sanitiser online, Josh Halliday, the Guardian’s north of England correspondent, reports.

The Guardian found one UK-based eBay user selling a 72-pack of Andrex toilet roll for £84.99 on Monday morning – triple its retail price.

The same user, who appears to be based in the Midlands, appears to have bulk bought dozens of cleaning products and uploaded them all to eBay at huge mark-ups since Saturday night.

They include a 48 pack of Andrex loo roll for £59.99 - triple its retail price of £18 - and Wilko anti-bacterial wipes for £10.95, nearly ten times the retail price of £1. This seller and eBay have been contacted for comment.

There appears to be no shortage of people willing to pay such extortionate prices: an auction for a 72-pack of Andrex toilet roll had reached £51 on eBay by Monday morning - nearly double its retail price of £27 – with over five hours of bidding still to go.

Other sellers were also getting in on the profiteering. One seller had flogged dozens of Regina 9-pack toilet rolls (RRP £2.49) for up to £12.99 since Saturday night. Another had sold 18 packs of Andrex for £8.50 –more than triple its retail price of £2.50.

An eBay posting for toilet rolls
An eBay posting for toilet rolls Photograph: eBay

Updated

Coronavirus has even reached Greenland. The island which largely falls inside the Arctic Circle and has a population of 56,000, reported its first case in the capital Nuuk.

The patient has been placed in isolation, according to an announcement by the Greenland government. Credit for the tip goes to Anders Madsen, a Nuuk nurse and Guardian subscriber.

A patient in Nuuk, Greenland has tested positive for Covid-19
A patient in Nuuk, Greenland has tested positive for Covid-19 Photograph: Keith Virgo/AP

Updated

The family of a talented 88-year-old church choir singer who died after catching coronavirus have appealed for acts of kindness to be carried out in his memory, my colleague Simon Murphy reports.

Darrell Blakeley, who died on Friday evening at a Manchester hospital, is thought to have been infected following contact at a restaurant with someone who had recently returned from a skiing trip to Italy.

The pensioner, among 35 coronavirus deaths in the UK, fell ill with sepsis following the meeting earlier this month and was placed in quarantine because of his contact with the skier – however, he initially tested negative for Covid-19.

Updated

171 more coronavirus cases detected in UK

There have been a total of 1,543 positive tests for coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Monday, up from 1,372 at the same time on Sunday, the Department of Health said.

Officials said 44,105 people have been tested in the UK, of which 42,562 were confirmed negative and 1,543 were confirmed as positive.

Wales has recorded its first death from Covid-19. Dr Giri Shankar, of Public Health Wales, said:

We can confirm that this is the first death in Wales from Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) infection. The individual, who was in their 60s and had underlying health conditions, sadly passed away at Wrexham Maelor hospital.

No further details regarding this individual will be released, and we ask those reporting on the situation to respect patient confidentiality.

First minister Mark Drakeford said:

I am deeply saddened that a person in Wales who had coronavirus has died. My heartfelt condolences are with their family and friends.

We continue to work hard to respond to this fast-changing situation, as the impact of the virus continues to increase in the days and weeks ahead.

Updated

Arnold Schwarzenegger has a stern message for Californians tempted to defy Governor Gavin Newsom and go out to bars, restaurants or wineries while the coronavirus outbreak rages, Martin Pengelly in New York reports.

Stay at home as much as possible. Listen to the experts, ignore the morons (foreheads). We will get through this together.

On Sunday, the Terminator star and former California governor posted the message and a short video to Twitter. It was not immediately clear what he meant by “foreheads” but the video featuring the actor and two pets, miniature horses Lulu and Whiskey, quickly set the internet on fire.

Updated

The Belfast city marathon has been postponed until September, and the city’s half-marathon has been postponed until February 2021, the organisers have announced on their website.

John Allen, chairman of Belfast City Marathon Ltd, said:

Currently the world is in an unprecedented situation with the global pandemic of Covid-19 and our fundamental priority is the health of everyone. We appreciate your patience since the statement was released on Friday 13 March and would like to thank all our partners and sponsors for helping us to reschedule the 2020 dates of the Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon and Deep RiverRock Belfast City Half Marathon.

As a board of directors we understand that you will all have many questions and would ask that you please bear with us as we work through the logistics as we prepare for our new scheduled dates. We will email you all with updates by the end of next week at the latest, alongside posting regular updates on our official website www.belfastcitymarathon.com and social media channels.

The situation is disappointing for you all after your hard weeks of training and efforts of fundraising, but we know we can stay strong and gather to celebrate your achievements on the rescheduled dates.

Updated

A doctors group has slammed an email sent to medical students in Liverpool, calling them to volunteer to help with coronavirus saying the tone was “concerning” and suggested “servitude”, Sarah Marsh reports.

Students at the University of Liverpool School of Medicine were told that doctors helping with coronavirus may now take precedent over teaching. The email read:

I do understand that many of you may choose not to volunteer to serve in this way. I respect this. Please note however that this activity is likely to be the best way that we can enable you to obtain the competencies needed in the acute and shadowing blocks for the rest of the year ...

Therefore, if you do not choose to do this [volunteer], you will leave placement and we will discuss with you what alternative activity you an evidence in your portfolio for completion of year 5.

Julia Simons, the medical student lead for Doctors Association UK, said:

It’s great to see medical schools, such as Liverpool, communicating clearly with students about what will be expected of us. However, the tone of the email is concerning - this is a degree not servitude. Medical students should be making their own decisions about how and whether they want to volunteer.”

A University of Liverpool spokesperson said:

As clearly expressed in our email to students, they are under no obligation to volunteer and, should they choose not to, we will work with them to discuss what alternative activity can be undertaken for completion of their course. It is highly likely that this would not include further clinical experience as the NHS will not be able to support this at this time.

Here is more from Ashifa Kassam, reporting for the Guardian from in Spain.

The number of deaths in Spain has risen to 297, and there are 8,744 confirmed cases across the country, health authorities said on Monday. Just over 40% of those infected with the virus are currently hospitalised.

Monday marked the first working day since Spain went into a nationwide near-total lockdown, laying bare a significant flaw -- the crowded metros and trains across Madrid and Barcelona.

Social media filled up with photos of packed stations and railcars, sparking questions about how effective government has really been in banning all crowds and social gatherings.

On Monday, Spain’s transport minister, José Luis Ábalos, told broadcaster RNE that, in his opinion, the state of emergency would need to stretch longer than 15 days in order to be effective. The measure can be extended through a parliamentary approval.

As the Spanish government mulls its options for stemming the epidemic, the closing of the country’s borders is one course of action being considered, the country’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska told radio station Cadena Ser on Monday.

Key updates so far today

Hello, it’s Damien Gayle taking charge again on the live blog. Readers who have been keeping abreast of the updates for the past few hours can rest assured that I now know what a Canadian sugar shack is.

Here are the key updates since the blog was opened 12 hours ago by our colleagues in Australia.

  • The official global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has now passed 6,500, with the number of deaths and infections around the world now exceeding those in China, where it began. Infections have been reported in 156 countries.
  • Boris Johnson is to chair the first of what are intended to be daily coronavirus press conferences later on Monday, following criticism of the government’s communications of its strategy for tackling the coronavirus outbreak in the UK.
  • An NHS document leaked to the media suggested that the coronavirus emergency could last up to a year in the UK and put 8m people in hospital. This morning, Downing St said the 8m figure was a worst case scenario, rather than what the government expected.
  • Passengers on the London Underground network are down by nearly a fifth compared to the same time last year, while numbers on buses were down by 10%.
  • The Spanish government has requisitioned its private healthcare sector
    and given any company that has supplies of protective gear 48 hours to report to health authorities, or face fines.
  • Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is to address an anxious France tonight about his government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. It comes as the country was gripped by rumours of an impending announcement of martial law.
  • The government of Singapore sharply criticised responses to the outbreak by the UK, Switzerland and Japan, saying that “these countries have abandoned any attempt at containing the spread of the virus,” as he announced new travel restrictions.
  • The US Centers for Disease Control advised that events of 50 people or more be cancelled or postponed throughout the United States.
  • The US Federal Reserve announced it would cut its benchmark interest rate to near zero and said it would buy US$700bn in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities as it attempts to head off a severe slowdown.
  • New York City will close the largest public school system in the US on Monday, and its bars, restaurants and entertainment venues from Tuesday.
  • The states of California, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington closed their bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, too. Food takeout and delivery are still allowed.
  • Most of the first hour of the US Democratic debate focused on the coronavirus crisis, as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders criticised the Trump administration’s response and emphasised the need to confront the crisis and adhere to medical experts’ guidance.
  • A US sailor aboard a warship ship tested positive for the coronavirus for the first time, the US Navy said on Sunday, as it disclosed the case of a sailor assigned to an amphibious assault ship.
  • Argentina went into a full official lockdown Sunday evening as President Alberto Fernández announced the closing of the country’s borders to all arrivals, including the closure of its land borders, and the suspension of all classes until March 31.
  • The US embassy and the British Foreign Office are advising their non-resident citizens to leave Argentina quickly while flights are still open.
  • The death toll in Italy increased by 25% to 1,809 from 1,441 on Sunday – a rise of 368. The total number of confirmed cases in Italy rose to 24,747 from 21,157 on Saturday.
  • Louis Vuitton owner LVMH has said its cosmetics unit would manufacture large quantities of hand disinfectant gel to help stave off a nationwide shortage across France as the coronavirus continues to spread.
  • South Africa declared a national disaster and introduced a series of drastic measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
  • Luxembourg on Sunday followed its neighbours France and Belgium in closing bars and restaurants to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

Updated

Here’s a guide to the different responses from European public on a range of decisions including gatherings, flight bans and school closures.

Updated

The UK’s Foreign Office is holding “high level discussions” to get more than 650 Britons home from a Covid-19-stricken cruise ship, PA reports.

The Braemar cruise ship took on more medical staff and stocked up on supplies on Sunday night after anchoring in the Bahamas.

The vessel, containing 667 Britons, was forced to isolate 20 guests and 20 crew who showed flu-like symptoms.

They included five people who tested positive for Covid-19 at the boat’s last port of call on the island of Curacao, on March 10.

On Monday, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, which runs the Braemar, said two doctors and two nurses were drafted in to assist the on-board medical team.

Food, medication and ship supplies were also delivered via a cargo ship from the Freeport area of the Bahamas overnight, after dropping anchor 25 miles south west of the city on Saturday.

Fred Olsen said they were involved in discussions with the Foreign Office to get guests home “as quickly as possible”.

In a statement, the Foreign Office urged over-70s and those with high-risk conditions not to travel on cruise ships.

Air pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles is likely to increase mortality from the novel coronavirus in cities, public health experts have warned, AFP reports.

The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) warned that dirty air in urban areas that causes hypertension, diabetes and other respiratory illness could lead to a higher overall death toll from the virus currently sweeping the world.

Emissions from petrol and diesel engines were still at “dangerous” levels that could imperil the most vulnerable during this and future pandemics, said the European Respiratory Society (EPS), which is a member of the EPHA.

“Patients with chronic lung and heart conditions caused or worsened by long-term exposure to air pollution are less able to fight off lung infections and more likely to die,” EPS member Sara De Matteis said.

“This is likely also the case for Covid-19,” added de Matteis, who is also an associate professor in occupational and environmental medicine at Italy’s Cagliari University.

While there is currently no proven link between Covid-19 mortality and air pollution, one peer-reviewed study into the 2003 SARS outbreak showed that patients in regions with moderate air pollution levels were 84 percent more likely to die than those in regions with low air pollution.

According to the European Environment Agency, air pollution leads to around 400,000 early deaths across the continent annually, despite European Union air quality directives.

One Covid-19 hotspot, northern Italy, has particularly high levels of PM10 - microscopic particles of pollution due largely to road traffic.

The number of fatalities in Italy shot up by 368 to 1,809 on Sunday - more than half of all the cases recorded outside China.

Celebrities have been advising people about what to do to minimise the risk of contracting coronavirus. Arnold Schwarzenegger, accompanied by his miniature horse and pet donkey, suggested people should not leave their homes. Others have focused on demonstrating different activities that people can do to make sure they’re washing their hands for long enough – from reciting poems to kicking a football around.

Virgin Atlantic has drastically reduced its flight schedule and stopped flights between London’s Heathrow, and Newark, New Jersey, in the US. In a statement, it said:

This change amounts (to an) approximately 80% reduction in flights per day by 26 March. As a direct consequence we will be parking approximately 75% of our fleet by 26 March and at points in April will go up to 85%.

Owing to restrictions to international travel, the airline is reducing services to focus on core routes, depending on customer demand. This will be subject to constant review as the situation evolves.

Our London Heathrow-Newark route will be permanently terminated with immediate effect.

Updated

Wales has reported another 30 cases of Covid-19 ,taking its total to 124.

Updated

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, chief Medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood (centre) and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman give a press conference on Covid-19 in Edinburgh
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, chief Medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood (centre) and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman give a press conference on Covid-19 in Edinburgh Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/AFP via Getty Images

Mass gatherings in Scotland could be postponed until the summer due to the coronavirus outbreak, as the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, defended the country’s response to the pandemic.

As of today, the Scottish government is issuing advice that mass events should not take place to reduce the impact of the outbreak on frontline services.

Sturgeon confirmed at a press briefing on Monday morning that this advice could be in place for several months and she can’t rule out it remaining even longer.

The first minister said “significant steps” have been taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus and reduce its impact, amidst growing criticism of the UK response to the outbreak.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said 700 additional ICU ventilators have been commissioned. In Scotland, authorities will continue to test key workers, including critical frontline NHS staff, to ensure the people who are so essential to managing the disease but also keeping a critical infrastructure going are not self-isolating unnecessarily.

Scotland is taking the same approach to the rest of the UK in considering asking elderly people to reduce social contact amid the coronavirus outbreak, the first minister said.

Sturgeon would not comment in detail about the stringent approach other countries have taken, but said: “I’m not privy to the advice and decision making in those countries. My responsibility is to follow the scientific advice we’ve been given, to interrogate and scrutinise that advice and to apply judgement to it.”

The first minister said that Scotland has already taken “quite significant steps” to tackle the outbreak and possibly prevent a second severe spike. “Asking everyone who has a fever or a cough to stay in their house for seven days is a significant step and behaviour change that we’re asking people to apply.”

She added: “That advice of course is about how we slow the spread and reduce the impact, but we do that in a way that perhaps avoids a later perhaps just as severe spike later on.”

The Scottish government’s ban on mass gathering does not currently apply to schools, travel, shopping and work. Dr Catherine Calderwood, Scotland’s chief medical officer, described blanket school closures that lasted a few weeks as ineffective.

[You need] a minimum of three months in order to really suppress the spread of the virus in these type of institutions. The thought that children won’t mix together for three months is impossible.

We therefore risk having children congregate to other areas together, the virus is spread amongst them, so you actually have measures put in which are ineffective in keeping virus from those groups of children.

To compare talking about closing the schools for two weeks, it’s very very clear from the science that is not a scientific way to either prevent the spread of the virus nor indeed to protect vulnerable people.

Updated

Fears of the pandemic prompting a global recession have driven the FTSE 100 in the UK down 7.2% to 4976 points. That’s its lowest since late 2011, compared with 7404 points just over three weeks ago.

The FTSE 250 index of medium sized UK companies has slumped by more than 12% today, with transport firm First Group and pub chain Marston’s almost halving.

European markets are suffering even more damage, as economies across the region lock down. The Stoxx 600 has shed 8.7%, back to its lowest since the debt crisis of 2012.

Updated

Here are the latest details of UK government advice on travel to countries across the globe. We will update this information as the situation changes.

Bavaria has declared a two-week state of emergency as the number of Covid-19 infections in the southern German state has risen by more than 1,000.

The state of emergency decrees will allow the Bavarian authorities to centralise decision-making relating to the Covid-19 outbreak.

State premier Markus Söder announced on Monday morning that schools and nurseries in Bavaria would close their doors as of today. From Tuesday, bars, cinemas, playgrounds and sports grounds will follow suit.

Restaurants are allowed to stay open from 6am until 3pm. Opening hours for supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies and petrol stations are to be extended until 10pm on weekdays.

There were no plans to impose curfews, Söder said.

From 8am this morning, Germany has closed its borders for non-essential travel to and from eight neighbouring countries, namely Austria, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland and Denmark.

Bavaria’s health minister, Melanie Huml, confirmed on Monday morning there had been 1,034 confirmed infections with the novel coronavirus in the southern state, with four deaths.

According to the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases, as of Sunday 3pm,there were 4,838 cases of coronavirus in German including 12 deaths – a sharp rise from 3,795 confirmed cases a day earlier.

Updated

Changes to TV licences for people over 75 postponed

Updated

The vice-president of the European commission, Frans Timmerman, is self-isolating until 20 March after meeting with a French minister who subsequently tested positive for coronavirus.

Updated

A British man is seriously ill with Covid-19 in Vietnam, where he is on a ventilator to help him breathe, VnExpress reports.

The 69-year-old reportedly has several underlying health conditions, including diabetes and hypertension, two of the biggest risk factors for coronavirus infection. He is being treated in the intensive care unit at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

He was among several confirmed infections on Vietnam Airlines flight VN54 that flew from London and landed in Hanoi on 2 March.

Updated

The former Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, has gone into self-isolation after embracing Sophie Grégoire Trudeau at an event in London a week before the Canadian’s prime minister’s wife tested positive for Covid-19.

Gillard and Grégoire Trudeau were both speakers at the We Day event in Wembley Arena on 4 March. Video of the event also showed them patting and kissing each other on stage.

A spokeswoman for Gillard said she felt fine but was self-isolating as a precaution. She said:

Former PM Gillard did attend the WE Day event with Sophie Trudeau. Ms Gillard is in London and feeling well, but as a precaution is self-isolating and will continue to do so until the end of the recommended period.

Grégoire Trudeau is said to be recovering well in Ottawa. Justin Trudeau is working from home as a precaution.

Updated

Spain to take over private health care providers

Here is the latest from Spain, sent in by the Guardian’s Madrid correspondent, Ashifa Kassam.

Faced with an overstretched healthcare system and a coronavirus epidemic that is spreading at one of the fastest rates in the world, the Spanish government has announced sweeping measures that allow it to take over private health care providers and requisition materials such as masks and Covid-19 tests.

Private health care providers are now at the disposition of public health authorities, health minister Salvador Illa said on Sunday evening. As well, any company that has supplies of protective gear that could help the country fight the virus – or any company capable of manufacturing these materials – have been given 48 hours to report to health authorities or otherwise face fines.

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, declared a state of emergency on Saturday, ushering in a 15-day, near-total lockdown for the country’s 47 million residents. All non-essential shops, along with bars, restaurants and cinemas are closed, with residents only able to leave their homes individually and for specific reasons such as to shop for food or medications.

Social gatherings have been banned and playgrounds blocked off with police tape, while army specialists clad in protective suits have been dispatched to spray down train stations with disinfectant.

The emergency measures also allow the Spanish government to temporarily requisition property and take over factories and businesses if necessary.

In the span of three weeks, Spain has gone from having no documented cases of coronavirus to nearly 8,000 confirmed cases and 288 deaths.

Three quarters of the deaths have been in the Madrid region, where authorities recently floated a plan to convert the many now-vacant hotels into makeshift hospitals.

On Sunday, Madrid’s regional leader, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, issued a plea for ventilators and other equipment. “I beg you earnestly for supplies to save lives and protect our healthcare professionals.”

Spain’s defence minister, Margarita Robles, said a military unit specialising in emergencies would be deployed across the country. Military hospitals will also be put at the disposition of health authorities and military pharmacies have been ordered to increase the production of disinfectant and generic medicines.

The military will also assist in handing out kits containing hygiene supplies and food to homeless people during the lockdown, while soup kitchens will be opened in order to offer takeaway food to those in need.

Read the full story here:

Updated

The regional government in Quebec has ordered the closure of bars, theatres, gyms, ski hills, sugar shacks, arcades, and pools, while restaurants have been told to operate only at 50% capacity and the over-70s have been urged to stay at home, the Montreal Gazette reports.

(Okay, I’m not totally clear on what a “sugar shack” is, so feel free to tweet me with an explanation.)

The measures come after the number of cases in the Canadian province nearly doubled over night to 39 by Sunday. Premier François Legault said at a news briefing:

I realise very well we are asking a lot of citizens, that we are imposing many restrictions on your normal lives. But tell yourselves what you are doing now will save lives. I know Quebecers are built strong and I know we can win this battle together.

Updated

Covid-19 has killed 129 more people in Iran, the country’s authorities said on Monday, the most to die in a single day so far in what has become one of the world’s worst-hit countries.

The latest deaths bring the overall toll to 853 fatalities since 19 February.

In a televised news conference, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour also reported 1,053 confirmed new cases of infection in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 14,991.

Our plea is that everyone take this virus seriously and in no way attempt to travel to any province.

Tehran province had the highest number of new infections with 200 cases, about 50 fewer than the day before, according to AFP. The central province of Isfahan followed with 118 cases, with Mazandaran in the north of Iran coming next with 96.

The holy city of Qom in central Iran, where the virus was first reported, had 19 new cases that took the total to 1,023. And confirmed infections in Gilan reached 858, with 18 new ones. The northern region is a popular tourist spot and among the worst-hit of Iran’s 31 provinces.

Khorasan Razavi province, home to the holy Shiite city of Mashhad, was not among the reported provinces with fresh cases. It had recorded 143 the day before.

Jahanpour said:

If we judge cautiously, it seems that the overall efforts by the people and interventions by the health system... are slowly showing their effects in Qom and Gilan.

The numbers of passengers travelling on London’s Tube network has fallen by nearly a fifth, while the numbers on buses are down 10%, compared to the same time last year, according to a statement by Transport for London.

It is significant that the Tube numbers are down more than the buses, as my colleague Jim Waterson, the Guardian media editor, pointed out as he sent in this information.

Commuters travelling on the Tube, which is more expensive and connects the city centre to the suburbs, tend to be drawn from higher socio-economic groups, who tend to work white-collar jobs and are more able to work from home.

A person on a London bus is seen wearing a protective face mask, as the number of coronavirus cases worldwide continues to grow
A person on a London bus is seen wearing a protective face mask, as the number of coronavirus cases worldwide continues to grow Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

In short, the figures suggest that more well-off Londoners are more likely to be staying at home to avoid the coronavirus outbreak, while those in less well-paid jobs are still travelling to work every day.

TfL estimates that it will take a hit of up to £500m to its revenue as a result of the fall in passenger numbers, which comes as Tube and bus revenues were already about 2% lower than the previous year.

Simon Kilonback, TfL’s Chief Finance Officer, said:

Our best forecast, based on government scenarios, is that the financial impact of the coronavirus could be up to £500m. We manage our finances prudently, and have reduced our deficit hugely in recent years. This means that we can manage the impacts on our passenger numbers and finances that are currently envisaged. But, given the nature of the situation, we will be looking to the Government to provide appropriate financial support.

We continue to follow and communicate Public Health England advice, including that there is no specific risk on public transport. We’ve also stepped up our cleaning regime from the already very high standards to give our customers and staff further reassurance.

A Guardian live blog reader, Helen Stratford, sent in these pictures of her London Underground commute this morning.

A Victoria line train at Walthamstow Central during rush hour on Monday morning
A Victoria line train at Walthamstow Central during rush hour on Monday morning Photograph: Helen Stratford
The eastbound Circle, Hammersmith and City, and Metropolitan line platform at Kings Cross, one of London’s busiest interchanges, on Monday morning
The eastbound Circle, Hammersmith and City, and Metropolitan line platform at Kings Cross, one of London’s busiest interchanges, on Monday morning Photograph: Helen Stratford
Barely a soul to be seen outside Farringdon station in central London at rush hour on Monday
Barely a soul to be seen outside Farringdon station in central London at rush hour on Monday Photograph: Helen Stratford

Updated

The mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, has called for an “army of volunteers” to assist vulnerable and elderly people across the city during the coronavirus pandemic, Gregory Robinson reports for the Guardian.

Anderson will be setting up two city council specialist hotlines to coordinate the effort. He hopes volunteers will be able to help deliver food and medical supplies.

One of the hotlines will be used to recruit volunteers who are able to offer assistance to vulnerable people. The other number will allow those in need to contact the council for help with services like delivering food, supplies and medicine. The council will then work alongside volunteer groups and charities to distribute the supplies. This number will also aim to give those who feel isolated someone to contact.

The mayor hopes to launch the two hotlines today.

The plans for a hotline to help those who may not be able to support themselves in the event of isolation comes after the health secretary Matt Hancock warned that people over the age of 70 may be asked to self-isolate for up to four months as part of the government’s action plan against the pandemic.

Last week the mayor launched dedicated social media pages to give the city’s residents the latest news and guidance in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement seen by the Liverpool Echo, the mayor wrote:

Co-ordinating a response that helps with clear messages about what we can do is essential and also leading and uniting volunteers and groups to work alongside us is what we should be setting out to achieve.

Officials in Thailand have confirmed 33 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 147, Rebecca Ratcliffe, southeast Asia correspondent reports.

The government plans to postpone the traditional New Year celebration, Songkran, due to be held 13-15 April, to reduce transmission.

Cabinet will also be asked tomorrow to consider closing universities, schools, boxing arenas, bars and other entertainment venues across the country.

French president to address the nation tonight

Emmanuel Macron will address an anxious France on Monday night about the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports.

According to the agency, Macron is to hold a meeting with his prime minister, top military adviser, intelligence coordinator and ministers of health, the interior and foreign affairs on the escalating health crisis, before giving a televised address at 8pm (7pm GMT).

So far the coronavirus has infected more than 5,000 people and killed 127 in France - with over 900 new cases confirmed Sunday in the preceding 24-hour period.

A woman wears a protective facemask she pushes a shopping trolley as she queues to enter in a supermarket in Hnheim, northeastern France on Monday
A woman wears a protective facemask she pushes a shopping trolley as she queues to enter in a supermarket in Hnheim, northeastern France on Monday Photograph: Patrick Hertzog/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, the Guardian’s Paris correspondent, Kim Willsher, reports that France has been gripped by rumours that the government is about to issue a decree stopping people from circulating and using the military to enforce it, that spread on social media on Sunday.

Willsher says that she received several emails and messages telling me that “a friend of a friend” had heard this would be enforced within 24 hours preventing non-essential workers from leaving their homes.

Now, the French government spokesperson Sibeth N’diaye has dismissed the fast-spreading reports as fake news”.

“We are studying all hypotheses to reinforce measures...based on scientific indications,” she told BFMTV.

The Elysée Palace insisted it was planning no new restrictive measures “for the moment”. However, President Emmanuel Macron called on French citizens to show civic responsibility and respect the advice being given by the government and health authorities. He said it was important they realised the seriousness of the situation.

Health minister Olivier Véran also dismissed the rumours, that gathered momentum on social networks on Sunday evening following reports that many Parisians had ignored government advice to stay home and keep their distance from others.

“We hear lots of things, but if someone is going to sign such a decree, I would know about it,” Véran said.

He added: “The virus is invisible, it is spreading quickly and it threatens people’s lives. I beg the French to respect the restriction regarding socialising.”

Estyn, the schools inspectorate in Wales, has announced it has ended school inspections to relieve pressure on teachers, Richard Adams, the Guardian’s education editor, reports.

Meilyr Rowlands, the chief inspector of schools in Wales, said Estyn staff would be redeployed to support the education system:

I have made this decision to allow leaders and staff in all education and training providers, and those organisations who support them, to focus fully on the wellbeing of their learners, their staff and their families. Providers are likely to see increased staff absence during this time. The decision to suspend inspection work will help maintain staffing levels by ensuring that peer and other inspectors are not out of their institutions at this important time.

Authorities in Scotland have already made a similar announcement.

The move is likely to highlight the decision by Ofsted in England to continue with inspections, despite the impact of coronavirus on schools and calls from school leaders to suspend visits.

Lebanon and much of the Gulf began a virtual two week shut down on Monday, with restaurants, malls and all but essential services closed, and citizens urged to stay at home, except in “extreme circumstances”, Martin Chulov, the Guardian’s Middle East editor, reports.

Beirut’s International Airport will close on Wednesday until at least 29 March and foreigners were scrambling to find flights out. The capital’s streets were eerily quiet, with public mini buses kept off the roads – and the rest of the country was no different; small numbers of people walking on almost empty roads.

A Beirut municipality policeman ask a jogger to leave the area in the Lebanese capital on Monday, a day after the government urged people to stay at home for two weeks
A Beirut municipality policeman ask a jogger to leave the area in the Lebanese capital on Monday, a day after the government urged people to stay at home for two weeks Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon has recorded 99 coronavirus cases, with some stemming from arrivals from Milan and the UK, and others from Iran, which has been a main source of a regional outbreak that has seen lockdowns in the Gulf States, and Saudi Arabia, and disruption to global aviation.

Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have closed their borders for the next fortnight and shut down restaurants and entertainment venues. The UAE has not yet followed suit, but will stop granting entry visas from Wednesday.

Bahrain has enhanced screening on arrival and requires all people who enter the country to self isolate for 14 days. It recorded it’s first corona-linked death on Monday.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha airports are linchpins of global aviation and their closure would drastically affect international travel. The Emirates hubs said on Sunday they are not suspending incoming or outgoing flights. Qatar meanwhile has closed it’s borders, but is still receiving transit passengers.

The Gulf states have collectively recorded more than 1,000 Covid-19 cases and say the majority of transmissions stem from returnees from Iran, where – with more than 14,000 confirmed cases and at least 724 deaths, the biggest cluster of the virus outside of China and Italy, continues to wreak havoc

Updated

Here’s an update from our technology editor, Alex Hern, on how Microsoft’s team working app is suffering problems just as it faces perhaps its biggest-ever test.

Microsoft Teams, the company’s chat client for workplace collaboration, is suffering technical issues just as Europe wakes up to the first week of widespread remote working, the company confirmed in a tweet this morning.

Teams, and analogues including Slack and Google Chat, is at the core of many offices’ strategy for coping with the need for widespread social distancing, since the services allow employees to share knowledge and tasks more casually than email or phone calls.

But the significant usage spike appears to have caused mild issues for Microsoft, although users are now reporting services are back to normal.

A further 125 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Malaysia, bringing the total number of cases to 553, Rebecca Ratcliffe, the Guardian’s south east Asia correspondent, reports.

Most of the cases are linked to a religious gathering at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, which was attended by 16,000 people. There is also growing concern that a Hindu gathering which attracted 30,000 people in Penang state on 8 March, could have fuelled transmission.

There are calls for the government to take tougher action and place key areas under lockdown.

Lee Boon Chye, the country’s former deputy health minister, said in a statement that “the number of cases and contacts is enormous and it is unlikely MOH (Ministry of Health) is able to track and isolate all”.

Containment is no longer possible, he said.

A school in Muswell Hill, London, has closed for a “deep clean” after a member of staff tested positive for coronavirus.

A reader of this blog has forwarded a copy of the letter sent to parents of pupils. It says:

Further to our message on Friday we have learnt this weekend that a member of staff has Covid-19.

In order to ensure that our site is safe for students and staff we are closing the school tomorrow to undertake a deep clean of the buildings. This is following advice from Public Health England. We will be open as normal on Tuesday.

We are therefore initiating remote learning for Monday. Your child’s teachers will be putting work on google classroom for them to complete at home so they should have plenty to be getting on with and can of course also access the normal sites used for learning at home (Kerboodle, My Maths etc..)

We acknowledge the inconvenience of the situation which is why we are letting you know now so that parents who need to, have the opportunity to put plans in place for tomorrow.

Some interesting news from southern California, sent in by Mark Elliot of the Beverley Hills Renters Alliance, which advocates for renters.

He says the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, has made an executive order to halt residential evictions for non-payment of rent. Writes Elliot:

There is no official order posted yet; the measure was announced by the mayor with other emergency measures but arguably is among the most significant.

Santa Monica has also imposed a similar measure, details of which were published on the city’s website. Elliot adds:

The California state legislature is also reportedly considering a moratorium on evictions statewide, which follows the recent adoption of rent control statewide (in most areas). This proposal, to be introduced by Phil Ting (who has backed many rent control measures) may struggle to find the super-majority support necessary.

Updated

Coronavirus death toll passes 6,500 worldwide - Reuters

Almost 170,000 people have been infected by the coronavirus across the world and 6,509 have died, with cases and deaths outside China overtaking those in the country where the outbreak began, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections outside China have been reported by 156 countries. Mayotte, a French Indian Ocean island, and Uzbekistan reported their first cases, while Slovenia had its first fatality.

Donald Trump has urged Americans to refrain from panic-buying basic supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, as the administration announced plans to expand testing for the virus.

“You don’t have to buy so much,” the US president said during a press briefing at the White House on Sunday evening, adding that people should “take it easy. Just relax.”

Here is a Guardian video of some of his comments.

Donald Trump speaks to the media about the coronavirus outbreak

Thousand sign petition to test NHS staff

A petition for doctors and nurses in the UK to be tested for coronavirus if they show symptoms has gained thousands of signatures, my colleague, Sarah Marsh, reports.

Currently, tests are only being done on patients who require a hospital admission but those working in the NHS have expressed concern about this Public Health England policy. Writing in the petition, shared widely online, Rebecca McCauley said:

I’m a junior doctor, currently working in an emergency assessment unit. My cough is minor, and it’s March, so quite common to get a cough... but how do I know it’s not Covid? The truth is I don’t. So now I have to ask... do I stay off work for seven days, leaving a shortfall of staff and putting further strain on the already strained NHS, when the likelihood is that I don’t actually have COVID-19? Or, do I go to work with my minor cough (as I would normally) and risk potentially spreading COVID-19 to all of the sicker patients I see on a daily basis?

McCauley said it was a dilemma that all NHS workers were facing due to the current rules around testing.

This virus will cause minor symptoms for most people, and relatively young and healthy staff are most likely to fall into that category. The issue is the patients we treat are not healthy, they are frail and vulnerable. Ask yourself this - if your loved one needs hospital care for a condition not related to Covid-19, would you want them to be treated by staff who are likely infected with it? If not, please help us out here.

The petition calls for the prioritisation of testing for NHS staff and has now had over 15,000 signatures of support

NHS nurses speak to the media as they wait for the next patient at a drive through Coronavirus testing site in Wolverhampton, England, last week
NHS nurses speak to the media as they wait for the next patient at a drive through Coronavirus testing site in Wolverhampton, England, last week Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A nurse, speaking anonymously, told the Guardian that the debate about testing was causing great concern among health workers. She said:

I have just had a cold, and it could be coronavirus. I feel worried about at risk people in my family, and I’ve had to keep kids off school and it’s affecting earnings. I said to my trust, can I come in to a mobile screening and be screened? I was told ‘no’ as it is not Public Health England guidance, they are not swabbing staff. But I have been in contact with patients who have tested positive for coronavirus.

Updated

Many of you who were out at the weekend would have seen scenes of chaos in supermarkets across the world, where people stripped shelves as they stocked up in anticipation of lockdowns.

Many people also shared pictures online of elderly and vulnerable people, who often cannot move as quickly as the young, staring forlornly at the empty shelves. This was posted by my Guardian colleague Sarah Marsh.

In Australia, the Woolworths supermarket chain has decided to act by launching a dedicated shopping hour for elderly and vulnerable people. See their tweet below.

A similar move has been made in France, according to information sent in by a Guardian live blog reader this morning. Michelle Stevenson wrote:

I read on Le Monde live blog the following thing taking place in France: Big supermarkets such as Carrefour and Intermarche have decided this week to open their doors half an hour earlier in the morning and let in only customers over 70 (on showing of their ID cards) during that time, thereby allowing those people potentially more at risk to shop, away from the crowds (and possibly away from younger people elbowing them to get to pasta and toilet paper more quickly!).

I think it’s such a good idea that it was worth sharing in the UK in case the UK shops wanted to copy this, after all a good publicity for them.

The Old Vic and a number of other theatres in London have suspended productions because of the coronavirus.

Endgame, the Old Vic’s major Beckett revival starring Daniel Radcliffe and Alan Cumming, has closed two weeks early. In an email to Endgame ticket holders, the theatre stated that offering a full refund would be “financially devastating” and asked customers to consider donating the cost of the ticket rather than requesting a refund.

For those who donate, the theatre will provide a video link to see a full recording of the production, captured earlier in the run for archive purposes, and a “friends” membership enabling priority booking for one year.

Unlike other European capitals, such as Paris and Berlin, where major theatres closed last week under government orders, the vast majority of the UK’s theatres are still welcoming visitors. However, on Sunday night, several other venues joined the Old Vic in announcing cancellations.

The number of cases of coronavirus detected in Hungary has increased from 32 to 39, according to the data published on the country’s official coronavirus website.

The cases include nine Iranians, one Briton and 29 Hungarian citizens.

In accordance with the procedures issued by the National Chief Medical Officer, an epidemiological inquiry and contact investigation shall also be started immediately in their case, which shall be carried out by the epidemiological authority in cooperation with the police.

People were queuing outside Dutch coffee shops on Sunday to stockpile cannabis ahead of the closure of most public places in the Netherlands, Jennifer Rankin, the Guardian’s Brussels correspondent, reports.

When it became known that Dutch coffee shops would be closing along with cafes and restaurants until 6 April, people rushed to stockpile cannabis. The daily newspaper Volkskrant reported that people were queuing outside coffee shops in cities across the Netherlands.

One student in Amsterdam, Juan, 21, told the paper he had bought nine slices of space cake for him and his eight roommates.

At least then it will be a bit more fun in the coming weeks. We have connected two Playstations. That space cake is for later. Tonight we will start with the Harry Potter marathon.

Dutch ministers decided in a crisis meeting on Sunday to close schools and daycare centres until at least 6 April, reversing their earlier position to keep them open to allow key workers to do their jobs. Shops, restaurants, sex clubs, cannabis cafes and sports clubs will also be closed.

Health minister Bruno Bruins said the decision to close restaurants and shops had been taken to discourage “undesirable” tourism from Belgium, which introduced restrictions on Saturday on shops and restaurants.

The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutt is expected to make a televised address to the nation this evening, the first such broadcast since the oil crisis of the early 1970s.

As of Sunday morning, the Netherlands had seen 959 cases and 12 deaths from coronavirus, according to the latest available data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Adding to a growing chorus of international criticism, Singapore’s national development minister Lawrence Wong sharply criticised the UK approach to tackling the coronavirus outbreak as he announced new border control measures to apply to the UK, Switzerland and Japan.

Wong said:

We are watching America closely, yes you are right that the numbers are rising there as well. But if you look at the countries that we have highlighted, one concern we have in UK, in Switzerland, in Japan, it’s not just about the numbers that they have reported.

In the case of the UK it is rising very rapidly but it’s not just about the numbers but the fact that these countries have abandoned any attempt at containing the spread of the virus. They have said so publicly, especially the UK and Switzerland, perhaps less so for Japan; but certainly in the case of the UK and Switzerland. I think the UK has been most public in acknowledging that there’s no point containing and they are simply now at the phase of trying to delay the spread.

So if there is no deliberate effort to contain then we anticipate that the numbers of infected cases in these countries will rise even more sharply in the coming days or weeks, and that’s why we are quite concerned.

Here is the latest from Andrew Roth, the Guardian’s Moscow correspondent, on developments in Russia.

Russia on Monday announced the closure of its border with Belarus, one of the country’s last open land borders, as the government rolled out a new series of measures to combat the further spread of coronavirus in the country.

A new government commission to coordinate Russia’s response to the virus announced a 300 billion ruble (£3.25 billion) plan that included some relief for those who would lose wages while under quarantine, according to the business daily Vedomosti.

So far, Russia has registered just 63 cases of coronavirus, and has not attributed any deaths to the disease. It isn’t clear whether that is due to low rates of testing or if early border closures helped prevent the disease’s spread. Many of the identified cases were carried by recent travelers to Italy, with the first in-country transmissions registered late last week.

Attendance at Moscow schools has been made non-compulsory and Moscow universities have been advised to move to remote learning schemes. Meanwhile, several major museums said they would temporarily close due to the epidemic.

Ukraine has said that it will close its borders entirely this week in order to prevent further transmissions of the disease. The country has registered just a handful of cases but has seen its first death from the disease, a 71-year-old woman who died last week.

An infectious diseases expert in Hong Kong has cautioned against aiming for “herd immunity” in response to the coronavirus pandemic, warning that the result could be that the medical system is “paralysed”, Helen Davidson reports.

Hong Kong University professor Yuen Kwok-yung, reportedly told local radio on Monday that the approach, suggested by the UK’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, was risky.

In two to three months 20-30% of the population can become immune. But the biggest danger of this approach is that your medical system could be paralysed.

A lot of elderly people might not get appropriate treatment, and some doctors and nurses could die because they remained busy after being infected. This could cause much public fear.

People wear face masks at a down town street in Hong Kong on Monday.
People wear face masks at a down town street in Hong Kong on Monday. An infectious diseases expert in the territory has criticised the UK’s “herd immunity” plan Photograph: Vincent Yu/AP

Yuen said some western countries had taken an “old-style approach” like they were taking children to a party with a child who had measles.

But you can only use this kind of so-called herd immunity to control a disease when the death rate is very low.

On Sunday Matt Hancock, the UK health secretary, denied herd immunity was government policy.

Hong Kong is among a handful of countries seen as having run a successful virus response. The region of about 7.5m people feared its close proximity and ties to mainland China would see the virus quickly spread. But border closures, testing and community measures were enacted relatively quickly, and it has confirmed fewer than 150 cases of the virus. Four people have died.

Concerns have now turned to people from other nations bringing it back in. During the past fortnight 26 of 46 new cases were all confirmed to be imported.

Yuen said he expected the number of infections in the US and Britain to increase in the next four to eight weeks, and urged any arrivals from those countries to go under home surveillance.

From Thursday anyone arriving from the UK, Ireland, and the US must self quarantine for 14 days. The requirement already applies to the Schengen nations in Europe, Egypt, Iran, mainland China, and parts of Japan and South Korea.

Updated

While the UK government is yet to call for widespread school closures in a bid to contain the coronavirus outbreak, French schools in London have decided to close their doors, French Morning London reports.

Parents were told of the decision, taken collectively by heads and under the direction of the cultural section of the French embassy, in an email sent around on Sunday night.

The French embassy tweeted a notice about it last night. Jon Henley, the Guardian’s Europe correspondent, has provided this translation:

French [educational] establishments in London: suspension of face-to-face lessons from tomorrow evening and continuity of teaching guaranteed [online] at the latest from Wednesday.

Doors will shut after school today.

Updated

Labour MP tests positive for coronavirus

Kate Osborne, the Labour MP for Jarrow said she has been diagnosed with coronavirus following a period of self-isolation and subsequent testing.

Her diagnosis follows that of Nadine Dorries, the junior health minister, who had had a number of political engagements before developing symptoms and self-isolating.

Here is a fuller report of Shapps’s comments on UK breakfast television this morning, by Peter Walker, my colleague on the politics team.

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has used a morning broadcast round to insist the UK is not lagging behind other nations in measures to limit the spread of coronavirus and is following scientific advice rather “doing things that just sound good”.

He told Sky News:

It is a real desire to be driven by the evidence and by the science. I don’t think that necessarily means that our approach is markedly different. But I do think it means we deploy each of these different measures at the appropriate time.”

Shapps said he would be at a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee later on Monday, at which more measures could be decided:

We are just being entirely science-led.

We are not doing the things that perhaps are happening elsewhere just because it seems like a popular thing to do. We want to know that the scientists back it.”

The UK was arguably at a slightly different stage of the virus outbreak than some other countries in Europe, Shapps added, and should thus not always do things at the same time. He said:

I do think it’s important that we do not get knocked off the course of what this country has done very well so far, which is to follow the medical and scientific advice, rather than doing things that just sound good but perhaps don’t have the right impact at the right moment in time.

On the troubles faced by airlines such as Easyjet, which announced more “significant cancellations” on Monday, Shapps said viable companies would be offered help, for example on deferring tax, to help them cope with the global disruption. He said:

We want to make sure that companies and organisation who are in a good state, not those who were going to fail anyway, are able to continue. We’ll be looking at all these measures, and I’ll be discussing them with the chancellor and the prime minister.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has been on Sky News this morning talking about the “lots of different options” that the UK government has to help the aviation industry get through the crisis.

It comes after Virgin Atlantic boss called for a multibillion-pound bailout of the industry, which has been hammered by travel restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.

Shapps said:

We want to make sure that companies and individuals and organisations who are in a good state - not those that are going to fail anyway - are able to continue.

So, we’ll be looking at all of these measures, I’ll be discussing it with the Chancellor and the Prime Minister later today, and those discussions with the sector are ongoing.

Asked if a bailout of airlines was on the table, Mr Shapps said:

There are lots of different options here - including some other things that people have been looking for, for example HMRC offer a ‘time to pay’.

On BBC Breakfast, Shapps described the spread of coronavirus as an “international crisis”.

This is no doubt at all, there is no sugar coating this. This is obviously an international crisis and we need a great national effort to help everybody in society get through this. But we will get through it. We will beat this virus, but there is no shortcut unfortunately to getting there.

Shapps said the Government’s approach was driven by science and evidence.

I don’t think that necessarily means that our approach is markedly different... but I do think it means that we deploy each of these different measures at the appropriate time.

He added:

We’re not doing the things that sometimes perhaps are happening elsewhere because it seems like a popularist thing to do, we want to know that the scientists back it and that is, I suppose, the hallmark of this country’s response.

Jerome Salomon, France’s top health official, has said his country is struggling to curb the spread of coronavirus, after many Parisians ventured out in large numbers on Sunday despite official advice to stay at home.

He told France Inter radio:

A lot of people have not understood that they need to stay at home, and this low level at which people have adhered means that we are not succeeding in curbing the outbreak of the epidemic.

The number of deaths in France from the coronavirus increased by more than a third on Sunday to 127 and over 5,400 have been infected.

Sources told Reuters on Sunday that France is preparing an order that would put its inhabitants under partial lockdown to combat the pandemic, a move that would tighten further restrictions on public life. nam)

A online support network is being established for funeral directors in London, “in anticipation of a significant amount of pressure being placed on funeral services in the coming months.”

The online network is the initiative of London-based “modern funeral service” Poetic Endings. Its founder, Louise Winter, said she and colleagues would use “remote working technology to come together to create a community to support each other in the months ahead and to provide a coordinated and highly efficient response.”

According to their webpage:

This is a peer-to-peer resource for anyone who works in the funeral profession in the London area who wishes to collaborate during the next few months. It is open to everyone, irrespective of position, approach or trade association membership. It’s for those who wish to offer support and resources to each other and to enable a co-ordinated and efficient response to any crisis we have to face.

The small central American country of Honduras is in a state of near total lockdown after the six coronavirus infections were discovered in the country, Reuters reports.

The Honduran government has sent public and private sector workers home, temporarily called off flights, and suspended public transport to halt the spread of the virus.

The measures will be in effect for seven days, the government said, bolstering a drive by a number of Central American countries to stop coronavirus.

Exceptions to the public sector suspensions include people working in healthcare, emergency services, security and national defence, customs, migration, ports and airports.

In the private sector, banks, hospitals, pharmaceutical firms, gas stations, freight operators and a few other sectors will continue to operate, the government said.

Boris Johnson to chair coronavirus press conference

Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, is to address the nation on the coronavirus threat again today, amid widespread criticism of the measures so far taken by his government to tackle the outbreak.

The last time Johnson spoke directly to Britons he told us all that many of our loved ones would die, before promptly disappearing from sight over the weekend. Government plans have since been drip fed to the public through media articles, some official, some unattributed, many contradictory.

However, as my colleague Andrew Sparrow reported last night, on Monday afternoon Johnson will hold the first of what are intended to be daily ministerial press conferences on the crisis.

On Monday afternoon he will also chair another Cobra meeting, where ministers will discuss measures that would dramatically escalate the steps being taken by the UK to tackle the virus.

Hello this is Damien Gayle taking over the live blog now from London. As usual I’ll be publishing all the latest updates on the developing pandemic, of which Europe is now the centre, from the Guardian’s network of correspondents, as well as aggregating the most important news from the wires and from social media.

As usual, of course, I’ll be relying on you, the readers, to send in any information about what is happening in your part of the world, as well as any tips or suggestions for coverage you might have. You can reach me at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle. I can’t guarantee a reply to every message but I’ll do my best to look through everything I’m sent.

Updated

That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan for today. I’ll now be handing over to my colleague Damien Gayle.

Just a quick note before I go:

As we continue to report on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, we’re looking for stories of how this unprecedented crisis has affected couples, families, friends and communities.

If you’ve been separated from a loved one by lockdowns, have had to cancel your wedding or miss an important family event, we’d like to hear from you. We’re always interested in hearing what you may have done in response, too, or how you and your loved ones (and neighbours) are supporting each other in these trying times.

Please do include photographs if you can and are happy for us to use them.

Send me a message on Twitter @helenrsullivan, tag me in a tweet of your own (if you’re happy for us to include it in the blog), or email me: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

The Malaysian government is under pressure to impose tougher restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus after a major spike in cases was reported on Sunday, when 190 new infections were confirmed.

A handout photo made available by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health shows health workers inspecting young passengers arriving from Wuhan, China, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 26 February 2020.
A handout photo made available by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health shows health workers inspecting young passengers arriving from Wuhan, China, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 26 February 2020. Photograph: Muzaffar Kasim/HANDOUT HANDOUT/EPA

The majority of the new cases were linked to a gathering at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur that was attended by 16,000 people, including around 1,500 people from neighbouring countries. Brunei and Singapore have also identified cases linked to the event.

The Malaysian government is racing to identify attendees but some experts say officials must adopt a stronger approach. Lee Boon Chye, the country’s former deputy health minister, said in a statement that “the number of cases and contacts is enormous and it is unlikely MOH (Ministry of Health) is able to track and isolate all”.

Containment is no longer possible, he said.

There is also growing concern about a Hindu gathering that attracted 30,000 people in Penang state on 8 March.

Malaysian MP Charles Santiago said in a statement that the government must act before it is too late:

If we drive around Kuala Lumpur, we will see people in restaurants, cafes, coffee bars, cinema, night markets and places of worship. Businesses and shops remain open. And if not for the school holidays, our schools would be open as well. We need to observe how Italy had 200 cases three weeks ago and now more than 20,000 infections... I urge the government to consider a lockdown for the next two weeks so that everyone has no choice but to stay unless they go out for food, medicine or in the event of an emergency.

Lee recommended a ban on gatherings for one month including the suspension of “all activities including religious, social, sports activities. School, college, university, kindergarten”.

Coronavirus deals China’s economy a ‘bigger blow than GFC’

China has suffered even deeper economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic than predicted, with figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showing factory production inside the country dropped at the fastest pace seen in three decades.

Financial analysts have said the economic impact of the pandemic may have cut China’s growth in half during the first quarter.

Industrial output fell 13.5% in January-February, compared with 2019, which ING economist Iris Pang told AFP was the first contraction since January 1990, when industrial production shrank 21.1%.

Year-on-year, fixed asset investment fell 24.5%, private sector investment fell 26.4%, and retail sales shrank 20.5%.

“Judging by the data, the shock to China’s economic activity from the coronavirus epidemic is greater than the global financial crisis,” Zhang Yi, chief economist at Zhonghai Shengrong Capital Management told Reuters.

Updated

Today’s Coronavirus latest: at a glance

The Irish Guards march after observing a minutes silence at the Guards memorial to mark St. Patrick’s Day on March 15, 2020 in London, England. Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March. This year’s London St. Patrick’s Festival was cancelled over coronavirus concerns.
The Irish Guards march after observing a minutes silence at the Guards memorial to mark St. Patrick’s Day on March 15, 2020 in London, England. Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March.

This year’s London St. Patrick’s Festival was cancelled over coronavirus concerns. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

In the UK, here is the Guardian’s front page for the UK on Monday, 17 March 2020:

The Financial Times:

The Independent leads with the headline “No.10 bows to pressure for daily TV briefings,” as Boris Johnson announced that he will hold daily ministerial press conferences on the crisis in an attempt to shore up public confidence in the government’s handling of the pandemic.

The Telegraph focuses on the penalties Britons could face for refusing quarantine:

The Times looks at what the banks are doing to save the global economy:

As the Daily Mail sounds the call to “pull together for our elderly, Britain!”

Updated

Eight million could be hospitalised in UK from virus

In UK news, the coronavirus could lead to 7.9 million people being hospitalised, a secret Public Health England (PHE) briefing for senior NHS officials has revealed. Health chiefs tackling the virus admitted that they expect Covid-19 to circulate for another 12 months. On Monday the PM, Boris Johnson, will start his daily press briefings on the outbreak.

We’ll be posting today’s British front pages shortly.

Abigail Disney, grand daughter of Walt Disney Co’s co-founder Roy Disney, slammed a Twitter post showing a huge crowd at Sunday night’s showing of ‘Happily Ever After’, a fireworks show in Florida’s Disney Magic Kingdom theme park, Reuters reports.

“Are you fucking kidding me??” she said in a comment.

She was re-tweeting a post from WDW News Today saying “Current crowds at the Magic Kingdom for tonight’s showing of Happily Ever After... DisneyWorld” and with two pictures showing scores of people present.

Abigail Disney’s tweet garnered over 10,000 likes and 2,000 retweets in under two hours.

Many Twitter users criticised Disney over the WDW News Today tweet and said the parks should have been shut down because of the coronavirus epidemic.

Reuters could not immediately verify if the pictures were from Sunday night. WDW News Today is not affiliated to the Walt Disney Co, according to a disclosure on its Twitter page.

Disney did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The company had announced last Thursday that it will be closing its theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Paris Resort, beginning at the close of business on Sunday, March 15, through the end of the month. The Magic Kingdom park is located at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

Updated

Hospitals in Nagoya city in Japan’s industrial heartland have more coronavirus patients than they can treat, forcing transfers to nearby areas and offering a glimpse of the challenges the outbreak poses for a country with a huge elderly population, Reuters reports.

Japan has closed schools and cancelled public events, which experts say has helped prevent an explosive spread of the virus. But because testing hasn’t been widespread, some medical experts say the extent of infection is understated, and a surge could yet happen.

Children walk to school in Tokyo, Japan, 28 February 2020. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe requested on 27 February 2020, that all school close starting 02 March 2020, until the end of spring vacation.
Children walk to school in Tokyo, Japan, 28 February 2020. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe requested on 27 February 2020, that all school close starting 02 March 2020, until the end of spring vacation. Photograph: Jiji Press/EPA

“If the numbers rise further, we won’t be able to cope, so we will either have to ask nearby prefectures to help, or tell those with lighter symptoms to stay at home,” a prefecture official in Nagoya told Reuters.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture, totalled 98 as of Sunday, the official said, far exceeding the city’s 27 beds at hospitals that meet conditions for patients with the highly contagious disease.

Aichi, home to Toyota Motor Corp, is Japan’s second-hardest hit prefecture, with 121 confirmed coronavirus cases so far. It has a total of 161 beds capable of handling patients with such a disease. Of those, 105 were in use as of Sunday, the official said.

Thank you to everyone who has sent messages through to us today. Have any tips, good news or stories I may have missed? Send me a message on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

British unions representing gig workers have attacked “paltry” offers of sick pay for delivery couriers affected by coronavirus that could push them to keep working to stay financially afloat rather than self-isolate.

Here is our full story on the Australian sharemarket’s tumble today.

The ASX dove 9.7% on Monday, the biggest one-day fall in decades for the benchmark ASX200 index, wiping out nearly four years of gains.

About 30% of the value of Australian shares has been wiped out in less than a month due to coronavirus-inspired panic selling, with an index that hit a peak of 7162 on 20 February closing trade on Monday at 5002.

A market that is now trading at levels last seen in March 2016 was dragged down on Monday by collapsing entertainment, travel and education stocks, but every sector shared in the pain.

Monday’s fall is the biggest since at least 1987’s Black Monday stock market crash.

Australia’s doctors are warning that the country’s failure to stockpile a commonly-used chemical reagent needed for coronavirus testing is contributing to shortages in the midst of the current pandemic.

The Australian Medical Association has warned a common reagent that is critical in the testing of coronavirus is facing supply issues because of the huge demand on Australian laboratories due to Covid-19.

In Thailand, villagers scouring a dark cave in Ratchaburi for bat guano are undaunted by scientists’ suggestion that it could be behind a coronavirus that has infected more than 150,000 people worldwide, Reuters reports.

Bat guano collectors take a break as they fill bags outside of a bat cave at Wat Khao Chong Phran in Ratchaburi, Thailand March 14, 2020. Picture taken March 14, 2020.
Bat guano collectors take a break as they fill bags outside of a bat cave at Wat Khao Chong Phran in Ratchaburi, Thailand March 14, 2020. Picture taken March 14, 2020. Photograph: Juarawee Kittisilpa/Reuters

The source of the virus remains a matter of debate after it emerged in China late last year, but some scientists believe it could have originated in bats before passing to humans, perhaps being transferred through another animal.
They start work after dark, when millions of chittering bats stream out of the cave to hunt for food. Some of those who have been collecting for decades, earning less than $1 for each bucketload, say they have never had any health issues. Guano collection began generations ago, when the abbot then in charge of the temple asked villagers to help clean the cave.
At $6 a bucket, the guano, rich in chemicals such as nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, brings in the bulk of the temple’s earnings from farmers keen to boost crops and improve the taste of fruit.

The Peace Corps is telling its volunteers around the world that it is suspending all operations globally and evacuating all volunteers in light of the spread of the new coronavirus, AP reports.

US Peace Corps volunteers in 2017.
US Peace Corps volunteers in 2017. Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/AP

In an open letter to volunteers posted Sunday on its website, the federal agency’s director, Jody Olsen, says the decision follows recent evacuations in China and Mongolia due to the outbreak. Olsen says that with evacuations now underway at other posts and travel becoming more challenging by the day, the agency decided to expand the suspension and evacuations.
Olsen says the posts are not closing and that the agency looks forward to returning to normal operations when conditions permit.
The letter says country directors would be providing more information to volunteers.

The Peace Corps was established in 1961 during the Kennedy administration as a government-run volunteer program serving nations around the world. Its website says volunteers perform community work in more than 60 countries today and that more than 235,000 Americans have served in 141 countries since its inception.

Now, an important addition to your social distancing toolkit: a dystopian reading list.

“A good reading list for self-isolation requires several categories. You should read some of the brilliant pandemic novels that everyone is talking about, and some novels about being alone. You should also add some comfort reads, and poetry, and books about people being thoughtful and useful and kind,” writes the Guardian’s Lois Beckett.

An Australian television network entertainment editor has tested positive for the new coronavirus after meeting Tom Hanks wife, Rita Wilson, in Sydney.

Hanks and Wilson have been isolated in an Australian hospital since they were both diagnosed with Covid-19 on March 12.

Nine Network entertainment editor Richard Wilkins said Monday that he was tested because he met Wilson at the Sydney Opera House on March 7 and again at Nines Sydney studio on March 9. The result came back positive on Sunday, AP reports.

“You could’ve knocked me over with a feather last night when I got that call. It took me a couple of minutes to reel from the news that they gave me. But I feel fine. I feel 100%,” Wilkins told Nine by Facetime from his Sydney home.

The 65-year-old journalist said he could only assume that he had been infected by Wilson, a singer and actor.

“We’re assuming this is from Rita. It may not be. They’ve all said it could be anyone, anywhere, any time, such is the prevalence of this thing,” Wilkins said.
Wilkins was one of 37 new case confirmed over 24 hours in New South Wales state, bringing the state total to 171 by Monday. The increase was the largest for Australia’s most populous state in a day.

The Carnival Spirit cruise ship sits empty at Circular Quay on March 16, 2020 in Sydney, Australia.
The Carnival Spirit cruise ship sits empty at Circular Quay on March 16, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. Photograph: James D Morgan/Getty Images

As countries across the world scramble to close their borders in response to the global Covid-19 pandemic, several cruise ships, some laden with thousands of passengers, are stranded on the high seas seeking a port at which they can dock.

In Australia, more now on the measures in Western Australia’s AU$607m (US$375) stimulus package:

  • A $402m freeze on household fees and charges until July 1, 2021 at least. That includes electricity, water, motor vehicle charges, emergency services levy and public transport fares.
  • Energy assistance payment doubled from $300 to $600 for vulnerable Western Australians
  • $114m for help for small business, including a one-off grant of $17,500
  • Businesses impacted can defer payroll tax payments until July 21 2020.

“We are in uncharted territory and there’s no doubt our economy is going to feel the effects of COVID-19,” WA premier Mark McGowan said.

“For the first time in 16 years, household fees and charges will be frozen, providing relief and certainty to each and every Western Australian.

“It’s this relief and certainty that can help give Western Australians the confidence to continue to spend and support our local economy during these times.

Public sector employees in WA will also get access to 20 days of sick leave if they need to stay home.

In Australia, the state government of Western Australia has “frozen all household fees and charges including electricity, water, public transport fares and motor vehicle charges,” the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports.

Mexico has registered its first death due to coronavirus, according to Mexican media reports on Sunday and two people familiar with the matter, Reuters reports.

Veteran broadcaster Joaquin Lopez-Doriga said on Twitter that businessman Jose Kuri had died after testing positive for coronavirus following a trip to the United States.

Two people familiar with the matter confirmed that Kuri had died, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Turkey has identified 12 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its total to 18, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Monday, marking the highest daily rise since the country announced its first case last week.

A driver wearing a protective face mask steers a bus transporting Turkish citizens repatriated from the “umrah” pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
A driver wearing a protective face mask steers a bus transporting Turkish citizens repatriated from the “umrah” pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Photograph: Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images

Koca said two of the new cases were related to the first case reported in the country, seven had travelled from Europe and three from the United States, Reuters reports.

Last Wednesday, Turkey became the last major economy to report an outbreak after taking what the World Health Organization (WHO) described as “vigilant” measures to delay it.

Since then, the government has ramped up measures to halt the spread of the virus, closing schools and universities, holding sports events without spectators and halting flights to many countries.

Thousands of Muslims returning to Turkey from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia were taken into quarantine on Sunday and the Interior Ministry said that bars and nightclubs will be closed from Monday to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading.

The number of coronavirus cases in Rwanda has risen to five, from one, and included a man of Rwandese nationality with no recent history of travel, the health ministry said late on Sunday.

A passenger washes his hands at a public hand washing station before boarding a bus as a cautionary measure against the coronavirus at the Nyabugogo Bus Park in Kigali, Rwanda.
A passenger washes his hands at a public hand washing station before boarding a bus as a cautionary measure against the coronavirus at the Nyabugogo Bus Park in Kigali, Rwanda. Photograph: Margaret Andresen/Reuters

The east African country confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Saturday, becoming one of at least 26 countries on the African continent where the outbreak has spread.

The ministry said in a statement the four additional cases included a 34-year-old man who arrived from South Sudan on March 6 and his brother, who also had a recent history of travel.

A fourth person was a 22-year-old man of Ugandan nationality who arrived in Rwanda from London on Sunday.

Lululemon and Under Armour have joined Nike in saying they will close stores in the United States and other markets, joining a growing list of major retailers moving to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Under Armour was the subject of a New York Times piece in January this year titled How Under Armour Lost Its Edge, in which the author wrote the brand “has faltered, hurt by slumping sales and unflattering revelations about its corporate culture.”

The coronavirus pandemic will almost certainly add to its woes.

A Lululemon store logo is pictured on a shop in Santa Monica, California, United States, April 12, 2016.
A Lululemon store logo is pictured on a shop in Santa Monica, California, United States, April 12, 2016. Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Nike on Sunday said it will close stores in Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand from March 16 to 27. It will continue normal operations at stores in South Korea, Japan, most of China and in many other countries.

Under Armour said it would shutter all North America stores from Monday for about two weeks. Lululemon said it would close its stores in North America and Europe for a similar period.

Each said their online stores would continue to be open.

Gap Inc is temporarily reducing store hours for all of its locations in the United States and Canada, and closing over 100 stores

Apparel retailer Urban Outfitters Inc, which owns brands including Anthropologie and Free People, said on Saturday it would close its stores worldwide until at least March 28.

A few images now from Brescia, in northern Italy, where emergency structures were set up to deal with patients in the coronavirus pandemic.

Italy has had the second-highest number of confirmed cases so far, at 24,747.

There have been 1,809 deaths and 2,335 recoveries, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.

Patients lie on beds at one of the emergency structures that were set up to ease procedures at the Brescia hospital, northern Italy, Thursday, March 12, 2020.
Patients lie on beds at one of the emergency structures that were set up to ease procedures at the Brescia hospital, northern Italy, Thursday, March 12, 2020. Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP
Medical personnel wearing protective face masks help patients inside the Spedali Civili hospital in Brescia, Italy March 13, 2020.
Medical personnel wearing protective face masks help patients inside the Spedali Civili hospital in Brescia, Italy March 13, 2020. Photograph: Flavio Lo Scalzo/Reuters
A patient waves from inside a tent at one of the emergency structures that were set up to ease procedures at the Brescia hospital, northern Italy, Thursday, March 12, 2020.
A patient waves from inside a tent at one of the emergency structures that were set up to ease procedures at the Brescia hospital, northern Italy, Thursday, March 12, 2020. Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP

Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and China’s richest man has posted a photograph of a shipment of masks and test kits on its way from Shanghai to the US.

Australian shares plunge nearly 10%

The Sydney stock market has closed almost 10% down on another disastrous day of trading. It dropped 9.7% to 5,002 points.

The massive losses came despite an announcement by the Reserve Bank that it will begin buying bonds in a quantitative easing operation to prop up the country’s cratering economy.

As we continue to report on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, we’re looking for stories of how this unprecedented crisis has affected couples, families, friends and communities.

If you’ve been separated from a loved one by lockdowns, have had to cancel your wedding or miss an important family event, we’d like to hear from you. We’re always interested in hearing what you may have done in response, too, or how you and your loved ones (and neighbours) are supporting each other in these trying times.

Please do include photographs if you can and are happy for us to use them.

Send me a brief message on Twitter @helenrsullivan, tag me in a tweet of your own (if you’re happy for us to include it in the blog), or email me: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

Summary

  • Global deaths and infections from the coronavirus surpassed those inside China for the first time since the beginning of the outbreak.
  • The US Centers for Disease Control advised that events of 50 people or more be cancelled or postponed throughout the United States.
  • The US Federal Reserve announced it would cut its benchmark interest rate to near zero and said it would buy US$700bn in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities as it attempts to head off a severe slowdown.
  • New York City will close the largest public school system in the US on Monday, and its bars, restaurants and entertainment venues from Tuesday.
  • The states of California, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington closed their bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, too. Food takeout and delivery are still allowed.
  • Most of the first hour of the US Democratic debate focused on the coronavirus crisis, as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders criticised the Trump administration’s response and emphasised the need to confront the crisis and adhere to medical experts’ guidance.
  • A US sailor aboard a warship ship tested positive for the coronavirus for the first time, the US Navy said on Sunday, as it disclosed the case of a sailor assigned to an amphibious assault ship.
  • Argentina went into a full official lockdown Sunday evening as President Alberto Fernández announced the closing of the country’s borders to all arrivals, including the closure of its land borders, and the suspension of all classes until March 31.
  • British over-70s will be asked to self-isolate for up to four months, in order to protect them from the virus.
  • Iran recorded the highest number of deaths in a single day from coronavirus on Saturday, with 113 new deaths in the past 24 hours, meaning the country’s death toll from the coronavirus has reached 724. There are 13,938 people infected across the country.
  • The US embassy and the British Foreign Office are advising their non-resident citizens to leave Argentina quickly while flights are still open.
  • The death toll in Italy increased by 25% to 1,809 from 1,441 on Sunday – a rise of 368. The total number of confirmed cases in Italy rose to 24,747 from 21,157 on Saturday.
  • Louis Vuitton owner LVMH has said its cosmetics unit would manufacture large quantities of hand disinfectant gel to help stave off a nationwide shortage across France as the coronavirus continues to spread.
  • South Africa declared a national disaster and introduced a series of drastic measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
  • Luxembourg on Sunday followed its neighbours France and Belgium in closing bars and restaurants to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

Updated

Who won the Biden-Sanders debate? Our panelists weigh in

US Democratic presidential candidates former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders do an elbow bump in place of a handshake as they greet other before the start of the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign.
US Democratic presidential candidates former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders do an elbow bump in place of a handshake as they greet other before the start of the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Jessa Crispin: “For a while, I felt like I was watching a Beckett play, with two old men on stage talking about totally different realities, talking past one another as if they did not even exist within the same space and time. Here was Bernie Sanders, acknowledging how our flawed and deteriorated health system could enable coronavirus to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans. And here was Biden, convinced he was in Independence Day, saying the coronavirus “is like we’re being attacked from abroad” – although a bunch of people getting sick because the government is too timid to ask people not to go to a goddamn St Patrick’s Day bar crawl is not exactly an alien invasion. He talked about sending the military in to deal with it, as if it were a foreign country of brown people, with oil reserves.”

In the US, Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker has ordered all schools to close for three weeks starting Tuesday in Boston and across the state, the Boston Globe reports.

“Wash Your Hands” is written on a mail box in Boston
“Wash Your Hands” is written on a mail box in Boston Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

Restaurants will remain open for takeout.

Baker has limited public gatherings to 25 people.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern says it was now likely the country will experience a recession that was worse than the 2008 global financial crisis.

The country today banned mass gatherings of more than 500 people in an attempt to manage the Covid-19 outbreak as Ardern, said “we don’t want to be Italy”, Eleanor Ainge Roy and Charlotte Graham-McLay report.

The measures will not apply to schools or universities but will apply to both indoor and outdoor gatherings.

There have been eight cases of coronavirus in New Zealand, and Ardern said it was prudent and “safer” to cancel events such as art shows, music festivals and cultural gatherings. There was no end date for the ban, and Ardern said New Zealanders needed to prepare and adapt “to a new normal”.

“These are extraordinary circumstances. When we have emergencies, when we have situations that are unprecedented, New Zealanders work together. We are asking you to work together – with a little distance between you.” Ardern said.

Australia's most populous state records 'dramatic increase' in cases

Brad Hazzard says there has been a “dramatic increase” in new cases in the Australian state of New South Wales. He says the infections have risen by 37 to 171 confirmed cases and 1,282 cases are being investigated.

Hazzard says of those cases, 67 were acquired overseas but 44 were transmitted locally.

He’s now giving the details of flights which have arrived in Sydney that the health authorities would like to speak to passengers on (in particular rows). He lists the flights as:

  • Qantas flight QF8, which arrived in Sydney on 11 March (rows 73-77, 11-15)
  • Virgin flight VA2 from Los Angeles, also arriving on 11 March, (rows 2-6)
  • Emirates flight EK414 from Dubai arriving on 8 March (rows 11-6, 45-49, 58-62)
  • A domestic flight from the Sunshine Coast to Sydney (VA480, rows 1-4, arriving in Sydney on 13 March)

Updated

In Australia, we are hearing a news conference from the New South Wales health minister, Brad Hazzard.

He reiterates the new public health measures which say no gathering of more then 500 people are allowed to take place in the state, with penalties of over $11,000 for individuals or $55,000 for corporate offences.

“This is a war against a virus that knows no boundaries. We’re trying to put some boundaries around the transmission,” Hazzard says.

South Korea reports its third day where recoveries exceed new cases, despite new cluster near Seoul

South Korea has reported its third day when recoveries have outstripped infections, but a new cluster of infections has surfaced in Seongnam city, south of Seoul. At least 40 members of a Protestant church tested positive, including the pastor, after services on 1 March and 8 March, despite government calls to cancel mass gatherings.

In the country as a whole, 74 new coronavirus infections were reported on Monday, slightly lower than the previous day, health officials said, taking the tally of cases to 8,236, with 75 deaths.

New infections have been on a declining trajectory, with the latest figures well below a 29 February peak of 909, and slightly down from 76 on Sunday.

As many as 303 more patients were released after a full recovery, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,137.

“For three straight days we have seen more numbers of discharged than newly confirmed, but we should not forget the lessons we’ve learned,” the vice health minister Kim Gang-lip told a briefing.

Officials warned that “sporadic outbreaks” continued in the hardest-hit areas, such as the southeastern city of Daegu. The new outbreaks were from unknown sources in other cities, Kim said, adding, “This implies the coronavirus is spreading across the country.”

Quarantine officials carry out a disinfection operation against the coronavirus at a cram school in Daegu, the centre of the outbreak in South Korea.
Quarantine officials carry out a disinfection operation against the coronavirus at a cram school in Daegu, the centre of the outbreak in South Korea. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA

In New Zealand, at 1am on Monday tough new restrictions came into force on the country’s borders, meaning everyone landing in New Zealand from overseas would be required to self-isolate for 14 days. Those arriving from the Pacific Islands were exempt.

Prime minister Ardern said the government were committed to enforcing the self-isolation stipulations and anyone who flouted the rules was “not welcome” in New Zealand and would be deported.

It was also an option to “put a police officer on their door” if someone was not adhering to self-isolation rules, Ardern said, which required they largely stayed inside and kept two metres physical distance from others, including family members.

An important and only slightly baffling message from Arnold Schwarzenegger. His advice on social isolation is sound, and his miniature horses are incredible.

Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno announced in a televised address on Sunday that all movement of people and vehicles would be restricted from 6am on Tuesday, 17 March. Exceptions would be made to buy food, visit hospitals, commute to and from work, or to care for the sick or elderly.

A life guard walks near parasols after local authorities increased restrictions by closing several busy beaches to the public, in order to prevent a spread of coronavirus in Lima, Peru March 15, 2020.
A life guard walks near parasols after local authorities increased restrictions by closing several busy beaches to the public, in order to prevent a spread of coronavirus in Lima, Peru March 15, 2020. Photograph: Reuters

The police and the armed forces would enforce the measures, Moreno said. “They are measures we should all commit to,” he added.

Ecuador has so far confirmed 37 cases of Covid-19, including two deaths.

The Andean country announced on Saturday it would shut its sea, land and air frontiers to all foreign travelers from Sunday while its citizens and foreigners with Ecuadorean residency would have until the end of Monday to return.

Los Angeles mayor closes bars and restaurants

In the US, after New York announced that bars, restaurants and entertainment venues should shut to limit the spread of coronavirus, Los Angeles has followed suit. Like New York, LA will allow food takeout and delivery.

The state of California, home to LA, has 335 confirmed coronavirus cases.

LA mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the executive action takes effect at midnight tonight, in just under four hours’ time.

Updated

In Cambodia, more now on the four new cases, which include a four-moth-old infant.

Reuters reports that the baby is the son of a French man who travelled from Paris via Singapore to Phnom Penh and tested positive for the virus earlier on Sunday, the ministry said. His wife tested negative.

A Cambodian man returning from France and two other people returning from the Islamic ceremony in Malaysia also tested positive, bringing the country’s tally of cases to 12, the ministry said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered citizens not to travel to Europe, the United States and Iran as part of the government’s efforts to curb the spread of the virus which emerged from China late last year and has spread around the world.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks during a press conference at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 24 February 2020.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks during a press conference at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 24 February 2020. Photograph: Kith Serey/EPA

He also ordered anyone returning from Europe, the United States and Iran to be quarantined for 14 days on arrival in Cambodia.

Travel to and from China, which has reported more than 80,000 infections and most of the global deaths, has not been restricted.

As we continue to report on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, we’re looking for stories of how this unprecedented crisis has affected couples, families, friends and communities.

If you’ve been separated from a loved one by lockdowns, have had to cancel your wedding or miss an important family event, we’d like to hear from you. I’m always interested in hearing what you may have done in response, too, or how you and your loved ones (and neighbours) are supporting each other in these trying times.

Send me a brief message on Twitter @helenrsullivan, tag me in a tweet of your own (if you’re happy for us to include it in the blog), email me: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

German ministers have reacted angrily following reports US president Donald Trump offered a German medical company “large sums of money” for exclusive rights to a Covid-19 vaccine.

An office site of biopharmaceutical company CureVac in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 15 March 2020.
An office site of biopharmaceutical company CureVac in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 15 March 2020. Photograph: Armando Babani/EPA

“Germany is not for sale,” economy minister Peter Altmaier told broadcaster ARD, reacting to a front page report in Welt am Sonntag newspaper headlined “Trump vs Berlin”.

The newspaper reported Trump offered $1bn to Tübingen-based biopharmaceutical company CureVac to secure the vaccine “only for the United States”.

The German government was reportedly offering its own financial incentives for the vaccine to stay in the country.

The report prompted fury in Berlin. “International co-operation is important now, not national self-interest,” said Erwin Rueddel, a conservative lawmaker on the German parliament’s health committee.

The German health minister, Jens Spahn, said a takeover of CureVac by the Trump administration was “off the table”. CureVac would only develop vaccine “for the whole world”, Spahn said, “not for individual countries”.

Last week, the firm mysteriously announced that CureVac CEO Daniel Menichella had been replaced by Ingmar Hoerr, just weeks after Menichella met Trump, his vice-president Mike Pence and representatives of pharma companies in Washington.

CureVac quoted Menichella on its website as saying shortly after the visit: “We are very confident that we will be able to develop a potent vaccine candidate within a few months.”

On Sunday, CureVac investors said they would not sell the vaccine to a single state.

Cambodia has reported four new cases of coronavirus, including in a four-month-old baby. The new cases bring the country’s total number of confirmed infections to 12.

A Buddhist monk wearing a protective mask as precaution against coronavirus sits at the river side in Phnom Penh, Cambodia March 15, 2020.
A Buddhist monk wearing a protective mask as precaution against coronavirus sits at the river side in Phnom Penh, Cambodia March 15, 2020. Photograph: Reuters

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took selfies with supporters and celebrated their demonstrations in major cities on Sunday, drawing criticism from congressional leaders for encouraging large gatherings that could worsen the spreading coronavirus, Reuters reports.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro greets supporters in front of the Planalto Palace, after a protest against the National Congress and the Supreme Court, in Brasilia, on March 15, 2020.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro greets supporters in front of the Planalto Palace, after a protest against the National Congress and the Supreme Court, in Brasilia, on March 15, 2020. Photograph: Sergio Lima/AFP via Getty Images

Bolsonaro also appeared to shrug off the advice of medical experts suggesting he take precautions after several members of his recent delegation to Florida tested positive for the virus. The president tested negative for the virus, but newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo reported that Bolsonaro’s medical team has suggested he remain isolated until early next week.

The paper also reported on Sunday that a seventh member of Bolsonaro’s entourage in Florida had tested positive for the coronavirus, along with four members of the trip’s support team.

Bolsonaro strode down the ramp of the presidential palace in a Brazilian soccer jersey and met a throng of protesters at the gate, where he bumped fists, grabbed cell phones to take pictures and leaned in for selfies with the crowd.

In streaming video of the encounter from his official Facebook account, Bolsonaro said it was “priceless” to see so many public demonstrations in favor of his agenda, playing down his warnings against them in a Thursday address to the nation.

An update on Australia’s markets now.

After showing some signs of recovery at lunchtime the Australian market is again tanking following the Reserve Bank’s announcement it was ready to wade into the market and start buying government bonds.

At around 1.30pm the benchmark ASX200 index was down by about 7.8%.

The Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney on March 13, 2020.
The Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney on March 13, 2020. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

The RBA and other regulators are trying to avoid a credit freeze. On Friday, the central bank waded into debt markets and spent $8.8bn to keep money flowing, and this morning it said it would be doing more through a program of so-called “quantitative easing” - basically, buying up Australian government bonds and other assets.

On the markets, travel stocks have taken a pounding. Brisbane-based Corporate Travel Management, which is under siege by short-sellers, has plunged almost 18% and Flight Centre has fallen 13%.

Sydney Airport stock has tumbled almost 16%.

But losses have been clawed back at Qantas, which is down just 1.26%. The other Australian-listed airline, Air New Zealand, is in a trading halt after announcing savage capacity cuts and job losses this morning.

Argentina Sunday expelled 270 foreign tourists for refusing to comply with the mandatory two-week self-isolation for new arrivals from countries where coronavirus is widespread, authorities said.

Police Saturday arrested a group of 90 tourists from the downtown Sheraton hotel in the capital city of Buenos Aires who were refusing to comply with the mandatory quarantine, took them to Ezeiza International Airport and Sunday boarded them on flights out of the country.

A further 180 passengers were refused entry on Sunday at the same airport when they refused to accept the mandatory self-isolation as a prerequisite for being allowed to disembark.

In the US, Donald Trump’s campaign has criticised the debate, which has ended, and praised the US president’s coronavirus response.

The president’s reelection campaign has released a statement criticising Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders while praising Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis.

“Unable to articulate a coronavirus plan, both Bernie and Biden offered little more than plagiarising President Trump’s response, which will now be the model for all future pandemics,” said Kayleigh McEnany, the press secretary of Trump’s campaign.

Both Biden and Sanders criticised Trump’s response to the crisis, accusing the president of dangerously downplaying the health threat and undermining health experts.

Earlier this evening, Trump spoke at a White House press conference and claimed the government has “tremendous control” on the situation, a statement that was contradicted moments later by Dr Anthony Fauci, who said the worst was yet to come in the US.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci listens during a news briefing on the coronavirus at the White House, in Washington, DC, USA, 15 March 2020.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci listens during a news briefing on the coronavirus at the White House, in Washington, DC, USA, 15 March 2020. Photograph: Chris Kleponis/EPA

Australia’s deputy chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, spoke earlier in the country’s capital of Canberra.

He said that Australia now has nearly 300 cases of Covid-19 and five deaths.

He warned that “people over the age of 60 are more susceptible to this disease. And we are finding in the much older age groups 80 and above, the death rate is actually quite high.”

The Australian government today announced that it will prepare a second economic stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Most readers will know the Morrison government last week unveiled an economic stimulus package worth AU$17bn (US$10.5bn). It wasn’t clear at the time that would be enough, and obviously events are now moving at a clip. The Reserve Bank this morning signalled it is preparing to move to quantitative easing.

I gather the government has begun work today on a second package of measures. People are telling me round two will involve support for business and another round of stimulus for households. Cabinet (the regular one, not the special one, which is the rolling meeting of the prime minister and the premiers) is due to meet tomorrow.

You can find the full statement from United Airlines here, but these are a few of the numbers that led to the decision to reduce flight capacity by half for April and May and cut corporate officers’ salaries by 50%

As the leaders of the 100,000 people of United, we feel a deep obligation to each of you to run our company in a way that protects you – and your ability to provide for your family at home.

...

We want to share some numbers to help you understand just how bad the impact of the coronavirus has been on our business. As you know, March is typically our busiest month of the year. But this year, in just the first two weeks of March, we have welcomed more than one million fewer customers on board our aircraft than the same period last year. We’re also currently projecting that revenue in March will be $1.5 billion lower than last March.

In more airline news, NBC reports that United Airlineswil “cut corporate officers’ salaries by 50% and reduce flight capacity by 50% in April & May.”

The Australian live performance industry has escalated calls on the federal government for an “emergency industry support package” to help creatives, workers and organisations stay afloat amid the coronavirus crisis.

On Friday, after numerous gig, festival and stage cancellations through the week, Scott Morrison’s recommended all non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people be called off.

Here is everything we know about the US Centers for Disease Control recommendation that events of 50 people and over be postponed:

The new advice came as the nation sank deeper into chaos over the crisis. Hours earlier, Donald Trump urged Americans to refrain from panic buyingbasic supplies, as the administration announced plans to expand testing for the virus and health officials were preparing to release “advanced guidelines” on how to mitigate its spread.

During a press briefing at the White House on Sunday evening, Trump again appeared to downplay the threat of the virus.

“Relax, we’re doing great,” he said, during short, meandering comments that focused mostly on celebrating a decision by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. “It all will pass.”

In New York, here is the full statement from Mayor Bill de Blasio regarding the closure of bars, restaurants and entertainment venues from Tuesday morning.

Our lives are all changing in ways that were unimaginable just a week ago. We are taking a series of actions that we never would have taken otherwise in an effort to save the lives of loved ones and our neighbours. Now it is time to take yet another drastic step. The virus can spread rapidly through the close interactions New Yorkers have in restaurants, bars and places where we sit close together. We have to break that cycle.

Tomorrow, I will sign an Executive Order limiting restaurants, bars and cafes to food take-out and delivery. Nightclubs, movie theaters, small theater houses, and concert venues must all close. The order will go into effect Tuesday, March 17 at 9:00 AM.

This is not a decision I make lightly. These places are part of the heart and soul of our city. They are part of what it means to be a New Yorker. But our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality.

We will come through this, but until we do, we must make whatever sacrifices necessary to help our fellow New Yorkers.

Updated

In the US, the Baltimore city’s health department has a pretty convincing (one only hopes) new ad campaign promoting social distancing:

More now on New York mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to shut the city’s bars, restaurants and entertainment venues:

De Blasio says he will tomorrow sign an executive order “limiting restaurants, bars and cafes to food take-out and delivery. Nightclubs, movie theatres, small theatre houses, and concert venues must all close. The order will go into effect Tuesday, March 17 at 9:00am.”

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announces of closing all public schools because of COVID-19 epidemic at City Hall Mayor Bill De Blasio press conference, New York, USA - 15 Mar 2020
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announces of closing all public schools because of COVID-19 epidemic at City Hall Mayor Bill De Blasio press conference, New York, USA - 15 Mar 2020 Photograph: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/REX/Shutterstock

New York shuts restaurants and bars

Breaking: New York will shut its bars and restaurants, Mayor Bill De Blasio’s press secretary has announced on Twitter

The midwestern US state of Ohio is announcing the closure of its bars and restaurants, WBNS 10 News reports.

“Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will be issuing an order to close all bars and restaurants Sunday night at 9 p.m. to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“During a press conference, Gov. DeWine added that establishments can stay open for carry-out and delivery but what we can’t have is people congregating and seating.”

Earlier, DeWine tweeted:

Important pun news now, regarding MGM’s decision to shut its Las Vegas operations:

Peru closes borders

Peru will close its borders to curb the spread of coronavirus, President Martin Vizcarra announced on Sunday.

Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra (C) flanked by ministers.
Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra (C) flanked by ministers. Photograph: Peruvian Presidency/AFP via Getty Images

Vizcarra also called on citizens to self-quarantine for 15 days.

Peru has 71 cases of coronavirus, the government said.

We’ve received some helpful messages from Twitter users today, thank you! Please do keep ’em coming. Have any tips, good news or stories I may have missed? Send me a message on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Back to the US Democratic presidential debate now.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, right, participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate at CNN Studios in Washington, Sunday, March 15, 2020.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, right, participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate at CNN Studios in Washington, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

When the conversation turned to climate change, Bernie Sanders argued the “existential crisis” requires the same level of response as the coronavirus pandemic.

Sanders argued Joe Biden’s proposals do not go far enough to combat climate change. “I know your heart is in the right place, but this requires dramatic, bold action” Sanders told Biden.

Pushing back against Sanders, Biden interestingly agreed to “no new fracking,” which goes much farther than his previous statements and could come back to haunt him during the general election.

Updated

In the US, Republican senator Lindsey graham has tested negative for coronaviurs, he announed on Twitter:

More on global deaths and infections overtaking those inside China now:

The most substantial infection centre outside China is in Italy, where there are nearly 25,000 confirmed infections and more than 1,800 deaths.

Elsewhere in Europe, which the World Health Organization described as the centre of the pandemic, France has 4,500 cases and 91 deaths, Germany has 11 deaths and more than 5,700 infections, the Netherlands has 20 deaths and 2,270 infections, Switzerland has 14 deaths and 2,200 infections, and the UK has 21 deaths and 1,144.

The next worst affected country is Iran, where there are just under 14,000 confirmed cases and 724 deaths. There are fears that the country’s fragile health services and economy are struggling to cope with the outbreak, and on Friday, satellite imaging appeared to show mass graves dug in the city of Qom to bury coronavirus victims.

You can read our full story on this development below:

The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that “MGM Resorts International announced Sunday that it would temporarily suspend operations at all Las Vegas properties, effective Tuesday.”

This includes its hotels and casinos. “The Las Vegas-based company operates the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Luxor, New York-New York, Excalibur and Park MGM. It also owns 50 percent of CityCenter, which includes Aria and Vdara,” the Journal writes.

An exterior view shows MGM Grand & Hotel & Casino as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States on March 14, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
An exterior view shows MGM Grand & Hotel & Casino as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States on March 14, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Updated

Scandinavian airline SAS will temporarily halt most of its operations, the company announced on its website today.

Due to the coronavirus and the measures implemented by national authorities, the demand for air travel is essentially non-existent. SAS has therefore decided to put most of its operations on hold, starting Monday March 16 and until necessary prerequisites for commercial air traffic returns.

To support our customers, we will in the next few days do our utmost to uphold a certain level of operation to enable travellers to return from their destinations.

Information regarding the traffic situation and specific flights will be constantly updated on our website. Affected passengers will be notified.

The waiting time at our call centers is extraordinary long. We kindly ask that you only call us if your flight departs within the next 3 days.

Global deaths and infections surpass those in China for first time

Global deaths and infections from the coronavirus have surpassed those inside China for the first time since the beginning of the outbreak.

Worldwide infections have grown to more than more than 86,000, according to the Johns Hopkins university tracker, while cases inside China, stood at 80,860 as of Monday.

Deaths outside China have risen to more than 3,241, according to Johns Hopkins, while deaths inside China stand at 3,208 as of Monday (excluding four in Hong Kong and one in Taiwan).

A graph produced by Johns Hopkins university illustrated the dramatic rise of cases outside China. The angle of the curve appears to show that cases outside of China have grown even more rapidly than they did inside China at the start of the infection there.

A graph from the Johns Hopkins University CSSE coronavirus tracker shows global Covid-19 infections outstripping those in China (in yellow). Correct as of 00:50 GMT, 16 March.
A graph from the Johns Hopkins University CSSE coronavirus tracker shows global Covid-19 infections outstripping those in China (in yellow). Correct as of 00:50 GMT, 16 March. Photograph: Johns Hopkins University CSSE

Updated

Portugal will stop allowing tourists across its shared border with Spain for the next month in hopes of curbing the spread of the coronavirus, Portuguese prime minister António Costa has said.

Food is delivered to nurses and doctors outside the hospital after local hamburger restaurant Hamburgueria Fidalgo decided to feed all the health workers in the city of Barreiro, a suburb on the south side of the Tagus river, on March 15, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Food is delivered to nurses and doctors outside the hospital after local hamburger restaurant Hamburgueria Fidalgo decided to feed all the health workers in the city of Barreiro, a suburb on the south side of the Tagus river, on March 15, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal. Photograph: Pedro Gomes/Getty Images

Ashifa Kassam reports for the Guardian that the measures will not apply to workers who commute between both countries or goods that crossing the 1,200-kilometre shared border, he added, according to Agence France-Presse.

The measure only applies to those on leisure trips. “”There will be no tourism between Portugal and Spain in the coming months,” he told reporters.

Details of the travel restrictions, which will be enforced on those arriving both by land and flights, are expected to be ironed out by officials from both countries in the coming days. The prohibition is expected to last until at least Easter, said Costa.

A children’s play area is taped off and restricted in the face of the Corvid 19 outbreak. Coronavirus outbreak, Porto, Portugal.
A children’s play area is taped off and restricted in the face of the Corvid 19 outbreak. Coronavirus outbreak, Porto, Portugal. Photograph: Dave Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock

“There is a good tradition of Spaniards visiting us during the Easter holidays. This year is not ideal for that visit,” Costa said.

With more than 7,750 cases and 288 deaths, Spain is Europe’’s second hardest-hit country in Europe by the coronavirus outbreak after Italy.

Portugal has so far reported just 245 confirmed cases.

Health authorities are imploring Mexicans to change lifestyles and deeply ingrained customs to slow the spread of the new coronavirus: Avoid physical greetings, keep your distance from others, avoid nonessential activities, among others. The message doesn’t seem to have sunk in with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who isn’t practicing what his own officials are preaching, AP reports.

A pinata of Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
A pinata of Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photograph: Daniel Becerril/Reuters

Touring the Mexican countryside this weekend, López Obrador gave a series of campaign-style speeches to crowds of townspeople touting his administration and barely mentioning the pandemic, saying Sunday that he has great faith that we are going to advance our beloved Mexico, no misfortune will hurt us, pandemics, none of that.

On Saturday he waded through a crowd of fans jostling each other to get selfies with him outside a hotel, giving out hugs and even cradling and kissing a young girl on the cheek.

Hours later, back in Mexico City, Health Department Deputy Secretary Hugo López-Gatell gave his daily evening news conference, soberly updating the country on the number of confirmed coronavirus cases 41, up from 26 the previous day and 11 the day before that and warning that the situation in Mexico is expected to get more serious soon.

We have already said, it is highly recommendable starting today that we avoid greeting with handshakes, kisses, hugs. ... Let us greet each other in a way that we do not need to be inside the healthy distance, López-Gatell said.

The Australian sharemarket had clawed back some losses by midday after diving 7% at the opening bell, with the benchmark ASX200 index down 5.3% from Friday’s closing price.

People wear face masks in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Friday, March 13, 2020.
People wear face masks in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Friday, March 13, 2020. Photograph: Steven Saphore/AAP


In reactions to the coronavirus crisis this morning, Air New Zealand has cut 85% of its international flights and will cut jobs, Crown Resorts has closed every second poker machine at its casinos and hearing implant company Cochlear has withdrawn its previous profit forecasts.
But the big development is that financial regulators are going to meet with the big banks this week. The immediate problem is that small to medium businesses have no money to repay their loans. Banks have said they will allow those customers to delay repayments, which in turn will put pressure on their own businesses.

If small businesses start sacking people in droves, defaults on home mortgages become more likely. This is a potentially big problem for the banks, which have lent heavily against houses.

The Democratic Debate so far

The debate has paused for a short commercial break. Here’s where things stand so far:

  • Most of the first hour of the debate unsurprisingly focused on the coronavirus crisis, as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders criticised the Trump administration’s response and emphasised the need to confront the crisis and adhere to medical experts’ guidance.
  • While answering the question about how he is limiting his potential exposure to coronavirus, Joe Biden tried to contrast his health to Bernie Sanders’. “Well fortunately I don’t have any of the underlying conditions you talked about,” Biden said. The line was a clear reference to Sanders’ heart attack in October, although it’s worth noting both candidates are in their late 70’s, putting them both in the highest-risk age group for coronavirus.
  • The debate has been more contentious than many commentators expected, considering the unfolding crisis. There was a testy exchange where Sanders criticised Biden for his refusal to disavow a super PAC supporting his candidacy and his past comments on potential cuts to social security.
  • Joe Biden vowed to choose a woman as his running mate if he won the presidential nomination. He also reiterated his first nominee to the Supreme Court would be an African-American woman, which would be a first for the country.

Sanders has delighted viewers after telling debate viewers to “go to the YouTube” to research about Biden’s record on social security, writes Max Benwell.

Donald Trump urged Americans to refrain from panic buying basic supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic as the administration announced plans to expand testing for the virus and health officials were preparing to release “advanced guidelines” on how to mitigate its spread.

During a press briefing at the White House on Sunday evening, Trump again appeared to downplay the threat of the novel coronavirus. “Relax, we’re doing great,” he said, during short, meandering comments that focused mostly on celebrating a decision by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. “It all will pass.”

Vittorio Gregotti, an Italian architect who helped design the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics stadium, has died aged 92 after catching the coronavirus, Italian media said.

Gregotti died of pneumonia on Sunday after being hospitalised in Milan, having fallen ill with Covid-19, the Corriere della Sera newspaper and AGI news agency reported.

Argentina goes into lockdown

Argentina went into a full official lockdown Sunday evening as President Alberto Fernández announced the closing of the country’s borders to all arrivals, including the closure of its land borders with its South American neighbours, the suspension of all classes until March 31, permission for all persons who can work from home to do so in both the public and private sectors and a number of other important measures aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus here.

A cashier stands behind a makeshift plastic curtain due to Covid-19 spreads at a supermarket on March 14, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A cashier stands behind a makeshift plastic curtain due to Covid-19 spreads at a supermarket on March 14, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photograph: Lalo Yasky/Getty Images

“Everyone who can, should stay home,” said the president in a press conference.

Among the new measures are a mandatory leave of absence for all persons over 65, special bank and pharmacy hours for persons over 65 to reduce their exposure to large groups of people, the nationwide cancellation of all music shows and other entertainment events, the closure of shopping malls and a series of measures to restrict the flow of people on trains, subways and other forms of public transport.

“We’ve closed Argentina’s border for the next 15 days, except obviously for the entry of Argentine citizens or residents,” the president said. Argentina’s borders will nonetheless remain open for persons wishing to leave the country.

Argentina last week already closed the arrival of flights from the countries most affected by the virus, China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, all of Europe, the UK and the US, but that ban has now been extended to include even its closest neighbours, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay.

“We found that a number of people who had been in the most affected countries were entering across our land borders,” Fernández said, referring to persons who flew to a neighbouring country from Europe, the US or other affected countries and then entered Argentina by land.

The number of coronavirus cases in Argentina ascended to 56 confirmed cases Sunday, up from 46 Saturday, almost all involving persons arriving from Europe and the US, with the number of deaths remaining at two so far.

Have any tips, good news or stories I may have missed? Send me a message on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd is seen addressing attendees during CEDA’s 2020 Economic and Political Overview (EPO) in Sydney, Wednesday, February 12, 2020.
Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd is seen addressing attendees during CEDA’s 2020 Economic and Political Overview (EPO) in Sydney, Wednesday, February 12, 2020. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd writes, of the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic:

If the battle cry of our government’s response to the Global Financial Crisis was “go early, go hard, go households,” this government’s approach to the current crisis seems to be “go late, go half-measures, and go... well...go to Hillsong”.

The New Zealand director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has assured the thousands of people in self-isolation it is safe to “walk, bike or do some gardening” outside, as long as they undertake those activities alone, and not in crowded public spaces.

New Zealand director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has assured the thousands of people in self-isolation it is safe to “walk, bike or do some gardening”.
New Zealand director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has assured the thousands of people in self-isolation it is safe to “walk, bike or do some gardening”.
Photograph: Claire Lucia/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

“Going out for a drive, or a ride” is also ok, and Bloomfield said family and friends can visit or drop off supplies “to have a chat,” as long as they stay two metres away, and contact is not prolonged.

The number of corona cases in New Zealand remains at 8.

“It’s about physical distancing, in fact we need to be more socially connected at the moment” Bloomfield said.

Australia’s National Rugby League is making sure to wash its balls. Hopefully that helps ward off the virus despite the the packed crowd in attendance.

In the US, where Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are debating one another in an audience-less studio, an emerging theme has been the candidates mixing up coronavirus with other deadly diseases.

First of all Biden referred to coronavirus when he meant to say swine flu, then mispronounced H1N1 (which swine flu is also called).

It hasn’t gone unnoticed by Donald Trump Jr:

But Biden’s not the only one. Sanders later made a similar blunder, saying ebola instead of coronavirus, before blaming Biden for the error:

US navy sailor tests positive for coronavirus

A US sailor aboard a warship ship tested positive for the coronavirus for the first time, the US Navy said on Sunday, as it disclosed the case of a sailor assigned to an amphibious assault ship.

US Navy ships from Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and Boxer Amphibious Ready Group sailing in formation in the South China Sea, 06 October 2019.
US Navy ships from Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and Boxer Amphibious Ready Group sailing in formation in the South China Sea, 06 October 2019. Photograph: Us Navy/MC2 ERWIN JACOB V. MICIANO HANDOUT/EPA

The Navy said the sailor was quarantined at home and that personnel that the sailor immediately identified having close contact with have been notified and are in self-isolation at their residences.

“None of them is aboard the ship currently. US Navy ships conduct routine, daily cleanliness procedures geared toward health, wellness and the prevention of communicable disease spread,” the Navy said in a statement, adding the sailor had been assigned to the USS Boxer.

New China figures

Mainland China had 16 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Sunday, the National Health Commission said on Monday, down from 20 a day earlier.

That brings the total number of confirmed cases in China so far to 80,860.

The death toll from the outbreak in China had reached 3,213 as of the end of Sunday, up by 14 from the previous day.

In the central province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, there were 14 new deaths, with the provincial capital of Wuhan accounting for 13 of the fatalities.

Biden: “People are looking for results, not a revolution,” in response to
Bernie Sanders, who has argued the coronavirus crisis demonstrates the need for systematic change.

In the US, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders both said they would deploy the US military to help confront the coronavirus crisis.

Trump has not yet taken that step, but senior administration officials said today that all options remain on the table.

The National Guard has already helped set up a “containment area” in New York’s Westchester County, which has seen a high number of coronavirus cases.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are sparring over whether the coronavirus crisis underscores the need for an overhaul of the US healthcare system.

Biden is essentially arguing that America needs to take extraordinary steps to combat the virus but not necessarily long-term steps toward changing our healthcare system.

Sanders is arguing that the current crisis underscores the problems inherent in the US healthcare system and demonstrates the need to switch to a single-payer system.

After rebounding in remarkable fashion, Biden now leads Sanders by roughly 150 delegates after a second consecutive week of commanding primary victories. A strong showing on Tuesday - when Illinois, Ohio, Arizona and Florida will go to the polls to vote for their preferred candidate - could all but guarantee Biden’s ascent to the nomination to face Donald Trump in the November election.

This week, Sanders telegraphed his intention to press Biden on a laundry list of proposals, including healthcare, climate change, student debt, immigration and wealth inequality.

Ahead of the debate, Biden extended an olive branch to the party’s left wing, adopting a bankruptcy reform plan introduced by his former rival Elizabeth Warren and expanding his higher education platform to move closer to Sanders’ proposal to eliminate college tuition at all two- and four-year public colleges for students regardless of income. In a statement, Sanders said the plan did not go far enough.

Both men sought to strike a delicate balance between debating the issues and addressing the urgent health crisis gripping the nation.

Sanders used the crisis and warnings about how the shortcomings in the American healthcare system will affect the nation’s response to highlight his signature policy issue, Medicare for All.

The 11th US Democratic debate, the first since the coronavirus crisis kicked into high gear in the United States, has now started.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, greet each other before they participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate at CNN Studios in Washington, Sunday, March 15, 2020.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, greet each other before they participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate at CNN Studios in Washington, Sunday, March 15, 2020. Photograph: Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/AP

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have taken the stage and, with CDC guidelines advising against handshakes, the two candidates greeted each other by tapping elbows.

Because of the coronavirus crisis, tonight’s debate is taking place without a live audience or a media spin room.

According to CNN’s Jake Tapper, one of the moderators tonight, this will be the first presidential debate between two candidates held in a television studio without a live audience since 1960.

We’ll be posting any virus-related debate news here, but if you would like to follow all of the US political developments, here is the US politics live blog.

The Australian market plunged 7.3% on Monday morning as coronavirus fears again gripped traders.

This follows a rollercoaster day on Friday when the benchmark ASX200 index plunged as much as 8% before roaring back to finish the day up 4.4%.

Here is our latest Coronavirus: At a Glance for the key developments in the global pandemic:

US health chiefs advises against events of more than 50

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has published an advisory on its website recommending that “for the next 8 weeks, organisers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.”

The note continues:

The Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing. When feasible, organisers could modify events to be virtual.

This recommendation does not apply to the day to day operation of organisations such as schools, institutes of higher learning, or businesses.

Updated

Summary

Welcome to today’s coronavirus liveblog. An increasing number of world leaders have made the decision to impose partial shutdowns or total lockdowns in their countries as Italy, Iran and Spain saw sharp increases in the number of deaths caused by the virus. We’ll be bringing you the latest developments throughout the day.

  • The US Federal Reserve announced it is cutting its benchmark interest rate to near zero and said it would buy US$700bn in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities as it attempts to head off a severe slowdown.
  • New York City will close the largest public school system in the US on Monday, sending more than 1.1 million children home in hopes of curbing the spread of coronavirus, the city’s mayor announced on Sunday, calling it a “very troubling moment”.
  • UK over-70’s will be asked to self-isolate for up to four months, in order to protect them from the virus, he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
  • UK health secretary Matt Hancock said Britain has not ruled out following other countries and closing restaurants, bars and other shops to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
  • British police will have powers to arrest Covid-19 patients not self-isolating, the health secretary has confirmed.
  • Boris Johnson plans to hold daily ministerial press conferences on the crisis, in an attempt to shore up public confidence in the government’s handling of the pandemic.
  • Iran recorded the highest number of deaths in a single day from coronavirus on Saturday, with 113 new deaths in the past 24 hours, meaning the country’s death toll from the coronavirus has reached 724. There are 13,938 people infected across the country.
  • Spain reports deaths have jumped in a day to 288. The number of deaths in Spain from the coronavirus have more than doubled in a day, to 288, with the number of infections near 8,000.
  • People in Norway have been ordered to leave their countryside cabins and return to their homes, due to fears rural hospitals could be overwhelmed, according to Norwegian media.
  • Nike is set to close all of its stores in the United States and several other countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
  • The US embassy and the British Foreign Office are advising their non-resident citizens to leave Argentina quickly while flights are still open.
  • The death toll in Italy increased by 25% to 1,809 from 1,441 on Sunday – a rise of 368. The total number of confirmed cases in Italy rose to 24,747 from 21,157 on Saturday.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tested negative for coronavirus, his office said in a statement on Sunday.
  • Louis Vuitton owner LVMH has said its cosmetics unit would manufacture large quantities of hand disinfectant gel to help stave off a nationwide shortage across France as the coronavirus continues to spread.
  • South Africa has declared a national disaster and introduced a series of drastic measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
  • Luxembourg on Sunday followed its neighbours France and Belgium in closing bars and restaurants to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.
  • California governor Gavin Newsom has directed the closure of all bars, wineries, nightclubs and brewpubs in the state and called for all seniors age 65 years or older to stay in home isolation to curb the spread of coronavirus.
  • The US now has more than 2,900 cases in 49 states, Vice-President Mike Pence said in a press briefing on Sunday evening.
  • Lawyers acting for the mother of a child who has asthma and attends a primary school in County Armagh are planning to launch a judicial review of the Stormont government’s decision not to close schools in Northern Ireland.
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fact check: Are FaZe Banks and Kendall Jenner dating? viral photo sparks buzz after alleged sighting
A viral claim about FaZe Banks and Kendall Jenner dating is false. The image that started the rumor was edited using AI, as confirmed by the original X post. There is no real proof linking them. Both have separate dating histories, but currently, no verified information suggests any relationship between…
The Times of India
The Times of India
Hey, Netflix, Stop Suggesting Movies To Me I Can't Watch With My Plan (You're Not Amazon!)
Hoo boy, this set me off.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
I’m Getting Stressed Out Just Hearing Jack Black’s Take On What It’s Like Hosting SNL
Feels like the only show that could rattle Jack Black!
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Disclosure day: If ET made contact, how would we handle the news?
How would people react if an alien civilization actually made contact with us? Space.com talked to experts, who shared a variety of opinions about a possible real-life "disclosure day."
Space
Space
No one at Waffle House remembers Trump’s FEMA official who claims he was teleported there
None of the two dozen workers and regulars interviewed by The New York Times noticed any metaphysical activity
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Three-week-old mountain lion cub rescued by California biologists
Crimson, seen alone in Santa Monica mountains for days, gets care in Oakland zoo after mother nowhere to be found
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play