Schools across the UK are set to close as early as Friday, in the latest attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus. In other UK news, Boris Johnson has promised the government will protect private renters after its £350bn coronavirus relief package was criticised for omitting them, and will also discuss the idea of a universal basic income with opposition parties.
Under further government plans police will have the power to detain people infected with coronavirus as efforts to tackle Covid-19 ramp up. Schools in Scotland and Wales are set to shut by the end of the week, while British supermarkets have begun rationing more products after shelves were picked clean by stockpilers.
Elsewhere, the virus has now been detected in all 50 US states, with the death toll passing 100; Donald Trump’s administration has said it will increase the availability of testing and urged all Americans to take steps to avoid infection. Global infections have now passed 200,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. Some 8,000 people have died and 82,000 have recovered.
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Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey calls for universal basic income during pandemic
Rebecca Long-Bailey has called for a universal basic income to be paid to all workers, in order to provide financial security during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Labour leadership candidate said the proposal, which would pay everyone at least the living wage, was a "streamlined" way of getting around the economic problems caused by the virus.
Jon Stone has more:
Rebecca Long-Bailey calls for universal basic income during coronavirus pandemic
Labour leadership contender says workers need financial securityUS representative tests positive
US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart has confirmed he has tested positive for the coronavirus after developing symptoms of the disease.
Mr Diaz-Balart, a Florida Democrat, said in a statement he has been self-quarantining in Washington since Friday and has not returned home to Florida because his wife's pre-existing conditions put her at exceptionally high risk.
People with A-type blood may be more vulnerable - Chinese scientists
People with blood type A may be more vulnerable to being infected with coronavirus compared to other blood types, scientists in China have claimed.
In a preliminary study, researchers at the Zhongnan Hospital at Wuhan University examined blood group patterns of 2,173 people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Kate Ng has more:
People with blood type A may be more susceptible to coronavirus
Infected people with specific blood type may need 'more vigilant surveillance and aggressive treatment', says studyMore people crossing US/Mexican border over virus fears - reports
The number of Mexicans crossing illegally into the United States has risen over the past week, migrant shelters said, in part driven by rumours the United States will seal the border as it seeks to stop the spread of the virus.
Representatives of four migrant shelters in northern Mexico told Reuters they had seen an uptick in Mexican migrants heading to the border.
"There are more people crossing the desert," said Marla Conrad, a social worker for the Kino border initiative in the city of Nogales, close to the border.
Labour demands Boris Johnson give MPs votes every six months on emergency powers
Labour is demanding Boris Johnson give MPs fresh votes every six months on emergency legislation that will hand ministers "draconian" powers for two years to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The Emergency Coronavirus Bill – to be tabled in parliament on Thursday – will give ministers the ability they claim is needed to respond to the escalating threat of the virus and support the NHS.
Ashley Cowburn has more:
Labour demands Boris Johnson give MPs votes every six months on emergency coronavirus powers
The IndependentEmergency Coronavirus Bill expected to be tabled in parliament on ThursdayTrump defends using name ‘Chinese virus’
Donald Trump has defended using the term “China virus” to refer to the coronavirus, insisting it is not racist.
The president and a number of his senior officials, including Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, have repeatedly referred to Covid-19, the first human cases of which were detected last year in China, as the “Chinese virus”.
Andrew Buncombe has more:
Trump defends using name 'Chinese virus' - 'It's not racist, it comes from China'
Comes amid reports of hate crime attacks on Asian-AmericansThe US State Department says it will stop issuing visas at its embassies and consulates around the world.
The announcement came as several politicians in the country called on the department to explain difficulties some of their constituents overseas were having in getting assistance from embassies and consulates.
The department said in a notice that it was temporarily suspending "routine visa services" for non-US citizens at its overseas diplomatic missions "in most countries."
The department did not provide a list of affected countries but said visa applicants should check with individual embassies to check on their status.
This is how we can actually save the economy from coronavirus
For all the talk on the paranoid right about the federal government’s “black helicopters,” we’ll all be glad to see Washington’s helicopters when they are dropping tons of money on our suddenly distressed economy - Tim Mullaney writes.
But how can we do it right? By this, we mean how to do the most good with the least ancillary damage?
More below:
This is how we can actually save the economy from coronavirus — though some politicians don't want to hear it
No, Elizabeth Warren, this isn't the timeNHS trusts gave staff the wrong advice on self-isolation
Staff at several NHS hospitals were wrongly told to go to work when they should have been self-isolating, it has emerged.
Doctors and nurses were advised they could work even if someone else in their home had symptoms of coronavirus – despite official guidance being that their household should self-isolate for 14 days if anyone shows signs of the symptoms.
Here is Shaun Lintern with the exclusive story:
Coronavirus: NHS trusts gave staff the wrong advice on self-isolation
Some hospitals wrongly told staff that national advice to self-isolate at home for 14 days did not apply to themLabour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey calls for universal basic income during pandemic
Rebecca Long-Bailey has called for a universal basic income to be paid to all workers, in order to provide financial security during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Labour leadership candidate said the proposal, which would pay everyone at least the living wage, was a "streamlined" way of getting around the economic problems caused by the virus.
Jon Stone has more:
Rebecca Long-Bailey calls for universal basic income during coronavirus pandemic
Labour leadership contender says workers need financial securityScottish government 'pauses' work on plans for independence referendum this year
Preparations for a Scottish independence referendum this year have been put on ice due to the coronavirus outbreak, a senior minister has said.
Mike Russell, the Scottish constitution secretary, revealed that preparations for a second referendum have been "paused" to allow ministers cope with the global pandemic.
Here is Lizzy Buchan with more:
Scottish government 'pauses' work on plans for independence referendum this year
Scottish minister also urges UK government to halt Brexit talks for at least six monthsIsrael's Health Ministry says it has used controversial surveillance technology for the first time in its fight to stop the spread of the virus.
The ministry said it had sent text messages to around 400 individuals whom it had determined were in contact with carriers.
Early this week, the Israeli Cabinet authorised the Shin Bet security agency to use its phone-surveillance technology to identify people who had come into contact with people infected with the virus. The technology previously had been used to track Palestinian militants.
The government says the tactic is strictly supervised and meant to save lives. But opposition lawmakers and civil rights advocates say it is a violation of privacy.
Iran to pardon 10,000 prisoners
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will pardon 10,000 prisoners including political ones in honour of the Iranian new year on Friday, state TV reported.
"Those who will be pardoned will not return to jail ... almost half of those security-related prisoners will be pardoned as well," judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said.
On Tuesday, Mr Esmaili said Iran had temporarily freed about 85,000 people from jail, including political prisoners, in response to the coronavirus epidemic.
Mr Esmaili did not say whether British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who was temporarily released on Tuesday for two weeks was among those who would be among those who will be pardoned.
Coronavirus hospital ship in New York delayed by weeks due to maintenance, Pentagon says
The US Navy's 1,000-bed hospital ship is weeks instead of days away from getting deployed to New York state as its currently undergoing maintenance, a Pentagon spokesperson says.
It was announced on Wednesday the USNS Comfort was on the way to New York harbour to assist the state in the growing coronavirus pandemic.
More below:
Coronavirus hospital ship in New York delayed by weeks, Pentagon says
The US Navy's 1,000-bed hospital ship is weeks instead of days away from getting deployed to New York state as its currently undergoing maintenance, a Pentagon spokesperson says.Governments must not let the coronavirus pandemic derail action on climate change, an architect of the landmark Paris agreement has warned, saying the vulnerabilities laid bare by the virus could serve to spur a more concerted response.
Laurence Tubiana, a former French diplomat who was instrumental in brokering the 2015 accord aimed at averting catastrophic global warming, said the disruption caused by the coronavirus was a wake-up call.
"In a way, it's a lesson: viruses don't respect borders, climate change doesn't respect borders," Tubiana, who continues to closely track climate diplomacy, told an online briefing. "If we do not manage the climate crisis it will be the same."
Germany to use hotels and public halls as hospitals
Germany will use hotels and public halls as hospitals to treat coronavirus patients, the government has announced.
Health chiefs will relieve pressure on hospitals by converting spaces such as hotels, rehabilitation centres and halls into areas for treating people with milder symptoms, federal and states governments said.
Jane Dalton has more:
Germany to use hotels and public halls as hospitals amid coronavirus pandemic
Plan agreed to keep those with milder symptoms away from proper wardsLloyd Russell-Moyle becomes third MP to test positive for coronavirus
Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle has tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus, the politician has confirmed.
Mr Russell-Moyle, who joined the commons in 2017 and represents Brighton Kemptown, confirmed he had contracted the virus after waiting for six days on the result of a test.
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