Samuel Osborne, Jon Sharman, Chiara Giordano, Conrad Duncan
Coronavirus news: UK death toll rises as WHO officially declares pandemic and Italy sees record jump in cases
Coronavirus is now a pandemic, the highest level classification the World Health Organisation can give, the body said on Wednesday as the number of cases and deaths from the virus continued to rise around the world.
Not long after the declaration, NHS England announced an eighth person in Britain had died of the disease. The Foreign Office has now urged British citizens to leave Italy as soon as possible amid the country’s outbreak and the number of UK cases has surged to more than 450.
Elsewhere, Angela Merkel has cited experts as saying Covid-19 could infect up to 70 per cent of the German population, and police in coronavirus-plagued Italy are forcing people to keep apart in cafes as cases there surpassed 10,000 – leaping by 2,313 in a day.
Good morning and welcome to today's live coverage of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Officials in the UK are bracing for a surge in cases, while junior health minister Nadine Dorries revealed overnight that she had tested positive for the virus.
There are now more than 115,000 cases of coronavirus worldwide.
The UK has so far had 373 cases officially confirmed, while six people in the country have died after contracting the virus.
According to Reuters, fatalities were up by more than 26 per cent globally by 2am today compared to the same time a day earlier.
The news agency's latest tally showed there were more than 119,000 cases of coronavirus worldwide and 4,296 deaths linked to the virus as of 2am GMT today.
This is an increase of about 5,000 cases from the same time on Tuesday, when there were 114,300 cases and 4,026 deaths.
The death toll in Italy jumped by 168 to 631 on Tuesday - an increase of 36 per cent, which is the largest rise in absolute numbers since the contagion came to light on 21 February.
The virus has had a huge effect on global markets, with stocks, oil and other financial markets around the world went on another wild ride on Tuesday, clawing back ground after their historic plunge the previous day.
Investors are likely to see more big swings until the number of infections slows down, and fear was still rampant that economies stood at the brink of recession, market watchers said.
"We are in a global panic," said Estelle Brack, an economist in Paris. "We are in the deep unknown.".
In Italy, police are forcing people to keep apart in cafes in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.
Massimo Leonardo, who runs a market stall, said he had "never seen anything like it".
"It's bad," he said. "People are terrorised."
The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 has surpassed 10,000 in the country - more than anywhere else in the world apart from China, where the outbreak began.
A number of countries have banned flights from Italy, while British Airways and Air Canada suspended all flights to and from the country.
Health minister becomes first MP to test positive - after attending event with PM
Nadine Dorries, a junior health minister and Tory MP, is in self-isolation at home after becoming the first British politician to test positive for Covid-19.
It is unclear how much she may have interacted with senior government officials before becoming unwell, however The Times has reported she attended a reception with Boris Johnson at Number 10 and held constituency meetings.
It is not known whether the prime minister has or will be tested.
'My heart is split in half': Italians describe life inside Italy's coronavirus lockdown
Italians have described the reality of living inside Italy's nationwide lockdown after the entire country went into quarantine on Tuesday in the most severe travel restrictions in Europe.
Residents risk being fined - or even jailed - if they break the rules and travel anywhere inside or outside the country, apart from in an emergency.
One woman told The Independent her heart "split in half" when she had to choose between her family who live near Palermo in the south - or her fiance who is in Milan in the north.
The world's biggest gaming conference has been cancelled, according to reports.
E3 - officially called the "Electronic Entertainment Expo" - is just the latest event to be cancelled because of fears around coronavirus.
The event, organised by the Entertainment Software Association, brings some 70,000 people to Los Angeles to hear announcements about new and upcoming games, and play them.
Trump filmed shaking crowd's hands as he ignores official advice
The coronavirus has done little to deter Donald Trump from shaking hands with his fans - despite official advice telling people to avoid the greeting.
A video has emerged showing the 73-year-old US president enthusiastically shaking hands with a crowd of supporters shouting "we love you" and "good job" after touching down in Florida.
Mike Pence, the vice-president, has previously said neither he nor Mr Trump will stop shaking hands, despite authorities advising against it.
Doors in parliament sealed off with police tape and Covid-19 warnings
A door in parliament has been sealed off with police tape and covered with signs warning people not to enter because of Covid-19.
It is not clear where the door leads to, however the office of junior health minister and Tory MP Nadine Dorries has also been cordoned off after she was diagnosed with coronavirus yesterday.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell today announced she was also self-isolating after she met with Ms Dorries last week.
'Europe risks economic shock similar to 2008 financial crisis'
The head of the European Central Bank (ECB) has warned Europe will see a scenario similar to the 2008 financial crisis unless leaders join together and act urgently on the coronavirus outbreak.
Christine Lagarde told EU leaders that ECB policy makers will look at all tools during a meeting this week - and particularly ones to provide "super cheap" funding, Bloomberg News reported.
It comes as it has emerged the UK economy stagnated in January, before the impact of the virus took hold.
Coronavirus conference cancelled - because of coronavirus
A business conference centred on coronavirus has ironically been called off to avoid spreading the disease.
The Council on Foreign Relations has cancelled a roundtable conference due to take place on Friday, as well as other conferences scheduled between 11 March and 3 April around the US, according to reports.
A message on the think tank's website says: “There are currently no upcoming events. Please check back soon for new events.”
'Most people will get coronavirus - it's about winning time' (Axel Schmidt/Reuters)Angela Merkel has said up to 70 per cent of the population will likely get coronavirus.
The German chancellor said the aim is to win time by slowing the spread of the disease since there is currently no cure.
She told a news conference in Berlin: "When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70 per cent of the population will be infected.
"The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus's spread.
Malaysia tracing 5,000 people potentially exposed to coronavirus at religious event
Malaysia is trying to track down 5,000 people who may have been exposed to coronavirus at a mass religious event on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.
It comes after neighbouring Brunei reported its first case of coronavirus - a 53-year-old man who had attended the same event at a mosque between 27 February and 1 March.
The event is thought to have involved about 10,000 people from several countries.
Malaysia reported 20 new cases of coronavirus infection today, bringing the total to 149.
Another 63 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Iran, taking the country's death toll to 354.
There have so far been more than 9,000 cases of Covid-19 in the Islamic Republic, with the majority of cases in Iran.
In Bahrain, authorities say cases have spiked by almost 70 per cent to 189 cases today. The new cases were all people on a returning flight of Bahraini evacuees from Iran.
Italy has put aside €25bn (£22bn) to bolster its economy in the face of the coronavirus lockdown.
Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister, told journalists that already-tough restrictions on movement might be tightened further after the northern region of Lombardy, centred on Italy's financial capital Milan, asked for all shops to shut and public transport to close.
"We are ready to listen to requests from Lombardy and other regions," Mr Conte told a news conference, adding that caution would be needed before deciding to introduce new measures.
Nursing students are to be drafted in by the NHS to help out on hospital wards during the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, the head of NHS England has said.
Speaking at a conference of nursing leaders in Birmingham, Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England said third-year unqualified nursing students would be asked to help care for patients.
