The UK will likely see “a lot more cases” of coronavirus and should “expect some deaths,” chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has warned.
Some 85 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the UK, the biggest daily increase so far, as the government launched a renewed public information campaign urging people to wash their hands.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has warned of a global shortage and price gouging for protective equipment to fight the deadly virus. It asked companies and governments to increase production by 40 per cent.
The virus has spread to some 80 nations, with large numbers of cases in Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan. There were almost 91,000 cases globally, of which more than 80,000 were in China. Some 2,946 people have died in China, with more than 166 fatalities elsewhere.
Follow the latest updates
New cases in China
Mainland China had 119 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, the country's National Health Commission said, down slightly from 125 on the previous day.
The total number of cases on the mainland has now reached 80,270.
The number of deaths rose by 38 to bring the total mainland China death toll to 2,981 by 3 March.
Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 37 new deaths and 115 new cases.
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With up to a fifth of the UK working population potentially being off sick at the height of a coronavirus epidemic, Ben Chapman looks at what rights you have if you can’t work or self-isolate.
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Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended Umrah pilgrimages to the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina for Saudi citizens and the kingdom's other residents due to coronavirus concerns, the state news agency SPA said.
The decision will be reviewed regularly and reversed when the situation changes, SPA said, citing an official source in the Saudi interior ministry.
Health secretary to chair Cobra meeting
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, will chair a Cobra meeting at 5pm, Downing Street has said.
Boris Johnson held a briefing with the chief medical officer, chief scientific adviser, the chancellor and health secretary earlier this morning.
Department of Health will no longer give daily updates on location of each new case
The Department of Health has said it will no longer provide daily information on the location of each new case "due to the number of new cases".
"Instead, this information will be released centrally in a consolidated format online, once a week. We are working on this now and plan to share on Friday," the department tweeted.
Government to stop giving daily updates about where new coronavirus cases are
Decision comes amid fears 'community transitions' are taking hold in parts of countrySony Pictures Entertainment closes London office
Sony Pictures Entertainment has closed its London office for the rest of the week as a precautionary measure because one of its employees may have been exposed to coronavirus on a recent trip.
The entertainment and distribution company's offices in Paris and Gdynia in Poland have also been closed but all others across Europe remain open.
In a statement Sony said: "The health and wellbeing of our employees is of the utmost importance.
"We thought it was important to share with you that one of our London employees may have been exposed to coronavirus Covid-19 given recent travels to an affected area.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the London, Paris and Gdynia offices will be closed for the remainder of the week, and employees should work from home."
Coronavirus discussion 'hidden from users in China'
Chinese social media sites stopped users from talking about coronavirus as it began to spread, a report has claimed.
Platforms censored references to the disease and related keywords such as "Wuhan Unknown Pneumonia", as it was sometimes referred to as it began to spread in China, Andrew Griffin reports.
Discussion of coronavirus is being hidden from users, report claims
A number of words related to disease were added to blacklistsThird person tests positive in New York
New York's Yeshiva University said one of their students had tested positive for Covid-19, marking the third case in the state.
The school said it was canceling all classes today at one of its four New York City campuses as a "precautionary step" while it worked with authorities on how to best prepare and keep its students safe.
Yesterday, officials said a man in his 50s who lives in a New York City suburb and works at a Manhattan law firm tested positive for the virus. Health authorities said he had two children, one of whom was a student at Yeshiva.
Italy to ban public events
Italy's government is set to close cinemas and theatres and ban public events across the whole country to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak, according to a draft decree drawn up today.
The decree, Reuters reports, orders "the suspension of events of any nature... that entail the concentration of people and do not allow for a safety distance of at least one metre (yard) to be respected."
The draft decree also tells Italians to avoid hugging and shaking hands to prevent as much as possible a further spread of the potentially deadly illness which has been mainly concentrated in the country's northern regions.
'Not yet clear' where some UK patients contracted disease
Thirty-two of the new coronavirus cases were diagnosed in England, Public Health England has said. There are two further new cases in Scotland, as confirmed by authorities earlier.
Twenty-nine of the new patients in England had recently travelled from countries badly hit by the disease, but three others are believed to have contracted the virus in England and "it is not yet clear" who from.
Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer, said in a statement: “As of 9:00am this morning 32 further patients in England have tested positive for COVID-19.
“29 patients were diagnosed who had recently travelled from recognised countries or from recognised clusters which were under investigation.
Three additional patients contracted the virus in the UK and it is not yet clear whether they contracted it directly or indirectly from an individual who had recently returned from abroad. This is being investigated and contact tracing has begun.
“The total number of confirmed cases in England is now 80. Following previously reported confirmed cases in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, the total number of UK cases is 85.”
Coronavirus cases jump to 85 in UK in biggest daily increase so far
The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has jumped to 85, the Department of Health has announced.
That is up 34 since yesterday - the biggest single increase in a day.
A total of 16,659 people have been tested in the UK, of which 16,574 were confirmed negative
The economic impact of coronavirus in five charts
Coronavirus has shaken the global economy and financial markets, with worse still expected to come.
Some analysts are talking of the possibility of a global recession – something that has not been experienced since the financial crash of 2008/2009.
Our economics editor Ben Chu has taken a look at the financial impact of the outbreak so far:
Lithuania cancels independence anniversary events
The Baltic nation of Lithuania has cancelled most of the indoor events planned for the 30th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union because of coronavirus.
The speaker of Lithuanian parliament said authorities had decided to call off the events as many of the people expected to attend the events are elderly and at higher risk of infection.
Foreign leaders have also cancelled scheduled trips to attend the anniversary events in Lithuania, Viktoras Pranckietis added.
Several events in Vilnius, including a flag-raising on Independence Square on 11 March and an evening concert, are still scheduled to proceed.
Lithuania has so far only has reported one case of the virus.
UK universities postpone graduation ceremonies
Some universities have postponed their graduation ceremonies over fears about the coronavirus.
Buckingham University and the University of London said they had taken a "difficult" decision to call off ceremonies this month to minimise the risks to students and their guests.
The University of London said it had expected up to 4,000 people from more than 100 countries - including international students with friends and family - to have attended its 3 March ceremony at the Barbican Centre.
The cancellation covered students distance and flexible learning programmes.
Italy to ban football fans from Serie A matches
The Italian sports minister has said that all Serie A football matches are likely to be played behind closed doors for the next month due to the coronavirus.
This also raises serious doubts about the prospect of next weekend’s Six Nations clash between Italy and England going ahead as planned, reports Jack de Menezes:
France closes 120 schools
France's education minister has said the country has closed about 120 schools and may shut more.
For now, around 35,000 students are affected, primarily in Brittany and a region north of Paris with clusters of the new virus.
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told LCI television it was probable more schools will close and confirmed said he had ordered a freeze on all school trips.
France has reported 191 cases of the virus, including three on French Caribbean islands, and three deaths.
Italy 'to close all schools and universities until mid March'
Italy will close all schools and universities until the middle of March due to the coronavirus, the Ansa news agency reported, citing sources.
Italy to close all schools and universities as coronavirus spreads
Italy has announced the closure off all schools and universities due to the spread of coronavirus, as the death toll across the country rose to 79
Average coronavirus incubation period is 5-7 days, Chinese Medical Association says
The median incubation period of the new coronavirus is five to seven days and the maximum 14 days, Du Bin, chairman of the Critical Care Medical Branch of the Chinese Medical Association,has said.
Mr Du also said while in Hubei province some individuals have tested positive for the virus even after being discharged from hospital, there is no data tracking such cases.
He said there was no evidence yet that such patients can transmit the virus to others.
London Deloitte staff sent home after worker tests positive
Employees at the Deloitte accountant firm in central London have been told to work from home after a member of staff tested positive for coronavirus following a trip to Asia, Samuel Lovett reports.
London staff sent home at Deloitte after worker tests positive for coronavirus
Chief executive Richard Houston calls incident ‘unsettling’ as tenth floor of main UK office subject to ‘deep cleaning’Facebook gives free advertising to World Health Organisation
Facebook will provide free advertisements to the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it seeks to ensure users are not misinformed about the virus, its risks and how to react to it, Mark Zuckerberg has announced.
"We're giving the WHO as many free ads as they need for their coronavirus response along with other in-kind support," the social media giant's chief executive officer said in the Facebook post.
Users who search for posts on the virus on Facebook would now see a pop-up that directs them to the WHO or local health authority for the latest information, Zuckerberg said.
He also pledged again that the company would remove false claims and conspiracy theories flagged by leading global health organizations to help combat misinformation about the coronavirus.
