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Coronavirus live updates: UK enters 'delay' phase as Boris Johnson warns 'many more families will lose loved ones' Coronavirus live updates: death toll in Italy passes 1,000
(32 minutes later)
Stock markets plunge again; death tolls rise around the world; more countries shut down schools, nurseries and universities. Follow the latest newsStock markets plunge again; death tolls rise around the world; more countries shut down schools, nurseries and universities. Follow the latest news
As well as advising that gatherings of 500 people or more be cancelled next week, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said overseas school trips should not go ahead and people with symptoms indicative of coronavirus to stay at home for seven days. The UK government has updated its coronavirus advice, following the latest emergency meeting of ministers and their advisers this afternoon. Here are the key points.
Sturgeon told a press briefing that she was articulating a Scottish government position, not a UK wide position, when advising gatherings of 500 people or more to be cancelled. “We will from the start of next week advise the cancellation of mass gatherings of over 500 people that have the potential to have an impact on our frontline emergency services.” if you have symptoms of coronavirus infection (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home and do not leave your house for 7 days from when your symptoms started. (See Ending Isolation section below for more information)
Though this move wouldn’t have a significant impact on the spread of the virus, Sturgeon explained the government issued this advice to reduce the impact on policing and frontline health services during the outbreak. this action will help protect others in your community whilst you are infectious.
At first minister questions, Sturgeon said she is specifically referring to events that require policing and ambulance cover. “I am very clear that we are basing the decision on resilience issues and not simply on the action that we require to take to reduce the spread of the virus. It is important that we recognise that those decisions have to be informed by the science but that there are wider implications that we all have to be mindful of,” she explained. plan ahead and ask others for help to ensure that you can successfully stay at home.
The Scottish government will also be giving advice to local authorities and schools that overseas school trips should be cancelled. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will soon issue advice that aligns with that position, Sturgeon said. ask your employer, friends and family to help you to get the things you need to stay at home.
The first minister said schools, colleges and universities throughout the UK are currently not being advised to close. While the government will keep this issue under review, Sturgeon explained that closing schools could lead to children gathering in more informal settings and result in a greater spread of the virus. stay at least 2 metres (about 3 steps) away from other people in your home whenever possible.
sleep alone, if that is possible.
wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, each time using soap and water.
stay away from vulnerable individuals such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions as much as possible.
you do not need to call NHS111 to go into self-isolation. If your symptoms worsen during home isolation or are no better after 7 days contact NHS 111 online. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.
Extinction Rebellion has postponed its next wave of protests, which had been due to start on 23 May.
Sources within the environmental protest movement say they are planning an alternative “rebellion”, in an effort to support the struggle against the coronavirus outbreak that is spreading around the world.
A statement sent to the Guardian reads:
More than 1,000 people in Italy have died as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, according to the latest figures.
According to Reuters:
Britain’s FTSE 100 has suffered its biggest one-day loss since October 1987, and its second worst day ever.
The escalating coronavirus crisis has triggered an absolute rout in the City again, and around Europe, as Donald Trump’s EU flight ban sparks alarm – and fuels fears of a global recession.
Investors appear to be pricing in a serious pandemic, with quarantine measures and lockdowns in big cities leading to huge economic cost, and losing faith that policymakers can prevent it.
Read more on our business live blog:
For full coverage of the UK prime minister’s press conference on the country’s response to coronavirus check out our politics live blog.
Deliveroo HQ in London will be closed from tomorrow until at least 30 March, a leaked internal memo sent by the chief executive and founder, Will Shu, to staff reveals, Jedidajah Otte reports.
Shu wrote:
Dan Winn, the chief technology officer at Deliveroo, wrote in a separate message to staff at the company’s tech department, seen by the Guardian:
A Deliveroo spokesperson said:
The health minister in Wales, Vaughan Gething, has defended his government’s decision not to order the postponement of the Wales v Scotland rugby match, Steven Morris reports.
Plaid Cymru has called for the game and other mass gatherings to be put off, but Gething said: “It’s really clear and really important that ministers are making choices guided by the best evidence and advice.” He said Wales was “actively considering” banning mass gatherings from next week.
On closing schools, Gething said such a move was not appropriate at the moment. He said: “Ministers have had clear advice that closing schools now is not an appropriate step to take. That advice may change.”
The chief medical officer for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton, said the expectation was that cases would start rising in early April and there may be a peak in May and June.
Asked if there was any suggestion the pattern in the UK was not following that seen in Italy, he said: “We have to assume the pattern of transmission in Italy may be coming our way. We have to assume that.”
Welsh Labour has announced it is postponing its annual conference as the Welsh Labour government devotes its full attention to responding to the outbreak. The conference was due to take place next month in Llandudno, north Wales.
Boris Johnson said the coronavirus outbreak was “the worst public health crisis for a generation” and the number of cases could be “much higher” than had been confirmed.
The prime minister said he had to “level with the British public that many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time”.
He said even if the peak of the disease was delayed by a “few weeks”, the NHS would be in a stronger position to handle it because of the improving weather, more beds would be available and there would be greater time for medical research.
As well as advising that gatherings of 500 people or more be cancelled next week, Scotland’s first minister said overseas school trips should not go ahead and people with symptoms indicative of coronavirus should stay at home for seven days.
Nicola Sturgeon told a press briefing that she was articulating a Scottish government position, not a UK-wide position, when advising that large gatherings should cancelled.
“We will from the start of next week advise the cancellation of mass gatherings of over 500 people that have the potential to have an impact on our frontline emergency services,” she said.
Though this move would not have a significant impact on the spread of the virus, Sturgeon said the government issued this advice to reduce the impact on policing and frontline health services during the outbreak.
At first minister’s questions, Sturgeon said she was specifically referring to events that required policing and ambulance cover. “I am very clear that we are basing the decision on resilience issues and not simply on the action that we require to take to reduce the spread of the virus,” she said. “It is important that we recognise that those decisions have to be informed by the science but that there are wider implications that we all have to be mindful of.”
The Scottish government will also be advising local authorities and schools that overseas school trips should be cancelled. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office would soon issue advice that aligned with that position, Sturgeon said.
The first minister said schools, colleges and universities throughout the UK were currently not being advised to close. While the government would keep this issue under review, Sturgeon explained that closing schools could lead to children gathering in more informal settings and result in a greater spread of the virus.
She added: “If it gets to the stage where the advice is to close schools, this will not be for a week or two weeks. This will be something that was advised to last throughout the peak of the infection and that is potentially until the summer period.”She added: “If it gets to the stage where the advice is to close schools, this will not be for a week or two weeks. This will be something that was advised to last throughout the peak of the infection and that is potentially until the summer period.”
The Green party in England and Wales has cancelled its Spring conference. The conference had been due to take place in Brighton on the weekend of 20-22 March. The Green party in England and Wales has cancelled its spring conference. The talks had been due to take place in Brighton on the weekend of 20-22 March.
A statement on the Green party website says: A statement on the Green party website reads:
The local elections are scheduled to be held on Thursday 7 May in about 118 English local councils, eight directly elected mayors in England and 40 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales.The local elections are scheduled to be held on Thursday 7 May in about 118 English local councils, eight directly elected mayors in England and 40 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales.
More universities in England say they are stopping in-person lectures and classes and planning to switch to remote learning this month, Richard Adams, the Guardian’s education editor, reports.More universities in England say they are stopping in-person lectures and classes and planning to switch to remote learning this month, Richard Adams, the Guardian’s education editor, reports.
The University of Durham and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) have announced that they will move to remote learning where possible, with Durham to begin from 16 March for the last week of term before its Easter holidays begin.The University of Durham and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) have announced that they will move to remote learning where possible, with Durham to begin from 16 March for the last week of term before its Easter holidays begin.
Clare O’Malley, Durham’s global pro-vice-chancellor, told students in an email:Clare O’Malley, Durham’s global pro-vice-chancellor, told students in an email:
MMU also said it was preparing for the possibility of switching its end of year exams to online assessments. Malcolm Press, the vice-chancellor of MMU, told students:MMU also said it was preparing for the possibility of switching its end of year exams to online assessments. Malcolm Press, the vice-chancellor of MMU, told students:
Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, has announced that the whole of Metro Manila, the country’s capital, is to be placed under quarantine, according to reports.Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, has announced that the whole of Metro Manila, the country’s capital, is to be placed under quarantine, according to reports.
All travel in and out of the capital will be halted from 15 March until 14 April, Duterte said after a meeting with an interagency taskforce on the Philippines’ response to the outbreak, according to a report in ABS-CBN News. The site reported the president as saying:All travel in and out of the capital will be halted from 15 March until 14 April, Duterte said after a meeting with an interagency taskforce on the Philippines’ response to the outbreak, according to a report in ABS-CBN News. The site reported the president as saying:
Concerns are growing that the deportation of migrants from the US and Mexico could accelerate the spread of coronavirus in Central America, after authorities in Honduras suspended repatriation flights and confirmed the first two cases in the country, Jeff Ernst reports for the Guardian.
Honduras became the third country in Central America – and the first in the northern triangle region, which is the largest source of migration to the US – to confirm cases of the virus late on Tuesday.
The cases involved people who had recently returned from Europe, but three men deported from the US also arrived presenting symptoms.
The three deportees, aged between 18 and 26, have been placed in isolation. President Juan Orlando Hernández called for calm, saying on Wednesday: “We cannot allow ourselves to be guided by panic or hysteria.”
Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, has confirmed the country’s ninth and tenth deaths from coronavirus, both in London.
The Brazilian government has confirmed that President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, has coronavirus just days after meeting Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Dom Phillips, in Rio de Janeiro, reports.
Confirming a newspaper report, it said:
It added:
Wajngarten shared photos of himself with Trump and Mike Pence during the trip, as well as Bolsonaro. The two presidents dined on Saturday at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. In one video, Wajngarten (wearing glasses) is seen just behind Trump and Bolsonaro.
The US government has been informed “so that they can adopt the necessary cautionary measures”, the statement said. Wajngarten is in home quarantine.
The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is self-isolating after his wife began suffering from flu-like symptoms after returning from the UK.
According to his spokesman, Trudeau “will spend the day in briefings, phone calls and virtual meetings from home, including speaking with other world leaders”.
This is Damien Gayle taking the reins on the liveblog now for the next couple of hours, with the latest updates on the developing coronavirus situation.
Please do get in touch if you have any news – particularly anything internationally you think we might have overlooked – as well as any tips or suggestions for our coverage. As usual you can email me at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or reach me via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle.
The London School of Economics is to move all teaching for undergraduate and postgraduate students online later this month, becoming the first UK university to do so in the wake of the widespread Covid-19 outbreak, Richard Adams, education correspondent, reports.
But it said the campus and residential accommodation will remain open as usual, following PHE advice.
Minouche Shafik, the LSE director, said in a message to students and staff:
The school, based in central London, is also to postpone graduation ceremonies planned for July, with all public events on campus to be stopped from 23 March.
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people in Scotland.
She also said at the Cobra meeting it was decided that the UK had moved from the “contain” phase into the “delay” phase.
The London School of Economics has said it will switch to online-only classes and lectures for all undergraduate and taught postgraduate courses from 23 March, while summer exams will be replaced by online assessments.
A spokesperson said:
The University of Westminster has announced that it is cancelling its open day for undergraduate applicants scheduled for 14 March.
The university said:
During the Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918, adverts in the Guardian told readers that soap can save lives.
Here’s a summary of the latest developments:
Boris Johnson is chairing another meeting of the UK government’s emergency committee as the number of people with coronavirus increased by a record 134 to 590. The death toll in the UK increased to eight, after two patients with underlying health conditions died in London.
A nursing home in Basingstoke has become the first care home for older people to be hit by the virus. Oakridge House been closed to visitors after a person tested positive. A paramedic in Hertfordshire and a member of staff at a hospital in Liverpool are among those who have tested positive.
Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has announced the closure of all schools, colleges and childcare facilities from tomorrow. “I know that some of this is coming as a real shock... but we’re doing it for each other,” he said. Malta, Denmark, Norway and Lithuania have introduced similar measures.
The EU has condemned Donald Trump’s unilateral ban on travel from 26 European countries. The presidents of the European commission and European council defended Europe’s record in managing the pandemic and sharply criticised the White House for its failure to consult its allies.
Stock markets in the US and Europe plunged further after Trump’s travel ban sparked panic from investors. The US benchmark index, the S&P 500, lost 8.2% of its value in 30 minutes, triggering automatic halts in trading on Wall Street for the second time in a week.
India has barred the entry of all foreign tourists for one month starting tomorrow in a bid to contain the coronavirus. The ban on foreign visitors includes foreign nationals of Indian origin.
Actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have announced that they have both tested positive for Covid-19 while filming in Australia.
The chief medical officers from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern have instructed doctors to change the way they work to deal with “very abnormal emergency situation”. A letter to doctors waned: “Clinicians may need to depart, possibly significantly, from established procedures in order to care for patients in the highly challenging time-bound circumstances of the peak of an epidemic.”
Every member of the Spanish cabinet is being tested for coronavirus after the country’s equality minister, Irene Montero, became the latest politician to test positive for the virus. The coronavirus death toll in Spain has increased from 47 to 84.
The total number of coronavirus cases worldwide now stands at 126,258, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. There have been 4,638 deaths.
Mainland China reported 15 new infections, eight of which are in Hubei. There have been 11 new deaths, 10 of which were in Hubei.
The NBA has suspended play indefinitely after after a Utah Jazz player preliminarily tested positive for Covid-19.