The government's "Living with Covid" plan for England contains no additional measures for schools.

A new cough, fever and change in smell or taste are the key symptoms of coronavirus.

The UK's plan to tackle coronavirus has been changing. What's the latest and what's happening next?

Our live updates on the latest situation with coronavirus in our region have come to an end this evening, but we'll be back at 07:00 tomorrow with the latest news as our schools and nurseries close until further notice.

Surya Gupta and his wife are stuck in a remote village in Peru after the country banned all travel following the outbreak of coronavirus.

To make matters worse, friends have alerted the Birmingham couple to a break-in at their home whilst they've been away.

Mr and Mrs Gupta arrived in South America on Sunday, a day before the travel ban was introduced.

They have been told by the authorities to stay in their hotel and are relying on locals to feed them until they can get a flight home.

Trading standards teams have visited shops across Birmingham as part of a clamp-down on dual-pricing as people bulk buy amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Officers from Birmingham City Council's trading standards team visited shops and supermarkets in Lozells, Nechells, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill and Soho after receiving more than 70 complaints about shops charging a higher price than the one originally marked.

Image source, Getty Images

Visits were carried out at 19 premises but many of the stores had already been emptied of overpriced products.

Officers made three test purchases of fruit juice, toilet rolls and rice, with only one retailer charging the lower price.

Under the trading regulations law, it is illegal to charge a higher price when a lower price is clearly displayed.

It comes as a branch of West Midlands-based chain Jhoots had 200ml bottles of the liquid paracetamol advertised at about three times its usual price.

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A few people have been in touch via the BBC Midlands Facebook , externalpage to ask whether it's okay to let their children go out and play with friends?

Professor Whitty, the UK's chief medical advisor says it's "very important" that children and adults take exercise and being outside in a park is a "very good thing to do".

But Dr Keri Althoff, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, says social distancing requires everyone - children and adults - to stay six feet (two metres) apart at all times.

That means no sports like basketball or football.

An appeal to raise funds to support vulnerable and isolated people in Staffordshire has raised more than £65,000 in its first 24 hours.

It will help people who do not have or have lost access to support services.

Organisations who assist residents have also been affected and so cannot deliver their usual services, the appeal organisers Community Foundation for Staffordshire said.

The non-profit group, which launched a StaffsCovid19 Just Giving page yesterday, added that this fund aims to support those organisations.

Alton Towers Resort is postponing the opening of its park and closing its hotels and offices, due to coronavirus.

Image source, Getty Images

In a statement, the theme park said it had taken the "very difficult decision" as a precautionary measure.

The park had been due to open at the weekend, but said "it was the right thing to protect the health and wellbeing of our employees and guests".

On Wednesday, fellow Staffordshire theme park Drayton Manor said it would also be closing.

A restaurant in Hereford has delivered free food to NHS workers in the town.

Image source, Nandos

“Times are tough out there right now, especially for those on the front-line working to keep us safe and healthy," the town's Nando's posted on its Facebook site., external

"We wanted to say a huge thanks to the Wye Valley NHS staff on the front-line, so we dropped off a huge crate of Peri-Peri goodies to pass on our thanks for their amazing effort and determination."

Parents have been giving their reaction to the announcement schools will be closing from Friday.

The Hay Festival is the latest event to have been cancelled due to the spread of coronavirus.

The event, heading into its 33rd year, was due to start on 21 May.

Organisers said they'd been left "heartbroken," and said it needed to "urgently raise funds" to secure next year's festival.

This is how some of the local news websites are reporting the coronavirus outbreak across the West Midlands:

• Birmingham Live's headline is: Eight new deaths from coronavirus confirmed in West Midlands, external
• The Express and Star has: Black Country pharmacy increases paracetamol cost by 666% during coronavirus outbreak, external
• And The Sentinel has: Shoppers fail to heed warnings not to panic buy as huge queues form outside supermarkets, external

A reduced bus service will be introduced across National Express West Midlands services next week.

Image source, National Express

Starting from the first service on Wednesday 25 March, the company will be running reduced services on some bus routes, it said.

No bus routes are being taken off and Sunday services will remain the same, it said.

Customers are being advised to check timetables before they travel.

The Midlands Air Ambulance charity said it was closing all shops from tomorrow, in a bid to help halt the spread of coronavirus.

But encouraged people to support the service with online donations in order to keep the service operating.

A head teacher in Lichfield, Staffordshire, said a "huge amount of planning" had been going on in schools to prepare resources for children sent home.

Image source, Google

Sue Hannam, from Lichfield Cathedral School, which has 525 pupils, said: “We had seen this coming so we knew at some point we were going to be asked to close.

“There has been a huge amount of planning behind the scenes and I think schools are pretty much ready to go."

West Midlands Police has issued details of how the force is going to manage law and order during the coronavirus outbreak.

Thefts, criminal damage and minor burglaries will be recorded online while airport officers will be redeployed.

Some investigations will be dealt with over the phone by officers in self-isolation, said the force.

Parents broadly agree with the decision but say they face an "anxious and challenging" time.

School closures and how they are dealt with are going to be a "major headache for the government", said a former Birmingham teacher.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris McGovern, from Ladywood, who chairs the Campaign for Real Education, said he said he felt “parents have got a real problem but there was probably no alternative”.

“About a quarter of teachers had not been turning up and about a similar number of children had not been turning up as parents had been keeping them at home.

“There is a childcare issue - do they go to grandparents but they are the most vulnerable, so there is a real issue here," he said.

“How it is dealt with in other ways is a major headache for the government.”