The first coronavirus death has been recorded in the Republic of Ireland
The number of positive cases in NI stands at 18
As of Wednesday afternoon, 246 people in NI have been tested
Some elective surgeries to be cancelled in preparation for surge in cases
In the Republic of Ireland, nine new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed, bringing the total there to 43
Addressing Belfast City Council's decision to cancel its St Patrick's Day parade, councillor Kate Nicholl said it was right to be cautious.
Image source, pacemaker"We know that it spreads, it’s a serious issue, we don't want to cause alarm, we don't want to cause panic, but we want to err on the side of caution," she said.
Director of Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Aodhán Michael Connolly, has urged consumers to be responsible with buying goods after news that consumers are stockpiling amidst coronavirus fears.
The organisation represents 90 major retailers including Sainsbury’s, Asda, Argos and B&Q.
Image source, AFP“Certain people, carers or the elderly, may only shop once a week and we want to make sure everybody has access to the products they need," he said speaking to the newsletter.
“The big message to shoppers is that retailers are doing the hard work so they don’t have to – we’re making sure we’re able to get products in store so there’s not any real need to be stocking up.”
Belfast Chamber Chief Executive Simon Hamilton has called on the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and the NI Finance Minister Conor Murphy to include support for businesses in their budgets this month, external to help deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on companies.
Image source, Press Eye"It is now absolutely essential that both take swift and decisive action to support companies who are inevitably going to be impacted by the spread of COVID-19 and to do all that they can to ensure that a temporary shock on our economy doesn’t become a bigger crisis," he said.
SDLP assembly member Mark H Durkan says NI politicians seem to be "waiting with bated breath" to see what Westminster allocates them to help people hit economically by the coronavirus outbreak.
Image source, PA Media"It's vitally important that we are able to protect people economically, that we're able to protect people from financial hardship as a result of following advice that we're drumming into them that they must suffer," he said.
The early symptoms can easily be confused with other winter bugs including colds and flu.
The symptoms start with a fever followed by a dry cough. After a week, it can lead to shortness of breath and some people need hospital treatment.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin, a former agriculture minister, says "we all know that diseases don’t recognise borders".
"We do need to work closely with counterparts across the island and ensure that the advice we’re giving people is consistent and appropriate for the current circumstances," she added.
Image source, PA MediaRishi Sunak will deliver his first Budget on Wednesday
Rishi Sunak is about to deliver what's become known as the "coronavirus Budget," as fears grow over the impact the outbreak will have on the UK economy.
He is expected to unveil a package of measures to boost everything from the NHS to struggling small businesses and the self-employed.
Read more here.
Image source, Getty ImagesAs of Wednesday morning:
Dr Adele McCormick from the University of Westminster demonstrates how germs spread and what the best methods are to avoid catching a virus.
Coronavirus: Watch how germs spread
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Minister for the Department for the Economy, Diane Dodds, has travelled to Washington to promote Northern Ireland as a prime business investment location.
Earlier on Tuesday, First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill announced they had cancelled their visit to the United States due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Public Health Agency's Dr Gerry Waldron says that a lot of work goes into identifying coronavirus cases.
"That might not seem a huge number in comparison to other areas, but you’ve got to think that behind all those 16 cases a huge amount of intensive work has to be done in identifying the people associated who would be classed as high risk contacts," he said.
A surgeon dealing with the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, where the whole country has been put in lockdown, says the UK and Irish governments should take the same action immediately.
Prof Mohammed Abu Hilal urged governments not to hesitate and "close everything as soon as possible".
Image source, Getty ImagesSpeaking on the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme he said: "My message to the UK and Ireland and I think to any government that is not yet in the big trouble we are, is to take lessons.
"They should close everything as soon as possible, even if they have only two or three hundred cases in the country."
Dr Gerry Waldron, of the Public Health Agency, says Northern Ireland is "still in the containment phase".
Image source, PA Media"The trusts will be making preparations and will be taking account of the ways things are going to go, or the way things could go, over the next few weeks," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster.
"It’s what we call surge planning, so they are being quite prudent in what they’re doing."
A Belfast call centre is still closed after an employee was diagnosed with Covid-19.
Lloyds Banking Group, which owns the Halifax centre, said the site "remains closed for the time being".
The building was closed for cleaning on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday morning in the UK:
The 62-year-old is MP for Mid Bedfordshire
Westminster health minister and Conservative MP Nadine Dorries has been diagnosed with coronavirus.
Ms Dorries, the first MP to test positive, said she had taken all the advised precautions after finding out and has been self-isolating at home.
The Belfast Health Trust is to start scaling back on some planned operations to help cope with the coronavirus outbreak.
The Mater Hospital is cancelling some elective surgery from Wednesday in order to free up hospital beds and staff.
Image source, PacemakerHealth trusts in NI are starting to plan ahead for what is likely to be the start of a surge of coronavirus cases.
The numbers as they stand in Northern Ireland
Hello and welcome to the rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.
As of Wednesday morning: