Image source, State House Tanzania

Tanzania's State House has shared a picture of the country's president observing new measures promoted by the health ministry to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Governments around the world, including Tanzania's, have advised people to avoid hugging, kissing and greeting people by hand to prevent the spread of the virus.

Tanzania has not yet registered any suspected cases.

Image source, Getty Images

French cycling teams who had been participating in the UAE Tour road race say they are now being "held against their will" and "treated like plague victims".

The final two stages of the UAE Tour were cancelled over two suspected coronavirus cases, with riders at the event then tested for the virus.

But while the majority of teams have since left the United Arab Emirates, the French teams Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ, and the UAE team and Russian team Gazprom are still under lockdown.

"We always hope things will get better soon and nothing happens," Cofidis team president Thierry Vittu said.

Iran is reporting more infections and a higher death toll of 77 from the coronavirus outbreak, with senior government officials among those infected.

A total of 2,336 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed as of 3 March, Iranian health authorities said on Tuesday.

Deputy health minister Alireza Raisi told state media that there had been 835 new cases and 11 more people had died in the past 24 hours.

Iran has the highest number of deaths from the coronavirus outside China, where the illness originated.

The true number of deaths in the Islamic Republic is thought by many to be much higher.

• How is Iran responding to the outbreak?

But Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the country was being transparent with its figures on the outbreak.

Senior political figures have been among the victims of the virus.

Twenty-three members of parliament have reportedly tested positive, and it was announced on Monday that an official close to the supreme leader had died of the illness.

The head of Iran's emergency medical services, Pirhossein Kolivand, has been infected, the ILNA news agency reported.

On Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei warned people to follow the recommendations of authorities to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Virologist Dr Lindsay Broadbent has given handshakes the thumbs down - telling the BBC that there are alternative ways of greeting one another to minimise the risk of passing on the virus.

In an earlier post, we mentioned the Namaste greeting - where a person has their hands folded together, palms touching and fingers facing upwards - which has been recommended in the Indian capital Delhi.

Officials in France have shut more than 120 schools in areas that have reported the largest numbers of infections.

Primary and secondary schools have shut in the Oise department, north of Paris, where the majority of cases in France have been reported. It is not known when they will reopen.

So far, there have been 191 cases in the country and three deaths.

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said there are no plans to order a nationwide shutdown, for now.

Authorities have already stopped class trips outside the country.

BBC News broadcast a special programme on coronavirus on Monday evening.

In the programme, a panel of experts and BBC reporters around the world answer questions on the coronavirus outbreak.

You can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer here.

UK shares climb for a second day as fears over the impact of coronavirus linger.

Do you have any questions about the UK government's coronavirus plans?

BBC health correspondent Nick Triggle will be on hand to answer them on the BBC News Channel at 15:30 GMT today.

You can submit your questions via:

• Email to yourquestions@bbc.co.uk
• WhatsApp to +44 7756 165803
• Twitter to @BBC_HaveYourSay, external

Or, perhaps we've already answered your question. You can check if we've done so here:

• Coronavirus: Your questions answered

As cases of coronavirus increase in the Indian capital Delhi, there are increasing calls to greet people with the traditional "Namaste" greeting rather than a handshake, BBC Monitoring reports.

The Namaste greeting is where a person has their hands folded together, palms touching and fingers facing upwards.

Well-known Bollywood actor Anupam Kher posted a video on Twitter suggesting the use of the greeting.

"It is hygienic, friendly & centres your energies. Try it", the actor wrote.

Journalists such as Gaurav Sawant from India Today TV channel has endorsed the suggestion.

A Vietnamese song aimed at raising awareness of the coronavirus has been mirroring the illness by going viral, albeit on social media.

The song, set to an animated cartoon, has been shared widely after being released by health authorities in Vietnam.

Performed by pop singers Min and Erik, the song is a simple instruction about personal hygiene to avoid catching the virus.

Posted to YouTube, the song's lyrics include "wash our hands, rub, rub, rub, rub evenly” and “push back the Corona, Corona".

In Vietnam, the nation's youth have shared TikTok videos of themselves performing hand-washing dance moves with the song playing in the background.

The song has also won fans in the US, where Last Week Tonight host John Oliver called it a "genuine club-banger".

The comedy show, aired on HBO, shared a link to the song, writing: "Now it can be stuck in your head, too."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said social media needs to be responsible in preventing the spread of false information.

"We have all got to be very responsible. The media has an important role as does social media."

Speaking about news reports, he said: “I’m sure they will want to convey the right messages and the right balance of risk.”

Other measures in the UK plan include:

• Hospital discharges could be monitored to free up beds, with appropriate care in people's homes.
• All government departments are to have a lead person for coronavirus.
• Helping businesses with short-term cash-flow problems, including giving them longer to pay bills.
• A "distribution strategy" for the UK's stockpiles of key medicines and equipment such as protective clothing, which will cover the NHS, and could extend to social care.

Read the full story here.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the army is ready to support police in maintaining order.

"The army is of course always ready to backfill as and when but that is under a reasonable worst case scenario," he said during a news conference.

He added: "Let me be absolutely clear that for the overwhelming majority of people who contract the virus, this will be a mild disease from which they will speedily and fully recover, as we have already seen."

BMW on coronavirus The German carmaker BMW says 85% of its dealerships in China have reopened, and it has full confidence the Chinese government is taking the right measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking to BBC World from Munich - where BMW has had to send some 150 staff home after an employee tested positive for Covid-19 - board member Pieter Nota said it was too early to see the detailed implications of the outbreak on business or earnings.

He conceded that there had been some impact in February. However he said the company was still expecting to see record sales this year.

Image source, Getty Images

Announcing the UK's coronavirus plan, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "I fully understand public concern about the global spread of the virus and it is highly likely we will see a growing number of UK cases. Keeping the UK safe is the government’s overriding priority.

"We will make sure the NHS gets all the support it needs. Our country remains extremely well prepared as it has been since the outbreak began several months ago.

"We must not forget what we can do to prevent this virus, wash your hands with soap and hot water for the length of time it takes to sing happy birthday twice."

Police in London are investigating an assault after a student from Singapore said he was beaten up by a group who made comments about the coronavirus outbreak.

Jonathan Mok, 23, said he was walking down Oxford Street last Monday when he heard shouts of "coronavirus" behind at him.

Mr Mok said within seconds of turning around, three or four young men and a woman were in his face.

"All of a sudden, the first punch was swung at my face and took me by surprise," Mr Mok said in a widely shared Facebook post, external.

One of the group allegedly tried to kick him in the head before saying: “‘I don’t want your coronavirus in my country.”

• Londoners 'experiencing racism over coronavirus'
• 'I was sent racist abuse over the coronavirus'

Mr Mok, a student at University College London, said his face was "exploding with blood" from the attack, which left him in "daze and shock".

The Metropolitan Police told the BBC it was investigating a racially aggravated assault in Oxford Street near Tottenham Court Road station at around 21:30 on 24 February.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Mok said the coronavirus outbreak had been used by some as an excuse to "further hatred for people different from them".

"I just think it’s a pity to have such experiences taint the image of this beautiful city with so many nice people."

Image source, Jonathan Mok

53-year-old Julie talks about what it's like to be diagnosed with coronavirus and survive the symptoms.

Here are some more points from the government’s briefing:

• A possible delay strategy could be used to move the peak of the outbreak to warmer months so that it does not overlap with normal flu and allows more time for research
• There are plans ready for a range of outcomes, from mild pandemic with low impact on services (like Swine Flu in 2009) through to severe and prolonged pandemic
• There are plans for the Ministry of Defence to provide support to Civilian Authorities if requested
• If the disease becomes established in the UK, further measures to be considered include school closures, home working and reducing large-scale gatherings
• Police would concentrate on serious crimes and maintaining public order if a lot of officers are on sick leave, in the case of the disease being fully established
• There could well be an increase in deaths, particularly amongst the vulnerable and elderly
• Concessions may be made by tax officials if businesses struggle to pay tax bills
• Some non-urgent care in the NHS may be delayed to focus on treating coronavirus patients.
• Recently retired staff may be called back

The UK has revealed its response to the coronavirus. The government believes that in a “stretching scenario”, up to a fifth of the workforce may be off sick during the peak of an epidemic.

It warns there could be an increase in deaths, particularly among vulnerable and elderly groups.

A football club in eastern Germany has apologised to a group of Japanese guests who were asked to leave a home match on Sunday amid coronavirus concerns.

Stewards at RB Leipzig's Bundesliga game against Bayer Leverkusen were told to conduct "increased checks on groups of persons from potential risk areas".

Germany's DPA news agency reported that a group of about 20 visitors were told to leave 10 minutes after kick-off.

"We would like to and must apologise for this mistake at this point," said the club.

Read more about this story here