Image source, Reuters

Responding to reports that Russia is spreading disinformation about the new coronavirus outbreak on social media, President Vladimir Putin has said "fake news" is "mostly being organised from abroad".

Russia had been accused of hiding information about the number of infections in the country.

Reports on social media claimed more than 20,000 people were infected in Moscow alone. The official total of confirmed cases in Russia is six.

Mr Putin said the aim of the misinformation was to "sow panic among the population".

Last month, US officials also said Russian-linked accounts were making unfounded claims that America started the outbreak.

Thousands of profiles on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were peddling the theory, the officials said.

Where did this all start? Is it true that bat soup is responsible?

Dr Faye Kirkland answers questions posed by children for the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

The number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 85, the department of health reports.

Chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty said a further 32 cases had been reported in England.

"Twenty-nine patients were diagnosed who had recently travelled from recognised countries or from recognised clusters which were under investigation," he said.

"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.

"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."

"The coronavirus outbreak in China has become a global pandemic," says German Health Minister Jens Spahn.

Speaking to German lawmakers on Wednesday, he said: "The situation is changing very quickly... what's clear is that we have not yet reached the peak of the outbreak."

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet labelled the outbreak a pandemic - the description reserved for an infectious disease threatening lots of people all over the world simultaneously.

For more information, read our guide: Could coronavirus become pandemic?

The coronavirus death toll in South Korea continues to rise. The BBC’s Seoul correspondent Laura Bicker tweets:

South Korea is battling the worst coronavirus outbreak outside China.

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The Louvre in Paris, the world's most visited museum, has reopened to the public after a two-day closure.

Museum employees walked out on Sunday, saying they were concerned about catching the coronavirus from visitors.

But they returned to work after the museum's managers presented their contingency plan on Wednesday.

The Louvre is home to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and many other world-famous masterpieces. About three-quarters of its visitors come from countries other than France.

If you would like to know more about Covid-19 - like the symptoms and how to take steps against it - check out our helpful guide.

The start of the first season of the Basketball Africa League has been postponed because of coronavirus fears.

The first BAL campaign was due to start in the Senegalese capital Dakar on 13 March, and no new date has been given.

The new professional league, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation and the NBA, is set to feature 12 African club teams.

"Following the recommendation of the Senegalese government regarding the escalating health concerns related to the coronavirus, the BAL's inaugural season will be postponed," said league president Amadou Gallo Fall.

The plan to close schools and universities across the country until mid-March was reportedly discussed at a government meeting focusing on the introduction of emergency measures for tackling the spread of coronavirus.

Responding to the reports, Italian Education Minister Lucia Azzolina said that the decision - reported by the Italian news agency Ansa and several local outlets - had not yet been taken but would be decided "in the next few hours".

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Dozens of people who attended a football match last week in Tel Aviv, Israel, have been ordered to self-quarantine, Israeli news website Ynet reports.

A teenager among a crowd of away fans at the game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was infected with coronavirus, Israel's health ministry confirmed on Wednesday.

The teenager is believed to have contracted the virus from the manager of a toy store who had visited Italy and earlier tested positive.

"He is currently in isolation in his room and hasn't been in contact with the rest of the household [since testing positive]," the boy's mother said, adding that her son had a stuffy nose and a cough, but no fever.

The health ministry initially requested that thousands of fans at the match be quarantined, but limited the number following an outcry.

The Italian government is to close all schools and universities around the country until mid March because of the coronavirus outbreak, Ansa news agency reports.

Earlier officials reported a jump in cases and deaths from the virus.

The authorities in Saudi Arabia have announced the temporary suspension of the lesser Muslim pilgrimage, or Umra, for Saudi citizens and residents of the Gulf kingdom as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus disease, state media report.

Last week, they took the unprecedented step of barring foreigners from performing pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina.

The Umra is an extra, optional pilgrimage. Although it includes some of the rituals of the most important pilgrimage, the Hajj, they are shortened and there are fewer of them.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia reported its first case of Covid-19 - a Saudi man who had travelled to Iran, the centre of the outbreak in the Middle East.

France has closed about 120 schools in areas with the largest numbers of coronavirus infection.

Both primary and secondary schools have been shut in an area north of Paris where the main cluster of French cases has emerged and where two people who have died of the virus lived.

The closures affect about 35,000 pupils, Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told LCI television.

Student Jonathan Mok, from Singapore, was beaten and punched in the attack on Oxford Street in London.

Virgin Atlantic has said it will waive flight change fees for new bookings in March to give passengers more flexibility during the coronavirus crisis.

Flight bookings have slumped in recent weeks as anxiety increases about the rapid spread of coronavirus, prompting dozens of airlines - including British Airways and Delta - to suspend change fees to encourage passengers to continue travelling.

Virgin said the new measures would allow passengers "the option to change their flight at a later date, without incurring a fee".

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that the government will "bring forward measures to allow the payment of statutory sick pay from the very first day you are sick instead of four days under the current rules".

“I think that is the right thing. Nobody should be penalised for doing the right thing,” Prime Minister Johnson told parliament.

No word yet on how the government might help those who are self-employed or on zero-hours contracts, who may not qualify for sick pay.

Mr Johnson said "a great many" will be entitled to statutory sick pay.

"Others will be entitled to help through existing systems such as universal credit."

Find out more.

Image source, PA Media

Iraq's health ministry says the person reported to have died of Covid-19 in the Kurdistan region "was not confirmed to have had the coronavirus", local media report.

Domestic media outlets had earlier reported that a 70-year-old man was the first fatality linked to the virus in the country.

Due to the ongoing concern over coronavirus, Sony Pictures Entertainment has closed its offices in London, Paris and Gdynia (Poland).

A spokesperson stressed there were no positive cases, but the company was taking the precaution after a London employee was potentially exposed to the virus "given recent travels to an affected area".

"The health and well-being of our employees is of the utmost importance," the spokesperson said.

"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."

Image source, Getty Images

Tesla says it installed older, slower processors in new cars because of supply chain issues caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The firm had received complaints from owners of new Model 3 vehicles in China who found their cars' computers used the older chip.

In a statement, Tesla said it would upgrade the hardware free of charge, when supplies allowed.

The chip in question is used by the car's Autopilot system.

Tesla's factory in Shanghai closed at the end of January due to the coronavirus outbreak. It reopened on 10 February.

Read the story here

UK politician Lou Haigh has told BBC Radio 5 Live that she will no longer be shaking hands.

"We do all need to be taking whatever precautions are necessary," she told Emma Barnett.

It comes as people seek new ways to greet one another, such as the Wuhan shake or the elbow bump, after being advised to stop making physical contact with hugs, kisses or hand shakes.