Summary

  • Italy is closing all schools from Thursday for at least 10 days

  • Iran is also closing schools and universities until early April

  • UK government says it is preparing for 'significant' spread of virus

  • World Health Organization urges countries to act with "speed and determination"

  • Tennessee and New Jersey confirm first cases, 18 US states now affected

  • International Monetary Fund announces $50bn in funding for affected countries

  1. A tough time for the cruise ship industrypublished at 05:33 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    Here are some of the cruise ships that have been affected by the global outbreak:

    • The Grand Princess is being held off the coast of California after a former passenger died of the virus. Around 3,500 people are on board
    • Last month, thousands of people on board the Diamond Princess were quarantined in the Japanese port of Yokohama after a previous passenger tested positive. Six passengers later died, and at least 621 people tested positive
    • Thousands on board the World Dream in Hong Kong were put in quarantine in February after it emerged that passengers who sailed on a previous voyage tested positive. They were later allowed to disembark after tests came back negative
    • Passengers on board the MS Westerdam found themselves stranded after five countries denied them entry, fearing that someone on board may have been infected. The ship departed Hong Kong on 1 February with 1,455 passengers and 802 crew on board. It was finally allowed to dock in Cambodia

    Diamond Princess Cruise ShipImage source, Getty Images
  2. Virus did 'not necessarily' originate from China, says governmentpublished at 05:23 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs says, although the new coronavirus was discovered in China, it didn't necessarily originate there.

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  3. More detail on the Grand Princesspublished at 05:02 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    A cruise ship is being held off the coast of California, after a former passenger died from Covid-19.

    The Grand Princess went on a round trip from San Francisco to Mexico last month.

    After the ship docked in San Francisco on 21 February, thousands more passengers boarded and thousands disembarked. The vessel then began a round-trip to Hawaii.

    It was a 71-year-old passenger from the Mexico trip who later died in California.

    Some 62 passengers were on the Mexico trip and the Hawaii trip. They have been restricted to their rooms for testing.

    The ship has 2,500 passengers and around 1,000 crew.

    California governor Gavin Newsom said 11 passengers and 10 crew members were potentially infected.

    "So we're holding that ship, which (has) thousands of passengers as well, off the coast, and we'll be conducting those tests," he said.

  4. Childcare scarepublished at 04:58 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    Exterior of the the chilldcare centre in Sydney's north-westImage source, AAP
    Image caption,

    Children and staff at the centre are being tested

    A Sydney childcare centre has also been temporarily closed after children and staff visited an aged-care home where an elderly resident later died from the virus.

    One of the staff reported feeling ill afterwards. Their test came back negative but authorities said they would carry out screenings of children and their families "out of an abundance of caution".

    Chief Medical Officer Dr Brendan Murphy said: "Clearly the community has had some concerns about the outbreak in Sydney, the small community outbreak, but this is a very small cluster of cases, it is being very actively managed."

    Australia reported its first cases of locally-transmitted infections this week. There are now 54 cases nationally, the majority of which were from people on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Two people have died while at least 21 people have recovered.

  5. Apps to put make up on your facepublished at 04:50 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    Mariko Oi
    BBC News

    Working from home but too lazy to put makeup on? No fear.

    Three years ago, Shiseido, in partnership with Microsoft, introduced an app that put "make up" on your face while you attend a teleconference call from home.

    Back then, there wasn’t much demand - but as more companies ask employees to work from home, there’s been greater demand. Even US companies like Zoom have began to roll out features like the "Touch Up my Appearance" option., external

    And don't feel too left out if you're a guy - this Japanese man has invented an app that dresses you in a suit.

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  6. Four new cases in Thailandpublished at 04:47 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    Thailand has announced four new cases, bringing the total to 47. They are:

    • A 29-year-old Italian man
    • A 42-year-old Thai man who had been to Italy
    • A 22-year-old Chinese student who arrived from Iran
    • A 20-year-old Thai student returning from Iran
  7. Run out of loo roll? Try the newspaperpublished at 04:42 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    This Australian paper has printed eight pages of "toilet paper" - with handy cut lines to boot:

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  8. Italians sent home after escaping quarantinepublished at 04:37 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    A group of Italian tourists who tried to escape coronavirus confinement in the West African country of Mauritania have been sent back home, said news wire AFP.

    Mauritania has imposed a confinement period on travellers from countries considered high-risk.

    The 15 tourists tried to evade this confinement but were caught 90km (56 miles) from the capital of Nouakchott, where they had first arrived.

    A health ministry spokesman said they were brought to the airport and sent back to Italy.

  9. Bad news for Slipknot fans...published at 04:36 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

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  10. Australia slams the door on travellerspublished at 04:36 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    Simon Atkinson
    BBC News, Sydney

    Australia has slammed the door on more travellers as it tries to restrict the spread of coronavirus.

    Non-Australians visiting from South Korea have been added to the travel ban list which already featured China.

    And Australians have been told to think carefully about whether they really need to visit South Korea themselves.

    People arriving from Italy will also be subject to high levels of screening, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

    Australia has recorded 53 cases of the virus.

    Scott MorrisonImage source, Getty Images
  11. Fighting the virus in Japanpublished at 04:24 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    Good intentions, not so great execution:

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  12. Death toll in South Korea increases to 39published at 04:24 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    A man in South Korea's virus epicentre of Daegu has died from the coronavirus, reports news outlet Yonhap. This brings the country's death toll to 39.

    There are currently 5,766 coronavirus cases in the country.

  13. Singapore Airlines crew take leave of absencepublished at 04:09 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    Crew members who worked onboard a Milan-Singapore flight have been instructed to take a leave of absence after a passenger tested positive for the virus.

    The passenger had been on flight SQ355 on Feb 24, reported media outlet Channel NewsAsia. They had subsequently flown to New Zealand.

  14. No handshakes for Taiwan's presidentpublished at 03:58 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

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  15. Some of the sporting events affected by the coronavirus:published at 03:56 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    • The Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Greece will see smaller crowds and receptions scrapped
    • Italy has ordered all major sporting events, including Serie A soccer games, to be played without fans for one month
    • The Irish Rugby Football Union has postponed its Six Nations fixture against Italy
    • England's game against Italy will also be postponed, according to reports
    • The F1 Grand Prix, due to be held in Shanghai in April, has been postponed
    • The final two stages of the UAE Tour - a road cycling race - was cancelled after two Italian participants tested positive for the virus
    Juventus stadium closed to fans for 30 days,Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Italy's Juventus stadium will be closed to fans for 30 days

  16. UK airline collapses amid virus pressurepublished at 03:53 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    UK regional airline Flybe has gone into administration, putting 2,000 jobs at risk after a bid for fresh financial support failed.

    The carrier said the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on demand for air travel was partly to blame for its collapse.

    The airline narrowly avoided going bust in January. Read more here.

  17. Toilet paper lorry on fire amid virus shortagepublished at 03:48 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    A lorry carrying toilet paper has caught fire in Australia - after panic buying of rolls, caused by virus fears, led to shortages across the country.

    Media caption,

    Coronavirus in Australia: Lorryload of toilet paper catches fire

  18. Second death in Australiapublished at 03:45 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    A second person with Covid-19 has died in Australia. The 95-year-old woman lived in a nursing home in Sydney. A care worker in the home has also tested positive, as has another elderly resident.

  19. Relatives of US military personnel infected by viruspublished at 03:41 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    Two dependents of US forces based in South Korea have tested positive for the virus.

    They are the dependent of an active duty service member and a spouse of a US Department of Defense civilian employee - both are based in the city of Daegu, which has been worst-hit by the virus.

    There are now six infection cases linked to US Forces Korea personnel.

  20. Baby diagnosed with coronavirus: ABCpublished at 03:41 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March 2020

    The baby of a woman who was diagnosed with coronavirus has also become infected, said Australian broadcaster ABC.

    Both the baby and her mother, a 40-year-old woman who returned to South Australia from Iran on Sunday, are said to be in stable condition.