Summary

  • The death toll in Italy jumps to 463 as much of the country's north starts the week under quarantine

  • Trading in US shares is briefly suspended after sharp falls over an oil row and ongoing coronavirus fears

  • Six people die during a prison riot over visitor restrictions in the north Italian city of Modena

  • Israel is to ask everyone arriving in the country to self-quarantine for 14 days

  • Germany confirms its first two deaths from coronavirus, both in North Rhine-Westphalia

  • It is now accepted the virus will spread in a "significant way" in the UK, a spokesman for the PM says

  • China has 40 new cases of Covid-19, the lowest since January when reporting began

  • Foreign diplomats finally allowed to leave Pyongyang after long quarantine

  1. Our live page is closing for the daypublished at 19:06 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    That's it for our live page today, thanks for following our coverage.

    You can still follow the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak and other stories on the BBC News website.

    Read about the latest developments in the UK and across the world in main stories here:

    More about the coronavirus:

  2. Quarantine effective immediately for Israelis, minister sayspublished at 18:57 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    Israel's Interior Minister Aryeh Deri has clarified what the country's newly announced quarantine policy will mean for Israeli and foreign citizens.

    He said all Israelis arriving in the country must enter a 14-day quarantine as of Monday night.

    For foreign citizens arriving in the country, the policy will come into effect on Thursday.

    Read the full story: Israel to bring in quarantine for all arrivals

  3. First Canadian death reportedpublished at 18:43 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    Canada has recorded its first death from the coronavirus outbreak, health authorities announced.

    The resident of a care home in North Vancouver, British Columbia, died on Sunday, Canadian Health Minister Adrian Dix said.

    "This is obviously a very sad day for all of us, but especially for the family and loved ones of the man who passed away," Mr Dix said.

    There are at least 71 confirmed or presumed cases of coronavirus in Canada, AFP news agency reports.

    Most are in the most populated province, Ontario, or in British Columbia.

  4. Italian prison riot under controlpublished at 18:36 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    A prison revolt in Pavia, a town under quarantine in northern Italy, is now under control, the BBC’s Alicia Gioia reports.

    A group of detainees organised a protest and set several areas of the Torre del Gallo jail on fire.

    It was among the riots that broke out at 27 prisons in Italy over new restrictions aimed at controlling the spread of coronavirus.

    Read our full story: Prisoners across Italy riot over new restrictions

    A local prisoner rights activist, who wished to remain anonymous, says prison authorities should start thinking about what to do next.

    “It all exploded last night, after weeks of resentment," they said.

    "Family visits have been suspended for weeks. Other activities - like routine visits with psychologists and recreational activities with volunteers - have also been suspended.

    “Of course they needed to stop any contact with the outside world. But at the same time, other measures should have been put in place.

    "Prisoners should have been given the option to have longer phone calls with their relatives, for example. At the moment, they are only allowed 10 minutes every week.”

    Detainees display a banner reading "Indulto", Italian for pardon, as they protest on the roofs of the San Vittore prison in MilanImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    Inmates protesting on the roof of the San Vittore prison in Milan called for a pardon

    Italian media reported two policemen had been kidnapped – but Mario Venditti, the local prosecutor who was on the ground to negotiate with the detainees, said no actual kidnapping took place.

    He said one policeman had been injured in the attacks and others suffered from smoke inhalation.

    The activist said now the unrest has been contained, prison authorities "should be looking at measures to cope with the situation".

    "The damages to the prison building are enormous, and some of the detainees have been transferred to other prisons, which are already overcrowded," the activist added.

    "It will put pressure on the system as a whole. I think they should start thinking about releasing some of the long serving detainees, especially those who are serving the last leg of their sentence and could be place under house arrest.”

    Detainees protest on the roofs of the San Vittore prison in Milan, northern ItalyImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    Violent protests broke out at 27 Italian prisons against coronavirus restrictions in the country

  5. Israel to quarantine all arrivalspublished at 18:33 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020
    Breaking

    Israel is to require all people arriving in the country from abroad to self-quarantine for 14 days as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

  6. Iran reports leap in death tollpublished at 18:28 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    An Iranian lab official registers people for Covid-19 coronavirus test outside a lab in Tehran, Iran, 09 March 2020.Image source, EPA
    Image caption,

    An Iranian official registers people to take Covid-19 tests in the capital, Tehran

    In Iran, the authorities have also reported an increase in the country's death toll, saying they saw 43 new deaths related to the virus in the past 24 hours.

    So far, at least 237 people have died and 7,161 more have been infected across the country since mid-February, although the real figures are thought to be far higher.

  7. London firm seeks green light for vaccine researchpublished at 18:11 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    Philippa Roxby
    Health reporter, BBC News

    A company in east London is looking for 24 volunteers to be injected with a strain of the new coronavirus in a bid to find a vaccine against the virus.

    It is reported they will be offered up to £3,500 to be infected and then quarantined for two weeks.

    But the UK regulator – the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency – still has to agree to the company’s plans before the research can take place.

    Research into at least eight vaccines is ongoing in the UK, and scientists in many other parts of the world are also working hard on developing a jab.

    It’s unlikely any vaccine will be ready before the end of the year.

    Trials to test any potential vaccines must be tested on humans before they can be manufactured and given to the wider public.

    Want to know more about efforts to develop a vaccine? Read our coverage:

  8. More on the jump in Italian fatalitiespublished at 17:58 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    It has been confirmed that the death toll from the virus in Italy has increased from 366 to 463.

    The total number of coronavirus cases in Italy has hit 9,172, rising from the 7,375 recorded on the previous day, the country’s Civil Protection agency has reported on its website, external.

    It is the worst-affected country after China, where the virus originated.

    The country has introduced a range of sweeping measure to contain the outbreak, with up to 16 million people quarantined in the north.

    On Monday, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the coronavirus outbreak was the country's "darkest hour".

  9. More than 200 Canadians to be repatriated from USpublished at 17:45 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    Canadian public health officials are advising against all cruise ship travel as the government prepares to repatriate more than 200 Canadian nationals on the Grand Princess cruise ship following an outbreak of coronavirus on the vessel.

    The ship is scheduled to dock in California on Monday.

    All asymptomatic Canadians passengers will be flown home and placed under a 14-day quarantine at a Canadian Forces base in the province of Ontario.

    If a person shows any symptoms of illness, they will not be allowed to board the plane and will be further screened and treated if necessary in the United States, government officials said.

    Just last week, Canadian passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship were released from quarantine.

    They had been evacuated, along with hundreds of other passengers, from a quarantined cruise ship off the coast of Japan in late February.

    As of Monday morning, there were 71 confirmed or presumptive cases of people with coronavirus in Canada.

    Most of the cases are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, though some have also been discovered in Quebec and Alberta.

  10. Death toll in Italy 'rises to 463'published at 17:39 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020
    Breaking

    The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Italy has increased from 366 to 463, Reuters news agency reports.

  11. UK intensive care patients to be tested for viruspublished at 17:32 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    Prof Whitty said hospital patients with pneumonia and other respiratory infections would now be tested for coronavirus.

    He said: "At the moment we are screening everybody who is in intensive care for coronavirus if they have symptoms that are compatible with coronavirus - so if they have a very bad pneumonia.

    "We will be extending that out now, as from tomorrow, to everybody who has a significant enough pneumonia or other respiratory tract infection to get into hospital at all."

  12. Virus could spread 'really quite fast' in UKpublished at 17:28 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    Professor Chris Whitty, the UK government’s chief medical officer, has also been speaking at the press conference alongside Mr Johnson.

    Mr Whitty said coronavirus could spread "really quite fast".

    He said within the next 10 to 14 days, even people with a minor fever or respiratory tract infection would be advised to self-isolate.

    "We are going to be reaching that step in the near future," he said.

  13. UK ‘doing everything we can’published at 17:19 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    Here is some more from Mr Johnson's opening statement at press conference in Downing Street.

    Mr Johnson said: "I want to stress the following things. First, we are doing everything we can to combat this outbreak based on the latest scientific and medical advice.

    "Second, we have a truly brilliant NHS where staff have responded with all the determination, compassion and skill that makes their service so revered across the world and they will continue to have this government's full support, my support, in tackling this virus on the front line.

    "Third, we will set out further steps in the days and weeks ahead to help people protect themselves, their family and in particularly the elderly and vulnerable."

  14. Today's main developmentspublished at 17:15 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    The virus has begun to tell on that most confined space of all, prison. In Italy, riots were reported at 27 jails and six people died at a penitentiary in Modena after inmates were told friends and family would not be allowed to visit. Meanwhile, Iran released 70,000 prisoners in its bid to try to tackle the virus.

    Amid global concerns over coronavirus and falling oil prices, the financial market took a big hit. Shares in London plummeted with the FTSE plunging 8% to its lowest level in three years. In New York, trading was halted for 15 minutes after stocks fell.

    Airlines have already felt the brunt of the outbreak and now they have been forced to cancel more flights. British Airways and Easyjet will stop running their routes to northern Italy until at least 3 April.

    And one of Europe's great pageants, the St Patrick's day parade in Dublin on 17 March, has been cancelled as a precaution.

  15. China bringing epidemic under control - Tedrospublished at 17:08 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    Here's more from Dr Tedros' coronavirus briefing at the WHO in Geneva.

    He said the spread of the virus could be stopped through the twin strategy of containment and mitigation, and added he was encouraged by the aggressive measures Italy was taking to combat the outbreak.

    He also noted that in China, 70% of those infected had recovered, showing the country was beginning to bring its epidemic under control.

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  16. Johnson says UK making 'extensive preparations' for delay phasepublished at 17:01 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is speaking at a news conference at Downing Street.

    He said the UK government is making "extensive preparations" for a move to the delay phase of its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

    The UK will remain in the "containment" stage of its response for now, Mr Johnson said.

    There were 319 confirmed cases in the UK , externalon Monday, a rise of 46 in 24 hours.

  17. Germany confirms first two coronavirus deathspublished at 16:41 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    Germany has confirmed its first two deaths from the coronavirus outbreak.

    The deaths were in the city of Essen and district of Heinsberg, both in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, health authorities said on Monday.

    In Essen, the person who died was an 89-year-old woman who had been diagnosed with the virus on 3 March.

    Germany has so far reported more than 1,000 cases of the coronavirus nationwide.

    Around half of those have been reported in North Rhine-Westphalia.

    The first death of a German national from the coronavirus was reported on Sunday evening.

    The 60-year-old man had tested positive for the virus after he was hospitalised in Egypt.

  18. New York State now has most cases in USpublished at 16:33 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    According to Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State now has a total of 142 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

    Many are the result of large public gatherings, he said on Monday.

    Eight of these cases - 6% - have required hospital care.

    The western state of Washington previously had the most cases in the US, with 136 confirmed according to its health department, but New York saw a rise in new patients over the weekend.

    Mr Cuomo also said he would be proposing a bill on Monday regarding paid sick leave.

  19. Virus slowdown 'is possible'published at 16:28 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    World Health Organization (WHO) boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been trying to be reassuring in his daily briefing.

    "Now that the #coronavirus, external has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real. But it would be the first pandemic in history that could be controlled. The bottom line is: we are not at the mercy of this virus.

    "We need to remember that with decisive, early action, we can slow down the #coronavirus, external and prevent infections. Among those who are infected, most will recover."

    He also reminded people that most cases were concentrated in a handful of countries:

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  20. 'Lots of lives are at risk'published at 16:17 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2020

    By BBC journalist Alice Gioia, who spoke to Italians in the lockdown zone

    Barbara Chiesa, 61, lives in Cava Manara, a village just outside Pavia, an area currently in Italy's red zone.

    "I am disabled and I have several medical conditions," she says. "One of them is quite urgent. It’s a rare form of fibrous dysplasia, it’s like a benign bone tumour affecting my skull.

    "I had surgery three years ago and I need more soon. I am in huge pain and I am losing my sight because of it."

    Hospitals in the red zone are struggling. They've shut down most of the clinics and stopped providing routine services to avoid further contagion.

    "I had a crucial appointment scheduled for this week, but it was cancelled last minute," Barbara says, "and now I am left here, waiting. I am quite worried: lots of lives are put at risk because of Coronavirus."

    Public offices like banks and post offices also remain open. Clients are asked to wait for their turn outside. A bank worker who prefers to remain anonymous says precautions have been taken, but it was too little too late.

    "A few days after the crisis exploded, they gave us masks, gloves and wipes to clean the surfaces," the worker says. "But lattice gloves are not great when you need to count money. And people in Italy, especially elderly people, use cash a lot."

    The worker is currently running a temperature. They have been in touch with the emergency services, and were advised to self-isolate.

    "I am a bit worried because I work with the public," they say. "And even if there’s a screen protecting us, we still exchange cash and documents."

    Coronavirus checks at Pavia hospitalImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    Health workers at Pavia hospital