Image source, YouTube

YouTube televangelist Jim Bakker is being sued by a US state's attorney general for pushing a bogus coronavirus "cure" on his show.

In the episode last month, Mr Bakker claimed colloidal silver - a liquid that contains tiny particles of silver - could treat the virus, which has infected more than 1,000 people and killed 31 in the US.

He has long pushed what he calls "Silver Solution" as a cure-all for different ailments.

The video led to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the New York Attorney General's Office to immediately send him cease-and-desist letters.

Now he's facing a awsuit from Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

In a statement, Mr Schmitt said he was seeking an injunction "ordering Bakker to stop selling Silver Solution as a coronavirus treatment".

"Anyone who has bought 'Silver Solution' from the Jim Bakker Show should know that it cannot cure or treat coronavirus," he added.

Colloidal silver can cause a host of negative side effects - including turning skin blue.

The number of confirmed cases in the UK has now reached 456, the biggest rise in a single day.

The Department of Health confirmed there had been 83 more cases since Tuesday.

NHS England has announced plans to expand the number of people it can test in a day to 10,000, up from 1,500.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

For a lot of people in the US, there's an additional worry: how much a coronavirus test might cost.

In a tweet posted two days ago and "liked" more than 230,000 times, one American claims to have found a "loophole".

"If you don't have insurance and can't afford to take the $3,200 test for the virus ($1,000 with insurance), DONATE BLOOD," she writes., external "They HAVE to test you for the virus in order to donate blood."

The figures she cites are based on another viral social media post, about a man who reportedly returned to Florida from China with flu symptoms, that was later debunked.

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) has now weighed in:

Because the US has a largely private healthcare system, the cost of a coronavirus test is largely up to what kind of insurance a person has, and which particular lab carries out the test.

Experts are concerned that people with poor cover or no insurance will avoid getting tested - leaving them open to serious illness, and to infecting others.

US Vice President Mike Pence has said cost will not be a barrier to people getting tested, because Medicare and Medicaid healthcare payment systems will cover the costs of those who need government healhcare support.

A group of major health insurance companies also said there would be no surprise billing for costs associated with the coronavirus.

The ride-hailing app will temporarily block the accounts of those affected but provide them with financial aid.

Image source, EPA

Italy is in national lockdown and health systems in parts of the north are struggling to cope. China has offered a helping hand, our website's Europe editor Paul Kirby reports:

Yesterday we shared the news that Chinese President Xi Jinping had declared the epidemic in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, as "virtually curbed".

Now, in a powerful signal, the country is sending aid to Italy.

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who has nurtured close ties with Beijing, had a chat with his opposite number on Tuesday.

Now China has offered 100,000 face masks, 20,000 protective suits and 1,000 ventilators. Chinese state media said the Red Cross Society of China was even considering sending a medical team to Italy.

Late last night, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a €25bn (£22bn; $28bn) Corona Response Investment Fund.

At present, three EU states - Germany, France and the Czech Republic - have banned the export of face masks to ensure they don't go short themselves.

There have been some new developments. Here's the latest:

• Honduras has confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus in the country. One patient, a pregnant woman, had travelled from Spain and a second patient arrived from Switzerland.

• South Africa has called for calm after six more people tested positive for the virus bringing the total number of infections in the country to 13. There are concerns that because South Africa is home to the world's largest HIV epidemic, millions of people may be more vulnerable to coronavirus because their immune systems have already been weakened.
• Algeria has suspended economic, cultural and political gatherings to slow the spread of the virus.
• Israel, which has 42 cases, now requires anyone arriving from overseas to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Howard Johnson
Philippines Correspondent, BBC News

As I entered my local supermarket in Manila, I was met with a wave of people pushing fully-laden trolleys towards the exit.

“The queues are twice as long as normal,” a shop-worker told me. Panic buying had stripped the shelves of hand sanitiser and cleaning alcohol.

Today the Philippines confirmed 16 more cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases to 49. Although still low by comparison to other countries’ outbreaks, there’s fear that this country of more than 100 million people is under-reporting the real extent of local transmission.

Former Philippine Health Secretary Dr Manuel M Dayrit oversaw the country’s response to the Sars coronavirus outbreak of 2003. He believes that with only 2,000 Covid-19 test kits in the country, screening for the virus has been too limited.

“We are not doing any testing for Covid-19 in the community,” said Dr Dayrit. “We are only testing the patients that show up in the hospitals usually with pneumonia, so we can only speculate how extensive community spread is.”

The fear now is if there’s an outbreak in a squatters’ area of Manila, where it is not uncommon to see five families share one cramped makeshift hut, community spread would be extremely difficult to contain.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan has more than doubled in the past 24 hours to 20, officials say, as the outbreak takes a hold in South Asia.

Most of the country's cases – 15 so far – have been in Sindh in the south, where the provincial government says the federal authorities aren't doing enough to prevent the spread of infection.

"I believe that all these patients entered through Karachi airport, which is why we need to improve the surveillance at airports," provincial minister Murtaza Wahab told a news conference in Karachi, a megacity and transit hub of 15 million people.

He said about 2,300 people who had entered Sindh had been contacted and, if necessary, tested.

But he wants quarantine camps and virus monitoring at airports improved, as well as lab testing at Pakistan’s international borders and airports, to make sure only those travellers who are not infected can enter the country.

Image source, AFP

So how much is the government's response to coronavirus worth?

Chancellor Rishi Sunak summarises his Budget plans:

"Taken together, the extraordinary measures I have set out today represent £7bn to support the self-employed, businesses and vulnerable people.

"To support the NHS and other public services, I am also setting aside a £5bn emergency response fund - and will go further if necessary.

"Those measures are on top of plans that I will set out later in this Budget, which provide an additional fiscal loosening of £18bn to support the economy this year.

"That means I am announcing today, in total, a £30bn fiscal stimulus to support British people, British jobs and British businesses through this moment."

Iran’s health ministry has reported 63 new deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours - the highest number in a single day in the country.

Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said there had now been 354 deaths since the outbreak began last month. The real figure is believed to be much higher.

Mr Jahanpour added that a further 958 confirmed cases of Covid-19 had also been reported, bringing the total number of infections in the country to exactly 9,000.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has opened his Budget speech in parliament with a statement about coronavirus.

"I want to get straight to the issue most on everyone’s mind – coronavirus, Covid-19.

"I know how worried people are. Worried about their health, the health of their loved ones, their jobs, their income, their businesses, their financial security.

"And I know they get even more worried when they turn on their TVs and hear talk of markets collapsing and recessions coming. People want to know what’s happening, and what can be done to fix it."

Coronavirus, he continued, is expected to have a "significant impact" on the UK economy.

"But it will be temporary," he added. "People will return to work. Supply chains will return to normal."

You can follow all the latest on the UK budget and today's interest rate cut here.

Adam Fleming
Brussels reporter

A delay to the negotiations between the UK and the EU because of coronavirus is a “live issue”, UK Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has told a House of Commons Select committee.

Sources say the talks scheduled to take place in London on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week are still on but they are under review.

For the first round of negotiations, 100 British officials travelled to Brussels. The general advice for EU officials now is that only essential meetings should be held and that video-conferencing and working from home should be considered.

Time is short in this process, but some diplomats in Brussels say it could be wrapped up quickly if some big political decisions are swiftly made. So maybe a delay might not be as dramatic as it seems?

And if both sides stick to their pledges to provide draft treaty texts “soon” there will be plenty of reading that negotiators can do at their own desks.

If you're a bit confused about where we are with Brexit, this explainer might help.

Pope Francis may be holed up in the Vatican, but that hasn't stopped him holding his general audience today.

These are usually held in St Peter's Square, and attract tens of thousands of people.

But with a strict lockdown imposed across Italy, the square was empty. (Vatican City is its own city-state but is surrounded by the Italian capital, Rome.)

This week's general audience was live-streamed online and broadcast live on TV.

Pope Francis told viewers he felt close to "all the sick people who have contracted the virus and are suffering... and the many who are suffering from uncertainty".

He also thanked medical staff and volunteers for their work "in this very difficult moment".

A few days ago, Pope Francis delivered his weekly blessing via videolink.

Image source, EPA

Image source, AFP

Image source, Reuters

There are currently 382 cases of coronavirus in the UK (up from 373 yesterday) - and this number is growing.

So which areas are affected, and how is the government dealing with it?

We've put together some maps and graphics to help you understand the spread of the virus.

First, where in the UK is the virus?

Hertfordshire has more cases of coronavirus than any other local authority in England outside London. There are cases almost everywhere in the capital.

Where did the cases come from?

Some of the UK's cases have been people who recently travelled from affected countries - including key European hotspots.

Italy has been particularly badly affected and the UK government has advised travellers, external who have returned from Italy on or after 9 March to self-isolate, even if asymptomatic.

And finally, how is the government dealing with it?

Below is the British government's action plan for dealing with the outbreak, which involves three phases: contain, delay and mitigate, plus an ongoing research phase.

Right now the UK is in phase one - contain, as well as research - but Prime Minister Boris Johnson says extensive preparations to move to the delay phase are underway.

It's been a busy morning. Here's a recap of the main headlines:

• Angela Merkel warned 60-70% of Germany could get the coronavirusIn her first public address since the start of the outbreak, she quoted a prediction by experts from the country's public health body, but ruled out border closures. As she spoke, a third death was confirmed in Germany.
• UK health minister Nadine Dorries tested positive for coronavirusShe reportedly developed symptoms last week, but came into contact with hundreds of people before getting tested on Monday. Among the public meetings she attended was an event at Downing Street, which was hosted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
• The Bank of England made an emergency interest rate cut of 0.5%Policymakers reduced rates from 0.75% to 0.25%, taking borrowing costs back down to the lowest level in history. The BOE also said it would free up billions of pounds of extra lending power to help banks support firms. Governor Mark Carney said the UK had seen a sharp fall in spending on non-essential goods and suggested the UK economy could shrink in the coming months.

• Italy entered its second day of a lockdownThe government has imposed a nationwide travel ban to try and stem the spread of the virus. Italy is the hardest-hit country in Europe, and has the highest number of cases outside of China.

Image source, Egyptian Ministry of Tourism

We’ve got an update from Egypt, where 45 people with the new coronavirus were evacuated from a Nile cruise ship on Saturday and placed in isolation on land.

Egypt's tourism ministry says that a group of 46 French and American tourists who were quarantined on board the A-Sara as a precaution flew home on Tuesday night after testing negative for Covid-19.

Seventeen Indian passengers who also tested negative have been taken to Cairo airport and are waiting to leave.

Image source, AFP

Egypt has so far reported 59 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and one death - a German tourist.

One of the cruise ship passengers who tested positive was US journalist Matt Swider, the managing editor of website TechRadar. He has been tweeting about his experiences at a hospital in Egypt. Many Egyptians have been sharing his posts with pride, according to BBC Monitoring.

Image source, EPA

We brought you quite a drastic warning earlier from German leader Angela Merkel's press conference in Berlin, and we now have a few more details.

To recap, the chancellor said 60-70% of the population of Germany would likely become infected with the coronavirus.

That figure comes from scientists at the country's public health body, the Robert Koch Institute, and is set against the context of there continuing to be no vaccine nor specific treatment available for Covid-19.

As of yesterday evening, Germany had 1,296 cases of the virus and three deaths.

This is Mrs Merkel's first address to the public on the coronavirus crisis.

What else did she say?

• She's open to getting rid of Germany's "black zero" rule - that is, balancing the budget without new government borrowing. She said this was "an extraordinary situation" and that ending the outbreak "comes first".
• Mrs Merkel told reporters that closing the country's borders would not be an adequate way to stem the spread of the virus, and refused to follow Austria's lead in banning visitors from Italy

As the US east coast wakes up, here's a quick recap on the situation in the country.

The number of people infected has passed 1,000 with new cases reported on both sides of the country, rather than just the west coast where the earliest outbreak took place.

Dozens of cases have been linked to a conference held at a hotel in Boston in February. Other clusters have emerged nursing homes around Seattle in Washington state.

In one of the most drastic moves so far, gatherings of more than 250 people have been banned in the Seattle area.

Nationally, there have been five more deaths, taking the total to 31, US media reported. Of the latest fatalities, two were in Washington state and there was one each in New Jersey, South Dakota and California.

Nineteen states have declared emergencies, the Washington Post reported.

And if you missed it, here's a piece from our North America Jon Sopel on why this virus is a problem unlike any other President Trump has faced.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that according to experts, 60-70% of the German population could become infected with the coronavirus.

She said that since there's no cure yet, governments need to focus on slowing its spread.

"When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70% of the population will be infected," she was quoted by the Reuters news agency as telling reporters in Berlin.

"The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus's spread. It's about winning time."

Image source, PA

UK health minister Nadine Dorries has been diagnosed with coronavirus, and is now self-isolating at home.

She first showed symptoms on Thursday - the same day she attended an event at Downing Street that was hosted by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

But she's not the only senior politician to have caught the virus. In fact, many around the world have.

In France this week, Culture Minister Franck Riester was diagnosed. The 46-year-old minister was tested after displaying symptoms, but is "feeling well" in quarantine, French media say.

Five French MPs have also tested positive for the virus.

In Italy, Democratic Party leader Nicola Zingaretti tested positive and went into quarantine last week. Announcing his diagnosis, he said: "So, it's arrived."

Italy has the highest number of cases outside China, and is currently in lock-down. European Parliament President David Sassoli has also self-quarantined, after visiting Italy on the weekend.

Image source, EPA

Iranian ministers and politicians have been affected particularly severely. Two politicians have died from the virus, Fatemeh Rahbar and Mohammad Ali Ramazani, as has Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei.

In total, more than 20 politicians in Iran have the virus.

In the US, five Republican lawmakers - including Senator Ted Cruz - have had to self-quarantine after coming into contact with a confirmed coronavirus case at the Conservative Political Action Conference last month.

US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both attended and spoke at the conference, but the White House insists that they don't need a coronavirus test.