Image source, Getty Images

The European Union has announced a series of measures to pool resources among its 27 members in order to help to fight coronavirus and protect national health services across the Continent.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, said the aim was to ramp up the production of protective equipment like masks and suits, and to prevent it being exported outside of the bloc without authorisation from EU governments.

Under the measures, equipment would be shared across EU members instead of each country making it for their own use.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has told the BBC that extensive testing has been the key to South Korea's low coronovirus fatality rate.

She added that governments have a responsibility to "guard against panic".

Image source, Mike Eason

Countries all over the world are enforcing bans on large gatherings, meaning that concerts and sports events have been cancelled, and shows filmed in front of live audiences have instead been recorded in empty studios.

So what about weddings?

Some ceremonies take months or even years to plan, are attended by hundreds of guests, and loved ones often fly in from all over the world to attend - including elderly relatives.

In normal circumstances they're wonderful occasions. But in a pandemic, they could put people at risk.

The BBC's Dhruti Shah has spoken to couples who are now reconsidering their plans, including one who'd hoped to get married in now-locked-down Tuscany, and another still hoping to salvage their £100,000, 500-person guest list London wedding.

Read more here

Ireland's government has called for the closure of all pubs and bars in the country from this evening "until at least 29 March".

In a statement, it also called on members of the public to refrain from organising or going to parties "in private houses or other venues which would put other people's health at risk".

Image source, Getty Images

The US territory of Puerto Rico has implemented an island-wide curfew to try to prevent the virus spreading.

"We must take forceful measures like those being taken in other countries," Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced said in a Spanish-language address on Sunday.

There are exemptions from the curfew for people who have authorisation to work.

The curfew, which begins today, is in force from 21:00 to 05:00 (01:00 to 09:00 GMT) and will last until 30 March. Businesses, except pharmacies and health services, grocery stores, banks and gas stations are also expected to partially close, local media report.

Puerto Rico has three confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Twenty-year-old Tim Clancy, who travelled through O'Hare International Airport in Chicago this weekend, told the BBC the environment was "really hectic".

"There were hundreds of people in the customs area...It took two-and-a-half hours to reach one customs agent and then I was directed to another and had to snake back round to them."

Clancy, who was returning from studying in Greece, said it took him about five hours to get through the screening. A nurse checked his temperature before he was allowed to leave the airport.

"I felt there wasn’t a lot of access to hand sanitiser or restrooms because you’d likely lose your place in the queue - I didn’t see too many people coughing though," he added.

"After being on a plane where everyone was tightly packed in it felt like they were encouraging the disease to spread rather than doing anything to curb it."

Image source, Courtesy Andrew Garver

Italy has reported 368 more coronavirus deaths, a new one-day record.

Lombardy - the country's worst affected region - accounted for 252 of the total.

Nationwide the total death toll is more than 1,800.

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

Every day around noon, the Swiss government releases the latest coronavirus figures.

People check them, hoping for a decline. Today the numbers are a shock: 2,200, a rise of 800 in just 24 hours.

For everyone here, life has changed. Parents are desperately looking for childcare following Friday’s announcement that schools will close from Monday. Thousands of families who booked Easter holidays abroad must cancel: there are few countries the Swiss can travel to at the moment.

But on this sunny weekend, people are out and about. Restaurants are limited to 50 people, but business is quite brisk.

Tables are two metres apart, they are disinfected regularly.

One elderly lady, carefully washing her hands after enjoying a hot chocolate, says she knows it’s important to follow the rules. But, she adds: "I won’t stop social contact." And yet that is exactly what the government wants her to do.

Meanwhile a waitress whispers that she doesn’t think the restaurant will stay open much longer. She’s worried for her job. In canton Ticino, and in Basel, the restaurants are already closed.

Dutch Health Minister Bruno Bruins has announced that schools and crèches around the country will be closed from Monday until 6 April.

Bars, sports clubs, sex shops and coffee shops will also be shut from tonight.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte is expected to address the nation tomorrow.

The Dutch health ministry has reported 176 new cases during the last 24 hours, along with eight virus-related deaths. The total number of infections around the country now stands at 1,135.

On Saturday, Spain's 47 million citizens were ordered to stay indoors except for necessary trips. Social gatherings were banned.

Spanish police have been using drones to enforce these restrictions in Spain's fight against Covid-19.

Ione Wells
BBC News

Seville, Spain's fourth largest city, is usually full of bustling crowds: people elbowing each other to get a space around a tapas bar and packs of tourists eagerly queuing outside the historic cathedral.

But this weekend, it looks like a ghost town.

The streets are deserted. Shops, restaurants, tourist sites and many hotels are boarded up as people are told they are only allowed to leave their homes for essentials.

Police cars slowly circle the empty streets, stopping occasionally to usher people on.

One group of bemused tourists I saw eating sandwiches in the sunshine of a square were swiftly told to leave, as police reminded them that it's "forbidden" to sit or stand in the streets.

The problem is, many of them are waiting for flights home, and don't have anywhere else to go.

Image source, Ione Wells

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has shared videos of pro-government demonstrations taking place around the country, despite his earlier calls for them to be postponed.

Protesters are holding major rallies against Brazil's congress and judiciary.

In a televised address on Thursday, the president said protesters should "rethink" the demonstrations over concerns for public health. He was also filmed wearing a face mask after an aide tested positive for the virus shortly after joining Mr Bolsonaro on a trip to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida.

The Brazilian president has since tested negative for coronavirus. But several other officials from his US delegation have caught the disease, including Brazil's ambassador to the US, Nestor Forster.

Fourteen more people have died from the coronavirus in the UK, raising the death toll to 35, the UK's health department says, external.

There have been a total of 1,372 positive tests for coronavirus in the UK as of Sunday, up from 1,140 on Saturday, the department added.

Image source, UK Dept of Health and Social Care

A top US health official says Americans "should be prepared that they're going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing" over the outbreak.

Asked whether the US should consider lockdowns like those seen in Europe, Dr Anthony Fauci from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told NBC, external: "I would prefer [that] as much as we possibly could ... I think we should really be overly aggressive and get criticised for overreacting".

The US has already seen some authorities close schools and ban mass gatherings, while elite sport has been halted.

Public transport across Slovenia will stop operating from midnight local time (23:00 GMT), in an effort to restrict the spread of coronavirus.

In a statement announcing the move, the government also said that as well as the public transport ban, taxis would only be allowed to take passengers if they had first "made arrangements for proper disinfection of parts of the vehicle that are in regular physical contact with the passenger".

There are currently 96 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Slovenia.

Image source, Getty Images

Helier Cheung
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

The US government has come under fire for its response to the coronavirus, particularly because it has tested far fewer people than other affected countries.

And no-one knows for sure exactly how many people have been tested in the US - not even the government.

One project by The Atlantic , externalestimates that about 14,000 people have been tested in the US so far. Meanwhile, US lawmakers said on Thursday that fewer than 10,000 people had been tested.

By contrast, South Korea has tested more than 210,000 people, while the UK has tested 32,771 people.

So what exactly went wrong, and will the US be able to catch up?

Read the full story here.

Tom Hanks and his actress wife Rita Wilson became two of the highest profile people to test positive for the coronavirus earlier this week.

The pair are being treated in Australia where Hanks expressed his thanks for their care, accompanied by a picture of iconic food brand Vegemite.

Amid scores of messages wishing them a swift recovery one commentator questioned the "butter to Vegemite ratio" on his toast.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that national borders will be closed to travellers from any country with reported coronavirus cases.

Only Kenyan citizens and foreigners with valid residence permits are exempt, so long as they agree to be quarantined.

Mr Kenyatta said the directive will take effect within 48 hours, and will remain in place for 30 days. If needed, it can be extended by the Kenya's National Emergency Response Committee.

In addition, from Monday all schools will be closed around the country. Universities will also close from Friday.

Kenya confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Friday, and the president said two more have been discovered since.

Image source, Getty Images

St Patrick's Day falls on a Tuesday this year, but celebrations kicked off in cities across the US this weekend despite official advice to practice social distancing.

In Chicago, Illinois, the city's annual parades and river-dyeing event were cancelled, but many restaurants and bars remained open.

Local media shared photos, external of long lines to get into bars downtown on Saturday, despite an earlier news conference where Illinois Governor JB Pritzker cautioned young partygoers to follow distancing guidelines.

"You can have the unintended tragic effect of spreading Covid-19 to others who are more vulnerable. Please do the right thing for your community," said the governor.

Other cities, including New Orleans, Louisiana, where police broke up crowds outside bars, Boston, Massachusetts, and New York City have faced similar issues this St Patrick's Day.

Border protection officers in Los Angeles have seized a package containing suspected counterfeit coronavirus test kits arriving from the UK.

The package was initially declared as "purified water vials" with a value of $196.81 (£160), but officers found glass containers labelled as Covid-19 test kits inside. These have been turned over to the US drug agency for further inspection.

Diagnostic testing in the US is conducted only in verified public health laboratories.