"Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel," the prime minister says.

Here are some key points:

• Anyone who lives with someone who has a cough or a temperature should stay at home for 14 days
• People should start working from home where they possibly can
• Avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues
• Only use the NHS when we really need to
• From tomorrow government will no longer be "supporting" mass gatherings using emergency workers

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the UK is approaching the "fast growth part of the upward curve" in the coronavirus outbreak.

He says without "drastic action", cases could double every five to six days.

As a result, the government is asking for people to begin avoiding all unnecessary social contact.

UK PM Boris Johnson has begun his press conference - follow updates here and across BBC News outlets.

The World Health Organization earlier issued a strong warning that countries are not testing enough cases of coronavirus.

The group's director said that every single suspected case should be tested.

It comes as UK prime minister Boris Johnson prepares to update the nation on the UK response.

Questions have been raised about the UK government's decision to primarily test patients for coronavirus if they require hospitalisation or are in care homes and residential facilities experiencing outbreaks.

People with mild symptoms who are self-isolating are no longer eligible for testing.

The total number of confirmed cases in the UK is 1,543, with more than 44,000 tested.

In London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to hold a press conference at 16.45 GMT following the latest meeting of the UK government’s emergency committee, Cobra.

He’ll be joined by the UK's chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.

It will be the first in a new series of daily press conferences. The government had come under pressure to provide more frequent updates to the public on the virus.

Image source, Getty Images

If you think you might need to self-isolate, you might be counting on being able to stream films and TV series to pass the time.

Here's some good news.

UK broadband companies say they will be able cope with increased demand as many more people stay at home during the coronavirus crisis.

Internet service providers (ISPs) say they have contingency plans in place and that the network can deal with extra daytime demand.

"Nobody should expect broadband to crash or anything like that," said Mark Jackson, editor of ISP Review. "That's not how these things work."

He added: "Some slowdown in speed during periods of truly heavy usage is possible. I'd expect this to be fairly limited, and that's true even in normal times."

Read here for more.

Image source, Getty Images

We've been listening in to the World Health Organization's daily press conference.

Here are some key lines:

• WHO director Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus repeated one simple message to governments - "test, test, test"
• The WHO has shipped 1.5m tests to 120 countries, he said, but warned the world had not sufficiently escalated testing measures, calling it the "backbone of stopping the spread" of the pandemic
• He advised countries to test every suspected case of coronavirus, and then isolate positive cases. Anyone in contact with patients two days before they showed symptoms should also be tested, he said

• In the absence of hospital facilities for mild cases, patients can be cared for at home but patients should not share a bed or a bathroom with uninfected family members, and they should be cared for by just one family member, ideally someone in good health
• Although those aged over 60 are most at risk, children have also died from Covid-19

If you look at the chart above, you'll understand why the number of confirmed infections outside China (97 has now exceeded the number in China.

Cases have been rising rapidly in the thousands across the world, with Europe hit particularly hard. Meanwhile, new cases in China have slowed to a trickle - just 16 were announced on Monday.

Italy, so far, has the highest number of confirmed infections outside China, with more than 20,000 cases and more than 1,800 deaths.

See more of our visual guide to the pandemic.

Kevin Ponniah
BBC News

France is braced for more restrictive measures to fight Covid-19, with the head of the health service, Jérôme Salomon, warning that the situation is “deteriorating very rapidly”.

There are now 5,423 cases in France and the death toll has reached 127. Some 400 people are in intensive care. Cases are doubling every three days, according to Mr Salomon, who pointed out that people have still been going out and about and ignoring advice to stay indoors.

“We can all carry the virus without knowing it,” he told France Inter radio this morning.

The health system is getting ready for a huge rise in cases. One doctor in south-western France tells me it feels as though they are “preparing for a war”.

According to a message circulated among staff at the Centre of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics in Paris and seen by the BBC, current modelling predicts that, if confinement measures are not imposed, 30 million people will become infected in France, with the virus hitting a peak in 50 days.

Image source, Reuters

France has already imposed strict measures, including the closure of non-essential public buildings, including cafes, restaurants, shops and cinemas.

But rumours are spreading that the whole country could be set for an impending lockdown similar to what Italy and Spain have put in place. The government has today been denying these reports as “fake news”.

President Macron will address the nation at 19:00 GMT (20:00 local time) this evening.

The US Supreme Court - which had already closed its doors to the public due to the rapidly-spreading coronavirus - has announced that it will not hear legal arguments this month.

The suspension of trial arguments marks the first time since 1918 that the Supreme Court has taken such a drastic move.

In announcing the decision, the court cited previous closures during the Spanish flu in the early 1900s and the yellow fever outbreak in the 18th Century.

There were several major cases set to be argued before the top US court, including one regarding the battle over President Trump's efforts to shield his tax returns and financial records.

Most Supreme Court justices are elderly, putting them among the population most at risk from Covid-19.

Under the US constitution, the Supreme Court and other federal courts make up one of three branches of the federal government. The others are the legislative branch (Congress) and the executive branch (White House).

Image source, EPA

The locations of two of the 36 people known to have died from Covid-19 in the UK have been released.

One man in his 50s died at Salisbury hospital in Wiltshire on Wednesday., external

Another man in his 60s died in Crewe, Cheshire, on Sunday, external. He was being treated at Leighton Hospital.

Both men had been suffering from underlying health conditions, the hospitals said.

Some BBC News journalists have been self-isolating so we asked them to give us their updates from life in quarantine. Earlier you heard from Toby, here's Ash.

Ashitha Nagesh, BBC News broadcast journalist

I went to a small event last week and the following day found out that one of the other people there had flown back from Italy the day before, and had come to the event instead of self-isolating. Public Health England told everyone at the event to immediately isolate for seven days.

So here I am!

Being able to work remotely has really saved me from going stir-crazy. Without it, I’d just be sitting in my pyjamas, eating cereal and watching endless episodes of Frasier (I know this because that’s exactly what I did on my first day in self-isolation). The downside is that I beamed an image of myself in my pyjamas with unbrushed hair to all of my colleagues in a meeting this morning, not realising that Zoom was a video app.

Having all this extra time at home has, however, given my worries a lot of space to fester.

For one, I’ve taken in my sister’s two cats Oliver and Rupert for a few months, and have been really scared that - if I did pick something up at this event - I could pass it on to them. I’ve spent some time Googling whether or not cats can catch it from humans, but the evidence is vague and inconclusive. I’m also concerned that if a grocery delivery I’m expecting on Wednesday gets cancelled, the cats may not have enough wet food.

I’ve also started worrying a lot about my mum. She’s a consultant respiratory physician, so is dealing directly with suspected Covid-19 patients - but she has some underlying health issues herself. It’s also not as easy for healthcare workers, who are needed on the frontlines of this thing right now, to go into self-isolation.

I had a few things coming up that will almost certainly be cancelled - a belated birthday dinner with my extended family, an anniversary dinner with my husband, a weekend trip to Paris - but I’m not really bothered. All that stuff seems kind of trivial at the moment. I’m happy to cancel everything and stay in isolation if it helps us weather this pandemic as well as possible.

A campaign by Baltimore city's health department calling for residents to socially distance themselves has been praised on social media.

The advert highlights that people who think they are at low risk from the virus may not really be and also may be spreading the virus to vulnerable group, including the elderly, without knowing.

It asks people to "stay home".

Several US cities are closing bars and other public venues, including New York City and Los Angeles. The state of Maryland, home to Baltimore, has 27 confirmed cases.

Adam Fleming
Brussels reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The EU is considering banning all non-essential travel into the Schengen borderless travel zone by citizens of non-EU countries, according to a diplomatic note seen by the BBC.

But this ban would not apply to citizens from the handful of EU member states that are outside the Schengen area (such as Croatia, Ireland, Cyprus or the UK - which is treated as a member state during the Brexit transition period.)

Non-EU citizens who had residence rights in the EU would still be allowed entry. Trips deemed “essential” could include those involving healthcare workers, transit passengers or people travelling for important family reasons.

This proposal has not been published or approved by the member states yet, hence why details are quite sparse.

Image source, Emma Russell

Coronavirus has plunged the world into uncertainty and the constant news about the pandemic can feel relentless.

All of this is taking its toll on people's mental health, particularly those already living with conditions like anxiety and OCD.

So how can we protect our mental health?

Reading lots of news about coronavirus has led to panic attacks for Nick, a father-of-two from Kent, who lives with anxiety.

"When I'm feeling anxious my thoughts can spiral out of control and I start thinking about catastrophic outcomes," he says. Nick is worried about his parents and other older people he knows.

"Usually when I suffer I can walk away from a situation. This is out of my control," he says.

Having periods away from news websites and social media has helped him to manage his anxiety. He has also found support helplines, run by mental health charities such as AnxietyUK, useful.

Read more here on protecting your mental health during this pandemic.

Image source, Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will outline the next steps in the UK's plan to fight coronavirus later.

The PM will be speaking in the first of a series of daily televised news conferences.

Shortly before, he will chair an emergency Cobra meeting in which ministers, advisers and scientists will discuss the latest on the outbreak - and how best to tackle it.

They are expected to discuss advising over-70s to stay at home for an extended period to protect themselves, as Health Secretary Matt Hancock outlined on Sunday.

Earlier, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC that over-70s will be told they can go out for walks under the guidelines.

Read all the latest from around the UK here.

The total number of people in the UK to test positive for the virus has risen to 1,543, according to the latest Department of Health figures, external.

On Sunday, the ministry said there had been 1,372 positive cases.

Some 44,105 people have now been tested, with 42,562 negative results. The UK says it will publish more figures on coronavirus cases later this afternoon.

It's worth noting that many possible cases are not being tested.

The government is not testing people who are self-isolating with mild symptoms.

Image source, Reuters

Horse racing in Britain will be held behind closed doors from Tuesday until at least the end of March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Racing in England had continued despite the outbreak, with the Cheltenham Festival recording an attendance of 251,684 across four days last week.

"We are following the government's advice to strike a balance between protecting public health and maintaining business activity, and will continue to do so," said Nick Rust, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority.

Get the latest on this story here from BBC Sport.

Image source, Getty Images

Here are some of the headlines, to get you up to speed:

• More people have now been infected globally than inside China - with cases surging towards 170,000 according to the Johns Hopkins University count, external
• In the UK, the first death in Wales has been recorded, with 1,402 cases now confirmed in Britain
• Several European countries are reporting steep rises in the number of cases and deaths from coronavirus, including the Netherlands, Spain, France and Switzerland
• Stocks are plunging globally and the US markets were forced to halt trading, despite central banks taking co-ordinated action to shore up confidence
• Restrictions on freedom of movement are expanding - Germany has closed its border with five other countries, and the Philippines main island Luzon is under enhanced quarantine

• In India, the film industry has suspended operations until the end of March and famed Hindu temples are closing their doors

• Numerous US cities are ordering bars, restaurants and other public venues to close, including New York City and Los Angeles

Some BBC News journalists have been self-isolating so we've asked them to give us their updates from life in quarantine.

Toby Luckhurst, BBC News online reporter

I’ve been off on holiday for the past two weeks: the first I spent in Valencia in Spain, and the second visiting family around the UK. I’ve felt a bit off for the past couple of days but I only developed the dreaded “persistent cough” on Sunday evening.

I got up bright and early at 6am, but the cough’s still here, and it’s been joined by a headache, sore throat, and tiredness.

Any other time I would have dismissed this as a cold and gone straight into work, but after pacing around my kitchen for 20 minutes I called the office and they agreed I should follow the NHS advice, external. I’m now officially self-isolating.

I went and hid in my room straight after the phone call and texted my flatmate to let him know he’s now in a plague house. I’ve also been messaging friends and family I’ve seen recently, so they can make sure they’re okay.

Luckily, I went out and bought a weekly shop on Saturday before I developed the cough, which means I should have plenty of supplies. Now I’m buckling up for what should be a long week.