Summary

  • UK PM Johnson: Everyone should now avoid social contact with others

  • Macron orders French to stay at home - and says those who don't will be punished

  • EU set to close external borders to non-essential travellers

  • Financial markets plunge, with Dow suffering biggest one-day drop since 1987 crash

  • Germany closes shops and other public places, after shutting some borders

  • Johnson: Virus "a few weeks ahead" in London compared with rest of UK

  • WHO director urges governments to test all suspected virus cases, not just serious ones

  • Coronavirus infections are now higher outside China than in the country where the outbreak began

  1. Donald Trump urges hand washingpublished at 03:59 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

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  2. MGM shuts casinos in Las Vegas 'until further notice'published at 03:59 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Major casino chain MGM is closing its operations in Las Vegas, it announced on Sunday in the US.

    Casino operations will close on Monday, followed by hotel operations, the company said, external.

    Casinos in Las VegasImage source, Getty Images
  3. Lewis Capaldi concert criticisedpublished at 03:50 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    UK singer Lewis Capaldi is trending on Twitter, after the Scottish star decided to go ahead with a concert in Aberdeen over the weekend...

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  4. Jack Ma sends masks to USpublished at 03:38 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    A shipment of masks and coronavirus test kits is making its way to the US, courtesy of Chinese tech mogul Jack Ma.

    Mr Ma, the co-founder of the Alibaba commerce group, is one of the wealthiest people in the world.

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  5. Cambodia reports new casespublished at 03:36 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Cambodia has confirmed four new virus cases - including a four-month-old French boy.

    The baby is the son of a French man who travelled from Paris via Singapore to Phnom Penh. He tested positive for the virus on Sunday - his wife tested negative.

    A Cambodian man returning from France and two other people returning from an Islamic ceremony in Malaysia were also confirmed to have the virus.

    This brings the number of confirmed cases in the country to 12.

  6. More detail on the LA shutdown...published at 03:28 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

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  7. Los Angeles shuts down all bars, restaurantspublished at 03:21 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020
    Breaking

    Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has ordered a shutdown of bars, restaurants and nightclubs in the city, reports news agency Reuters.

    This comes just hours after the city of New York issued a similar order.

  8. Supermarket to hold elderly-only hourpublished at 03:20 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Australian supermarket Woolworths will hold an elderly and disabled-only shopping hour, after panic buying in recent weeks saw shelves stripped bare.

    Most of its supermarkets will open only to those groups from 07:00 - 08:00, starting Tuesday.

    The supermarket said the move was prompted by "an unprecedented demand in supermarkets, which has seen many elderly and vulnerable missing out on vital items they may need when they shop".

    Here's a video from our Sydney team on an Australian supermarket assault allegation.

    Media caption,

    Australian man charged over supermarket 'assault'

  9. Air New Zealand cuts flights and jobspublished at 03:07 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Air New Zealand aircraftImage source, Getty Images

    New Zealand's flag carrier will shrink to a skeleton operation because of the global travel limitations.

    The airline said on Monday it will cut its long-haul capacity by 85% and domestic flights by about 30%.

    "Over the coming months we will operate a minimal schedule to allow Kiwis to return home and to keep trade corridors with Asia and North America open," it said in a statement.

    The airline also announced there would be redundancies, but that discussions with unions were still underway.

    The country has eight confirmed coronavirus cases and no deaths.

  10. Trump says no need to hoardpublished at 03:06 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Donald TrumpImage source, Getty Images

    "Have a nice dinner, relax, because there's plenty," the US president said on Sunday evening after a phone call with executives from grocery chains across the country.

    "You don't have to buy the quantities. We're doing really, really well."

    The US president himself tested negative for coronavirus, his doctors said on Saturday.

    Beginning Monday morning, there will be temperature checks on everyone who enters the White House grounds.

  11. South Korea cases in declinepublished at 03:02 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Some 74 cases of the virus were detected in South Korea on Sunday - the lowest number of daily infections in more than three weeks.

    There have been 8,236 confirmed cases in the country, with 75 deaths.

    A large percentage of the country's confirmed cases have been linked to religious sect group the Shincheonji church, in the city of Daegu. But new clusters have also been springing up in the capital Seoul.

    Here's a report by BBC journalist Tessa Wong on the Shincheonji church.

    Media caption,

    Shincheonji and coronavirus: The mysterious 'cult' church blamed for S Korea's outbreak

  12. China's economy takes a hitpublished at 02:49 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    The country's industrial output contracted at the sharpest pace in three decades in the first two months of the year, official data showed on Monday.

    The drastic drop comes as strict measures to contain the coronavirus disrupted the world's second-largest economy.

    While China's number of new coronavirus infections has dropped sharply, analysts warn it could take months before the economy returns to normal.

    With the virus spreading around the globe, there are fears that a global recession will slash demand for Chinese goods.

  13. US warns against events of more than 50published at 02:48 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Health officials in the US are recommending that any events with 50 or more people be called off.

    The US Centers for Disease Control on Sunday said over the next eight weeks, any such gatherings should be either cancelled or postponed.

    The US has nearly 3,000 confirmed cases and 65 deaths.

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  14. Coronavirus dominates Biden-Sanders debatepublished at 02:40 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Anthony Zurcher
    BBC North America reporter

    Unsurprisingly, the coronavirus pandemic - and the candidates' plans for addressing it - dominated the debate.

    Biden spoke of expanding testing, including mandating at least 10 drive-through sites in every state, bringing together global leaders and experts to form an international response to the virus and building new hospitals.

    Sanders agreed, adding that hospitals need to be provided with sufficient equipment and personnel to deal with the coming surge of critical patients. He also said the US should "protect" the wages of Americans who lose their job because of economic damage from the crisis.

    As the evening unfolded, however, a fundamental difference between the two candidates emerged - and it shouldn't be a big shock to those who have watched the exchanges over healthcare in any of the 10 previous Democratic debates.

    • Read more analysis from Anthony here.
  15. US sailor tests positive for viruspublished at 02:36 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    A US sailor on board a warship has tested positive for the virus and is currently in quarantine at home, the US Navy has said.

    The sailor had been assigned to the USS Boxer, an "amphibious assault ship" which was docked at a San Diego port, said Reuters quoting the Navy.

    All those who have been in close contact with the sailor are now in self-isolation.

    USS BoxerImage source, Getty Images
  16. Borders in Central and South America closepublished at 02:36 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    As the number of cases in the region begin to rise:

    • Peru has closed its borders and suspended air and sea transport
    • Argentina has closed its borders for 15 days to non-residents. It has also suspended public and private school classes
    • Guatemala has recorded its first virus death, an 85-year-old who had recently returned from Madrid
    • Panama is also keeping out foreigners. All shops in the country - except supermarkets, pharmacies and medical centres - have been ordered to close
    • Honduras has banned gatherings of more than 50 people - non-essential businesses will also be shut
  17. China clamps down on imported casespublished at 02:24 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Authorities in the capital city of Beijing have tightened quarantine measures, as the country recorded 12 more imported cases.

    All international arrivals into Beijing must go into quarantine facilities for 14 days, and those sent to facilities must pay for their stay.

    Travellers had previously been allowed to undergo isolation at home.

    The number of imported cases in China have outnumbered domestic ones for three straight days.

    There were four new local cases reported on Monday, all of which were in Wuhan.

    Beijing Capital AirportImage source, Get
  18. Czechs told to stay at homepublished at 02:23 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    The Czech Republic is asking people to limit their interaction with others. The only exceptions are seeing family, going to work, grocery shopping, seeing a doctor, buying petrol, walking animals or "spending time in nature".

    Even them, people are being asked to keep a distance of two metres from each other - and pay by card rather than cash.

    The government also called on all employers to have their staff work from home if possible.

    The country had already closed shops, restaurants, pubs and schools - and banned gatherings of more than 30 people.

    Last week, the country introduced strict border controls, banning foreigners from entering the country.

  19. The Biden-Sanders 'elbow bump'published at 02:19 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders do an elbow bump in place of a handshake as they greet other before the start of a debate.

    The debate was held in CNN's studios without an audience, due to the outbreak.

    Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders do an elbow bump in place of a handshake as they greet other before the start of a debate.Image source, Reuters
  20. New York City closes all bars, restaurantspublished at 02:12 Greenwich Mean Time 16 March 2020

    New York City mayor Bill de Blasio says all bars, restaurants, and other venues must close from Tuesday.

    “Our lives are all changing in ways that were unimaginable just a week ago," he said.

    "We are taking a series of actions that we never would have taken otherwise in an effort to save the lives of loved ones and our neighbours.

    "Now it is time to take yet another drastic step. The virus can spread rapidly through the close interactions New Yorkers have in restaurants, bars and places where we sit close together. We have to break that cycle.

    “Tomorrow, I will sign an Executive Order limiting restaurants, bars and cafes to food take-out and delivery.

    "Nightclubs, movie theatres, small theatre houses, and concert venues must all close. The order will go into effect Tuesday, March 17 at 9:00 AM."