Image source, AFP

Earlier we reported President Trump's announcement that the US-Canada border will be closed to "non-essential traffic".

More details of when and how the closure will come into effect have yet to be announced.

But the move marks a drastic change in tone from earlier moves by the US and Canada to curb the spread of coronavirus across the world's longest land border between two countries.

Last Friday, a spokesperson for the US customs and border agency had denied any such closure was taking place.

And on Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Americans would be exempt from the closure of Canada's borders to non-citizens. That now appears to have changed.

The US has yet to impose a worldwide ban, but the list of black-listed countries is continuing to grow.

As it stands, all foreign nationals from China, Iran and more than 25 European countries - including the UK - are unable to enter the US. This includes anyone who visited any of these countries within the 14 days before their trip to the US.

The first prisoner to be diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has been confirmed.

The BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw says the prisoner is serving their sentence at HMP Manchester and is currently in hospital.

He adds that no other prison staff or prisoners have tested positive, but 13 prisoners and four members of staff have been put into isolation as a precaution.

BBC Radio 5 Live

GP Dr Rangan Chatterjee has been answering questions about coronavirus on BBC Radio 5 Live. Presenter Nicky Campbell asked him for a reminder of the symptoms...

Click here to listen to live coverage on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

Housing associations in the UK will not evict tenants if they suffer hardship caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The National Housing Federation, which represents associations which house six million Britons, said people affected by the virus can be reassured they won't lose their home.

"No-one should be evicted because of the coronavirus. We are confident that no housing association will do this, and want anyone affected by the outbreak to be reassured they will not be evicted," the federation's Kate Henderson said.

Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced a 212bn zloty (£43bn; $52bn) fiscal package to help the country manage the impact of the spread of coronavirus.

Mr Morawiecki said the package would consist of five parts: job safety, business financing, health care, strengthening the financial system and a public investment programme.

Under the measures, the state will cover 40% of workers’ salaries in struggling companies to avoid redundancies. Workers will also be allowed to delay their social security payments.

The prime minister promised 7.5bn zloty support for the country’s health care system and 30bn zloty for public investments, including roads, digitisation, energy sector transformation and the modernisation of schools.

Poland currently has 246 confirmed cases and five deaths.

Image source, Getty Images

The Glastonbury Festival has become the latest in a long list of events to be cancelled due to coronavirus. The festival's organisers say refunds will be available for those who want them.

So what are your refund rights if an event is cancelled? Click here to read our guide.

The number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the UK has risen by 676.

2,626 people had tested positive for coronavirus as of 09:00 GMT, the government said.

The same figure yesterday was 1,950 positive cases.

Image source, Getty Images

It's morning in Latin America - so to our readers joining us from there, welcome. Here are the latest headlines from the region.

• Brazil has closed its border to Venezuelans for an initial 15 days, citing strains on the country's public health system. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also blamed the "incapacity of the dictatorial Venezuelan regime" to respond to the epidemic.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also rejected economically-devastated Venezuela's request for a $5bn loan to help it cope with the coronavirus. President Nicolas Maduro submitted the request on Tuesday, but in a statement just hours later the IMF turned him down, indirectly citing a dispute over Mr Maduro's leadership.
• Meanwhile, Brazil has also recorded its first death related to the coronavirus. Brazil, Chile and Peru are also reporting hundreds of cases.
• Colombia and Bolivia have both declared states of emergency. Bolivia's presidential office imposed a 12-hour overnight curfew until 31 March, and said they would close borders to foreigners within two days.
• Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina has said the country will close its borders and suspend international air travel for 15 days from Thursday.
• In football news, the month-long 2020 Copa America tournament has been postponed until June 2021.

The UK government's Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson - responsible for the system in England - will make a statement in the House of Commons at 17:00GMT.

In the past hour the governments in both Wales and Scotland have both said their schools would be closing by the end of the week.

The Spanish government has confirmed it will close all the country's hotels from Tuesday 24 March in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

As a result, the UK government has advised all citizens to get home before the deadline.

A Foreign Office spokesman said British travellers in Spain should contact their tour operator or airline as soon as possible to arrange their return journey.

Image source, Afp

Belgium's lockdown took effect from 1100 GMT on Wednesday.

Belgians will mostly have to stay at home, external. Working from home should become the norm but otherwise offices will have to use social distancing. Most shops will be shut too, but, yes, hairdressers can stay open - with one client at a time.

Outdoor exercise is "allowed and even recommended", the government says. Either go with a family member from the same household or with one friend, it advises. Family trips from the same home are allowed but social distancing must be maintained.

Image source, Anadolu Agency

We just brought you that breaking news on the US-Canada border shutting. More on that when we get it. Here's a look at what else is happening across the US:

• At least 6,496 people across the country have tested positive for Covid-19 and 114 have died
• On Tuesday President Trump announced a stimulus plan that could include sending a $1,000 (£844) cheque to every American
• State and local governments are scrambling to contain the spread with some, like in California’s Bay Area, issuing “shelter in place” orders and demanding that residents stay inside for three weeks except to meet “essential needs”
• In Washington state - one of the hardest hit by the novel coronavirus - medical staff have resorted to forging makeshift masks to care for patients amid a shortage of supplies

Image source, Eurovision

The latest event to be cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak is the Eurovision Song Contest.

The event was due to take place at Rotterdam's 16,000 capacity Ahoy Arena, with the final on 16 May.

Announcing its decision on social media, organisers said they were "extremely saddened".

But they added: "The health of artists, staff, fans and visitors, as well as the situation in the Netherlands, Europe and the world, is at the heart of this decision."

You can read more on the story here.

President Donald Trump announces the temporary closure of the US border with Canada to non-essential traffic.

Bethany Bell
News Correspondent

Travelling back home is getting increasingly complicated. Cameraman Fabian Chaundy and I flew back from Rome to Vienna on Tuesday, via Germany.As non-Italians, we had no problems leaving Rome. But when we tried to board our second flight from Germany to Vienna, airline staff were initially reluctant to let us on the plane as we didn’t have Austrian passports. We had to show proof of residence in Vienna before we were allowed to board - not something you normally think of having to do when travelling within Europe’s Schengen zone.A Slovak family with two small children, who were also planning to take the same flight and then travel on to Bratislava, just half an hour’s drive from Vienna airport, were not so lucky.They were not allowed to board the plane. It is normally very common for Slovaks to fly in and out of Vienna airport.The plane eventually took off with just four passengers, including us.We are now back in Vienna, and are self-isolating for two weeks after having been in Italy.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says it is "inevitable" schools will shut as the scientific position has moved in that direction.

She tells reporters that with every day that passes there are fewer teachers available, as they are following the government's advice.

Ms Sturgeon also says people should not assume schools and nurseries will reopen after the Easter break.

"It will not be easy but together we will get through this," the first minister concludes.

Schools in Scotland are to close at the end of this week, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says.

All schools in Wales will be closed from Friday, the Welsh government has announced. Several schools have already closed due to either suspected cases of coronavirus or because of staffing issues.

The Welsh government is the first UK administration to make the decision. School holidays were due to start on 6 April.

Read more here.

The World Health Organization's Middle East director has appealed to countries there to share more information.

Dr Ahmed al-Mandhari said the agency’s teams had observed “uneven approaches across the region” and that much more should be done.

He warned that the disease could only be controlled if experts had the information that allowed them to understand its dynamics in the region.

"Unfortunately, even today, as the situation is becoming critical, information on cases is insufficiently communicated by countries to WHO," he said, without naming any.