As it happened: Coronavirus deaths pass 20,000
Is loss of taste a symptom?; Prince Charles tests positive; Huge response to NHS volunteer call; What are the symptoms?; US Senate agrees $1.8tn stimulus package
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Is loss of taste a symptom?; Prince Charles tests positive; Huge response to NHS volunteer call; What are the symptoms?; US Senate agrees $1.8tn stimulus package
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Yaroslav Lukov, Gareth Evans, Emlyn Begley, Jennifer Scott, Paul Seddon, Helier Cheung, Claudia Allen, Mal Siret, Andreas Illmer and Saira Asher
All times stated are UK
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How to clean your phone safely
We apologise for interrupting your scrolling to tell you this, but your phone screen could be carrying any number of germs and viruses...
Not to worry. We've put together this handy video that explains how to clean it properly:
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Decision on Wimbledon due next week
A decision regarding this year's Wimbledon tennis championship will be made next week.
The All England Club says postponement and cancellation of the event, scheduled for 29 June - 12 July, were both possible outcomes because of the impact of coronavirus.
Playing behind closed doors has been formally ruled out.
BBC Sport's tennis correspondent Russell Fuller says it is almost certain the event will not be able to take place, because a lot of work is needed to get the venue ready and it is not practical to play on the grass surface from September.
Major UK supermarkets bring in safety measures
Major supermarkets in the UK are bringing in measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including limiting the number of people in stores and floor markings to help customers maintain a safe distance while queuing.
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and the Co-Op are among those to implement changes, including extra hand sanitisers in stores for staff and customers to use, cleaning products to wipe down baskets or trolleys and putting up protective screens at checkouts.
Stores have also asked people to try to arrive throughout the day, rather than first thing in the morning, and to pay by card.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe wrote to customers on Wednesday to say “we will limit the number of people allowed in our stores and at our ATMs at any one time”.
More US states issue 'stay at home' orders
The governors of Minnesota and Idaho have issued state-wide "stay at home" orders - sayings residents should not leave home for non-essential activities.
In Minnesota, the order will last for two weeks - and restaurants and bars will be closed, although pharmacies and grocery stores will remain open. "The virus will still be here when this two-week period is over, but we’ll be better prepared," says Governor Tim Walz.
The Idaho order is expected to remain in place for 21 days, local media report. Local residents can still go outdoors for exercise, but must stay 2m (6ft) away from others.
They join at least 16 other US states that have already issued stay at home orders, including New York and California.
Isle of Man closing borders 'to preserve life'
Nobody will be allowed to enter the Isle of Man after Friday as part of new measures to help tackle the spread of the virus.
Announcing the move, the island's government said its main aim was the "preservation of life".
Schools and all non-essential shops on the island have also been told to close.
It comes after the island's famous motorcycle race, the Isle of Man TT, was suspended this year.
You can find out more on the measures here.
How can I stay active while stuck at home?
If you're in self isolation or avoiding gyms, you may be wondering how you can continue to stay active. We got a fitness trainer to show us some simple exercises to do while cooped up at home.
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Pictures from Queen and Boris Johnson's phone call
Well, you might not have been expecting to see this today.
But the Royal Family has shared pictures purportedly of the Queen and Boris Johnson speaking over the phone earlier.
And yes, we think that is a porcelain corgi on the Queen's side table.
A new kind of normal in China
Kerry Allen
Chinese Media Analyst
With the exception of the central Chinese city of Wuhan, most areas across China are seeing life return to some version of normal.
But many schools and businesses are still erring on the side of caution and implementing special measures to keep people protected - should there be a resurgence of Covid-19 in the country.In north-western Xinjiang, many schools have reopened, but primary school children are under strict instructions to wear masks in the classrooms.Popular video website Pear Video shows how one karaoke bar in central Hunan has reopened for visitors. But they must have their temperature checked and scan a QR code before they enter, so that if they exhibit any symptoms their travel history can be traced.
Companies are also requiring that passengers scan a QR code before they travel. This is the case in Wuhan, which is taking the measures ahead of coming out of lockdown on 8 April.And many in southwestern Sichuan are talking online about whether they might go on wearing masks, now that they are allowed to play Mahjong - a game played with a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols - again.
The game was banned in early February to ensure that people, particularly China’s elderly, avoided sitting too close together.
Can we trust China’s numbers?
Robin Brant
BBC News China correspondent
China has a bad record on official government numbers that the world believes. It’s not down to incompetence, it's by design. Communist party dominance sometimes depends on living up to forecasts or targets - even if they aren’t actually met - and, conversely, burying reality when it shines a light on wrong doing or, worse still, failure that puts a dent in the party’s credibility to govern.
So China comes to the table, so to speak, with much scepticism awaiting it. Its GDP figures have long been regarded as more of a guide to the trends in its economy but not an accurate reflection of its actual growth.
Doubts about the official government figures on coronavirus, that are collated at 3am every morning, are fuelled by several specific issues: First, there was the (admitted) cover up and subsequent three-week delay in publicising and acting upon the outbreak.
Second, the empirical integrity of the numbers has been repeatedly questioned; just a few days ago officials in Hubei revealed that they didn’t count asymptomatic positive cases or those that didn’t require hospitalisation.
Third - and this may appear simplistic but it's an obvious question - could it really be the case that a couple of weeks ago for a short period of time there were no new confirmed cases - zero - of the virus in all of mainland China, except Hubei?
Pompeo deepens US-China row
Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Washington
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the G7 group of big economies have discussed China’s "intentional disinformation campaign" on the new coronavirus during a virtual meeting.
He says all the leaders were aware of the campaign, which, he says, Beijing continued to engage in so as to deflect attention from what really happened.
The Trump administration has repeatedly alleged that China was and is suppressing information about the coronavirus.
President Trump has called it the "Chinese virus" – angering Beijing and ignoring World Health Organization guidelines.
Mr Pompeo said the world needed transparency and accurate information from China in order to fight the pandemic.
Some Chinese officials have suggested that the virus was brought to China by the US military.
Mr Pompeo dismissed that as "crazy talking".
He also appeared to dismiss China’s sales of medical supplies to combat the pandemic, saying Beijing was now trying to claim that it was the "white hat" (showing moral leadership).
US refuse collectors strike over lack of protection
Sanitation workers in the US city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are refusing to collect rubbish until the city provides them with face masks and hazard pay.
"We risk our life every time we grab a garbage bag," one striking worker told reporters as he announced that rubbish would not be collected on Wednesday.
Sanitation workers are considered essential employees that are exempted from the city's lockdown orders.
"We’re playing Russian roulette with every garbage bag that we’re grabbing," Sheldon White told local channel WPXI-TV.
"Half the people don't tie their bags, so when the stuff spills out, they tell you to pick it up. There's Kleenexes that people blow their nose and cough in."
In a statement, the City of Pittsburgh said that workers had been supplied with cleaning wipes and gloves and were being "encouraged" to wash their uniforms daily.
The refuse collectors were sent home with pay on Wednesday and told to report back to work on Thursday, according to WPXI.
Coronavirus 'public enemy number one'
Coronavirus is "public enemy number one", says the director general of the World Health Organization.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged countries on lockdown to take measures to "find, isolate, test, treat and trace" cases, and warned those who don't that they could face a "resurgence" of the virus.
Dr Ghebreyesus said: "Aggressive measures to find, isolate, test, treat and trace are not only the best and fastest way out of extreme social and economic restrictions - they're also the best way to prevent them."
The secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurría, has warned that the world will take years to recover from the pandemic and told the BBC the economic shock was already bigger than the financial crisis in 2008.
Tributes paid to British diplomat
Family and colleagues have been paying tribute to 37-year-old Steven Dick, the British diplomat who died in Hungary after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
Mr Dick’s parents, Steven and Carol Dick, said he was a much-loved son, grandson and nephew, who was "kind, funny and generous".
The UK Ambassador to Hungary, Iain Lindsay, said he had worked with Mr Dick since last October.
"Steven was a dear colleague and friend who had made a tremendous impression in Hungary since his arrival last October with his personal warmth and his sheer professionalism, not least his excellent Hungarian," he said.
The Scottish envoy had previously worked at British Embassies in Kabul and Riyadh, and at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab described Mr Dick as a "dedicated diplomat" who "represented his country with great skill and passion".
Read more here.
Q&A with BBC science correspondent
Rebecca Morelle
Science correspondent, BBC News
BBC OS listeners on the World Service earlier put forward some questions, which our correspondent Rebecca Morelle has answered.
Q: Is there any research that proves that sunlight is an antidote to the virus?
A: There has been early research that suggests that warm and cold temperate climates are the most vulnerable. Arid regions and the tropics come after that. However, this is only early research.
Q: There have been lots of messages on WhatsApp suggesting that hot water can be taken to prevent getting the virus. Is this true?
A: There is so much stuff being shared on social media. Misinformation is spreading almost as fast as the virus. It’s really important to sort the myths from the reality. No, swallowing hot water is not a preventative measure against Covid-19.
Q: When will the peak of infections for the UK be? Is the National Health Service equipped to meet this peak?
A: One of the scientists advising the UK government has said that if the current measures are successful, you'd expect to see cases peaking in two or three weeks. If the measures aren't successful then you will continue to see cases going up. The reasons the restrictions are being brought in is so that the health services aren't overwhelmed. Again, it depends on how successful the measures have been – it's a bit of a grim waiting game.
Q: Currently, we have no infections in Malawi. How can we keep the virus permanently out?
A: The virus is spreading around the world so quickly, which makes it hard to clamp down on. The World Health Organization’s advice on the matter is that surveillance is really important. If there is a suspected case you need to know about it. You need to test that suspected case and isolate them if they do have the virus so they can't spread it. You then need to trace all the people that the infected person met in recent days, and if they test positive, isolate them as well. South Korea has been really successful in doing this.
BreakingFrance reports 231 new deaths
France says the number of coronavirus deaths has risen by 231 to a total of 1,331.
The total number of confirmed cases is now 25,233 - they include 2,827 people who are in a serious condition requiring life support.
The French death toll is so far only counting those who have died in hospital. But French authorities say they will soon have figures for deaths in care homes, which could result in a large jump in the overall number of fatalities.
News summary: What you need to know
If you're just joining us, here's a quick summary of the latest headlines as countries around the world work to slow the spread of coronavirus:
A message from the Doctor
Jodie Whittaker, who plays Doctor Who, has posted a reassuring message for fans who are currently in lockdown around the world.
The Doctor prescribes telling bad jokes, being kind, listening to science and staying positive.
Irish postal staff to check on elderly
Postal delivery workers in the Republic of Ireland are to check on elderly and vulnerable people as part of their rounds.
They will knock on doors to find out if people in those groups need food or medication, and make sure those requests are fulfilled, the Irish postal system An Post has confirmed.
They will also deliver parcels and letters from the elderly and vulnerable - about 160,000 homes - for free.
Each home in the Irish Republic will get a Covid-19 public information booklet through the post.
The UK’s Royal Mail has not implemented any similar systems but says it "takes the health and safety of its colleagues, its customers and the local communities in which we operate very seriously".
Global death toll passes 20,000 - Johns Hopkins
The global death toll has now passed 20,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The number of confirmed cases has exceeded 451,000, the US university reports.
It started tracking the coronavirus outbreak soon after it emerged in China late last year.
What is the risk to young people?
A lot of the discussion on coronavirus has focused on the risks it poses to people who are elderly or who have health issues - but the World Health Organization has warned that young people are not "invincible".
Two of the British deaths sadly confirmed on Wednesday have been 21-year-old Chloe Middleton, who had no underlying health issues, and 37-year-old British diplomat Steven Dick.
Here's a more detailed look at what we know about the risks posed to young people by coronavirus.