As it happened: Coronavirus deaths pass 20,000

1. Global death toll passes 20,000; confirmed cases 450,000; 110,000 people have recovered
2. A quarter of the world's population is now living under some form of lockdown
3. New York reports more than 25,000 cases but the governor says social distancing appears to be working
4. President Donald Trump promises the US economy will take off "like a rocket ship" once the situation improves
5. Prince Charles - heir to the British throne - tests positive for virus with "mild symptoms", palace says
6. India's 1.3 billion people went into lockdown at midnight, with a "total ban" on leaving homes
7. Russia's Putin postpones vote on constitutional change allowing him to stay in power
8. The death toll in Spain has overtaken China, in Italy cases fall slightly from Tuesday

NHS worker makes emotional 'stay at home' plea

Southend NHS worker makes emotional 'stay at home' plea

An NHS worker's emotional plea for people to stay at home has been shared thousands of times.

In an emotional video, Chanice Cushion says she will leave her family home to protect her mother-in-law who has an underlying condition.

"I really thought I could put across to people you really need to stay indoors - this is serious," she tells the BBC.

UK PM defers to the experts on outbreak measures

Helen Catt

Political correspondent

There have been legitimate questions put to the government around whether measures should have been put in place sooner to stop the spread of this virus.

The government has consistently said it is doing the right thing at the right time based on scientific evidence, and what we saw in this press conference was the prime minister deferring to the experts.

Obviously, the UK strategy has been different from what we have seen in other countries, so that has raised questions about how the government is choosing to deal with it.

But coronavirus is an unknown - a new virus where people don't really know what happens with it, and it can only ever be a best guess.

However, it is up to the government to explain why their best guess relates to certain actions they are taking - and certain actions they are not.

Palestinians report first death - latest from the Middle East

AFP

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been closed as a precaution

The first Palestinian has died as a result of Covid-19. The woman, who was in her 60s, was a resident of Bidu, near Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority said.

Sixty-two confirmed cases have been reported in the occupied West Bank and two in the Gaza Strip.

In other developments in the region:

• In Israel, where five people have died and another 2,030 have been infected, the government has approved new restrictions to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. People will be required to stay within 100m (330ft) of their homes; prayer will only be allowed in open spaces; and public transport will be reduced to a quarter of its usual capacity
• The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem - where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected - was closed on Wednesday as a precaution against the coronavirus

• Testing has started in opposition-held north-western Syria after the World Health Organization delivered 300 kits. The government has meanwhile imposed a 12-hour overnight curfew in areas under its control and closed all borders, a day after it confirmed the first Covid-19 case in the war-torn country
• Saudi Arabia has reported its second death and tightened a 21-day nationwide curfew that started on Monday. People will now be stopped from entering or leaving the capital Riyadh and the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina
• In Egypt, a two-week partial curfew keeping people off the streets between 19:00 and 06:00 has taken effect. There was also an extension of school closures until mid-April. The country has reported 402 cases of Covid-19 and 20 deaths

Latest developments in Europe

EPA

Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo has tested positive for the coronavirus

It's been another dramatic day in Europe, with infection rates and death tolls rising rapidly in many countries. Here's what you need to know:

• Spain’s death toll surpassed China's, becoming the second highest in the world after Italy. The country saw its steepest daily spike in deaths - up by 738 in just 24 hours to a total of 3,434. Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo is among those who have tested positive for the virus. She was admitted to hospital on Sunday

• Italy reported another 683 deaths in the past 24 hours and 3,491 more cases. That is slightly lower than Tuesday's tally of 743 deaths, but takes the total to 7,503. The figures are normally given at a daily press conference by Italy's head of civil protection, Angelo Borrelli, but he has a mild fever
• Russia's President Vladimir Putin postponed the public vote on constitutional changes that would allow him to stay in office, but gave no details about when it would take place. He also announced new measures to combat the virus, telling all except key workers to stay at home for a week. Meanwhile, Moscow officials said two elderly coronavirus patients had died. They did not, however, cite the virus as the cause of death. Russia has not yet confirmed any deaths from Covid-19. Latest figures show a rapid rise in infections in the country

• Germany's parliament approved a huge rescue package to protect the country’s economy. The measures – worth 750 billion euros (£688bn; $813bn) – include support for workers, direct cash grants for small firms and self-employed people, and financial support for families. The programme is being funded by taking on new debt, which is something Germany hasn’t done in years

• Poland has extended the closure of its borders by 20 days until 13 April. Goods will still be able to move freely across the borders, the country’s government says

What's the latest from Africa?

Reuters

South Africans are panic buying as a three-week lockdown looms

Let's take a look at what's happening in other parts of the world now.

Charges of attempted murder in South Africa and a man killed by a crocodile while defying Rwanda's lockdown are some of the developments in Africa.

The continent may only have around 2,000 recorded cases, but countries with weak health systems are preparing for the worst:

• A 52-year-old hair salon owner in South Africa has been charged with attempted murder for defying a doctor’s order to self-quarantine in the town of Ladysmith, police say. He had tested positive and had put the lives of others at risk, police said, adding that he had been detained in hospital
• Meanwhile, South Africans have been panic buying ahead of a three-week lockdown that comes into force for its 50 million citizens on Friday
• In Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, all markets and shops have been closed, except for those selling food and medicine. Meanwhile, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has hit out at preachers in the country, Africa's most-populous, for flouting rules about social distancing and large gatherings
• In Rwanda, a man who went to a river, apparently to fish in defiance of a lockdown, has been eaten by a crocodile, a local official has told the BBC
• Libya and Mali, both conflict-hit countries, have recorded their first cases of the virus
• Jean-Joseph Mukendi wa Mulumba, a top human rights lawyers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and an aide to the president, has died of Covid-19
• In Zimbabwe, doctors and nurses are refusing to work until they can access protective clothing while on duty because of fears over coronavirus infection
• Ethiopia is to release more than 4,000 prisoners to contain the spread of the virus in jails

What happened at the latest UK press conference?

Boris Johnson’s latest press briefing on the UK’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has come to an end. Here’s what happened:

• The PM revealed that 405,000 people had volunteered to help the NHS following a call from the government
• He warned firms against profiteering during times of shortage and said the government might use the law to stop it
• The UK government's chief medical adviser said there was a "bottleneck" in ramping up testing amid global demand
• He said an antibody test - to see if people had had the virus - was being developed but would not be online next week
• He added the UK's modelling on the spread of the virus was based on "quite a lot of people" still having to go in to work

BreakingBritish diplomat, 37, dies of coronavirus

A British diplomat has died in Hungary after contracting coronavirus.

Steven Dick, the deputy ambassador in the capital, Budapest, was aged 37.

Mr Dick, an Arabic speaker who had worked for some years in Kabul and Riyadh, took up his post in Hungary last year.

It is not known if he had any underlying medical conditions.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: "I am desperately saddened by the news of Steven’s death and my heart goes out to his parents Steven and Carol.

"Steven was a dedicated diplomat and represented his country with great skill and passion. He will be missed by all those who knew him and worked with him."

UK PM says NHS volunteer army 'the size of Coventry'

Boris Johnson announces 405,000 people have answered a call to help the National Health Service (NHS)

Firms should stop profiteering, says PM

In response to a question about his strategy, Boris Johnson says the UK will follow scientific advice not "political diktat".

Asked about firms profiteering during the crisis, he says firms should not be "exploiting" the needs of the public at a time of "national emergency".

He says the government is "looking very carefully" at what it "may be necessary to do" using the law to stop profiteering, "as in wartime".

Whitty: Tests won't be available online next week

There has been talk of antibody tests being available to buy online. These tests would allow people to see if they have been infected - meaning they should then be immune.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty says: “Once we are confident of which tests work… there is a hierarchy of things we need to do.”

First, experts will need to assess what proportion of people get coronavirus without any syptoms, he says.

Then it will be a case of testing NHS workers to “work out who is immune to this infection and who isn’t”, then moving from there to others.

But Prof Whitty adds: “I do not think this is something we will suddenly be ordering online for next week."

Johnson: More tricky to help self-employed

Boris Johnson again faces pressure to do something to help the self-employed.

The PM says the government has “moved with extraordinary speed to support and prop up the whole of the economy of this country, putting our arms around workers of all kinds to the best extent we possibly can”.

He admits it was “easiest” to help employees and more “tricky” to work out a package for the self-employed.

“But that has been done at incredible speed,” adds the PM, promising that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will make an announcement on the plan tomorrow.

He adds: “I don't think there has been a time in our history in the last century that a government of this country has put its arms around so many people to get through such a tough time.”

Mr Johnson concludes the press conference saying: “We will beat this and we will beat this together, and we will do it by protecting our NHS and staying at home. That is how we will save lives."

Johnson: Employers should protect you

BBC

The PM is asked if more lives could be saved if he stopped more people going to work.

Mr Johnson says he wants to "repeat the basic message, if you can stay at home then you overwhelmingly should".

But he says for those who have to go to work, it is "vital" for employers to follow rules on social distancing and "ensure" the necessary protection.

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty says every country is approaching this “slightly differently and has a slightly different epidemic pattern”.

But he says the modelling in the UK was “based on the idea quite a lot of people would have to go to work”.

However, he adds that people should avoid anything that is “discretionary”.

We've ordered huge numbers of tests, says UK PM

There's a question about how long it will be before NHS staff will get greater access to coronavirus tests.

In reply, Boris Johnson says the UK is ordering "huge numbers of tests". He says UK-wide testing should hit 250,000 "very soon".

Prof Chris Whitty, the UK government's chief medical adviser, says the UK has to face the "practical reality" that other countries want the components as well.

The prime minister says the UK has done more tests than "most" European countries.

'We don't know UK-wide infection rate'

Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, is asked about a recent Oxford University study which said as much as 50% of the UK population may have been exposed to the virus.

He says that they "don't know" yet how many people in the UK have had the virus, which is why more testing is vital.

Whitty: Antibody virus test 'quite close'

Boris Johnson defends the government's programme to support businesses, calling it "unprecedented".

He says the country is "coping very well indeed" under challenging circumstances.

Asked about the rate of testing in the UK, Prof Chris Whitty, the UK government’s chief medical adviser, says testing of people to determine whether they have the virus is being "ramped up".

He says an antibody test - to see whether people have had it - is "quite close", but has not yet finished being evaluated.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, says testing is "crucial" and the UK needs to do more of it.

BreakingItaly sees slight fall in new cases

Away from the UK, Italy has reported another 683 deaths in the past 24 hours. That is a slight fall from Tuesday's 743 deaths, but it brings to 7,503 the number of people who have died in Italy since the outbreak there began.

There has also been a slight drop in the number of new cases. Italy has 57,521 current cases, a rise of 3,491 in the past 24 hours. On Tuesday the recorded increase was 3,612.

Details are normally given by Italy's head of civil protection, Angelo Borrelli, but he has a mild fever.

Johnson: Core policy is to stay at home

BBC

Boris Johnson says any "world class health service has only limited numbers of doctors, nurses and specialist equipment", so the more people who become sick at any one time, the harder it is for the NHS to cope.

"It is vital to delay the spread," he adds. "And with your help we will slow the spread of the disease."

The PM thanks "everyone who has been following the clear rules set out on Monday", along with frontline NHS staff and public services.

He also praises all those who have volunteered to help the NHS - a number, he says, equivalent to the population of Coventry.

Mr Johnson concludes by repeating the government's "core policy" - "stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives".

UK PM begins coronavirus press briefing

Boris Johnson kicks off the press conference, repeating that the government will take "the right measures at the right time".

He says the NHS, like other health services, only has a limited amount of equipment so it is vital to delay the spread of the virus.

Hope amid the coronavirus chaos

We are expecting Boris Johnson to start his press conference any moment now.

He will be joined by the UK's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty and chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance.

In the meantime, take a look at our five reasons to find hope amid the chaos caused by the outbreak.

EPA

Work begins on London's makeshift field hospital

Work is under way to boost NHS capacity by turning London's ExCel Centre in the Docklands into a makeshift field hospital capable of serving up to 4,000 patients.

NHS medics will treat coronavirus patients at the facility, which will be known as the Nightingale Hospital.

It will initially provide about 500 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen.

• Read more here

Coronavirus: ExCel centre hospital conversion begins