Until a few weeks ago in the UK, self-isolating yourself and distancing yourself from other people were seen as unusual, even a sign of being unwell. Now, they've become essential measures to stem the spread of the virus.

The two are not quite the same. Social distancing involves cutting down on non-essential travel and interactions, staying home if you're unwell, and not visiting social venues.

Meanwhile self-isolation means you basically have to cut yourself off entirely from the outside world – here’s how you do it.

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
BBC News, Tokyo

In Japan the questions and recrimination have begun over who is going to pay the cost of delaying the Olympic Games by a year. According to some Japanese newspapers that cost could be as high as $6bn (£5.1bn). Tens of thousands of hotel bookings will be cancelled.

But, they claim, the International Olympic Committee will not lose a penny. Japan will have to bear the whole cost itself.

Others question why on Monday the Japanese Olympic committee said there would be no decision for another month, and then a day later suddenly announced the Games were being moved. Was the decision forced on Japan by the Olympic Committee?

Most ordinary Japanese people seem to have accepted that a delay was inevitable. Opinion polls before the announcement showed 70% thought the Games could not go ahead because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But on social media many are now asking whether a delay of one year will be enough – and whether the decision was based on scientific data – or on politics.

Some have already pointed out that Shinzo Abe will have to step down as Prime Minister in September 2021.

Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor

Several sources have told the BBC that the UK Parliament will close tonight, after the emergency laws to deal with the coronavirus crisis have been passed and granted royal assent.

MPs will vote on whether to close Parliament later, with the plan to return on 21 April.

BBC Radio 5 Live
Wake Up to Money

Image source, Getty Images

There was further financial turbulence on Tuesday when stock markets around the world climbed sharply higher, as investors grappled with the economic impact of Covid-19.

The S&P 500 and London's FTSE 100 enjoyed their best days since the 2008 financial crisis, rising more than 9%.

Tom Stevenson, investment director at Fidelity International, said it was down to "governments and central banks around the world now acting together massively to inject stimulus into the economy. Governments are spending money, and central banks are giving the liquidity the system needs."

"That's been the big worry for markets recently, around how much was being done. So, when it became clear that a $2tn support package was apparently in the offing in the US, that sparked a rise in the markets."

He added: "It's good news, but we're not out of the woods yet. When markets are falling, you get these big rallies, but you shouldn't get stuck on that. They do bounce around in these situations."

Laura Bicker
BBC News, Seoul

Image source, Reuters

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has revealed that the US has asked South Korea to provide coronavirus testing kits.

He made the remarks during a visit to a Covid-19 test kit supplier in the capital Seoul. He said his government was getting ready to export testing kits around the world.

“Yesterday, the US President Donald Trump made a request to us for the urgent provision of test kits and quarantine products," President Moon said.

The presidential office said that the South Korean leader told Mr Trump that his administration is willing to send the supplies if spare equipment is available.

Image source, AFP

Hello and thank you for joining BBC News for live and rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. If you're just waking up, here are a few of today's key developments:

• Almost 420,000 cases of coronavirus have now been reported globally, together with nearly 20,000 deaths
• For the next 21 days, India's 1.3bn residents will be banned from leaving their homes. But correspondents say there is confusion about how people can buy food and other essentials.
• The US Senate has agreed a $2 trillion (£1.7tn) economic rescue plan to cushion America from the impact of coronavirus. It now needs to pass through the US House of Representatives before a sign-off from President Trump.
• Libya has confirmed its first case of coronavirus. The north African country has been racked by war since Nato-backed forces overthrew long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
• Australia has introduced a range of new measures to keep social gatherings at a minimum.

Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg says it is "extremely likely" that she had the Covid-19 virus.

In an Instagram post, the teenager who inspired climate strikes across the world, said she had felt ill after she and her father returned from a trip around Europe.

She said she had "shivers, sore throat and cough" and decided to self-isolate. She has now "basically recovered".

She called on young people to take the virus seriously, saying their actions could be "the difference between life and death for many others".

Daljit Ami
BBC News Punjabi

My small town Kharar, which is near the state capital Chandigarh, is not holding up very well in this lockdown.

Although the Prime Minister announced a nation-wide lockdown yesterday, in Punjab - a state in northern India - we are actually on day three, thanks to an earlier directive by the state government.

None of the chemist or grocery shops are open here, and I encounter many people walking around holding empty steel containers that are usually used to store milk. There's a long line of masked people outside a dairy store, but the counter is unmanned - no-one knows if someone is going to sell them milk or not. They are just standing there in hope.

There is no supply of fresh dairy, poultry and bakery products, and anxious faces, it seems, are everywhere.

Some vegetable vendors are about, but their usually well-stocked carts are depleted - however, at this point people will take whatever they can get.

Image source, Getty Images

Still have questions about this virus and how it spreads? Our 60-second video explainer tells you all you need to know.

Stephen McDonell
BBC News, Beijing

As we've mentioned, China's Hubei has resumed its first transport links with the rest of the country as the province where the coronavirus outbreak started emerges from months of lock down.

Trains are now leaving Hubei province but not yet Wuhan city; it’s the same story with flights, though several large airports remain closed.

Chinese television has carried images of residents cheering as roadblocks came down, allowing people who’ve been cooped-up for months to finally drive out of the province.

The lockdown in Hubei is being lifted in stages. The worse hit city of Wuhan won’t re-establish transport links until the 8th of April and only those with health clearance are being allowed to travel.

However, the re-opening of Hubei to the outside world is seen as a significant milestone in China where the coronavirus emergency appears to be under control, at least for the time being.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Hundreds of High Street businesses in the UK are set to withhold their quarterly rent payments, which are due today, so they can afford to pay their staff.

The government has said shops will not forfeit leases if they do not pay, but will have to pay arrears in the future.

The founder of children’s clothing company JoJo Maman Bebe, Laura Tenison, told the BBC’s Today programme: “Before Rishi Sunak's announcement on rents last Friday, I was spending all of my time contacting landlords personally - to get their permission to work on a payment plan for these rents.

“More than anything, we needed a short-term rent holiday. It’s cashflow that retail companies need right now, so delaying the rent is not really going to help us. We have to write off an entire season.

“We have to start paying deposits for next season’s stock which will be put on container ships soon. If we don’t think forward to the autumn, we won’t have a business to run. It’s absolutely a cash injection that companies need now, and the easiest way to do that is to not pay the rent.”

What are the symptoms of Covid-19 and what can you yourself do to prevent the virus from spreading?

Read our explainer here.

When there's a will, there's a way.

That was definitely the case for a UK couple who, despite having spent months planning for their dream wedding in April, decided to get married over the weekend and livestream it to most of their guests.

Kirsten Groom said her husband Richard suggested holding the wedding earlier, deciding to take "the opportunity while we could".

And it's a good thing they did - the UK has since banned all weddings.

The couple's wedding was attended by 12 of Kirsten's housemates. The rest of the guests tuned in via livestream.

Rev Jim Troon, who led the service, said: "To be honest, I found it quite emotional when they were making the promises in sickness and in health - it was a powerful thing to be saying."

Image source, St Matthew's Church

Image source, Getty Images

India is now reporting 512 active Covid-19 cases, but some states have been hit worse than others.

The first case was in Kerala, a southern state with a robust public health system - a student from Wuhan university tested positive at the end of January, and has since recovered.

But a month on, Kerala has the highest number of infections at 109, followed by Maharashtra, which has 101.

Cases across India have spiked in the last week.

Rajasthan, a popular tourist destination, where 16 Italians tested positive in early March has reported 32 cases, but the BBC's Soutik Biswas reports that one of its cities could be a virus hotspot.

Image source, Getty images

The national capital, Delhi, has 31 cases, and six more people tested positive in Punjab on Tuesday alone, taking the state's tally to 29.

In the south, Karnataka (41) and Telangana (35) have seen a rapid rise in cases but southern states may be in a better position to battle the virus - they are richer, have fewer people and better public health services.

But densely-populated and poorer northern states - such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar - will struggle more.

So far, Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, has reported 35 cases, and Bihar just three.

Image source, Getty Images

Sportswear firm Nike has seen online sales rise by more than 30% as it rides out its coronavirus store shutdowns.

The US firm has shut the majority of its stores globally, but says 80% have now reopened in China.

"We expect the next several weeks to be a challenging period," said Nike chief executive John Donahoe, talking about the US and Europe.

Read more here

There has been a lot of confusion over what exactly India's 21-day lockdown entails.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's televised address to the nation on Tuesday night made no mention of what people should do about essential supplies like food and medicine.

Since then there have been clarifications, but the message does not seem to have reached everyone - and that includes policemen.

There are multiple reports of policemen stopping food delivery employees and forcing them to turn back.

One milk delivery start-up sent a message to its customers, saying they were forced to dump 15,000 litres of milk and 10,000kg of vegetables because their delivery staff had been hassled by police in various cities across India, including the capital, Delhi.

In the southern city of Bangalore, a local newspaper complained of "police high-handedness", and carried accounts of food vendors and healthcare workers saying they had been harassed and even beaten by police, although they are exempt from the lockdown.

Image source, Getty Images

The Senate and White House have reached a deal on a $2 trillion stimulus package for the US economy.

"At last, we have a deal," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, citing the massive "wartime level of investment into our nation".

The Senate and House of Representatives still need to pass the legislation before sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature.

The barbecue most go on?

That was clearly the aim for 20 people in the English city of Coventry, who stood "shoulder to shoulder" for a barbecue - despite the government ordering an end to gatherings of more than two people.

They refused to disperse even after police reminded them of the new measures. Officers eventually had to tip the barbecue over to put an end to the party.

Geeta Pandey
BBC News, Delhi

Image source, Getty Images

On the first day of the 21-day lockdown, I have woken up to several messages from friends and family wishing me health and happiness because today, according to the Hindu calendar, is the start of a new year.

For the next nine days and nights, many devout Hindus will be worshipping the fiery goddess Durga, and many will also be keeping a strict fast.

This annual Chaitra Navratri festival is generally a time of cheer, with markets full of special sweets and savoury snacks and temples crowded with visitors.

But with the threat of the coronavirus looming large, the messages this time are also a reminder to stay home and to cooperate with the authorities in enforcing the lockdown.

Image source, Getty Images

Facebook has seen usage across its platforms surge in countries that have brought in virus lockdowns.

Italy - with some of the toughest restrictions - has seen the biggest rise, with group video calls rocketing by more than 1,000% in the last month.

The social media giant said total messaging traffic on all its platforms had increased 50% on average across the hardest hit countries.

Read more here