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As Brazil's largest city - São Paulo - goes into lockdown, President Jair Bolsonaro has continued to downplay the threat of coronavirus.

In a televised speech last night, he criticised the media for "fear-mongering" and called on the country's mayor and governors to roll back restrictions they have introduced to curb the spread.

Mr Bolsonaro added that people aged over 60 were at risk, but most people - including himself - had nothing to fear.

"With my history as an athlete, if I were infected with the virus, I would have no reason to worry, I would feel nothing, or it would be at most just a little flu," he said.

Critics of Mr Bolsonaro have accused him of a cavalier attitude to coronavirus.

Concerns have also been raised about him having possibly contracted the disease. Over the last couple of weeks, 22 officials who joined him on a trip to the US have tested positive. Mr Bolsonaro has twice said that his test came back negative, but he has refused to release the results.

Over 2,200 infections have been reported in Brazil, along with 46 deaths related to coronavirus.

There has been a big response to the UK government's call for NHS volunteers with more than 250,000 people so far having registered online.

The scheme is aimed at relieving pressure on the health service by recruiting helpers to deliver food and medicines, drive patients to appointments and phone the isolated.

GoodSam, which is registering volunteers, said the total number of people who had given their details online was now 252,000.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted that he was "delighted" by the level of response.

Following on from that social distancing practised by India's cabinet, let's have a reminder on why it is important.

The choices you make - whether to go out or meet someone - could have a much bigger impact down the road:

During his televised address to the nation on Tuesday evening announcing a 21-day lockdown, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said social distancing was the only way to stop the spread of coronavirus.

"Social distancing is [required] for every citizen of the country - including the prime minister," he said

And Mr Modi is clearly keen to show that he practises what he preaches. Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted out this image of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday - the first day of the lockdown.

Image source, Getty Images

With infection rates rising, many countries are concerned about outbreaks within their prison systems. Some are already feeling the effects, with riots and breakouts reported. Developments this month:

• The UK is considering releasing some offenders in England and Wales. Yesterday some 3,500 prison staff - about 10% of the workforce - were off work because they were ill or self-isolating.
• Ethiopia is planning to release more than 4,000 prisoners.
• Several jurisdictions in Australia are also exploring an early release of "low-risk" inmates.
• Iran has already granted temporary release to 85,000 prisoners, and another 10,000 will receive pardons.
• Rising tensions over the coronavirus led to a mass breakout attempt at Colombia's La Modelo prison, leaving 23 people dead.
• Six people also died during prison riots in Italy, sparked by protests over containment measures.
• Hundreds of prisoners escaped from four prisons in Brazil after authorities suspended a temporary release of inmates to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
• Former Hollywood producer and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein tested positive for coronavirus while in a New York prison.

There's some good news for drivers in the UK. Drivers are to receive a six-month extension to annual tests of a car's roadworthiness.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says MOTs due for renewal from 30 March will be extended for half a year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Shapps said on Twitter that drivers must still keep their cars safe and that garages would remain open for any repairs.

This is the scene in the Indian capital this morning.

Delhi and a few other Indian cities have already been under lockdown for two days but now the rest of the country has joined them. About 1.3 billion people have been ordered to stay home.

European governments have put in place strict measures to stop the spread of coronavirus. But there are fears still more needs to be done, as the outbreak continues to worsen across the continent.

Here are the latest developments

• Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will today ask parliament to extend the country's state of emergency for another two weeks to 11 April. Spain's infection numbers and the death toll have soared in recent days, making it the worst affected European country after Italy. Worryingly, more than 5,000 of its 40,000 confirmed cases are healthcare workers.
• France: On Tuesday, France became the fifth country to suffer more than 1,000 deaths since the outbreak began. And Jerome Salomon, the country's top health official, has warned that the number could be even higher - the 1,100 confirmed total only counts people who died in hospitals. Scientific advisers say the strict lockdown measures are the only effective tool, and want them extended for up to six weeks, from the initial 15 day period.
• Italy: The world's worst affected country has increased punishments for breaking its control measures, including fines of thousands of euros and five-year prison terms for anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus and breaks quarantine. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has denied suggestions the lockdown will last until July, saying it will end as soon as possible.

Image source, Twitter/@ajadmiah2

London Underground passengers have been complaining about carriages being crowded again this morning despite continued warnings to limit non-essential travel.

One passenger - a senior nurse named Danny - posted on Twitter: “Another busy tube. Can we not stagger people’s start times so we aren’t all squashed on the same tube!"

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said early data from Wednesday morning suggested Tube travel was down a third compared to yesterday.

He added that a third of Transport for London staff, including drivers, were off sick or self-isolating, meaning the service couldn't run any more trains.

Citizens in countries under lockdown have been advised to stay at home. But why is it so important? We break down the numbers for you, and what the rules are in the UK.

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India's 21-day lockdown is unprecedented, confining more than a billion people to their homes.

But the hardest hit will be the country's poor - domestic helpers, street vendors and construction workers.

They make up much of India's labour force, but have no benefits such as health insurance or sick leave.

Several states - including Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and among its poorest - have announced direct cash transfers, unemployment benefits, free grain and more staples at government-licensed fair-price shops.

But the biggest challenge will be enforcement as so many informal workers don't have bank accounts - many are also migrants, who now find themselves suddenly stranded in cities where they may or may not have access to welfare schemes.

The BBC's Vikas Pandey spoke to some of these daily wage-earners who say they fear that hunger might kill them before the virus.

Image source, EPA

Asian stock markets are seeing a boost on the back of the US agreeing a huge stimulus package.

President Donald Trump and the Senate have agreed an economic relief package worth more than $1.8 trillion (£1.5tn), sending the confidence that investors were hoping for after days of markets turmoil around the globe.

Asian shares also gained in Wednesday trading, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index up 8% following the news. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is up 3,4% while Australia's ASX jumped by more than 5%.

Read more about the US stimulus plan and how markets reacted here.

The hope is that the US measures will help cushion the economic fallout from the global lockdown over the virus pandemic. With businesses grinding to a halt in both the US and much of the rest of the world, the economic repercussions of the virus remain uncertain.

Malaysia will extend its two-week lockdown and is also planning another stimulus package to help its economy.

The country is already the worst-hit one in south east Asia and the number of confirmed infections continues to grow.

With another 172 positive tests, the total number confirmed cases is now just under 1,800. The country closed its borders last week, cut down internal movement and shut down all schools and non-essential businesses until end of March. The extension will now take that to 14 April.

Malaysia has recorded 17 virus deaths so far. Most of the positive tests have been linked to a religious gathering in February, which had more than 16,000 people attending.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

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UK chemical giant Ineos is set to build a plant within about 10 days dedicated to hand sanitiser near Middlesbrough. It’s thought that it will produce one million bottles a month.

Tom Crotty, the firm’s director, spoke to the BBC’s Today programme.

“We already make the fundamental raw material, ethanol, at one of our sites. It was apparent that there just wasn’t enough gel in the market for people to get - certainly not enough for the NHS, but even on the supermarket shelves. So why not make the gel ourselves, bottle it and get it out there?”

He added: “We already have expertise in this area, we have a spare building we can use, we’re installing the new kit as we speak and we’re hoping to have production up and running within those 10 days.

“Normally, we’d spend six months researching a market. But we’ve done none of that - we thought let’s just start and see how it goes.”

Geeta Pandey
Editor, women and social affairs India

The tiny provision store in my ancestral village in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh is rarely crowded, but on Tuesday night, scores of people descended to buy essential household items.

A neighbour said from 7pm, police had started making announcements that shops would not be allowed to remain open after 9pm and, as the word spread, more and more people began gathering.

Social distancing, so crucial in these times, was forgotten as panicked residents vied with each other to get their hands on the fast depleting supplies.

On Wednesday morning, the normally busy National Highway 231 that connects my village in Pratapgarh district with the cities of Lucknow and Varanasi was quiet, except for an occasional milk van or a vegetable truck trundling by.

There has been no confirmed corona case in Pratapgarh yet, but people are worried because of the appalling state of the healthcare infrastructure there.

There is no testing facility for the coronavirus in the entire district and the government-run hospital there has one ventilator for a population of more than 3.2 million.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK government is facing growing pressure to stop non-essential construction work - which has been allowed to continue as long as people are 2m (6.5ft) apart.

Some builders and construction workers have said they feel "angry and unprotected" continuing, with other saying they are under pressure from employers to go in.

One critic was Andy Burnham, Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, who said the decision to allow non-essential work appeared to have been made for "economic reasons".

"When you're in the middle of a global pandemic, health reasons alone really should be guiding all decision-making," he said.

On Tuesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said those who cannot do their jobs from home should go to work to "keep the country running".

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said building sites should close, unless it involves an essential building such as a hospital. Read our full story here

From drinking cow urine to avoiding ice cream, there's been a lot of talk online about the different ways you can beat or avoid the coronavirus - and not a lot of it is true.

We debunk several myths in this video - have a watch. And there's a second part here.

As India enters a 21-day lockdown, the biggest challenge will be enforcement, especially when it comes to grocery shopping.

Even as PM Modi announced the lockdown on Tuesday night, pleading with Indians to stay home and avoid crowds, people rushed to the closest grocery shops, thronging their narrow aisles to stock up.

But some shop owners may have a solution.

This is an unusual scene since most Indians rely on small neighbourhood grocers, often crowding around the shop front. Queuing up is unthinkable and so is hanging back to await your turn.

But it seems to be catching on.

In the western state of Gujarat, which has 38 positive cases of coronavirus, we got this picture from our colleagues in the BBC Gujarati service, where police drew circles outside a grocery store in the Bhavnagar area.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

India has 519 confirmed cases and nine deaths - it reported its first Covid-19 death on 12 March.

A lot of people might wonder why the numbers are so low in a country of 1.3bn people that is home to some of the world's most crowded cities.

For one, India still has one of the lowest testing rates in the world, thanks to limitations on who is eligible for testing.

Image source, Getty Images

Up until Monday morning, India had tested 18,383 samples. A total of 1,338 samples have been tested on an average per day in the last five days, according to the health ministry. India has a capacity to test 12,000 samples a day.

It’s still a bit of a mystery why India continues to test below its capacity. One reason is that the government believes there has been no community transmission yet.

But this claim sounds disingenuous given some of the frightful pandemic projections: one widely cited study says India could be dealing with about 300 million cases of which four to five million could be severe.

Some prisoners in England and Wales could be released temporarily in a bid to ease pressure on jails.

Around 3,500 prison staff have taken time off work - the majority of them sick or self-isolating. Many prisons in the country are already overcrowded as it is.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said releasing some inmates could help "alleviate" pressures.

He said he was looking "very carefully" at whether 50 pregnant prisoners could be released, adding that around 9,000 inmates who are awaiting trial could be transferred to bail hostels.

More on this, here.