Our live coverage is pausingpublished at 22:46 Greenwich Mean Time 26 March 2020
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Here's a recap of the day's main developments:
- In the past hour, the US has become the country with the biggest number of confirmed cases of the virus in the world. It now has 82,404 cases, ahead of China on 81,782
- Globally the number of confirmed cases has passed 500,000
- Several European countries have posted heavy death tolls - in Italy there were 712 deaths in the past 24 hours, in Spain 655 and in France 365, including a 16-year-old girl in the Paris region
- The UK recorded more than 100 deaths within a day for the first time. The death toll has risen to 587
- A record number of Americans have filed for unemployment - nearly 3.3 million people registered to claim jobless benefits for the week ended 21 March
- British Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled aid for self-employed people, who will be able to apply for a grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits.
- British people - including the Queen and other members of the Royal Family - have applauded health workers caring for those suffering from the coronavirus
You can keep up to date with all the latest developments on this story on the BBC website.