Image source, Getty Images

It is that time of day again when we are soon expecting to hear the daily update from the UK government.

Today’s press conference will take place at 17:00 GMT and be led by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, with details on how he plans to help the self-employed during the coronavirus outbreak.

It comes after mounting pressure on the government to help freelance workers and contractors in the same way they are helping the employed.

We will bring you all the updates as they happen and you can watch the press conference on BBC One and the BBC News channel.

Image source, AFP

African states have been stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Infection rates on the 54-nation continent are still low - 2,700 cases in 46 states.

There are fears that the number will rise rapidly because of cross-infections, overwhelming health services on the mainly poor continent.

In the latest developments:

• Uganda has banned all public transport with immediate effect, creating fear and panic in the capital, Kampala. The security forces have shutting down businesses in the capital and Kampala's streets are now mainly deserted
• Nigeria, Africa’s most-populous state with an estimated population of 200 million, says it will ban all travel in the country, but has not yet indicated from when
• In Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy, President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced a night-time curfew from Friday
• Kenya's president has also taken an 80% pay cut, as he prepares the nation for tough economic times - and has urged other officials to follow suit
• Meanwhile, Germany says it will not be paying for six-million face masks it had ordered but had not received after they went missing at an airport in Kenya
• Back in Nigeria the government received a donation, including 100,000 face masks, from Chinese billionaire Jack Ma
• In South Africa, leading evangelist Andy Buchan says he has tested positive for Covid-19, while local media reports that a man who won 7.4m rand ($426,000; £354,000) in the lottery will have to wait until the nationwide lockdown ends to pick up the money. The three-week shut down starts on Friday, and panic-buying is continuing

Image source, Getty Images

The UK government is being accused of putting "Brexit before breathing" by not taking part in an EU scheme to provide ventilators to member states.

Despite the UK leaving the bloc in January, the EU invited the country to join in with the project.

But a No 10 spokesman today said the UK was "making [its] own efforts".

You can read more about the reaction here.

Hannah Richardson
BBC News education and social affairs reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Frontline staff at UK children's charities say they are feeding desperate families with food "from their own cupboards" amid the coronavirus epidemic.

It comes as the latest official UK figures on child poverty, released today, showed an increase of 100,000 children, to 4.2 million.

That is 30% of UK children living below the poverty line (here's more about what counts as poverty).

Action for Children says those already struggling are likely to be hit hard by the "economic wave" of this unprecedented health crisis.

The charity's director of campaigns, Imran Hussain, said: "In the past week, some families have already got so desperate our frontline staff are feeding them from their own cupboards.

"And with so many families at breaking point, we've had to launch an appeal fund to help those struggling to pay for basic essentials like food, nappies and utility bills."

Earlier, we reported the pledge by G20 leaders to inject $5 trillion into the global economy for the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

It comes after the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, called for action from the group, asking for an "immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world" to "focus together on the true fight of our lives".

We have gone through the joint statement from the G20 leaders after their meeting today with a fine-tooth comb, and here's what else you need to know:

• The leaders have "strongly committed to presenting a united front against this common threat"
• They pledge to take "all necessary health measures" to protect people, especially the most vulnerable
• They promise to share research and best practices on the virus and vaccines, and to increase manufacturing capabilities for medical equipment
• The leaders say they will use "all available policy tools to minimise the economic and social damage from the pandemic"
• Finance ministers from the countries and Central Bank governors will work together to develop a G20 action plan on the economy
• They will work together to ensure the flow of trade - especially medicines - isn't disrupted
• They will support developing and the least developed countries - notably countries in Africa and small island states, where health systems and economies may be less able to cope
• They also pledge to provide assistance where necessary to repatriate citizens
• Finally, the G20 leaders say they "stand ready to react promptly and take any further action that may be required"

Image source, Getty Images

People who repeatedly flout new UK rules on social distancing and gathering in groups could face fines up to £960, under a new law.

Legislation to give police forces the power to enforce the rules, external in England specifies the standard fine would be £60, or £30 if paid within two weeks.

Those who break the rules a second time would be fined £120, with the charge doubling for every new offence up to the £960 maximum.

However, police chiefs have been keen to stress they want to try to enforce the rules through persuasion where possible.

On Thursday, Derbyshire Police released a video showing people still making non-essential trips to the Peak District.

Police, who used a drone to identify people still visiting the area, called on people to stay at home.

China has announced it is temporarily suspending entry into the country by foreign nationals holding visas or residence permits.

The move comes as the country attempts to stop the coronavirus being imported back into China.

The suspension will take effect from 28 March.

Policies such as visa free transit entries will also be stopped.

People coming to China for “necessary” economic, trade, scientific or technical activities or out of emergency humanitarian needs have been told to apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates.

Entry for diplomats is not affected.

A statement, external from the foreign ministry said: “The suspension is a temporary measure that China is compelled to take in light of the outbreak situation and practices of other countries.”

Earlier on Thursday, China announced it was drastically cutting flights into and out of the country.

Tom Bateman
BBC Middle East correspondent

Image source, EPA

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has reported a new cluster of coronavirus cases in a village in the occupied West Bank, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Palestinian territories to 84.

On Wednesday night, officials announced the first Palestinian death linked to Covid-19 - a woman in her 60s. She lived in the West Bank village of Biddu, where a further 15 coronavirus cases have now been revealed.

Officials said her son had recently tested positive for the virus, linking it to his recent return from working in Israel, where there have been more than 2,600 confirmed cases and eight deaths.

The PA has called for Palestinian workers in Israel to come back to the West Bank - but it’s creating unease.

After another man returned showing symptoms, the Palestinian governor of the area said any worker who came back without self-isolating would be "arrested and dealt with as if he was a criminal charged with premeditated murder".

Before the outbreak, about 150,000 Palestinians crossed checkpoints every day from the West Bank to work in Israel - many as labourers or cleaners. As part of measures to prevent further spread of the virus, 30,000 workers have been permitted to remain in Israel only if they stay for at least two months, usually in accommodation meant to be provided by an employer.

Image source, Getty Images

Pangolins smuggled into China have been confirmed to contain viruses closely related to the one sweeping the world.

Sale of the animals in wildlife markets should be strictly prohibited to minimise the risk of future outbreaks, says an international team.

Pangolins are the most-commonly illegally trafficked mammal, used both as food and in traditional medicine.

Bats are thought to be the original viral source, with another species playing a role in human transmission.

Our colleague Helen Briggs has more on this story.

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

If you do get coronavirus, what sort of medical intervention do you want? This is the debate in Switzerland, as infections rise sharply.

The Swiss Society for Intensive Medicine says the elderly should think about drawing up living wills, and discuss with their loved ones whether they want to be put on ventilators.

It sounds shocking, but Switzerland is the country of Exit and Dignitas, and it is widely accepted that individuals have the right to decide how they die.

A third of Swiss already have living wills, so families know their wishes in the event of serious illness or injury.

Image source, Getty Images

The news from Italy, of elderly people dying alone after days on ventilators, has caused alarm.

Dr Roland Kunz, a gerontologist, says statistics show that if an elderly coronavirus patient with underlying health conditions ends up on a ventilator, the chances of survival are "vanishingly small".

This section of the population, he believes, should have the chance to opt for care at home, and mobile palliative care teams are available.

This debate does not please everyone here, some view it as unnecessary pressure on the elderly at an already difficult time.

But this is not, Swiss doctors insist, about freeing up intensive care beds for younger people.

The triage guidelines in Switzerland have already been drawn up: if there are more patients than beds, the doctors will decide, based on who is most likely to survive.

But the elderly should, at least, have a chance to indicate, in advance, what kind of treatment they do or don’t want.

A few minutes ago we reported on a pledge by leaders of the G20 to inject trillions of dollars into the global economy to tackle the coronavirus crisis. Here's a bit more on what they had to say at their virtual summit:

They also said they were confident that "working closely together, we will overcome this together". And that they valued the postponement of major public events such as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Here's their official statement., external

Image source, Getty Images

While most major sporting events in the next few months have been cancelled or postponed, the Tour de France is considering the option of going ahead without spectators.

France's Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu says it is "still too early to decide" whether or not the race - due to run from 27 June to 19 July - will go ahead.

But, she adds, staging the event "behind closed doors" would not have the same financial impact as on other sports because the Tour de France does not rely on ticket sales.

A further six people who tested positive for coronavirus in Wales have died, bringing its total number of deaths to 28, Public Health Wales says.

It came as three coronavirus patients in Scotland died, bringing the total deaths there to 25.

And a further three people died in Northern Ireland, bringing its total to 10.

Latest figures for England and the UK as a whole will be released later. The government has said it is currently changing the way deaths are recorded.

In other developments:

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wales has risen to 741 and in Scotland to 894
• Scotland’s chief medical officer says around 40-50,000 people in the country may be infected
• A second serving prisoner in the UK has died after contracting coronavirus

The G20 nations have pledged to inject $5 trillion (£4tn) into the global economy to try to combat the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement came at the end of a virtual summit hosted by Saudi Arabia.

On 26 March 1995, the Schengen Area - a huge zone allowing people to travel across huge swathes of Europe without border checks - came into force.

But 25 years later to the day nearly every European state has closed or restricted its borders, in a bid to tackle the spreading coronavirus outbreak.

Frontex, the European border agency, has tweeted out a map to show the different measures in place across the continent.

Image source, Getty Im

Panic-buying is a phenomenon that's plagued many of the countries hit by the coronavirus crisis. And one of the items most in demand has been toilet paper.

You, like many of us here, may have been puzzled as to why this item was of interest to so many people.

Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, a consumer psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, has the answer: when people are anxious, she says, "they need to do something practical to make it feel like they are in control".

The focus on toilet roll "likely started on the basis of some people trying to be practical in that they wanted to stock up on basics in case they could not go out. There's then been a snowball effect as consumers observed each other stockpiling - they also had to do it."

Read more about the toilet roll-buying craze here.

Grace Tsoi
BBC World Service

In China, the people of Wuhan, who have been at the centre of the coronavirus pandemic, are finally seeing rays of hope more than two months after the city was put under lockdown. China’s authorities say travel restrictions on the city of 11 million will be lifted on 8 April.

Things are already starting to ease – schools are still shut, but public transport is resuming and mask-wearing residents have begun taking walks in city parks.

“I feel joy because we lost the freedom of movement for more than 60 days,” says Mr Li, 53, who lives in Wuhan.

He’s looking forward to going back to work in the building trade. Construction was put on hold so he has been using his savings to make ends meet and now he wants to meet his relatives and friends.

But residents are not in the mood for celebrations.

“So many people have died, but the truth is still shrouded. Wuhan and the world are still struggling in pain,” says Mr Li.

Some are worried about the stigma Wuhan people face. “I feel sad. My hometown is ravaged,” says a lawyer who wishes to remain anonymous. “People here are discriminated against in our own land. But what have the people and the city done wrong?”

There has also been anxiety about a possible new wave of infections once the restrictions are removed. “We will keep our guard up,” another resident, Xiao Long, says. “I think the people of Wuhan are ready for a long-term battle with the virus.”

Image source, supplied by Mr Li

The UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is being urged to face MPs online now Parliament has shut early.

The Commons broke up for its Easter break last night - rather than 31 March - because of the outbreak but some politicians are worried it means the government won't face scrutiny over its handling of the crisis.

Conservative MP and former minister Tobias Ellwood has written to Mr Johnson calling on him to hold two online meetings a week with chairs of select committees to allow for "partial scrutiny".

Earlier, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle told MPs work would take place throughout the break to ensure they had the technology they needed to stay connected, with a hope they could create a "virtual Parliament".

Image source, Reuters

China has announced it is drastically cutting flights in and out of the country in a bid to prevent another outbreak of coronavirus.

Authorities are worried the virus might be imported back into the country.

The new rules, announced by China’s Civil Aviation Administration , external(CAAC), come into place on 29 March.

From that date, each Chinese airline is only allowed to maintain one route to any specific country with only one flight a week.

Foreign airlines are only allowed to maintain one route to China with only one flight a week.

Flights to and from China must have a passenger load of no more than 75%.

Passenger planes are also now allowed to be used as all-cargo flights.

CAAC warned it may need to further reduce the total number of international flights.

Marianna Spring
Specialist disinformation and social media reporter

Photos of messages claiming to be from the government and threatening fines have been circulating on social media.

The UK government has sent out a text explaining the new rules, but some people are posting images implying that the government is actively tracking people and fining those who leave their homes.

It's unclear whether people are actually getting such texts from scammers, or whether there are doctored screenshots circulating.

Some of the fake messages say a “fine will be automatically added to your [phone] bill”.

The government says it has sent out "only one text message" and “others claiming to be from the UK government… are false”.

There have also been several Facebook posts claiming to show a scam where members of the public receive a text telling them to share card details in order to receive a relief payment from the government.

These are scams, according to fact-checker Full Fact, external.

Have you seen misleading information? Is there a story we should be investigating? Email me: marianna.spring@bbc.co.uk