As we reported earlier, there's been a massinve increase in the number of people applying for benefits under the UK's universal credit system since social-distancing measures were introduced.

The Department for Work and Pensions said 950,000 successful applications were made between 16 March and the end of the month.

That's the day on which PM Boris Johnson advised people to avoid pubs, restaurants and non-essential travel, with stronger measures to follow.

Normally, around 100,000 claims would be expected in a two week period.

Read more here.

Charity food banks in the US say they are rapidly running out of goods to provide to Americans in urgent need of help.

There are 3.3m newly unemployed workers in the US, about five times the highest level ever previously recorded (in 1982).

Pantries say newcomers include out-of-work service industry employees and gig economy workers, as well as others.

"The average American does not have $400 in cash to deal with a financial emergency,” Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot told PBS News, adding that the current need is unprecedented.

Donations from grocery stores are also down, due to the increased demand from stockpiling shoppers.

In Pennsylvania on Monday, aerial shots showed a queue of hundreds of cars stretching for over a mile as hungry Americans waited for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Duquesne to open.

The governor of Connecticut has confirmed "with heartbreaking sadness" the death of a six-week-old child, who may be one of the youngest victims of coronavirus anywhere in the world.

Ned Lamont tweeted: "This is a virus that attacks our most fragile without mercy. This also stresses the importance of staying home and limiting exposure to other people.

"Your life and the lives of others could literally depend on it."

On Saturday, a baby died in Illinois who had also tested positive for the virus - the first infant death in the US.

While the official cause of death for these two babies has yet to be confirmed, US health officials warn that the virus is not only dangerous to the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions. Many young people in the US are also requiring hospitalisation after becoming ill with Covid-19 symptoms, they say.

Most small children have only mild symptoms, according to early research. However, scientists warn that there is still much to be learned.

• What we still do not know about Covid-19

The COP26 UN climate conference that was due to take place in Glasgow this November has been postponed until next year due to coronavirus.

The UK Cabinet Office said dates for a rescheduled conference in the Scottish city in 2021 will be "set out in due course".

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

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.

Boris Johnson has said today's confirmation of 563 more coronavirus deaths marks a "sad, sad day" for the UK in a video posted on his Twitter account.

The PM, who is self-isolating in Downing Street after testing positive for the virus himself last week, said his thoughts were with the families of the victims.

He also said "massively increasing" testing will be the key to allowing the UK to "unlock the coronavirus puzzle" and "defeat it in the end".

If you're just joining us, a warm welcome to our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

The past few hours have seen several developments here in the UK and around the world:

• The World Health Organization says the world is set to reach one million confirmed cases and 50,000 deaths worldwide in the next few days
• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the US has passed 200,000
• France says that 509 people with coronavirus have died over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 4,032
• The UK government is under pressure to increase testing for coronavirus, particularly among frontline medical workers. At a government briefing, Public Health England medical director Dr Yvonne Doyle said the intention was to be able to carry out hundreds of thousands of tests a day "in the coming weeks"
• Nearly a million people have applied for Universal Credit - the UK's welfare package - in the two weeks since the government told people to avoid all non-essential travel

Image source, Reuters

The world's biggest producer of medical gloves says it has launched a recruitment drive to cope with a surge in demand caused by the pandemic.

Top Glove, based in Malaysia, told Reuters that orders in the past few weeks had doubled and it needs another 700 workers.

It comes as countries around the world struggle to provide enough protective equipment for frontline health workers.

Top Glove said that hiring new staff had been made more difficult by travel restrictions imposed by Malaysian authorities as they tried to stop the outbreak spreading.

Executive chairman Lim Wee Chai said extra staff would normally be hired from Nepal but the company was now trying to recruit locally, conducting interviews over WhatsApp.

Malaysia has recorded 2,908 coronavirus infections and 45 deaths.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the country's citizens to wear face masks in public in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.

In a televised address to the nation, Mr Netanyahu told people they could make improvised masks if needed.

Wearing face masks is compulsory in some countries, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while Austria has told people to wear them in supermarkets.

But in many other parts of the world, including the UK and the US, it's still perfectly acceptable to walk around bare-faced.

However US health authorities are now debating whether to recommend face coverings for everyone when they go out in public. US media say a CDC internal memo says even simple cloth masks could help reduce transmission.

Since the start of the outbreak, the World Health Organization, external (WHO) has said people only need to wear face masks in two situations:

• if they are sick and showing symptoms
• or if they are caring for people who are suspected to have coronavirus

However, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said the organisation continued "to gather all available evidence and to evaluate the potential use of masks more broadly to control Covid-19 transmission at the community level".

Read more about the reasons why some countries embrace masks and others shun them here.

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

The World Health Organization (WHO), together with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have called for debt relief for developing countries battling to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Speaking in Geneva the head of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said governments needed to ensure the vulnerable had access to food and other basics during the crisis, and that debt relief was essential to enable poor countries to take care of their populations and avoid economic collapse.

The call comes as the world’s industrialised nations announce multi-billion dollar packages to support their own businesses and workers.

In his daily briefing on Covid-19, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he wanted to recall parliament so MPs could approve expanded financial aid packages.

“This is the largest economic programme in Canada’s history," he said.

The federal government has already announced C$107bn (£60.8bn) in various measures to help Canadians and businesses make ends meet amid the economic disruption caused by the virus.

The latest details were revealed on Wednesday afternoon by Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Businesses that have lost more than 30% of their revenue are eligible for a wage subsidy worth up to 75% of payroll. The programme will be worth C$71bn. An additional $24bn will be put towards an emergency relief programme for workers who are freelance contractors or self-employed.

All told, Mr Morneau estimates the relief will total about 5% of the country's GDP, up from an earlier estimate of about 3%.

On Wednesday, health officials said there were 9,017 cases in Canada and 105 deaths linked to the disease.

Yasine Mohabuth
Port Louis, Mauritius

Image source, Yasine Mohabuth

People in Mauritius will from now on shop for essentials on allocated days depending on the first letter of their surname as a measure to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Prime Minster Pravind Jugnauth said the measure would avoid overcrowding, adding that shoppers will only have 30 minutes to finish their shopping.

This means that, those whose surnames begin with A-F will shop on Monday and Thursday, G-N on Tuesday and Friday and O-Z on Wednesday and Saturday. The shops will be closed on Sunday.

That means, I - Mohabuth - will only have to wait two more days to top up on basic food items.

On Tuesday, the island nation reported its fifth death following the outbreak of Covid-19 in the island nation. The latest victim, a 71-year-old man, had been admitted to hospital on Sunday.

The authorities say 161 people with Covid-19 are being treated in hospitals across the country. Some 1,709 people are in quarantine in government facilities and private hotels.

The prime minster also announced the extension of a nationwide lockdown, due to end on Thursday, to at least 15 April.

The US now has more than 200,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.

The number stands at 203,608. Italy has the second highest number with more than 110,000 cases.

Image source, Supplied

Remember the abandoned dogs in this picture? Well, we can bring you some good news about them.

In February we spoke to rescuers in China about the increasing number of abandoned animals caused by the spread of coronavirus.

Now, as the lockdown in some parts of the country comes to an end, at least one of the dogs pictured in our story has found a new home and others are being offered for adoption.

In addition, Shanghai Animal Rescue says it has been able to send two of its dogs for adoption internationally, although it says that was rare because there are not many flights in and out of the country.

In Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, animals were left stranded when people were unable to return to their homes during a city-wide lockdown.

Volunteers from Wuhan Cat Rescue entered homes to provide medical treatment and feed animals trapped inside and now that lockdown measures are easing, the organisation has been able to open its facility and treat animals in need.

Despite the positive developments, organisations say they are still struggling with large numbers of animals and the costs associated with feeding and treating them.

There have been 950,000 new Universal Credit claims since the UK government announced its most stringent measures to tackle the spread of the virus.

The figure released by the Department for Work and Pensions covers the two weeks since 16 March, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the public to avoid all "non-essential" travel.

A normal figure for a two week period is about 100,000.

“With such a huge increase in claims there are pressures on our services, but the system is standing up well to these and our dedicated staff are working flat out to get people the support they need," the ministry said.

Several sources are now estimating that Canada's coronavirus measures will last until July.

On Wednesday, public health authorities in Toronto, the country's most populous city, estimated that measures enacted to curb the spread of the virus will have to last 12 weeks. The city has shut all non-essential businesses, closed schools and cancelled public events.

Meanwhile, Canadian media outlet the National Post obtained documents, external from a federal department indicating a "best-case scenario" of measures staying in place until July.

In his daily press briefing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not confirm those estimates, but he admitted he expects them to last "many, many weeks if not months".

Image source, Getty Images

The US National Park Service has so far resisted calls from lawmakers, tribes and local residents to close down the Grand Canyon.

A park employee tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, the same day the state's governor issued shelter-in-place orders to state residents.

Yosemite, Yellowstone and Great Smoky Mountains have all closed in the past two weeks, leaving the Grand Canyon as one of the last large parks to remain open.

Locals, including the Navajo tribe which has been hit especially hard by the virus, say their remote community is too rural and too far away from a major hospital to deal with an outbreak brought in by tourists.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the park saw its second-highest level of visitors in February, but that number appears to have dropped off in recent days.

It is unclear why the park has refused to shut, US media say. Officials there say they have taken proper mitigation efforts, such as closing some trails and campsites, that are in line with federal social distancing guidelines.

Image source, Getty Images

France says that 509 people with coronavirus have died over the last 24 hours.

That takes the total number of deaths in hospitals in the country to 4,032.

The latest daily figure is the highest so far - nine more than the previous 24 hours.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said he is "deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread" of the coronavirus infection.

Addressing a daily news briefing, he said that in the past five weeks there had been a "near exponential growth" in the number of new cases while the number of deaths had more than doubled in the past week.

The world is set to reach one million confirmed cases and 50,000 deaths worldwide in the next few days, he added.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say 887,067 people around the world have become infected and 44,264 have died.

Leila Nathoo
BBC political correspondent

Upping the pace of coronavirus testing - it's the UK government’s "top priority” in the words of Business Secretary Alok Sharma.

There's talk of “confidence” and “intentions” and “progress” in getting more people tested each day.

But it felt like Mr Sharma couldn’t give convincing answers to many of the questions on the government’s testing strategy, about why things are moving so slowly, and why we haven’t been able to match other countries’ speed.

There was no commitment to try to get to the point of mass testing in the community - to identify hotspots and better understand the spread of the virus - as a possible way out of the current set of restrictions.

Ministers have referred to problems in the global supply of the raw materials needed for the tests.

But the danger for the government is that the apparent difficulty in being able to spell out exactly why we are in this position - behind where ministers themselves say they want to be - leaves many questioning whether proper plans were in place, or if they are now struggling to play catch up.