For those of you in the UK who are just waking up, good morning and welcome. Here are a few recent developments:

• The UK has seen its biggest daily rise in coronavirus deaths, 563, in what Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a "sad, sad day". The death toll has now reached 2,352

• Among them is a doctor who came out of retirement to help with the outbreak. The 68-year-old Dr Alfa Sa'adu was volunteering at a hospital in Hertfordshire
• The government says it has tested thousands of NHS workers for the virus, but a shortage of chemicals means that not all frontline workers can be screened. It says it is working to boost testing capacity
• Up to 3,000 armed forces reservists are being called up. Those with specialist skills are expected to provide medical and logistical support to the NHS, and others
• And British Airways could suspend as many as 36,000 staff - around 80% of the workforce - though none is expected to be made redundant. It's expected to make an announcement soon

Image source, Reuters

Further to our earlier post, here is the plan for the passengers of the MS Zaandam and MS Rotterdam, the two cruise ships heading towards Florida. Operator Holland America has issued a statement:

• The Zaandam and the Rotterdam will arrive in Fort Lauderdale, pending final permission
• Guests deemed fit for travel by the US Center for Disease Control would be transferred to charter flights via shuttle buses that can be disinfected
• Approximately 45 guests with mild symptoms will stay on board and self-isolate until recovered
• Less than 10 people that need critical care will be transferred to local medical facilities and treated there

The two ships had been refused entry at various ports in South America so then, via the Panama Canal, made their way towards Florida.

After the ship was initially rejected by local authorities, US President Donald Trump said the US would allow the passengers to disembark and be transferred home.

The country confirmed its third death due to Covid-19 on Wednesday, just as reports of 21 new infections - its biggest daily spike so far - emerged. Sri Lanka now has a total of 143 cases.

Here's more news from South Asia:

• Concerns of local transmission in Pakistan as cases surge beyond 2,000, external
• A leaked UN memo warning that two million could die in Bangladesh has been rejected by officials, external, who say various measures are in place to curb the spread of the virus. The country saw its sixth Covid-19 death on Wednesday as cases rose to 54
• Eighteen people in Nepal have been quarantined, external after they attended a religious event in India's Delhi which has been linked to nearly 400 positive cases

Sportswear giant Adidas has backtracked on a decision to delay rental payments to its store landlords.

Last week the German brand said it wanted to defer paying April rents for stores it leased around the world that had been forced to close by lockdowns.

But after heavy criticism on social media and by the German government, Adidas has u-turned and agreed to make the payments.

Image source, Getty Images

The government in Rwanda has extended rigid lockdown restrictions imposed last month to 19 April.

The lockdown that began on 21 March banned people from leaving their homes, apart from to shop for food or medicine.

Rwanda now has 82 confirmed cases of the virus.

During the extended lockdown, the borders will remain closed and only the entry of Rwandese citizens will be allowed.

A Russian plane with medical supplies arrived in the US on Wednesday. The military Antonov-124 landed in New York and according to Moscow carried "medical masks and medical equipment".

"We have to work together to defeat #COVID19," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet. "This is why the U.S. agreed to purchase urgently needed personal protective equipment from #Russia."

The delivery - which includes ventilators - comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Donald Trump on Monday.

The Kremlin has already sent medical equipment and specialists to Italy as part of a humanitarian effort.

A bar owner in the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife has been fined for using a secret door next to a supermarket to serve drinks.

The country is currently under lockdown and people are only allowed to go out to buy food or essential items.

But though the bar in the Icod de los Vinos municipality appeared to be shut, police found the bar owner, the supermarket owner and another man enjoying their drinks.

Police did not say how much the barman was fined.

Image source, Getty Images

We've rounded up some quick video explainers on the virus which tell you all you need to know, and how to stay safe:

• What exactly is the coronavirus - we explain in 60 seconds
• How to keep your hands clean
• Why you love touching your face - and how to stop it
• How to clean your mobile phone

Laura Bicker
BBC News

Eight foreigners who refused to quarantine themselves for two weeks have been refused entry and sent back to their home countries.

The South Korean government has imposed a mandatory 14-day quarantine rule on all overseas arrivals, who must download an app on their phone to check for symptoms and monitor their movements.

The Ministry of Justice had warned that foreigners failing to abide by these rules could face deportation, and South Korean citizens could face a fine or even a year in prison.

There have been 52 reported violations of the rules so far in the country. Six cases have been referred to prosecutors.

There is no lockdown in the country - although citizens are being asked to maintain social distance measures where possible.

The only people being asked to quarantine themselves are those who have the virus, those have come into contact with an infected patient, or those who have arrived from overseas.

Local authorities in India's financial capital, Mumbai, have confirmed that a 56-year-old man in Dharavi slum, which is home to more than a million people, has tested positive for Covid-19.

Indian media reports from earlier this morning say that the man has died, external - but we don't have official confirmation of this yet.

Officials have sealed the building he lived in and have quarantined seven family members.

The slum lies in the centre of Mumbai on prime property. A city within a city, it is one unending stretch of narrow lanes, open sewers and cramped huts.

Experts have pointed out that while social distancing is crucial - it remains near impossible in heavily congested areas like the Dharavi slum. Residents here often share overcrowded quarters and so the choice to stand two metres apart isn't a realistic option.

This has spurred concerns over the potential impact as tracking the virus in such a crowded and congested area will prove challenging.

Frances Mao
Sydney

Image source, CSIRO

Great news from Australia, where the national science agency has this week started testing not just one, but two potential vaccines. It's an incredible development given this process normally takes two years, but has been achieved in just a few months.

The vaccines have come from Oxford University and US company Inovio Pharmaceuticals. They'll be tested on ferrets, a species which gets the Sars-CoV-2 virus the same way humans do.

Australia's CSIRO will be testing to see if 1) any of the vaccines work and 2) if they'd be safe for human testing. Read more on how it will work here.

Last month in the US, a human trial of a potential vaccine did go ahead but it skipped the animal testing phase.

The Australian scientists I spoke to this morning said they could expect their first results in June, but there would likely be stumbling blocks before even moving to clinical trials.

However, they said they were "optimistic" about the work, and particularly heartened by the level of collaboration among the world's scientists right now.

Image source, CSIRO

US President Donald Trump is throwing suspicion on the number of coronavirus cases in China, saying they appeared to be "on the light side".

His remarks come hours after a Bloomberg report said the White House received a classified report that China had under-reported the total cases and deaths in the country.

Mr Trump said he had not received this report but said China's figures seem "to be a little bit on the light side - and I am being nice when I say that".

"As to whether or not their numbers are accurate. I am not an accountant from China," he said.

There are currently 81,554 confirmed cases and 3,312 deaths in China, according to data from its National Health Commission.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP

Good news for the MS Zaandam - a cruise ship carrying many infected and some deceased passengers - which is heading from South America to the US.

The ship's symptom-free passengers have been transferred to a sister ship but both have been denied entry at any port so far.

The ship was aiming for Florida - where authorities also said they would not allow them to dock.

But now US President Donald Trump has said arrangements were being made with the passengers' home countries so they could be taken back.

Mr Trump said that "from a humane standpoint" the US would have to allow them to disembark.

Passengers are from the US, Canada, the UK and other countries. Some 200 are reporting symptoms, nine have been confirmed to have the virus, and four people on board have died.

Tessa Wong
BBC News, Singapore

Image source, EPA

Many of us know the official World Health Organization (WHO) advice on face masks - only the sick and healthcare professionals should wear them.

But this might change, as a panel of advisers to the WHO is now assessing whether more should wear masks.

Meanwhile US health authorities are reportedly thinking of changing their official advice on masks.

There have been growing calls for universal mask-wearing in recent days, backed by a small but increasing body of research.

Some studies show that there may be more "silent carriers" (people who have the virus but show no symptoms) than we think. There are differing views on how infectious they are, but researchers say they could be responsible for some infections.

I've just spoken to Hong Kong University epidemiologist Benjamin Cowling. He's part of a team that's been examining data on Chinese cases and in their study, which is due to be published next week, they've found between 20% and 40% of virus transmission from an infected person can happen before that person starts to show symptoms.

The main issue with universal mask-wearing, of course, is that there may not be enough to go round and we end up depriving frontline workers and healthcare staff of medical-grade masks - but some are suggesting that cloth masks could be one alternative.

It's already quite common to see everyone wearing masks in some places, especially in Asia, and in recent weeks some countries like the Czech Republic and Slovakia have made it mandatory to wear one.

Could more soon follow?

If you've ever been to the capital of Vietnam, you'll know its bustling streets and crazy traffic - with thousands of motorcycles streaming down the road at any given time.

But that's not quite the scene now.

Empty streets, deserted restaurants and a dramatic lack of traffic have taken over Hanoi, as the country stopped public gatherings, temporarily shut down non-essential services and halted all inbound flights.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has also called on the capital to "stand ready for lockdown" as the number of cases in the country creeps slowly towards 200.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Most of us have been trying to stick to government advice: stay at home, socially distance and practise good hygiene (wash your hands!).

But not everyone in the world is able to do this. For hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Myanmar, home is an overcrowded camp with little access to clean water and other essential services.

Waves of communal violence in Myanmar have displaced thousands of people - many from the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

According to a Human Rights Watch report, one toilet in a camp could be shared by as many as 40 people - which means that it would just take one infection for the virus to spread rapidly.

HRW says up to 350,000 of these people are "sitting in the path of a public health catastrophe".

Read more about their plight here.

Image source, Getty Images

Phil Mercer
BBC News Sydney

Image source, Getty Images

Cruise liners are a major source of Covid-19 in Australia. There are several foreign ships either docked or waiting off the coast.

Their passengers have been sent home, but thousands of crew members remain onboard.

Australia is refusing to let them disembark.

“You know, they do not pay Australian taxes, they are not considered in terms of someone who we want to bring back onshore to risk the people of New South Wales,” police commissioner Mick Fuller said.

In Western Australia, the state government is threatening to take over a German cruise liner that is refusing to leave the port of Fremantle.

There has been a cluster of Covid-19 cases on the Artania, and at least 40 people from the ship are in hospital. Hundreds of other passengers were flown home to Germany at the weekend.

The authorities fear that more coronavirus infections among the 450 crew members still onboard would put added pressure on Australian hospitals.

Image source, Getty Images

The Grand Canyon in the United States is to close “until further notice” during the coronavirus outbreak.

"The health and safety of park visitors, employees, residents, volunteers, and partners at Grand Canyon National Park is the Service's number one priority," the National Park Service (NPS) said on Wednesday.

The Grand Canyon is one of the last major national parks in the US to close, with Yosemite and Yellowstone closing in March.

There are two main entrances to the Grand Canyon, on the north and south rims. Around five million people visit the national park each year, which charges an entrance fee.

Mariko Oi
BBC News

Japan does not seem impressed by a government plan to distribute two face masks to every household in Japan.

Soon after the announcement was made, the hashtag #TwoMasks began trending on Twitter.

"What if you are a family of more than two?" some people asked. Others compared it to other countries who gave out cash handouts instead.

The number of confirmed cases in Japan's capital Tokyo has tripled over the past ten days and there are fears that this could rise unless stricter measures are imposed.

There are 2,384 cases and 57 deaths in Japan, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

Image source, Getty Images

Krutika Pathi
BBC News, Delhi

Good morning to those waking up in India. Here's a quick breakdown of the top headlines across the country this morning:

• The religious event hosted in Delhi last month by the Islamic missionary movement Tablighi Jamaat continues to be the big story here as 378 new cases linked to it emerged on Wednesday. This is the country's sharpest number of daily infections yet
• Officials are racing to trace those directly or indirectly linked to the religious event, saying that nearly 9,000 people are at risk - more than 1,000 have already been quarantined
• Rajasthan state announces that it will screen its entire population, external for Covid-19 - if successful, this will make it the first Indian state to do so
• Reports that a man has died in Dharavi, external - Asia's largest slum which lies in the middle of Mumbai city - have emerged. The slum is home to more than a million, sparking fears that this incident could set off the biggest Covid-19 clusters in India yet
• India, which is in its ninth day of a three week lockdown, currently has more than 1,600 active cases and 41 deaths