At one primary school in central London, children have reportedly been mimicking coronavirus infections and quarantine in the playground.

Reality Check

Image source, Getty Images

A caller to BBC Radio 4's Any Answers programme over the weekend said she was just back from a tour of Asia, and that while her temperature had been checked at airports in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, there were no checks when she returned to Heathrow.

Screening at airports is an issue for Public Health England, who told us that they had introduced "enhanced monitoring" for passengers arriving from countries such as China, Iran, Japan and Malaysia, but not temperature checks.

"Expert advice suggests clinical entry screening (for example through temperature checks) would be of very limited effectiveness and detect only a small minority of cases as symptoms," they said.

"This is because symptoms do not usually appear until 5-7 days, and sometimes up to 14 days."

The enhanced monitoring means having medical staff at airports to meet direct flights from hot spots, giving information about symptoms to passengers and encouraging them to say if they are feeling unwell.

Recent academic research, external ran simulations that suggested temperature checks at airports would catch just over half of coronavirus-infected passengers.

In Nigeria, 43 people have been quarantined in northern Plateau state. Officials said they were potentially in touch with 100 people who may have come into contact with an Italian man, believed to be the country's first coronavirus patient.

Among the 43 people are four Chinese nationals who arrived in Nigeria last week, as part of a mining team, and 39 Nigerians.

Dan Manjang, the state's information commissioner, told the BBC's Chris Ewokor that the patients would be kept in isolation for 14 days as a precaution.

Earlier on Monday, Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said 58 people who had been in contact with the Italian man were under supervised isolation in Lagos and Ogun states.

Image source, Reuters

Tunisia has confirmed its first case of the coronavirus - Reuters news agency.

"All educational institutions" in Azerbaijan will be closed from 3-9 March to prevent infections, local media report.

Before schools reopen on 10 March, "disinfecting and other preventative measures" will be taken, the 1news.az website reports, quoting the education ministry.

Three Covid-19 cases have been registered in Azerbaijan since 28 February.

Australians aren't the only ones stockpiling in light of the coronavirus - a video of people in Japan bulk-buying toilet paper has been shared on Twitter.

Globally, toilet paper and hand sanitiser are in high demand, while there's a shortage of protective face masks.

Jordan's health minister has announced that a Jordanian man who flew in from Italy two weeks ago has tested positive for the new coronavirus - the first case confirmed in the kingdom.

The man was quarantined at home and is in a stable condition, Saad Jaber said. Another Jordanian citizen is under close observation, he added.

Two more deaths have been confirmed in South Korea, bringing the total death toll in the country to 28.

The latest victims were from the southern city of Daegu, BBC Seoul Correspondent Laura Bicker reports.

The total number of coronavirus cases in South Korea is 4,212. Some 3,081 are from Daegu, and 73% of these cases have been linked to a religious sect near there, the Shincheonji Church.

Lee Man-hee, the head of the church, earlier apologised to the nation for the disease's spread - getting on his knees and bowing at a news conference.

We have put together some guides to the outbreak and what you should know about the virus which started in China and has since spread to more than 60 countries:

• To know more about the symptoms, just how deadly the new cornavirus is and how to protect yourself from infection, click here
• As experts continue to search for a possible vaccine, click here to learn about how vaccines are like teachers
• Find out about your rights as a traveller by clicking here
• The virus can spread from person to person and officials recommend simple steps to avoid becoming infected. Some of those methods are set out in the video below

All four patients, from Hertfordshire, Devon and Kent, had recently travelled from Italy.

The total number of confirmed cases in England is now 37 with a case each in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

In Italy, one of the worst affected countries in Europe with more than 1,500 infected and 34 deaths, tourism has been hit by the outbreak.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The number of confirmed cases in the UK has risen by four to 40.

Three cases have been reported in the Czech Republic. Two Czech citizens and one US national are said to be suffering from a light form of the infection.

They were placed in isolation in the infectious diseases ward of Prague's Bulovka Hospital.

The Czech Hygiene Office is tracing their movements in order to locate other individuals who may be at risk.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gives an update after the first confirmed coronavirus case in Scotland.

German carmaker BMW says a member of its staff at a factory in Munich has tested positive for the new coronavirus and is receiving treatment. Operations in Munich are not affected and the premises affected were closed off and disinfected, BMW adds.

Adam Fleming
Brussels

The EU's watchdog for diseases - the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) - has upgraded its risk assessment for coronavirus in Europe to "moderate to high".

That's based on the fact that some cases can't be linked to a specific chain of transmission, and the growing number of countries reporting incidences of the virus.

For the EU, it's now all about co-ordination.

Eighteen EU member states will work together to buy protective equipment for medical professionals.

European health ministers will meet on Friday, national border officials are meeting regularly and finance ministers from the countries using the euro single currency will hold a conference call on Tuesday.

EU Budget Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni warned it would be optimistic to expect a quick economic recovery. But the message from Brussels was not to panic.

In countries around the world, officials have suspended schools and universities.

Some classrooms have fallen silent and empty, while others are undergoing a deep clean.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, AFP

Image source, Reuters

The Japanese electronics giant repurposes its high-end clean rooms for coronavirus supplies.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg after chairing an emergency Cobra meeting on the coronavirus outbreak.

He said that tomorrow the government will announce its plans to try to stem the spread of the disease, before releasing further details over the next few weeks.

"I think it's important to stress that this [the coronavirus] is a problem that is likely to become more significant for this country in the course of the next days and weeks, and therefore we will be making every possible preparation for that," he said.

"We've also agreed a plan so that as and when it starts to spread - as I'm afraid it looks likely that it will - we are in a position to take the steps that will be necessary, will be reasonable, to contain the spread of the disease as far as we can, and also to protect the most vulnerable."

Mr Johnson then said that "the single most useful thing we can all do to support our NHS, to stop the spread of the coronavirus, is to wash our hands - two times happy birthday, hot water and soap", and that people should otherwise consider things "business as usual".

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends people wash their hands for the duration of the song "Happy Birthday", sung twice.

Asked about potential school closures and other measures to control the spread, Mr Johnson said they would take the lead of scientific advisers and the UK's chief medical officers.

The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has clarified remarks by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about the coronavirus risk level.

It says the risk of the virus has increased from "moderate" to "moderate to high". , externalMs von der Leyen had misspoken, according to AFP news agency, by saying the level was now "high".