Summary

  • Number of deaths worldwide now more than 3,000

  • More than 90% are in Hubei, China, but there have been deaths in 10 other countries

  • European Union disease prevention agency raises risk level to "moderate to high"

  • South Korea reports 476 new cases, a total of 4,212, and a death toll of 28

  • Italy has had more than 2,000 cases, with a death toll of 52

  • Six Americans have died, all in Washington state

  • The leader of a South Korean church linked to the outbreak gets on his knees to apologise

  • Indonesia, Senegal, Jordan, Iceland, Portugal, Armenia, the Czech Republic and Andorra confirm their first cases

  1. MotoGP cancelled in Thailandpublished at 06:47 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    The second MotoGP race of the season - the grand prix of motorcycling - has been postponed indefinitely, the Thai deputy prime minister has said.

    It was due to be held in the country later this month.

  2. Australia minister asks people to avoid shaking handspublished at 06:44 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    New South Wales' health minister Brad Hazzard has urged people to stop shaking hands as a greeting, and instead to pat each other on the back.

    Australia earlier confirmed its first case of person-to-person transmission.

  3. Algeria confirms two more coronavirus casespublished at 06:36 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    Algerian paramedics wearing protective outfits in front of El-Kettar hospital in AlgiersImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    A mother and daughter bring the number of confirmed cases to three

    Algeria has confirmed two new cases of coronavirus infections, in a 53-year-old woman and her 24-year-old daughter.

    They have been placed in isolation in Blida province south of the capital, Algiers, the health ministry said on Sunday.

    It said the pair had hosted a man and his daughter from France who tested positive for coronavirus after their return.

    It means there are now three people in Algeria confirmed as having the virus.

    The country's first case was confirmed last week in an Italian national, who authorities deported to Italy.

  4. Leader of South Korean sect apologisespublished at 06:34 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    The leader of a South Korean religious sect that has been linked to a majority of the country's coronavirus cases has apologised for the spread of the disease.

    "I would like to offer my sincere apology to the people on behalf of the members", said Lee Man-hee, who was pictured bowing with his head to the floor.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  5. Empty shelvespublished at 06:28 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    The scene in one Sydney supermarket, as captured by a journalist:

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  6. Nike closes European HQpublished at 06:28 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    US sportswear giant Nike has closed its European headquarters after an employee tested positive for the virus.

    The HQ, which is located in Hilversum city in the Netherlands, is currently being deep-cleaned.

    It is not clear when it might re-open.

    A picture taken on November 7, 2017 shows the headquarters of Nike Europe in HilversumImage source, Getty Images
  7. Chinese man gets death sentence for stabbing virus officerspublished at 06:27 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    A man has been sentenced to death by a Chinese court for killing two officers at a checkpoint which was set up to control the spread of the virus, reported news agency AFP.

    On 6 February, 23-year-old Ma Jianguo, together with a passenger, had been driving a minivan through a checkpont in Yunnan when they were stopped.

    Ma refused to co-operate with checkpoint officials - though it is not clear what exactly was demanded of him. His passenger began trying to remove the checkpoint roadblock, leading the officer to begin filming them on his phone.

    Ma then stabbed the official - and another who came to his aid. Both men died from their wounds in a killing the court described as "extremely vicious".

  8. Emirates group offers staff extra leavepublished at 06:15 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    Sameer Hashmi
    BBC World reporter

    Emirates Group has offered its staff the option of taking voluntary paid or unpaid leave.

    In an internal email to employees the airline said: "A particular challenge for us right now is dealing with the impact of Covid-19.

    ‘We've seen a measurable slow-down in business across our brands and a need for flexibility in the way we work."

    The Emirates group, which includes the Emirates airline, has over 100,000 employees.

    An Emirates spokesman said: "We can confirm the email was sent to our employees around paid and unpaid leave.

    "Point to note - the leave we are asking employees to take is voluntary. It is at the employee's discretion if they want to take it or not."

  9. First case of person-to-person transmission in Australiapublished at 06:09 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020
    Breaking

    Australia has confirmed its first case of person-to-person transmission, according to ABC., external

    It is believed to have been transmission from a patient to a doctor in New South Wales.

    Previous patients with the virus had caught it overseas.

    At the weekend, Australia had 29 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with one death.

  10. Thailand reports one more new casepublished at 06:06 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    Thailand has reported one new virus case, bringing the total number of cases to 43.

    The new patient is a 22-year-old woman who was in contact with a driver - who later tested positive for the virus.

    Thailand also announced that it would postpone the MotoGP race that was scheduled for 20 -22 March.

  11. Coronavirus: Stocks rise as central banks pledge supportpublished at 06:00 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda.Image source, Getty

    Share prices in Asia have risen after Japan's central bank promised to help protect markets from the impact of the coronavirus.

    On Friday the US Federal Reserve made a similar pledge to stop more big falls on the world's financial markets.

    Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was 1.2% higher, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up by 0.8% and China's Shanghai Composite was 3.1% higher.

    In a rare emergency statement, Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank would take necessary steps to stabilise financial markets: "Overseas and domestic financial markets continue to make unstable movements due to heightening uncertainty over the impact on the economy from the spread of the coronavirus."

    "The BOJ will monitor developments carefully, and strive to stabilise markets and offer sufficient liquidity via market operations and asset purchases," he added.

    Read more here

  12. What are the chances of dying from coronavirus?published at 05:59 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    Graphic
  13. Indonesia confirms first coronavirus casespublished at 05:50 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020
    Breaking

    Resty Woro Yuniar
    BBC News, Jakarta

    Two Indonesians have tested positive for coronavirus, in the country's first cases of the virus.

    The two patients, a 64-year-old woman and her 31-year-old daughter, had come into contact with a Japanese citizen who visited Indonesia recently, said president Joko Widodo.

    He stopped short of mentioning the whereabouts of the two patients but said they were both hospitalised.

    Before this, Indonesia has had zero known cases of the virus, though experts have expressed doubts over this claim.

  14. Four more deaths in South Koreapublished at 05:45 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020
    Breaking

    Laura Bicker
    BBC News

    Four more people - all from South Korea's worst-affected city of Daegu - have died, bringing the total death toll to 26.

    South Korea had earlier on Monday reported 476 new cases, bringing the total number of cases to 4,212.

  15. Amazon employees contract viruspublished at 05:45 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    Two Amazon employees based in Italy have contracted the virus and are currently under quarantine.

    Italy - which has the biggest number of cases in Europe - has seen its number of infections double in 48 hours, the head of the country's civil protection body said on Sunday.

    At least 34 people have died in Italy, with 1,694 confirmed cases of the virus.

    In this photo illustration the Amazon logo is seen displayedImage source, Getty Images
  16. Welcome backpublished at 05:45 Greenwich Mean Time 2 March 2020

    Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.

    • The global death toll from the virus has surpassed 3,000 - the number of cases outside China are growing faster than inside China
    • 476 new cases were reported in South Korea, bringing the total number of cases to 4,212. South Korea has the biggest number of infections outside China
    • A second person has died in the US state of Washington. The US state of New York has also confirmed its first case
    • Two Amazon employees in Italy have been found positive and are being quarantined. There are at least 34 deaths in Italy
    • There were 42 new deaths reported in China today and 202 new confirmed cases