A study in the Lancet, external has shown that some people have detectable coronavirus in their bodies for 37 days after symptoms first appear.

This is a not a surprise. All of the people in the study were in hospital - these were not mild cases - and we know the disease takes a long time to clear in those with the most severe cases.

Anyone who died in the study, at Jinyintan Hospital and from Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital, had the virus in their bodies until they died. What we don’t know is how long people had the virus in their body after symptoms had disappeared or how contagious they were.

The study is a reminder that not every patient is the same, the average duration of detectable virus was only 20 days.

Image source, Reuters

As expectation grows that the UK government will step up its response to the coronavirus outbreak, it is confirmed the country’s prime minister will hold a press conference shortly.

There are now 596 confirmed cases in the UK – up from 456 on Wednesday – with 10 people having died from the virus.

US President Donald Trump spoke to journalists in the White House about his decision on Wednesday to suspend entry from most of Europe to the US. Here's a round-up:

• There wasn't enough time to consult with the US's European allies before announcing the decision, the president said
• Britain is excluded from the travel ban because it is "doing a good job in tackling the coronavirus"
• The US may extend the travel ban beyond the proposed 30-day period, but it could also shorten restrictions

Mr Trump was speaking after meeting the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar - the two leaders opted not to shake hands, but instead used the "namaste" greeting.

Image source, EPA

Fergus Walsh
Medical correspondent

Well, it is too soon to tell. This virus has only been around since the end of December, but from experience with other viruses and coronaviruses you should have antibodies to the virus which will protect you.

With SARS and other coronaviruses we tended not to see re-infection. Now there are some reports from China of people who are released from hospital subsequently testing positive, but we’re not sure about those tests. The key thing was those people were no longer infectious.

If you have a coronavirus question you want the BBC to answer, get in touch:

• Email YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk
• Tweet using the hashtag #BBCYourQuestions, external
• Use the form on this story

Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ordered schools to close throughout the country in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The closure starts immediately and will continue until 5 April, according to a statement made by the president’s office.

It includes primary schools, crèches, vocational training centres, universities, and koranic schools in both public and private sectors.

The decision followed the confirmation of the first coronavirus death in Algeria. A 67-year-old man died in hospital in Blida, south of Algiers. No further details were released.

Algeria on Thursday registered five new cases of the coronavirus, which brings the total number of confirmed cases to 24.

The authorities have also announced that eight patients who had been treated for Convid-19 in the country had fully recovered.

In a tweet, the president urged Algerians intending to travel to most affected areas of the country to delay their travel in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be self-isolating while he awaits the results of tests on his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.

Mr Trudeau has no symptoms and is entering voluntary quarantine "out of an abundance of caution", the prime minister's office said.

"The doctor's advice to the prime minister is to continue daily activities while self-monitoring."

Fiona Trott
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

One of the last British guests to leave the quarantined Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in Tenerife has been told he has to self-isolate for another 14 days.

He flew back to the UK on Tuesday. Last night, he received an email from Public Health England to say another guest had tested positive for Covid-19 and he now had to stay home until 24 March.

Hotel guests say advice has been contradictory. At first, they were quarantined at the hotel until 10 March. A British person then tested positive on 2 March and they were told to extend self-isolation to two weeks from that date.

After returning to the UK on Saturday, one holidaymaker said the NHS's 111 service told him that wasn’t necessary and the original deadline of 10 March was enough.

The advice over the 24-hour travel window has also been confusing, they say.

Airlines told guests they would fly them back if they tested negative for Covid-19, but it had to be within 24 hours - when the virus could be carried undetected, but not passed on.

Some travellers have told us they flew outside that window, because of delays at the airport. Information wasn’t passed on from ground crew to airline staff and they missed their flight.

BBC Minute has been providing a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's a useful 60-second need-to-know guide.

The Brazilian government’s communications secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, has tested positive for coronavirus.

He was part of the entourage of President Jair Bolsonaro during his visit to the US, where he met President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence.

Mr Wajngarten posted a picture of the meeting where he is seen standing next to Mr Trump in Florida on his Instagram page on Saturday.

Brazilian media report Mr Bolsonaro is being monitored for symptoms.

Meanwhile Mr Trump has said he is not concerned.

Image source, Getty Images

The US basketball player diagnosed with coronavirus reportedly made a joke about the virus at a press conference, in which he purposefully rubbed every reporter's microphone.

Rudy Gobert, who plays for Utah Jazz, took part in a media briefing on Monday in which members of the press were barred from entering the locker room as a preventative measure.

He then intentionally rubbed all of the microphones, external, in order to mock the restriction.

Now, Associated Press and Reuters news agencies are reporting that he is the player who has contracted the virus.

The diagnosis led to the NBA suspending its season.

US sports broadcaster ESPN is also reporting that a second Utah Jazz player, external has been diagnosed with the virus.

How countries across the continent are preparing as the deadly virus spreads around the world.

Damian Grammaticas
Europe correspondent

Inside the La Paz hospital in Madrid they’re treating more than 100 Covid-19 patients.

A nurse involved in their care told us the hospital was under intense pressure, a gymnasium had been turned into an emergency ward with 20 extra beds, staff were exhausted and some of them didn’t have enough protective equipment, leading them to be afraid they’d be infected themselves.

Outside, many of those coming and going - hospital staff and visitors - are wearing face masks.

The pace of Spain’s outbreak is accelerating. There are now 2,900 cases, up by more than 700 in a day. Equality Minister Irene Montero has tested positive. So her partner, Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias, is under quarantine, and the entire government is being tested along with Spain’s royal family as all may have been exposed.

The Real Madrid football team are in quarantine too and all football matches have been cancelled for two weeks.

Still there is a fear that the situation in Spain is perhaps a week behind what’s happening in Italy, and far from the peak of infections here.

Image source, Getty Images

A video posted on social media by Lucy Rogers, a judge on the BBC's Robot Wars TV show, has been gaining interest online.

Prof Rogers tweeted the video, which demonstrates how effective soap can be and why it is important to wash your hands, on Wednesday.

Since then, it has been viewed more than 370,000 times.

Latam, Latin America’s biggest airline, has announced it is cancelling 30% of its international flights because of falling demand as a result of the coronavirus.

The measure will be in place between 1 April and 30 May and will apply mainly to flights from South America to Europe and the US.

In a statement, Roberto Alvo, vice president of the Chilean-Brazilian airline, described this as a “complex and extraordinarily dynamic scenario”.

The global airline industry is facing a massive downturn in passenger numbers due to travel restrictions.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has banned meetings of more than 100 and told people they should work from home if possible, until at least 31 March. Companies are also being advised to rotate staff to reduce the risk of infection from coronavirus.

The prime minister said he had introduced the measures because of the likelihood of "untraceable" cases of the virus in the Netherlands.

As we mentioned earlier, the number of deaths in the UK has risen to 10.

There are now 590 confirmed cases in the UK, up from 456 on Wednesday - with 491 in England, 60 in Scotland, 20 in Northern Ireland and 19 in Wales.

It comes as the government is expected to announce within hours that it is stepping up its coronavirus response.

Read more here.

The number of coronavirus related deaths have risen to 10, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.

A total of 590 people have tested positive out of 29,764 who have been tested.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has announced a "lockdown" of the capital Manila in a bid to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Two people have died and 53 cases have been confirmed.

He announced a cancellation of domestic land, sea and air travel to and from the capital, as well as community quarantine measures.

The president also announced bans on mass gatherings, a month of school closures and the quarantining of communities where cases are detected.

Image source, Reuters

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hosting an emergency meeting with some of the country's chief scientists this afternoon.

Mr Johnson is expected to sign off plans to move from the "containment" phase of the outbreak to "delay" - basically steps to slow the spread of the virus through the population.

Ahead of the meeting one attendee, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, called for the cancellation of mass gatherings of 500 people or more.

Read more on how the UK could respond here.

US congressional buildings in Washington DC will close to the public on Thursday until 1 April, the Associated Press news agency is reporting. That includes both the House of Representatives and Senate buildings, where members of Congress and their staff work. Ordinarily the public can obtain passes to tour the buildings or visit their representatives.

Image source, Getty Images