Live Reporting
- Australia is going to close pubs, clubs, cinemas, casinos, nightclubs and places of worship from Monday, with cafes and restaurants having to switch to takeaway only.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the measures after a national cabinet meeting.Home delivery services will continue running and supermarkets will remain open.Schools are not being closed nationwide but some states have suggested they might do so.The number of confirmed cases has risen sharply in Australia in recent days, reaching 1,315.
- UK Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick is asked about the PM Boris Johnson's comment earlier this week that the country can "turn the tide" on the virus within 12 weeks.Asked what that means, Mr Jenrick repeats that the UK can "turn the tide" in this period, but adds: "Nobody is pretending this will be over in 12 weeks".He says the UK has taken the right steps so far to tackle the virus, but adds: "If there are further steps we need to take, we will take then".
- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have said they are thinking of the public during the coronavirus outbreak.Prince William and Kate posted a short message celebrating Mothering Sunday on social media."To mothers new and old and families spending today together and apart – we are thinking of you all at this difficult time," they wrote alongside images of their mothers, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and Carole Middleton.The post also included a picture of a card sent by Prince George to his mother this year.
- Coronavirus infects the lungs. The symptoms start with a fever followed by a dry cough, which can lead to breathing problems.This is a new, continuous cough and means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or having three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual).The UK government says people should self-isolate for seven days if they develop a new fever (raised temperature) or a new continuous cough.
- The World Health Organization warned earlier this week that many nations in South and South East Asia were facing an uphill battle against the coronavirus and needed to take more aggressive measures.Here's the latest:
- Thailand's cases rose by a third to 600 sparking fears of an impending crisis. Most new cases are in the capital, Bangkok, which is now virtually shut down. Doctors are warning a lockdown might be needed
- Poorer neighbouring countries like Myanmar and Laos are still claiming to have zero cases - fueling worries about a hidden epidemic that could overwhelm their health systems
- Indonesia is turning an athlete's village built for the 2008 Asian Games into an emergency hospital that can hold more than 4,000 patients. The world's fourth most populous country has recorded more than 500 cases but many are believed to be going unrecorded
- South Asia - a region of 1.9bn people which includes countries like Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - has reported fewer than 1,000 total cases but the rate of infection is increasing
- Singapore has banned all short-term visitors from entering or transiting after a spike in imported cases
- Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme, says it will take "at least a year" to develop a coronavirus vaccine.Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, he says however there has been "good progress" in developing drug treatments, with a number of trials under way.But he adds it is important that doctors are allowed to develop evidence that treatments actually work and are safe.
- The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said we should remind ourselves that "life carries on and that there is much to celebrate in our communities" amid the coronavirus outbreak.He said in a special virtual Sunday service that the UK is drawn between the need to “keep life going” and “the necessary imposed isolation that we face”.He began the service - broadcast on 39 BBC local radio stations - by reflecting on the "strange and difficult time in the life of our world".He said: "Today is Mothering Sunday, a day when traditionally, all went back to their mother church, to the place where they were nurtured, loved and formed into the ways of God.“Nowadays, of course, we also often celebrate Mother’s Day, a day to thank those who have mothered us in all the ways that we needed to be cared for.“It is usually a day of celebration, when we draw together with family and loved ones.“And so this day is a strange one for those of us in the United Kingdom and indeed in most of the world, where we are drawn between our need to keep life going, to celebrate relationships and kindness, and the fear and the necessary imposed isolation that we face.“This is a day when we are not able to go and see those we love, or care for loved ones considered to be vulnerable or at risk.”Most Rev Welby concluded: “Today we are separated in space but we are still worshipping together before God.”
- Mr Hunt describes the UK government's economic response to the coronavirus as one of the biggest in the Western world."It is an unprecedented and very, very important package," he says. The UK government has said it will pay up to 80% of the wages of company employees affected by the downturn caused by the virus.Mr Hunt adds that he is sure Chancellor Rishi Sunak will respond to criticism about the lack of support for self-employed workers.Meanwhile Carolyn Fairbairn - director general of the CBI business group - says the coronavirus outbreak was not at first an economic issue and that the UK's economy was strong before it began.She describes an "extraordinary stepping up" among businesses that are moving production to make things like alcohol hand sanitiser.
- Hundreds of millions of people in India have stayed indoors in response to the government's call for a lockdown to combat the transmission of coronavirus.The 14-hour curfew saw cities across India deserted.Domestic flights were halted and Indian railways have cancelled all passenger services till the end of the month, from Monday.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the lockdown - not mandatory - would strengthen the fight against Covid-19. India has registered 341 cases, with five deaths.
- Mr Hunt says he fought hard for an increase in funding for the UK's National Health Service as health secretary but he adds that questions over funding are a "different debate" to how to halt the spread of the coronavirus.He says that "what we do today massively matters and if we want to have any chance at all stopping the NHS falling over then we have to obey to the letter the advice about keeping apart" and away from elderly relatives.
- Speaking on Sky News, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has urged the UK government to increase coronavirus testing, calling the current testing rate "far too low".Mr Corbyn, who is stepping down from his role in two weeks, says the country has been made "vulnerable" to the effects of a pandemic by "10 years of austerity".He also expresses concern for self-employed people in vulnerable groups, who are today being asked to stay at home for 12 weeks - he says this period will be “very, very difficult” for them.He says he thinks the UK Parliament should stay in session so that MPs can hold ministers to account, but says party managers have agreed that the number of MPs in the chamber should be “greatly reduced”.
- Former UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt tells Sky News' Sophy Ridge it is "all to play for" in terms of tackling the coronavirus in the UK.He says those not obeying social distancing rules are putting others at risk. "It is deeply worrying," he adds of the situation."Now when people see that doctors in other countries have lost their lives on the frontline of the coronavirus... I think we need to reflect that we actually owe it to them to do everything we can to slow the spread of the virus."
- As you join us, here's a recap of the main points this Sunday.Lombardy - the worst-hit region in the worst-hit country, Italy - is tightening the rules on what people can and cannot do. Sport and physical activity - even on your own - is forbidden. Even using vending machines is out. Italy suffered its highest daily rise in deaths on Saturday - 793.Australia's two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, along with Canberra, will shut down non-essential services in the next 48 hours as coronavirus cases rise rapidly in the country. Australia's Prime Minister says the sight of hundreds of people on Sydney's famous Bondi beach should be a "wake-up call" to take advice on social distancing seriously.India has been observing a 14-hour long curfew to test the country's ability to fight the virus. One of the main suburban lines in Mumbai has been shut down.The number of cases globally has passed 300,000 with more than 13,000 deaths.Boris Johnson made a plea on Saturday night for UK citizens not to visit loved ones on Mother's Day. Join a "heroic and collective national effort", he said, to ensure social distancing.Trails in Snowdonia National Park could be closed after the authorities complained of "unprecedented scenes" with crowds flouting official advice on social distancing.
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