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- An infectious disease expert says people shouldn't just try to avoid getting coronavirus - instead, they should act as though they already have the virus and want to avoid passing it on.Professor Graham Medley, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), said this during an interview with BBC Newsnight last night when asked if there was a "simple message" he could give the public.His response was: "Most people have a fear of acquiring the virus, but I think a good way of doing it is to imagine that you do have the virus, and change your behaviour so that you're not transmitting it."Don't think about changing your behaviour so you won't get it. Think about changing your behaviour so you don't give it to somebody else."In the interview, Prof Medley also discussed how herd immunity can help protect the population, and how vulnerable people can be protected.Watch the full interview below.
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- Russian officials have told journalists who cover Vladimir Putin not to attend official events if they feel unwell.Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said Friday that the president's medical care was at a high level but declined to say if he had been tested for Covid-19 himself.Russia, which has a population of more than 145m people, has only recorded 34 cases so far.
- Upcoming Champions League and Europa League fixtures have been postponed, Uefa has announced.Europe's football governing body said the decision had been taken "due to the spread of Covid-19" and "decisions made by different governments".Both competitions are part-way into their knockout round of 16 matches, with further games scheduled for next week, involving clubs including Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.The Youth League quarter-final matches scheduled on 17 and 18 March will also be postponed, Uefa said in a statement posted online.No decision has been taken about when the games will be replayed and quarter-final draws have also been pushed back, it added.European football representatives will discuss possible future steps - including whether to postpone this summer's Euro 2020 international competition - on Tuesday.
- Austria is closing schools from Monday, until 4 April, when the Easter break starts.More than a million schoolchildren are affected. The government wants at least 75% to stay at home, Austrian media report.However, schools will remain open, with a skeleton staff, to look after children up to 14 whose parents simply can't stay at home - including nurses and bus drivers.A key aim is to keep children, who may be virus-carriers, away from physical contact with their grandparents. Busy Austrian parents often rely on grandparents to help with childcare.The education ministry is preparing e-learning materials, but online classes will focus on topics already covered, rather than new ones.However, no decision has been taken yet about the school leaving exams – will they go ahead on time?School’s out in many other European countries too, including Italy, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and France.French President Emmanuel Macron said the measure was taken "for a simple reason - our children and young people are the ones who spread the virus the quickest".
- Seven US states are closing schools to try and contain the coronavirus, which has infected more than 1,660 people across the country.Ohio, Michigan, Oregon, Maryland, Kentucky and New Mexico are shutting all schools from Monday for two weeks.Washington - the epicentre of the outbreak in the US - has closed schools in three counties in the Seattle area until 24 April.Washington has recorded 31 of the country's 40 coronavirus-related deaths, according to figures from John Hopkins University.During early talk of school closures in the US, concerns were raised about children from low-income families who rely on free school meals.Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has now said that they are making arrangements to continue feeding children who need it.Almost 75% of the 650,000 children going to public schools in Kentucky are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals, the state's education department says.
- PA reports that the Tube driver who tested positive for coronavirus works on the Jubilee Line, but has been off work this week after coming back from holiday in Vietnam.A message sent to staff said he had been self-isolating, and had now tested positive for Covid-19.A Transport for London (TfL) spokesman tells PA that he wasn't working in a customer-facing area."The areas where the driver worked are being cleaned, including the depot and the trains, in line with guidance from Public Health England with whom we are working closely," they add.
- Four towns have been quarantined in the Catalonia region of north-eastern Spain, under government order in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus.Local police were sent to patrol roads into Igualada, Vilanova del Camí, Santa Margarida de Montbui and Òdena, after three elderly people died in the local hospital in Igualada and 49 others were infected.More than 30 of those infected are health care professionals.The only vehicles going into the area, to the north-west of Barcelona, are goods lorries and other vehicles carrying food and pharmaceuticals, reports say.About 70,000 people who live in the four towns have been urged to stay at home.Meanwhile, King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain have tested negative for coronavirus after coming into contact with Equality Minister Irene Montero who has tested positive.Spain has reported 36 deaths in the past 24 hours – and the number of cases is rising fast, especially in Madrid, with almost 2,000 people infected.
- In an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, more people are using the Indian greeting of "namaste".In recent days, world leaders including US President Donald Trump and Prince Charles, have opted to use the greeting over a handshake.
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- A driver on the London Underground has tested positive for coronavirus, PA news agency is reporting.Usually about five million journeys are taken on the Tube every day, according to Transport for London statistics.
- Premier League football club Everton have put their entire first team playing squad and coaching staff into isolation.The Liverpool-based club says the "precautionary measure" was taken after an unnamed player reported symptoms of coronavirus.Follow the latest on this breaking story on our sports live page.
- London's St Patrick's Day parade and celebrations this Sunday have been cancelled in response to the outbreak, Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced.Announcing the move, Mr Khan said he was "incredibly disappointed" but that "key performers and parade participants are no longer able to take part due to the ongoing threat of coronavirus".Other St Patrick's Day celebrations have also been cancelled around the world, including Dublin and the largest parade in New York.There have been 136 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK's capital so far, health officials say.In one of the latest cases, communications firm BT has begun a "deep clean" of parts of its UK headquarters after its boss Philip Jansen tested positive.
- India has now decided to postpone its IPL Twenty20 cricket tournament until 15 April.The news comes a day after India decided to suspend most entry visas for a month owing to coronavirus.The restriction was expected to affect the arrival of international cricket stars - one of the biggest draws of the tournament. It is watched by millions on TV, while stadiums are always packed.England's Ben Stokes was paid £1.7m ($2.1m) in 2017 to play for the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant team.The IPL is one of the most cash-rich tournaments in the world and foreign players are paid huge sums to compete. Some of the teams are owned by top Bollywood stars and industrialists.Together, they bring glamour and vast amounts of money.
- Officials in the Indian capital Delhi have banned Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches and other sports events in an effort to contain the outbreak.The ban throws into question the fate of this year's national IPL 2020 tournament, which is supposed to start at the end of this month.Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, says that seminars and conferences with more than 200 people are also banned.Schools and cinemas in the capital have already been shut, while the Indian government has revoked tourist and business visas.India has confirmed almost 80 cases, and reported its first coronavirus-related death on Thursday.
- Thailand’s Health Minister Anutin Charvirakul has made quite a name for himself during the coronavirus crisis, not so much for his handling of the situation, as for his comments about foreigners.Last month Mr Anutin erupted at a press conference, calling for "those damn Westerners" to be kicked out of the country after some tourists refused to take the face masks he was handing out at a railway station. He later apologised for his outburst.Now the blunt-talking minister has had another go, warning in a tweet that Westerners were coming to Thailand to escape the winter weather and then spreading coronavirus in their home countries. We have to be cautious with them, he wrote, because they don’t wear face masks, they wear dirty clothes, and don’t take showers.The Twitter account has now been deleted.
- People in a locked-down Italian town have been filmed singing together out of their windows to keep their spirits high.The song, which appears to be Canto della Verbena, was sung by residents of a street in Siena, Tuscany.People online have called the scene "beautiful" and "moving", and the clip has been liked almost 25,000 times since it was tweeted several hours ago.
- There has been plenty of reaction to the UK's reaction to the outbreak so far.On Thursday, Boris Johnson announced new measures under which those with a "new, continuous" cough or high temperature are advised to self-isolate for seven days, schools are advised to cancel trips abroad and over-70s have been told to avoid cruises.But former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said the government's decision not to cancel public events over the coronavirus outbreak is "concerning",The Premier League said it would hold "an emergency club meeting" to discuss future fixtures - shortly before Mikel Arteta tested positive for the virus.Earlier, the UK chief scientific adviser defended the decision not to close schools - as many other countries have done.Sir Patrick Vallance told BBC Breakfast that such a move was a "very effective way of dealing with pandemic flu" but that "the role of children is less clear in terms of spreading" this coronavirus.
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Meanwhile, Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster has said schools there will close at some stage as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. - A woman who tested positive for the virus had come into contact earlier this month with an infected man who said he wanted to "spread the virus", said Kyodo news quoting a government officials.The man had reportedly tested positive for the virus on 4 March, a day after his parents, who were also infected.He told them he was going to "spread the virus" and went to a bar and a pub that same night - the woman had been in the same pub.He later told an employee at the pub that he had the virus. The outlet reported him to the police, and the pub was disinfected by health officials.The woman developed a fever a few days later. She is currently in a stable condition.
- A photo has emerged of Peter Dutton, the Australian home affairs minister who has tested positive for coronavirus, meeting Ivanka Trump and US Attorney General Bill Barr last Friday.Ms Trump is US President Donald Trump's daughter, and also acts as a senior adviser to him.In a statement today, Mr Dutton said he woke up on Friday with a "temperature and sore throat... [and] immediately contacted the department of health".He has now been admitted to hospital.
- If you're just joining us, welcome. Here's a quick glance at all that's happened over the past few hours:
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in isolation after his wife Sophie tested positive for the virus. Mr Trudeau is not showing any virus symptoms
- Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has also tested positive for the virus. He had travelled to Washington DC last week where he met various people, including President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump.
- The German state of Bavaria will close all schools from Monday until 6 April.
- Former UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt says the government's decision not to cancel public events is "concerning".
- The World Travel and Tourism Council says up to 50 million tourism jobs could be at risk due to the virus outbreak.
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