Live Reporting
- Switzerland has reported its first coronavirus death - a 74-year-old woman who died in hospital in Lausanne.The woman, who had been ill since 3 March, is reported to have suffered from an underlying health condition.It comes as the Swiss government is considering putting out further restrictions to encourage social distancing - school closures have not been ruled out, though the health minister said it is not clear how beneficial this would be, since children appear to be at least risk of getting the virus.
- "Will I get sick?""Will my school close?"If your children have asked you any of these questions, here's some advice on how you can keep them up to date, without terrifying them:
- Talk to them about things they can control, such as disposing of tissues and personal hygiene, rather than those they can't
- Give information about the virus, but once the explanation is over, the conversation should move on to something that "isn't threatening"
- Use simple language and allow them to ask lots of questions
- Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood has confirmed three more virus cases in Scotland - bringing the total number of cases to six.The patients, who are from the Forth Valley, Greater Glasgow & Clyde and Grampian areas, are currently clinically well and receiving care.This brings the total number of UK cases of the virus to 90.
- UK experts have advised people not to panic about their pets after reports that a dog in Hong Kong repeatedly tested positive for coronavirus.Prof Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said: “We have to differentiate between real infection and just detecting the presence of the virus.“I still think it’s questionable how relevant it is to the human outbreak as most of the global outbreak has been driven by human-to-human transmission.“We need to find out more, but we don’t need to panic – I doubt it could spread to another dog or a human because of the low levels of the virus. The real driver of the outbreak is humans.”During the Sars outbreak in 2003, a small number of cats and dogs tested positive for the virus. These animals did not transmit the virus to other animals of the same species or to humans.Daniella Dos Santos, president of the British Veterinary Association, said: “We are particularly keen not to cause any unnecessary concern that could lead to pet abandonment.“We would emphasise that at the moment, there remains no evidence that pet animals can be a source of infection of Covid-19 for humans or other animals, or that they become sick. The main source of infection remains human-to-human transmission.”
- The two new patients are a man who recently travelled to Italy and his child.The middle-aged man had worked in Italy and returned to Bosnia in late February, said news agency AFP quoting the health minister of Bosnia's Serb-run half.The man's wife has tested negative for the virus, Reuters news agency reports. Health authorities will test school children who have come into contact with the infected child, the minister said.The man is said to be in "good" condition and is currently held in isolation.
- The United Arab Emirates has told citizens and foreign residents to “avoid travel” anywhere abroad because of the coronavirus outbreak."In case of travel, preventive measures will be taken upon arrival back [to the UAE], at the discretion of the specialised authorities, [such as] medical tests at the airport followed by self-isolation at home," the health ministry said.Those who test positive for the virus will be quarantined at a health facility.The UAE is a major hub for international air travel. It is the home of two airlines - Emirates and Etihad - and Dubai’s airport is one of the world’s busiest.The country, which has reported at least 27 Covid-19 cases, is also closing schools and other educational institutions for four weeks from 8 March.
- Bosnia has confirmed its first two cases of the coronavirus, Reuters news agency reports, quoting the country's regional health minister.No other details were available immediately.
- Across the UK, there are 30 hospitals on standby to take patients. And they all have infectious disease units that can isolate patients.Most of the people who have tested positive so far are being treated at the five main specialist centres in England - the Royal Free and St Thomas' in London, and sites in Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle.
- The country's latest case is a person related to an individual who recently travelled to Israel and Egypt, said health authorities, quoted by Reuters.Greece has ordered the closure of schools and banned public gatherings in three districts in the west of the country.
- Here some basic tips on what you can do to limit the spread of the virus:
- The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has jumped to 87, the biggest day-on-day increase so far.Almost all of the 36 new patients had recently travelled to affected countries or been infected by others who had done so, the UK's chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty said.There are currently 80 cases in England, three in Scotland, one in Wales and three in Northern Ireland.
- Indonesia will ban the entry and transit of travellers who in the past 14 days have visited the following countries:
- Iran (Tehran, Qom, Gilan)
- Italy (Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Marche and Piedmont)
- South Korea (Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do)
The ban will kick in on 8 March. - If you're just tuning in to our coverage now, welcome. Here are all the major developments that have taken place over the past few hours:
- It's been a bad couple of weeks for cruise ships. The Grand Princess ship is being held off the coast of the US state of California after a former passenger died of the virus. Around 3,500 people are on board
- All passengers on board a cruise ship docked in the Greek port of Athens also have to stay onboard the ship, after a former passenger tested positive for the virus
- Italy has closed all schools and universities until 15 March
- Japan's Olympic minister says the Games will go ahead, adding a cancellation would be "unacceptable"
- The number of cases in South Korea has jumped to 5,766
- The death toll in China now exceeds 3,000
- Australia has banned the arrival of foreigners from South Korea
- Facebook has confirmed that a contractor at its Seattle office in the US has been diagnosed with the virus, a spokeswoman is quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.The social media platform said the office would be closed until 9 March, and that workers in the Seattle area were encouraged to work from home until the end of the month.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a letter to his counterpart Moon Jae-in to console South Koreans fighting the coronavirus, said the South's Presidential Office.There has been very little communication between the two leaders since the failed summit in Hanoi between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un last February.It comes a day after Mr Kim’s only sister, Kim Yo-jong described the South's presidential office as idiotic for condemning Pyongyang’s recent short range ballistic missile tests.
- A fight over scarce toilet paper in Australia has ended with a man being tasered, local police said on Thursday.The officers were called to a store in the town of Tamworth in New South Wales, after he allegedly lashed out and attacked another customer and supermarket staff.When he was apprehended by police he attacked the officers who then tasered him.Australia has more than 50 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and has seen widespread panic buying over the past days.
- This time it's in Greece and the ship is the MSC Opera. A former passenger has tested positive and that means that all current passengers have to stay on board for now.The ship has docked in Piraeus, the port city near Athens.The former passenger is an Austrian national who after disembarking from the Opera travelled through Italy home to Austria.Italy is the worst-hit country in Europe with more than 2,500 cases of confirmed infections.
- There has been much discussion about what pay workers will get if they have to self-isolate as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.There is concern that people will be more likely to infect others if they do not have incentives to stay at home when they are at risk.
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