See the latest stories on the coronavirus outbreak.
Concerns over the coronavirus pandemic have led to major changes around the globe as the rate of infection grows.
Some 104 people in the
UK have died after testing positive for the virus, including three in
Scotland and two in Wales, according to the latest Department of Health and Social Care figures.
The number of people to test positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Wednesday is 2,626, up 676 from 1,950 at the same time on Tuesday, according to the Gov.uk website. The figure includes a baby who tested positive for Covid-19 at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston in Norfolk.
Here are the latest developments.Dozens of
London Underground stations to close Up to 40 stations which do not interchange with other lines are set to close from Thursday following the outbreak of Covid-19, while the Waterloo and City line and Night Tube services will not run from Friday.
Buses in the capital will be reduced and people are being urged “not to use public transport for anything other than essential journeys”.
London Mayor
Sadiq Khan said: “People should not be travelling, by any means, unless they really, really have to. Londoners should be avoiding social interaction unless absolutely necessary, and that means they should be avoiding using the transport network unless absolutely necessary.”
To that end, we asked an expert about the psychological impact of social distancing.20,000 troops are on standby to help with the crisisUp to 20,000 service personnel are to form part of a Covid Support Force, the Defence Secretary has announced.
Around 10,000 troops are held at “higher readiness” in case of a civil emergency, and this figure will be doubled in the effort to support public services following the coronavirus outbreak.
The Ministry of Defence said it was “fully engaged” with all levels of Government to work out how the military can provide a support role over the coming weeks and months.UK schools are closing and exams are offSchools are to close on Friday to tackle coronavirus, with just skeleton staff left to teach the children of NHS workers and other essential staff.
Exams will not take place as planned in May and June after the announcement that schools in
England will close until further notice for most pupils.
The announcement came on the same day that the Welsh and Scottish governments revealed that schools in the two nations would close early for the Easter break, with doors set to close by Friday at the latest.
With many children at home for the foreseeable, we asked a parenting expert for tips on how to manage. No new domestic cases in
China for the first timeNo new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the virus epicentre Wuhan or in the surrounding Hubei province, Chinese officials said.
Wuhan had previously reported thousands of new cases of coronavirus infection daily, overwhelming its health care system.
The country’s health ministry said early on Thursday that results over the past 24 hours showed 34 new cases, all detected in people arriving from abroad.Eight new deaths were reported, all in Wuhan.
Of those new cases of infection, 21 were in
Beijing, nine in the southern manufacturing centre Guangdong, two in Shanghai and one each in coastal Zhejiang and Heilongjing in the far north-east.Twitter is to remove fake treatment advice Tweets which promote fake treatments for the coronavirus or deny expert guidance will be marked as harmful and removed, the social network site said.
The site, which has millions of active users, said content that could place people at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19 would contravene its safety rules.
This could include claims that specific groups are more susceptible to contracting the virus, posting unverified claims that incite people to action and cause widespread panic and posting about harmful or non-harmful treatments which are ineffective.
In a post on its website,
Twitter said: “We will enforce this in close coordination with trusted partners, including public health authorities and governments, and continue to use and consult with information from those sources when reviewing content.”Earlier developments:National Express said it is running reduced coach services in a similar way to how it operates on
Christmas Day, due to the drop in demand caused by the coronavirus. This has the effect of removing up to 80% of capacity.Japan’s state visit to the UK in May has been postponed, Buckingham Palace has announced.Retail chain Next has said it is preparing for a “significant” trading downturn amid the coronavirus pandemic as it revealed full-price sales have tumbled by 30% in recent days.Online supermarket Ocado has seen growth double in March as the business is overwhelmed by new orders from people staying indoors to avoid the coronavirus pandemic.Related... How Covid-19 Is Driving Sex Workers Like Me Into Crisis
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