Europe on alert as four more Covid-19 deaths reported in Italy – as it happened

Mattha Busby, Martin Belam, Sarah Marsh, Alison Ro

from on 2020-02-25 23:41 (#4ZTBV)

Switzerland, Austria and Croatia report first cases as outbreak worsens across Europe

11.41pm GMT

We're closing this blog now but you can continue to follow our live coverage here:

10.39pm GMT

The Madrid regional government has just reported a new coronavirus case and activated the protocol, taking the number in Spain up to seven.

9.49pm GMT

The spread of the coronavirus has accelerated across Europe with new cases in four countries and a rising death toll in Italy, which is desperately struggling to contain the outbreak, Denis Campbell, Helen Pidd and Sam Jones write.

Concern about the proliferation of cases prompted a dozen UK schools to send home pupils to self-isolate for 14 days after returning from half-term skiing trips in Lombardy.

9.35pm GMT

The Irsh Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is seeking an urgent meeting with the country's health minister as to why the Ireland vs Italy rugby match should be cancelled. Simon Harris has said the match should not go ahead on 7 March because of a coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy. The union has said:

The IRFU is seeking an urgent meeting with Minister Harris as to the specific reasoning behind calling for the cancellation of the Ireland v Italy Six Nations fixture in the context of the government's overall travel policy to and from Italy and other affected countries.

Until such time as the IRFU has had contact with the minister and gets an understanding of the government's strategic policy on travel to and from Ireland and the cancellation of mass gatherings, it is not in a position to comment further.

9.27pm GMT

The number of coronavirus cases in Spain rose to six on Tuesday after a man in a hospital in Castellon, in the eastern region of Valencia, tested positive for the virus.

Spanish health authorities said that, in accordance with protocol, his tests had been sent to the National Microbiology Centre in Madrid for a second, definitive test. The Valencian regional government said it had activated its coronavirus protocol following the preliminary diagnosis.

9.26pm GMT

Authorities in Palermo have announced the closure of all the schools at least until Monday, after a woman from Bergamo, who was on holiday with her friends in Sicily, tested positive for Convid-19. It is the first case in the south of the country. The mayor of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando, announced an investigation is ongoing to check and eventually test people she has been in contact with during her stay in the Sicilian capital. Her husband and a friend of the patient tested positive for Convid-19 too.

There have been 11 deaths as Italy's coronavirus outbreak has spread from Lombardy and Veneto to Sicily, Tuscany and Liguria as Premier Giuseppe Conte said the country would emerge from the crisis with its head held high. Some 322 people have been infected with the virus in Italy, according to the Civil protection chief.

Of 100 sick people, 80 get well of their own accord, 15 have serious but manageable problems, 5% are extremely serious, of which 3% die. Furthermore, as you know, all the people who died already had serious health conditions.

8.58pm GMT

A school in Liverpool has joined a growing list to have sent home pupils and staff over coronavirus fears following a trip to northern Italy.

Cardinal Heenan Catholic high school in West Derby said pupils and staff went on the ski trip during half term but did not visit any of the towns currently under quarantine in Italy.

8.47pm GMT

The new confirmed case takes the total number of coronavirus cases in Germany to 17. There have been no deaths.

The car supplier Webasto said last month a Chinese employee had tested positive for the virus upon returning to China following a visit to the headquarters near Munich. Several other German colleagues were apparently also infected during the visit.

8.33pm GMT

Authorities in the southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg have confirmed the first case of coronavirus there after a 25-year-old man who had recently been in Milan tested positive.

The state's health ministry said the man, who had likely become infected during a visit to Italy, had contacted authorities after coming down with flu-like symptoms. He was taken to a hospital later on Tuesday to receive treatment in isolation, the ministry added.

People in close contact with the patient will be kept in home isolation and be asked about their state of health every day. As soon as a contact person develops symptoms, they will also be isolated in hospital.

8.01pm GMT

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised against all but essential travel to the towns in northern Italy that local authorities have effectively quarantined. A spokesman has said:

We advise against all but essential travel to 10 small towns in Lombardy and one in Veneto, which are currently in isolation due to an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus. Any British nationals already in these towns should follow the advice of the local authorities.

The FCO advises against all but essential travel to 10 small towns in Lombardy (Codogno, Castiglione d'Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano) and one in Veneto (Vo' Euganeo) which have been isolated by the Italian authorities due to an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus.

The government of Italy has introduced extraordinary measures that allow regions to implement civil protection measures in response to coronavirus. This includes the isolation of 10 small towns in Lombardy and one in Veneto. The regions of Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Piemonte and Emilia Romagna have implemented measures including the suspension of public or private events, the suspension of schools and higher education and the suspension on the opening of museums and cultural institutions for seven days. If you are already in the regions affected you should follow the instructions of local authorities.

7.42pm GMT

Algeria has confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, Reuters has reported, citing state television. The country's health minister has reportedly said an Italian man who arrived in Algeria on 17 February has been put into quarantine.

7.30pm GMT

Kuwait's civil aviation authority has suspended all flights with Singapore and Japan over coronavirus fears, the nation's state news agency KUNA reports.

A statement was issued in accordance with the Kuwaiti health ministry's instructions on Tuesday. The day before, Kuwait suspended flights with South Korea, Iran, Thailand, Italy and Iraq over similar concerns. It has registered nine cases of coronavirus - all coming from Iran.

6.48pm GMT

The Six Nations rugby union match between Ireland and Italy, which is due to take place this weekend in Dublin, should be cancelled over coronavirus fears. The Irish health minister, Simon Harris, told RTE news:

The very clear view of the public health emergency team was that this game should not go ahead and that it would constitute a significant risk, because a very large number of people will be travelling from what is now an affected region.

My department will be contacting the IRFU in relation to this. I know it will cause a great disappointment to many but it is important to make decisions in relation to public health above and beyond all other considerations.

6.29pm GMT

It is a case of when, not if the coronavirus spreads to communities in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned. According to the New York Times, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr Nancy Messonnier, has said:

It's not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country any more but a question of when this will happen.

We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad.

6.19pm GMT

A 76-year-old woman has died in the northern Italian city of Treviso, the Veneto region has said. She is the 11th victim in the country.

6.12pm GMT

About 1,000 holidaymakers at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in south Tenerife have been ordered to remain in their rooms and will be tested for the coronavirus this evening, according to a guest.

Police officers have been pictured surrounding the building and guests were not served lunch, while hotel employees who arrived for work were made to wait outside and not let in, after health authorities in the Canary Islands ordered the hotel to be locked down on Monday after an Italian couple tested positive for the virus.

We've been in our rooms for about five hours now and had no food. We're all a bit fed up and tired about this now, but we feel fine, physically, so that's good.

We've just been updated they're going to test us once tonight and once tomorrow morning, apparently they are temperature tests.

Staff have not been allowed in for the whole day. They have been sat on the streets getting pretty angry as they had been in the sun for about six hours.

Staff inside wearing big proper masks, that we haven't been given. They've been very helpful, they're just trying to deal with it.

Police are everywhere. There's chains and padlocks on the gates outside, along with police vans.

Its not really a panicking vibe. Everyone is just milling about staying in their rooms. But they are not telling us much, everything we have found out has been from looking online.

6.11pm GMT

All pupils who went on Guernsey grammar school's February half term skiing trip to Piedmont have been sent home after one began "showing the relevant symptoms", local authorities have said.

Guernsey's Public Health Services say the child will be tested for coronavirus and asked that all children who were on the trip isolate themselves at home until the results come back. Dr Nicola Brink, the local director of public health, has said:

The relevant symptoms for a coronavirus (cough, fever, shortness of breath) are common to many winter illnesses which are frequently seen at this time of year. The risk to the children and staff attending this ski trip is currently considered to be low and our actions at this stage are precautionary.

5.56pm GMT

Every country in the world should learn from China's successful experience of containing the coronavirus and treating those who fall sick, according to Dr Bruce Aylward, who led a visiting team of international experts. Speaking in a personal capacity at the World Health Organization in Geneva, he has said:

Access the expertise of China. They have done this at speed and they know what they are doing. They are really, really good at it.

5.32pm GMT

Angelo Borrelli, the chief of the Civil Protection agency, has said the three people who died were all in their 80s and came from the worst impacted region: Lombardy.

5.28pm GMT

There have been three further deaths in the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, according to a local official. The authorities say the number of virus cases in the country has grown to 322, with 10 deaths now confirmed.

5.22pm GMT

Here is more from the WHO press conference earlier, courtesy of Reuters.

In Geneva, Dr Bruce Aylward, head of the joint WHO-Chinese mission on the coronavirus outbreak, said countries needed to shift their mindset to preparing for an outbreak of the novel coronavirus and be ready to respond rapidly when it arrived.

5.05pm GMT

Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough has announced it will close for the rest of the week after some pupils and staff "began showing flu-like symptoms" following a school skiing trip to northern Italy last week.

The school had earlier said that the 36 pupils who went on the trip would be sent home but in an afternoon update sent to parents it announced the decision to close the school for deep cleaning.

A statement from the Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust, which runs the school, told parents:

Following a ski trip by pupils and staff from Trinity Catholic College to northern Italy over the half-term, a small number of pupils and staff began showing mild flu-like symptoms today.

As a trust we are advising the school to ensure that the pupils and staff who visited Italy last week self-isolate, regardless of whether they are showing symptoms of being unwell. All pupils who attended the trip have been asked by the school to inform NHS 111 and insist on being tested for the coronavirus, even if displaying very mild symptoms.

[PHE has] stated if students or staff develop any symptoms relating to the coronavirus they should isolate immediately and call 111.

If they have no symptoms they do not need to isolate and can return to school. Once again we apologise for any disruption caused, however students wellbeing is always our first priority.

4.56pm GMT

Although WHO earlier praised China's response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has hit out at China and Iran over their handling of the crisis.

He accused the two governments of censorship and of trying to cover up the severity of the spread of the deadly illness.

4.45pm GMT

In another sign of growing global alarm over the coronavirus outbreak, a prominent Brazilian journalist is today reporting that Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been told he should cancel plans to travel to Italy and Hungary in the coming weeks.

"The Bolsonaro family is being advised to cancel trip to Italy, a foreign office source has just told me. Hungary trip also in trouble," Vera Magalhies tweeted on Tuesday.

"The reason: the assessment that the coronavirus outbreak is going to get worse in Europe."

4.34pm GMT

Greece, one of the countries in Europe which has not yet recorded a case of coronavirus, has unveiled emergency measures after mounting alarm over the steep jump in cases in Italy.

In the event of an outbreak, the centre-right government said it would enforce draconian steps to contain the disease, including restricting travel on any form of public transportation.

4.13pm GMT

The four chief medical officers across the UK have updated their self-isolation health advice for travellers returning from certain countries to cover a wider area.

Anyone who has arrived in the UK since 19 February from Iran, specific areas of northern Italy and South Korea, plus the Hubei province in China, is now advised to stay indoors and avoid contact with other people.

Scotland remains well-equipped to deal with any positive cases of coronavirus. While all tests here have so far been negative, we have established plans in place to ensure a rapid response in the event of a confirmed case.

However, early detection of any positive cases will be vital, to contain the virus and stop it spreading.

4.00pm GMT

The popularity of half-term skiing trips in Lombardy has seen at least 12 schools across the UK either close or send pupils home today, after updated advice from Public Health England widened the regions affected by Covid-19 to include northern Italy.

The 12 schools hit so far, including one in Wales and three in Northern Ireland, appear to have all travelled to ski resorts via Milan's airports, close to one of Italy's virus hotspots.

Darren Christian, principal of Salendine Nook high school in Huddersfield told parents:

Our ski trip returned from northern Italy (Milan airport) on Saturday 22 February. This is an area which is affected by the virus.

As a result of this, we have sent home 19 children and four staff, as a precautionary measure in line with Public Health England's advice. These children and staff will be returning to school on Monday 9 March.

The health and safety of our pupils is of paramount importance to us, therefore I have taken the decision to send home the pupils that have travelled to northern Italy whilst I await further guidance.

3.52pm GMT

Italy's prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, has defended the measures his country has taken to contain the outbreak and predicted the number of new cases would stabilise soon, after a 27% increase in cases on Tuesday - from 222 to 283.

Obviously I can't say I'm not worried because I don't want anyone to think we're underestimating this emergency. But we trust that with the measures we've implemented there will be a containing effect in the coming days.

3.42pm GMT

About 40,000 healthcare workers, many of whom volunteered, are in Wuhan helping with the response, according to Aylward.

This is a modern city of 15 million people. It's a ghost town but behind every window there are people cooperating with this response. People have said there is a big presence forcing them, but there isn't.

It's staggering. Every person you talk to there has a sense they are mobilised in a war against a virus, and they're organised.

Everyone has a role and it has been repurposed to fit into this machinery and it works through a prevention and control task force that answers straight to the state council and president.

It's a technologically turbocharged response. They are using big data and AI in places. They've had to manage massive amounts of data and map huge numbers of contacts, 70,000 people over vast areas.

3.31pm GMT

Bruce Aylward, head of the WHO-China joint mission on Covid-19, has paid tribute to health workers in China who delivered "life-saving" crisis response services as the virus began to spread.

He praised the approach taken by China to the "frightening" never-seen-before virus.

They used standard, old-fashioned public health tools and applied these with a rigour and innovation of approach on a scale that we've never seen before in history.

They have taken case findings, contact duration, social distancing, movement restriction and used that approach to try and stop a new emergent, respiratory born pathogen.

3.19pm GMT

Switzerland has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, the country's federal office of public health has announced.

Further details will be provided at 5pm CET (4pm GMT), the health department said, declining to say where the first case had been detected.

3.12pm GMT

The World Health Organization is delivering an update on the coronavirus at a news briefing, as it continues to spread.

You can watch it here, and we will keep abreast of developments.

3.10pm GMT

Italy has taken appropriate measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, with a focus on halting further person-to-person transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Italy has seen the biggest outbreak of the disease in Europe, with more than 260 cases and seven deaths reported, most in the north of the country, according to Reuters.

WHO experts are providing support in the areas of clinical management, infection prevention and control, surveillance and risk communication. At this stage the focus is on limiting further human-to-human transmission," the WHO said in a statement posted overnight.

2.50pm GMT

The first case of coronavirus in mainland Spain has been identified by health authorities in Catalonia, according to the La Vanguardia newspaper.

It would be the country's fourth confirmed case, if the report is correct, after three tourists from Germany, Italy and Britain were diagnosed with the illness in the Canary Islands and in Mallorca.

2.46pm GMT

Donald Trump has played down fears of the coronavirus spreading in the US, after requesting an additional $2.5bn to reinforce defences "in case something should happen".

On Tuesday, during his two-day visit to India, the US president told a news conference that the situation was "very well under control in our country", as his administration asked Congress for funds to prepare for the possibility of an outbreak - and to assist other nations.

They've had a rough patch and ... it looks like they're getting it under control more and more. They're getting it more and more under control so I think that's a problem that's going to go away, but we lost almost 1,000 points yesterday on the [stock] market.

All of the warning lights are flashing bright red. We are staring down a potential pandemic, and the administration has no plan.We have a crisis of coronavirus, and President Trump has no plan, no urgency, no understanding of the facts or how to coordinate a response.

2.31pm GMT

Hello all, its Mattha Busby here, taking over from my colleague Martin Belam.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has said he is not planning a trip to northern Italy, as flights continue to the country despite those returning from affected areas being told to self-isolate.

We don't think there are any Brits in the area that has been quarantined by the Italian government but the government does not track where people move around Europe, so if people are in that area then they should get in contact and we will do what we can to help.

We have not changed the official government travel advice but I'm not planning on going.

If people go and then they come back and feel ill with flu-like symptoms then we are asking them to self-isolate and stay at home for two weeks and try not to come into contact with anybody else.

In both instances the advice which we issue is based on the evidence and on the professional opinion of medical experts. We have been led by medical expertise from the beginning of this outbreak and we will continue to be so. In terms of travel advice, that is kept continuously under review.

2.03pm GMT

About 50 pupils and staff at a school in County Antrim have been sent home as a precaution against coronavirus after they went on a ski trip to northern Italy.

The Cambridge House grammar school group are showing no symptoms and did not visit any of the affected towns - but they were in the Lombardy region and were sent home as a "precautionary" measure, the principal, Elma Lutton, said.

1.52pm GMT

Here is a summary of what has happened so far today. There have now been 80,000 people affected by the virus around the world.

1.44pm GMT

Expatriates in Italy have told of confusion in the north of the country, as it battles to contain the coronavirus that appears to have spread to the south.

Jodie, a beautician who has lived in Dolo, between Venice and Padua, for 15 years, said the atmosphere is strange and "no one knows what is going to happen".

Will they block the whole of northern Italy? Surely the virus has had enough time to spread by now as everyone was carrying on with life as normal up until this weekend.

We mostly think they won't quarantine us, even though there has been a case of a person in Mira testing positive - 20 mins away - as it's too late."

My friend complained of 'racism' after the hotel she had booked saw she lived in Dolo and called her to say they had cancelled her stay. Another had a job interview in Padua centre and basically got the job as no one else turned up.

Others from different parts of Italy have been calling to check we're OK and you can't find any antibacterial products anywhere, hand wipes, soap, face masks as they all sold out on Saturday.

One of my friends works as an Amazon driver and told us that Amazon has stopped delivering to certain areas. It must be serious.

The shelves in Lidl are almost empty and only had about five people going around. Most bars are closing at 6pm but restaurants appear to be open. Many of the streets are empty and Chinatown seems to be in lockdown, though whether it was self-imposed or due to a loss of business is unclear.

People are clearly concerned but I'm actually quite impressed how quickly the Italian government took action. A lot of people are jokingly talking in apocalyptic terms, but it does feel a bit like one walking around. The sense of concern seems more palpable now.

My husband is the GP in our village, Veronella, so he's been inundated with communications from the ministry of health since Saturday and has had to impose strict containment procedures.

He has to wear a mask when receiving patients and has forms to fill in for suspect cases, no more than one or two people in the waiting room which is kept unheated and well ventilated, no access to patients with flu-like symptoms - only phone contact or home visits as necessary.

As soon as I saw what was happening on Friday, and heard the rumours about containment measures, I went to the supermarket and stocked up on food and water filters just in case.

Some people here don't see the point of the precautions, but I think we all have a responsibility to protect the most vulnerable people in our communities, like the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.

I wish I didn't live alone. My friends here live with their partners and have a sounding board, but being at home alone without someone to talk to about my deeper fears is hard.

I live next to the Capitolium temple and would expect hoards of tour groups around the afternoon, and there is nobody. I don't know how this is going to progress, but it feels like the start of a horror movie in many ways.

What is surprising is the people panicking and queuing at the supermarkets, emptying the shelves of pasta and almost everything else. The news reports are somewhat sensationalist with no real practical advice of what to do in order to avoid contamination.

The media doesn't seem to want to offer the reassuring notion that the virus is not as devastatingly destructive as many people seem to be making out.

1.34pm GMT

England's chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, has said that if coronavirus becomes a global pandemic, then schools could be shut and public transport reduced.

Speaking to reporters Whitty said: "There's no secret there's a variety of things you need to look at, you look at things like school closures, you look at things like reducing transport.

1.30pm GMT

In scenes that are becoming increasingly familiar around the world here are some pictures of public places in South Korea being disinfected. With nearly 1,000 confirmed cases, the country now has the highest incidence of coronavirus outside of mainland China.

1.07pm GMT

Schools across the UK are sending pupils home as they struggle to comply with the latest official advice on Covid-19 for students and staff who spent last week's half-term holiday in northern Italy.

Penair School in Truro this morning told parents to collect children who had been on a skiing trip to Ponte di Legno, which is near the Swiss border and well away from the towns currently under lockdown by the Italian authorities.

1.03pm GMT

We've got a video of schoolteacher Marzio Toniolo describing life under lockdown in San Fiorano, one of the northern Italian towns under quarantine as coronavirus cases rise.

Around 50,000 residents of 11 towns across Lombardy and Veneto have been quarantined for at least the next 15 days as Italian authorities scramble to contain the worst outbreak of the virus in Europe and the third worst in the world.

12.57pm GMT

One British tourist at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife has told PA Media that she was enduring the "holiday from hell".

Hannah Green, 27, from Hertfordshire, said she has been stuck inside with her boyfriend and one-year-old son twice since they arrived on Sunday - first because of a sandstorm that swept the Canary Islands, and now because of the positive coronavirus test at the hotel.

12.50pm GMT

The UK government has updated the advice it is giving to people who have recently been travelling.

The full advice is now as follows:

12.29pm GMT

If you're staying in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, which has been quarantined after an Italian guest tested positive for coronavirus, we'd like to hear from you. You can tell us about the situation by responding to this encrypted form or via WhatsApp by clicking here or adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.

12.11pm GMT

A school in Cheshire has been forced to close amid concerns that students returning to the UK from a ski trip to Italy could be infected with coronavirus.

Cransley School, in Northwich, took the decision to close the school after NHS clinical services advised any staff or pupils who went on the trip to Bormio to self-isolate.

A number of students are believed to be experiencing symptoms of the virus after visiting the area in the Lombardy region, where hundreds of residents have contracted the deadly infection.

The school has closed to all pupils to undergo a "deep-clean" and has advised those returning from the excursion to self-contain regardless of whether they are showing symptoms.

The headteacher, Richard Pollock, used the school's official Facebook page to share his decision to close the school, adding that he would visit Warrington General hospital tomorrow.

He said: "Regardless of the current Public Health England advice (that the school should remain open to all other pupils) I have decided, in discussion with the SMT and the chair and vice-chair of governors, to completely minimise possible spread of infection and close the school for the remainder of the week.

"During this time, the school will be able to conduct a deep clean, and monitor the results of tests amongst those pupils who are currently showing flu-like symptoms.

"I understand that there will be a variety of reactions to this decision amongst parents, and hope that all families will understand the developing situation and the changing and inconsistent advice given to the school. The staff, pupils and families of Cransley are our highest concern."

A second school in Cheshire, Brine Leas Academy in Nantwich, has also been affected by travel to Italy. The school said on Twitter it would remain open but that the sixth form college would close due to "staff shortages".

12.07pm GMT

Croatia's prime minister, Andrej PlenkoviA, has confirmed its first case of coronavirus infection, in a patient who is hospitalised in the capital.

"The patient is in the Zagreb clinic for infectious diseases. It is a younger person and he has milder symptoms. He is in isolation and his condition is good at the moment," PlenkoviA told a news conference.

12.00pm GMT

In Iran, it is being reported that the deputy health minister has tested positive for coronavirus. According to the semi-official news agency ILNA, the spokesman for Iran's health ministry confirmed in an interview with state television that Deputy Minister Iraj Harirchi has been infected and is now under quarantine.

Iraj Harirchi had been working as normal on Monday, and gave a news conference with journalists in Tehran about the virus during which he reportedly had been sweating and looking uncomfortable.

11.57am GMT

It appears that Austria has its first two cases of coronavirus, in the province of Tyrol. There's no indication yet of the source of the outbreak, but Tyrol borders northern Italy where officials are struggling to contain a growing number of cases.

11.39am GMT

Back in the City, the FTSE 100 index of leading blue-chip shares has fallen to a new four-month low.

The small gains reported earlier didn't last. Traders have been spooked again by the latest coronavirus cases in Iran, Italy and the Canary Islands, which have pushed down markets across Europe.

The engineering group Meggitt and chemicals firm Croda are leading the FTSE 100 fallers, after they both warned shareholders this morning that Covid-19 will hit their businesses.

Neil MacKinnon, a global macro strategist at VTB Capital, says investors are alarmed by the economic damage caused within China, and the rising infections in other countries.

"Once travel restrictions inside China are lifted there is a risk of the virus increasing again and/or a reluctance of people to return to work. This looks like more of an 'L-shaped recovery' as far as the Chinese economy is concerned and full-capacity working is unlikely to happen before the third quarter."

"The ramifications are certainly global, given that China has accounted for a third of global GDP growth over the past decade. The disruption to global supply chains and disruption to trade and investment flows is considerable," MacKinnon warns.

The FTSE 100 is down 55 points, or 0.7%, at 7101 - its weakest level since 4 October. That's on top of the 247 points lost in Monday's rout. The Stoxx 600 index, which tracks Europe's largest companies, has dropped by almost 1% today.

Our business liveblog has more details:

11.30am GMT

Italian authorities are investigating the skyrocketing online prices for hygienic masks and sanitising gels after the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, according to two senior magistrates.

"We have decided to open an investigation after media reports of the insane prices fetched up by these products on online sales websites in the last two days," the Milan deputy chief prosecutor, Tiziana Siciliano, told Reuters.

The biggest outbreak in Europe has hit Italy, with more than 260 cases and seven deaths reported, most in the north of the country.

Many pharmacists have run out of hygienic masks and hand sanitisers, with people going online to buy them. "The price of masks online has risen from one cent to a10 each and a one-litre bottle of disinfectant that last week was on sale for a7, was up to a39 yesterday," Siciliano said.

As the emergency has spread, police have also issued warnings that criminals posing as health inspectors have been using false identity papers to try to gain access to people's houses to steal money or other valuables.

11.23am GMT

I will be passing over the live blog to my colleague shortly, so here is a summary of updates so far. There have now been 80,000 people hit by the virus.

11.17am GMT

The holiday package firms Tui and Jet2holidays use the Tenerife hotel at the centre of the coronavirus scare.

The H10 Costa Adeje Palace is a four-star seafront hotel with nearly 500 rooms, and has four pools and a gym. A letter sent by managers to guests says they must stay in their rooms after a man there was diagnosed with coronavirus.

A spokesman for the firm Jet2, which has its headquarters in Leeds, said in a statement to the PA Media news agency:

We are aware of reports that a non-Jet2holidays customer staying at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife has tested positive for coronavirus. Under the advice of the regional and the Spanish government authorities, the hotel has been placed under quarantine.

The health and safety of our customers is our absolute priority, and we will release more information as it becomes available. In line with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice, our flying programme remains unchanged."

11.04am GMT

Irish authorities are expected to announce more stringent measures against coronavirus on Tuesday in an effort to delay what is considered its almost inevitable arrival in Ireland.

The national public health emergency team (NPHET) is to meet this afternoon to review preparations and recommendations related to travel and mass gatherings.

10.58am GMT

Closing borders, blanket travel bans and more extreme government policies will not stop the spread of coronavirus, according to the head of the World Travel and Tourism Council.

It comes as travel companies face huge economic losses amid fears about the virus. In the UK, the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 was EasyJet, which sank 16.7%, while Tui and British Airways owner IAG were both down by more than 9% at the close.

10.53am GMT

People could be banned from gathering in large numbers to contain coronavirus, Scotland's chief medical officer has said.

Dr Catherine Calderwood looked to how cases have been dealt with in Italy, with football matches called off and church services in the affected regions cancelled .

Speaking on BBC Good Morning Scotland, she said the government and NHS were working on "containment first" and then - if coronavirus was discovered in this country - a range of measures to try to limit the number of people infected.

"If we do have a cluster, as has happened in Italy, then we move into delaying the spread," Dr Calderwood said.

"Delaying the spread would mean some of the measures that have happened already in Italy - stopping people coming together in large groups so that one or a few individuals do not spread to many, many more around them."

10.48am GMT

Singapore will ban visitors with recent travel history to Cheongdo and Daegu in South Korea amid fears over the virus.

The country has stepped up its "maximum measures" to contain the coronavirus with plans to test around 200,000 members of a secretive church believed to be at the centre of the country's outbreak.

10.45am GMT

Two more people infected with the new coronavirus have died, taking the toll in Iran to 16, a health ministry official told state TV on Tuesday. Iran has the highest number of deaths from coronavirus outside China, where the virus emerged late last year.

10.33am GMT

Rory Stewart, the former international development secretary and independent candidate for mayor of London, has criticised the World Health Organisation for being "far too slow" to describe the new coronavirus outbreak as a global pandemic.

At an event in London, run by Christian Aid on Monday night, Steward said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO was "not getting this response right."

10.25am GMT

A Turkish Airlines plane flying from Iran has been diverted to Ankara at the request of the government, an aviation source said.

An aviation news website said one passenger was suspected of being infected by coronavirus. Turkey's Demiroren news agency broadcast video showing ambulances lined up beside the plane, with personnel wearing white protective suits on the tarmac.

The plane was flying from the Iranian capital, Tehran, and had been scheduled to land in Istanbul. Turkey shut its borders to Iran on Sunday and cut flights due to the spread of the virus in that country.

10.17am GMT

The Guardian's Madrid correspondent, Sam Jones, reports on the latest below.

The Tenerife hotel where the Italian man who has tested positive for coronavirus was staying has been put on lockdown and its thousand guests placed in isolation to halt any further spread of the disease.

10.17am GMT

Japan's largest advertising agency, Dentsu, has said one of the employees at its headquarters has been infected with coronavirus and that it has instructed all HQ-based employees to work from home.

10.16am GMT

Zoe McLean, 43, from Herefordshire - who i due to travel to Venice soon - said that she felt government advice about travel to northern Italy was unclear.

"My partner and I have a two-week holiday planned in northern italy, flying next Sunday but we are now in limbo. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says it is safe to travel but today the health secretary, Matt Hancock, said those returning may have to self-isolate themselves," she said.

10.11am GMT

The British couple who were diagnosed with coronavirus onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan have said they are recovering from the disease .

Speaking live from a specialist infectious diseases hospital in Japan, David Abel said: "We have had a fever, our temperatures were high - that's all worked its way out quite naturally in our body, which we're very thankful for.

10.03am GMT

The outbreak of the coronavirus has killed 15 in Iran and there have been 95 confirmed cases, according to the health ministry. Latest figures show the virus, which started in China, has now infected more than 80,000 people globally.

9.57am GMT

Health authorities in the Canary islands have activated their coronavirus protocol after an Italian man staying in Tenerife tested positive for the virus.

In a statement issued late on Monday night, they said "an Italian citizen has tested positive during initial tests at the University hospital of Our Lady of Candelaria" in Tenerife, adding that samples would now be sent to the National Microbiology Centre near Madrid for definitive tests.

9.47am GMT

Stock markets have steadied after falling on Monday amid fears over the spread of coronavirus.

However, experts have warned of further drops as the outbreak rages on. The FTSE 100 Index opened with small gains on Tuesday as it pulled out of the biggest fall for four years.

More than 62bn was wiped off the value of Britain's top share index in the previous session after news of the first major outbreak of coronavirus in Europe, with Italy suffering hundreds of cases.

Indices across Europe showed signs of stabilising as investors looked to pick up bargains after the heavy falls, thanks also to a cautious rise on the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong overnight.

The Dax in Germany and France's Cac 40 were just over 20 points lower each within the first hour of trading on Tuesday, having both fallen 4% on Monday.

While stocks still have a long way to go to make up for Monday's losses, it is encouraging to see share prices starting to move up. It would suggest there are plenty of investors confident enough to go shopping for bargains rather than widespread fear."

There is no question financial markets are coming round to the realisation that this particular crisis is likely to have a slightly longer shelf life than many thought was the case a couple of weeks ago.

There appears little prospect that financial markets look likely to settle down in the short term, which means investors will have to get used to an extended period of uncertainty and volatility."

9.44am GMT

If you want to share any thoughts or news tips with me about the coronavirus then please email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com or tweet me @sloumarsh. My direct messages are open. Thanks

9.43am GMT

A health expert has said that he is sceptical about a vaccine being created to deal with the coronavirus before the situation has been brought under control.

The director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Prof Peter Piot, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't expect that there will be a vaccine available for millions of people who would need it before the end of the year.

"I am very sceptical that we will have a vaccine before this epidemic is brought under control. But it may be very useful to have one if this becomes seasonal and every year we have a wave of this."

9.40am GMT

Four new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Iraq in Kirkuk province, the health ministry said. This means there are now five cases in the country.

The patients are an Iraqi family who had been on a trip to Iran, the ministry said in a statement. They have been placed in quarantine. Iraq reported its first case of the virus on Monday, an Iranian theology student in the holy Shia city of Najaf.

9.26am GMT

The new coronavirus is a "game changer" that will require a rethink of global supply networks especially in the health and medicine, the French finance minister said.

"The coronavirus epidemic is a game-changer for globalisation," Bruno Le Maire said during a visit to Athens, adding that the outbreak had highlighted an "irresponsible and unreasonable" reliance on China.

9.15am GMT

Spanish health authorities are carrying out tests on hundreds of tourists in a Canary Islands hotel after a coronavirus case has been identified.

Holidaymakers have reportedly been quarantined inside a complex in Tenerife, and local reports have named the hotel as the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Adeje, in the south of the island. It's a region that is extremely popular with British tourists at this time of the year.

9.04am GMT

The novel coronavirus has claimed three more lives in Iran, state media reported, taking the country's overall death toll to 15.

Two of those who died were elderly women in the central province of Markazi. Another patient in the northern province of Alborz has also died, the state news agency Irna reported.

8.59am GMT

Here is the latest from Lorenzo Tondo, a Guardian correspondent covering Italy and the migration crisis. He reports from Palermo.

Italian authorities have announced on Tuesday the first positive coronavirus case in the South of Italy.

8.49am GMT

A Tenerife hotel withs 1,000 guests is reportedly in lockdown after an Italian tourist tested positive to contracting the new coronavirus.

The holidaymakers have been quarantined inside the complex, and local reports have named the hotel as the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Adeje, south of the island. It's a region that is extremely popular with British tourists at this time of the year.

8.45am GMT

Italy may need to call on the European Union to offer leeway on its budget targets as it struggles with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said.

Deputy economy minister, Laura Castelli, made the comments a day after prime minister Giuseppe Conte warned that the fallout from the outbreak, which has concentrated in the economic powerhouses of northern Italy, would be "very strong".

8.39am GMT

If you want to share any thoughts or news tips with me about the coronavirus then please email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com or tweet me @sloumarsh. My direct messages are open. Thanks

8.38am GMT

Fans of Japanese girl group Perfume wait in line for fan merchandise before the start of the group's concert outside Tokyo Dome on Tuesday.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that new measures like companies letting their employees work from home and hospitals expanding their capacity to treat many patients will determine if Japan could control its coronavirus outbreak.

8.33am GMT

Two more Iranians infected with coronavirus have died, media website Eghtesad online said on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 14 - the highest tally of deaths outside China.

"Tests showed they had the new coronavirus," the head of the medical science university of Saveh said, according to the website.

8.30am GMT

South Korea reports 84 more cases of new virus, bringing total number of infections to 977.

8.25am GMT

Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said on Tuesday that new measures - including companies letting their employees work from home - will determine whether Japan can control its coronavirus outbreak.

"We are at an extremely important time in ending the spread of infection at an early stage," Abe said at a meeting of a task force on the outbreak.

8.18am GMT

Hancock added that the government was not aware of any Britons who were in the quarantined areas of northern Italy.

However, he said that anyone who is should make contact with the embassy in Rome. "We are not aware of any British citizens who are within the quarantined area, if they are we would ask them to get in contact with the consulate in Rome," he said.

8.17am GMT

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has said the official advice around coronavirus is being updated so that people returning to the UK from any areas quarantined by the Italian government should self-isolate whether they show symptoms or not.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, Hancock said: "Yes, the official advice which will be formally updated at 8am is going to change so that those who have been to northern Italy - north of Pisa - if they have flu-like symptoms should self-isolate.

8.10am GMT

Caitlin Fletcher, an Australian living and studying in Seoul, said:

The South Korean government has automatically extended foreign f4 visas - which are mainly for students - to prevent immigration offices from being overwhelmed. Those registered all received text messages yesterday and I checked the website this morning. Most classes have been pushed back at least a fortnight and foreign students enrolled in courses in Daegu have been un-enrolled.

I am a student in Seoul, the capital. Schools in South Korea at the moment are currently on holidays, so the government has just extended the break. Many of the planned university graduation ceremonies last week had to be cancelled in Seoul. I know that the government asked the universities to delay the start of the next semester, particularly at the language schools, to account for foreign students.

8.02am GMT

One of three Wall Street Journal reporters ordered to leave China has been told by the government that she can remain.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, told a daily briefing that Chao Deng, who has been unable to leave the Wuhan -the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak - following a lockdown that sought to contain the spread of the virus, is being allowed to remain on humanitarian grounds.

7.54am GMT

Kuwait reports three new cases of coronavirus, raising total to eight.

7.52am GMT

The outbreak has now affected 80,000 people globally. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.

The latest figures reported by each government's health authority as of Tuesday in Beijing:

Mainland China: 2,663 deaths among 77,658 cases, mostly in the central province of Hubei.

Hong Kong: 81 cases, two deaths.

Macao: 10 cases.

Japan: 850 cases, including 691 from a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, four deaths.

South Korea: 893 cases, eight deaths.

Italy: 229 cases, seven deaths.

Singapore: 89 cases.

Iran: 61 cases, 12 deaths.

United States: 35 cases; separately, one US citizen died in China.

Thailand: 37 cases.
Taiwan: 30 cases, one death.

Australia: 23 cases.

Malaysia: 22 cases.

Vietnam: 16 cases.

Germany: 16 cases.

France: 12 cases, one death.

United Arab Emirates: 13 cases.

United Kingdom: 13 cases.

Canada: 11 cases.

Philippines: 3 cases, one death.

Kuwait: 3 cases.

There have been three cases in India, two in Russia, three in Spain, two in Israel, two in Oman, two in Bahrain, one in Lebanon, one in Belgium, one in Nepal, one in Sri Lanka, one in Sweden, one in Cambodia, one in Finland, one in Egypt and one in Afghanistan.

7.48am GMT

The number of novel coronavirus cases in south Korea is approaching 900 as the president Moon Jae-in said the outbreak is "very grave".

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) confirmed 60 new cases in its morning update - after three days of triple-digit increases - taking the tally to 893, the largest national total anywhere outside China.

7.28am GMT

I am now taking over the live blog from the Guardian's London office. If you want to share any thoughts or news tips with me about the coronavirus then please email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com or tweet me @sloumarsh.

7.27am GMT

Dubai International airport, the world's busiest for international travel, says UAE will limit Iran flights over the virus outbreak.

7.23am GMT

The British engineering company Meggitt warned that its growth in 2020 would be constrained by factors including the disruption caused by coronavirus.

The company said organic revenue growth in 2020 would come in at between 2% to 4%. That compares with the 8% rise in organic revenue growth for 2019 which it posted on Tuesday, helping drive underlying operating profit up by 10% to 402.8m.

7.13am GMT

Here's a summary of what we know about the coronavirus so far:

6.58am GMT

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has raised its warning level for trips to South Korea to "avoid non-essential travel".

6.41am GMT

Two more people have died in Iran from Covid-19, according to the Reuters news agency, taking the number of fatalities in the country to 14.

On Monday, Iranian officials scrambled to deny that 50 people had died of the virus in the shrine city of Qom, which is thought to be a hub of the disease in the country.

6.34am GMT

Catholic churches in the South Korean capital have suspended all masses and events until 10 March.

"All churches of the archdiocese of Seoul will stop holding masses and all indoor and outdoor events for the next 14 days from 26 February through 10 March," the archbishop of Seoul, Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, said in a statement.

6.22am GMT

At Tianjin University, near Beijing, scientists say they have developed an oral vaccine for Covid-19, according to the Global Times.

The professor who led the project, Huang Jinhai, said the vaccine could also serve as a potential therapy for infected patients. The outlet said Huang had taken four doses himself and had not experienced any side-effects.

5.55am GMT

Vietnamese garment makers will face a severe shortage of materials in the second quarter of this year, because of disruption to their supply chains, the chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association says.

Garments and textiles are Vietnam's third-largest export earner, and the industry is heavily reliant on materials from China. An estimated 50% of materials are shipped from China.

5.34am GMT

Japan's J-League says it has postponed seven Levian Cup matches scheduled for Wednesday due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak and is considering postponing all domestic soccer games through the first half of March.

The J-League said the decision to postpone Wednesday's matches was part of efforts to contain the spread of the virus. "The J-League will make maximum efforts to prevent infection and prevent its spread," it said in a statement.

4.57am GMT

You may recall that yesterday we reported that Wuhan was lifting some restrictions for people who wanted to leave the city. However, it was reversed a few hours after being announced and Ying Yong, the newly appointed party chief in Hubei, called for strict control of the exit routes. The province's health commission has reiterated that on Tuesday.

Strictest control of personnel outflow continues in #COVID19 epicenter #Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, the National Health Commission announced Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/tm6N9VzJcq

4.54am GMT

Schools in Hong Kong will stay closed until after the Easter holidays have finished in April, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.

They were due to reopen on Monday 16 March but the Post says the government will keep them shut until after Easter, which is the weekend of 11/12 April.

Coronavirus: Hong Kong school closures to extend beyond Easter https://t.co/krOnmRwti5

4.50am GMT

South Korea's numbers for coronavirus infections has gone up again - 60 new infections were announced on Tuesday, bringing the country's total to 893. Nine people have died in the country.

4.46am GMT

China's national health commission says strict control and prevention measures will remain in place in Hubei province, the epicentre of the global outbreak.

3.36am GMT

Here are some more figures from state media on the scale of the fight against the virus in China.

As of Monday, China's daily output of protective medical clothing reached 330,000 sets, medical protective masks reached 844,000, nucleic acid test kits reached 1.7 million units and virus antibody test kits reached 350,000 units: National Medical Products Administration pic.twitter.com/h52xfAQxAw

3.17am GMT

Some sobering statistics from Chinese state media on the economic impact of the virus - 60% of firms face difficulties, with 6% facing bankruptcy.

About 60% of Chinese firms face operational difficulties due to the novel #coronavirus. 6% of them face bankruptcy and 20% see a temporary suspension. Just 5% see no obvious impact from #COVID19: survey pic.twitter.com/QwKrvQHWu1

3.14am GMT

The China Global TV network has made an interesting graphic on the spread of the virus in Italy.

#COVID19 in #Italy: how did it spread so quickly?

more: https://t.co/tAE5WZHX7i pic.twitter.com/ifGFxU3G22

3.12am GMT

The Wall Street Journal reporter in Beijing makes a good point about the difficult choice facing Chinese migrant workers: stay at home without a job, or return to cities where they will face quarantine.

More than 100 million Chinese migrant workers, who often make less than $1,000 a month, have two bad options: Stay in their hometowns without jobs, or return to cities where they must quarantine for 14 days before returning to work.https://t.co/LszE1HjvgV

3.01am GMT

A passenger from the Diamond Princess in their 80s has died, the Japanese broadcaster NHK has reported. The country's education minister has also asked asked education boards with reported coronavirus cases to temporarily close schools.

Koichi Hagiuda told reporters on Tuesday that education boards of Hokkaido in northern Japan and Chiba City near Tokyo have been told to take this preventive measure, NHK says.

2.27am GMT

Trading is now well under way in Hong Kong where the index is down slightly, and China where the Shanghai Composite is off 1.17%.

#CNBCTV18Market | Asian indices recover from lows; Nikkei jumps 1.7% from lows but still trading in the red. #HangSeng more than 150 points off lows pic.twitter.com/zqiADkjc4x

2.23am GMT

We heard in that news conference questions about the impact of the virus on the Olympics. Brendan Murphy, the country's chief medical officer said it was too early to tell, but the Australian Olympic team's medical director, David Hughes, has told the Sydney Morning Herald that human-to-human transmission of Covid-19 in Japan was a "far from ideal" situation.

He has warned that the next two weeks will be "the real test" in assessing what risk the coronavirus poses to this year's event in Tokyo, and says the Australian team has begun drawing up contingencies for training in "safe areas

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