I’ll be handing over to my colleagues in Australia shortly, but before I go, here’s a summary of the key coronavirus developments in the last few hours:
The global death toll has passed 30,000, with confirmed cases at 660,706.
Northern Ireland has announced a wave of new restrictive measures which came into force an hour ago, including a ban on gatherings and leaving home without a reasonable excuse.
Spain has announced further restrictions on movement to stem the flow of the virus, with all non-essential workers being told to stay home.
Panama’s government has said it will allow the Zaandam cruise ship to pass through the Panama Canal, after passengers got stuck on board when authorities refused to grant access. The cruise ship has 130 people with flu-like symptoms, and four have died. At least two of those with symptoms are confirmed to have coronavirus.
The coronavirus death toll in France has passed the grim milestone of 2,000 deaths, with more than 38,000 cases.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliff, the British-Iranian aid worker who has been detained in Iran on spying charges has had her prison leave extended and her case put forward for clemency, her husband said
Cases in the US have passed 120,000.
A letter from UK prime minister Boris Johnson will be sent to every household in Britain, warning them that the worst of the virus is yet to come.
Thanks for joining me for these updates. I hope you’re all staying well, wherever you’re reading from.
Britons stranded in New Zealand are facing costs of £40,000 to return home, my colleague Mark Townsend reported.
Those stranded say they have been left without guidance or assistance after the UK embassy and consular services in New Zealand abruptly closed their doors last week. Flight prices to return to the UK have hiked, with one Qatari Airlines flight from Auckland to London on 31 March priced at NZ$83,534 (£40,096).
Destination of stricken cruise liner remains unclear
My colleagues Erin McCormick and Patrick Greenfield report on the future of the Zaandam cruise ship, which had been stranded off the coast of Panama but has now been allowed to pass through the Panama canal.
The Zaandam cruise liner might have been given permission to pass through the Panama canal but the question of where the coronavirus-stricken ship will be allowed to dock remains unclear.
Holland America Line, the boat’s owners, have previously said they planned to try to dock in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. But the Broward County Commissioner told the Guardian that he did not know if the cruise liner will be allowed to dock. Four people have died on board so far.
The Zaandam cruise ship has been allowed to pass through the Panama canal. Photograph: Ivan Pisarenko/AFP via Getty Images
“I haven’t gotten anything,” said Broward county commissioner Michael Udine, who had voiced his strong concerns about the ship coming into South Florida. “That’s something that would have to go through Unified Command at the port first,” referencing a group which includes the US Centers for Disease Control, the US Coast Guard and the Florida Department of Health.
“I’m still very concerned,” he said. “If this ship arrives here, it’s going to put a lot of pressure on our local health system.”
Panamanian officials did not confirm whether the Rotterdam, another Holland America Line that has been sent to help with the rescue operation of asymptomatic passengers, would be allowed to pass through the canal.
New allegations have been made about an outsourcing firm running NHS 111 services making staff work “desk to desk”, in an apparent breach of coronavirus social distancing rules.
Labour has written to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, with “urgent concerns” about a call centre operated by Sitel in Plymouth.
MP Luke Pollard said numerous workers at the site told him that up to 200 staff are working “desk to desk” in close proximity on one floor of the building, with allegedly no deep cleaning.
Pollard said he had been told people are required to go to work or risk their employment even if they are closely associated with people who are self-isolating.
David Lloyd health clubs could be turned into emergency hospitals in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
According to ITV News, the chain is in talks with the government about converting a “handful” of its largest gyms into emergency medical facilities in an attempt to prevent the NHS becoming overwhelmed during the pandemic.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo has described Trump’s idea of a lockdown in the state as “anti-American”.
Earlier, Trump told reporters that he was considering imposing a quarantine in New York, and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut.
However, Cuomo has said that the travel ban would be “counter-productive”, telling CNN: “If you started walling off areas all across the country it would be totally bizarre, counter-productive, anti-American”.
“It makes absolutely no sense and I don’t think any serious governmental personality or professional would support it,” he added.
The United States now has more than 120,000 confirmed cases, the highest figure in the world, with New York the national epicentre of the virus.
Panama’s government has said it will allow the Zaandam cruise ship to pass through the Panama Canal. No one from the ship will be allowed to disembark in Panama, however.
It comes after a stalemate, in which Panama’s authorities had not given approval to let the ship pass through the canal, leaving passengers stuck on board. They are reportedly allowing the ship to pass for “humanitarian reasons”.
The Zaandam cruise ship, currently in Panama, has 130 people with flu-like symptoms, and four have died. At least two of those with symptoms are confirmed to have coronavirus.
This will allow the ship to try and dock in Florida.
BREAKING NEWS: Panama has decided to allow the Zaandam cruise liner to pass through the Panama canal for humanitarian reasons. This will allow it to attempt to dock in Florida. There is a covid-19 outbreak on board. 4 passengers have died. More on @guardian shortly.
Boris Johnson, the UK’s prime minister, is set to warn British citizens that the worst of coronavirus is yet to come, and that tougher measures may be necessary.
The country’s 30m households will receive a letter from the prime minister including the warning, along with details of the government’s orders on social distancing, symptoms and handwashing.
It comes as the UK braces for a surge in coronavirus cases.
Two new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Libya.
The two cases were discovered in Tripoli and Misrata, the National Centre for Disease Control said, without giving any further details. The first, confirmed on Monday, was a man who had recently returned to Libya from overseas.
Libya has been embroiled in war since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and is split between two warring administrations. The conflict has wrecked the economy, fuelled migrant smuggling and militancy, and disrupted oil supplies.
Due to the volatile domestic situation, international aid agencies have warned of a disaster if coronavirus spreads.
Gatherings of more than two people have been banned in Northern Ireland, and anyone who can work from home must do so, authorities have announced.
Authorities will have the power to enforce restriction of movement and social distancing in Northern Ireland, in a deal agreed by Stormont executive.
The measures will come into force at 11pm on Saturday night, and enable authorities to hand out fines up to £5,000. The regulations also give the authorities the power to close certain premises and prohibit anyone from leaving home without a reasonable excuse.
Mali has recorded its first coronavirus death hours just before its election.
The first patient died of coronavirus on Saturday, a day before the West African country voted in a long-delayed parliamentary election threatened by both the pandemic and security concerns.
The leader of the main opposition party was kidnapped earlier in the week, with a security source saying he is “likely” in the hands of a jihadist group, according to Reuters.
Several opposition parties on Saturday called for the vote to be postponed due to the pandemic. So far, 18 people have tested positive in Mali, with the first diagnosis on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia is indefinitely extending the suspension of international passenger flights and workplace attendance in both public and private sectors, as part of ongoing efforts to tackle the spread of coronavirus.
Domestic flights, trains, buses and taxis also remain suspended, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Airbnb has announced it will offer frontline healthcare workers free places to stay during the coronavirus outbreak.
The accommodation company announced it has teamed up with the NHS to create a global programme which aims to house 100,000 frontline healthcare staff fighting the coronavirus pandemic around the world. This will include healthcare professionals, relief workers and first responders.
Homeowners who list their properties through Airbnb are able to opt in to the programme and offer an entire home, with Airbnb waiving all fees for the stays. So far, nearly 1,500 places to stay have been offered in the UK.
Patrick Robinson, director of public policy at Airbnb, said:
The entire country is behind our heroic NHS and medical staff as they battle the coronavirus outbreak.
We have made it our priority to stand with the Airbnb community to do what we can to help. By working together, we can ensure that frontline workers can find a free and convenient place to stay as they continue their critical work.
We thank our doctors and nurses across the country from the bottom of our hearts and are grateful to hosts who have already opened their homes during these difficult times.
The initiative builds on programmes already launched in Italy and France where Airbnb and local partners, including the French Government, announced that doctors, nurses, care-givers and other medical support staff who are responding to the outbreak in the country can access accommodation on Airbnb.
An organ transplant consultant volunteering for the NHSfrontline fight against coronavirus has died from the disease, it has been reported.
Dr Adil El Tayar, a working surgeon, died on Wednesday at West Middlesex University Hospital in Isleworth, west London, his family told the BBC.
Dr El Tayar, 63, had volunteered to help in the A&E and general department of a hospital in the Midlands, his cousin said in a report for Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent programme.
Photograph: NHS
Dr El Tayar was a father of four, two of whom were NHS doctors. Two weeks ago he became unwell and did not return to work, eventually having to be taken to hospital where he died, his cousin said.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran, has had her leave from prison extended by two weeks, her husband has said.
Richard Ratcliffe said his wife’s father had been told that her temporary release from Evin prison in Tehran will now continue until 18 April.
British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has her leave from prison extended. Photograph: Free Nazanin campaign/AFP via Getty Images
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s father was also notified that his daughter’s file had been put forward to the Iranian Prosecutor General for consideration for clemency, Richard Ratcliffe said.
A crowdfunder to raise money for personal protective equipment in British hospitals has reached £400,000.
The fundraising effort was launched by a group of NHS doctors and a GP to source PPE “for those who need it the most”. The group originally set a £200,000 target, but this was met in 48 hours.
According to the crowdfunder, actor James McAvoy made a large contribution, with the group behind the fundraiser thanking him for his “extraordinary generosity”.
