The number of reported coronavirus infections around the world has surpassed 500,000.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there have now been more than 510,000 cases of the virus globally.
More than 22,000 people have died. The worst hit country is Italy, which has now recorded a death toll of 8,165.
The number of people to have died with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 578, the Department of Health said.
It said that, as of 09:00 GMT, a total of 11,658 people had tested positive for the virus.
- Italy’s death toll rose by 662 to a total of 8,165, and the total number of infected rose to 80,539. It’s a mixed picture: while the one-day rise in deaths is slightly lower than in previous days, the rate of infection has risen again. As the BBC’s Rome correspondent Mark Lowen puts it, “still a mountain to climb”
- A total of 4,089 people have died in Spain, with 56,188 confirmed cases across the country. The Spanish parliament has agreed to extend the country’s state of emergency until at least 12 April to tackle the outbreak – but the newspaper El Pais reports that new testing kits sent over by China were not working
- Belgium recorded its highest numbers for the spread of the virus in a single day. In just 24 hours it recorded 1,298 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 6,235. The death toll so far is 220. Health officials told the BBC they are preparing for an “explosion in patient numbers”
- And on 25th anniversary of the Schengen Area coming into force, nearly all nations in Europe have enforced some border controls. Europe’s border agency Frontex tweeted a map showing the restrictions.
