Youre watching bbc newsroom live its11am and these are the main stories this morning President Trump suspends travel from 26 European Countries into the us not including the uk in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed 38 people there. This is not a financial crisis. This is just this is not a financial crisis. This isjust a this is not a financial crisis. This is just a temporary moment of time that we will overcome together as a nation and as a world. That decision by President Trump has caused Global Stock Markets to plunge with the ftse 100 falling 6 . Falling 5 . The government here prepares for an emergency meeting. Its expected to announce stepping up its response to delay the spread of the virus rather
than containing it. In italy, all shops except food stores and pharmacies will be closed as it strengthens its lockdown due to the virus. And coming up at 11 30, well be answering all your questions on coronavirus in a special programme. Good morning. Welcome to bbc newsroom live. Im annita mcveigh. Ina dramatic in a dramatic move to tackle coronavirus, President Trump has banned travel to the us from 26 European Countries. The band does not include the uk or ireland, and us residents are exempt. It will begin on saturday morning and last initially for 30 days. In a
televised address from the white house President Trump said, strong but necessary action was needed, and blamed the spread of the virus on European Countries not taking adequate measures to control it. Here, the Prime Ministers her holding in an emergency cobra meeting later. Its widely expected the government will announce that it is stepping up its response to coronavirus. And italy is to close all shops except food stores and pharmacies in europes toughest lockdown yet. Stock markets have continued to plunge. The ftse 100 fell 6 . We will get more on this later. Criticised for downplaying the effects of the coronavirus, President Trump announced sweeping travel restrictions in a Rare Oval Office address to the nation. After consulting with our top Government Health professionals, i have decided to take several strong but necessary actions to protect the health and well being of all americans. To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the United States for the next 30 days. The restriction will apply to foreigners who visited one of 26 European Countries in the two weeks prior to their arrival in the us. The uk is not included on that list. Trade will not be affected, the president tweeted later, but hundreds of thousands of travellers will be, and the announcement took many by surprise. The leader of the Largest Flight Attendants Union here called the restrictions outrageous, and accused President Trump of destroying everything that makes our country great. There are now more than 1000 cases of coronavirus here and the illness has claimed the lives of more than 30 americans. Appearing before a congressional committee, a member of the president s Coronavirus Task force conceded that many more could be affected. So i can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now. How much worse they will get will depend on our ability to do two things, to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country. Bottom line, its going to get worse. Even as the president spoke, the pandemics ferocious rewriting of daily life here continued. The nba announced it was suspending its season after a player tested positive for the virus. The Trump Administration says travel restrictions on people from china and iran helped slow the spread of the virus here, and that widening such restrictions could prove the answer. Yet many of those affected have not
been involved in overseas travel and the backlog in testing makes discovering their numbers all the more difficult. David willis, bbc news. 0ur assistant Political Editor norman smith is at westminster. First, what reaction has there been in government here to what donald trump has announced 7 in government here to what donald trump has announced . Honestly, people are pretty bemused and perplexed and surprised by the president s decision. Certainly there is no suggestion for men is one that the British Government might pursue a similar sort of strategy. They in cyst they are following the medical advice and the advice from the likes of the chief medical officer appears to be the sort of dramatic actions are not needed. The view in government i think is they are profoundly disruptive and intrusive and not really at the sharp end of trying to
delay this virus. It was interesting listening to rishi sunak on the wireless this morning, he was asked very directly about this is an idea, and although he was very polite and diplomatic about it, he clearly didnt think much of it. In this country we are determined to take the right steps at the right time, and in all cases and at all steps we are going to be guided by the advice of the chief medical officer and chief scientific officer. We have no believe that is the right thing to do, the evidence here doesnt support that. What we are trying to do is to contain the virus whilst recognising that it is now likely it will spread more significantly. In terms of what the government thinks we should be doing here, how much detail do you think we will get from the cobra meeting later . |j think from the cobra meeting later . think we will get quite a bit of detail. In terms of specific measures, i think it is pretty clear the government do not believe that at the moment we have to move to those much more radical disruptive
measures that other countries have taken. So i think they will hold back from options like closing schools or imposing travel bans or stopping various sporting events and big Public Meetings from going ahead. Instead, the thrust seems to be much more of a continuation of the sort of gradual increase in measures, much of it actually will be in the form of guidelines, so i suspect there will be advice to people if they are feeling ill, just south isolate to be on the cautious side, similarly may be more people if they can should think about working from home. Maybe stager commutes into work, dont assume you have to go in when everyone else is going on. In particular we may get some clarity about older people, because clearly that is the most at risk group. Much higher mortality rate. The Prime Minister has
previously talked about specific advice tailored to care homes. I think we may get some clarity about what exactly older people should do. I presume a lot of it will be pretty much stay at home, there have been suggestions care homes may be pretty much told to say no to visitors going in. We have had already from the chief medical officer, he has written to gps alerting them to the fa ct written to gps alerting them to the fact they almost certainly will have to treat patients who are not their patients, they may have to operate outside their catchment areas, because of the nature of the virus. But the overall thrust i think will be to say we dont need to go really for the more draconian stuff at the moment, the aim isjust to for the more draconian stuff at the moment, the aim is just to gradually try and delay the spread of the virus in the hope that we can get through to the warmer months when the nhs wont be under such pressure
and therefore be able to treat people who are affected. And maybe the virus wont be so contagious in those summer months, and if we are very lucky, we might get to a situation where a vaccine becomes available. So the strategy is slowly, slowly, softly, softly, just try to delay things and try to push back the peak of the virus to the summer months. Thank you. The decision to implement a travel ban by President Trump has caused global stocks to plunge with the ftse 100 falling 6 . 596 5 when it opened this morning. European stock markets also sank some more than 5 at the start of the trading this morning. Earlier, stocks in asia saw big falls, with most Market Indices registering declines of more than 4 . Yesterday, wall street stocks plunged almost 5 on closing. Our business presenter alice baxter is here. First, tell us about the ftse, what is it doing . European markets waking up is it doing . European markets waking
up to this announcement of the travel ban by President Trump, the reaction has not been good. The ftse 100 in london. That fell 5 at opening, it is still trading at around that level, being dragged lower by all the Major Oil Companies within the ftse100, oil has taken another hit, travel and Airline Stocks are also trading substantially lower. The owner of British Airways is down by about 9 . Every share within the ftse100 is trading lower. It is now within this 596 trading lower. It is now within this 5 fall, puts it in the region of top ten foals of all time. To put this into a wider context, last summer the ftse100 was trading at around 7600 points. It is currently trading at around five tonne 5500. It has fallen some 2000 points ina 5500. It has fallen some 2000 points
in a little over eight months. What about elsewhere in the world . 0vernight about elsewhere in the world . Overnight in asia we saw big falls as well. The dowjones in america was down 6 . It has fallen some 20 from its highs, it is now officially in what we call bear market territory which means us stocks which had enjoyed this longest rise weve seen since 2009, that has now come to an end. In europe we have also seen shares in paris and frankfurt down more than 5 . Brent crude once again has taken a real hit. We a few hours away from the markets open again in the states. Can we expect a similar reaction . cant see any reason why not. I expect them to open again in
negative territory. We have the opening of the ecb and the feeling there will be that we will have another rate cut in line with what we saw from the bank of england yesterday and the Federal Reserve last week. You mentioned a couple and Airline Stocks, the industry is really taking a hammering. And Airline Stocks, the industry is really taking a hammeringm and Airline Stocks, the industry is really taking a hammering. It really is, it is at the forefront of the virus outbreak. With many other elements of business there is a sense that we still need to wait to see the full implications of the coronavirus, but i think when it comes to the Airline Industry and travel industry, generally we are seeing a much more immediate effect. Thank you, alice. Italy is waking up to its third day of lockdown and remains the worst hit country in europe. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha in rome how the situation is unfolding there. Well, we were told yesterday that 827 people have now died across italy from coronavirus. 600 or so of those cases are in the north of italy, and more than 12,000 people have been infected. Now, the Prime Minister yesterday, Prime Minister conte, said that more stringent measures were being put in place. Now all the shops across the country, apart from pharmacies and supermarkets, will be closed. If you look across the street you can see theres a pharmacy there, that is open and going as per normal. Butjust behind here we have a food shop illjust bring you round which is also open, but the bar above it is closed. So, as i say, more stringent measures have been put in place. Remember, italy has 60 million people, and they are being told they cannot move freely across the country without special permission. So a lot of people here saying, how can we carry on with our daily lives if our movement is being restricted . So there is a real sense of trepidation, frustration and anxiety as to how long this is going to go on for. 0scar winning Actor Tom Hanks has
confirmed he and his wife rita wilson have tested positive for coronavirus. Mr hanks, whos filming in australia, made the announcement on social media saying they both felt tired and achy, with fever, so they had themselves tested and were found to be positive. He promised to keep the world posted, and said he hoped everyone would take care of themselves. The filming on a biopic of Elvis Presley has been taking place in the australian town of gold coast. Heres how their mayor greeted the news. Yes, ive been confirmed that the elvis biopic filming has been closed down. The lead Actor Tom Hanks is in the gold coast hospital and i understand it will be 1a days quarantine and testing and the like, and our heart goes out to tom and his wife. And i am confident they will get the best care that our hospital can deliver. Stay with us on bbc news as coming up at 11. 30 well be answering some of your questions on coronavirus with jenny harries, deputy chief medical officerfor england. Thats your questions answered coming up at half past eleven. The headlines on bbc news President Trump suspends travel from 26 European Countries into the us not including the uk in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed 38 people there. That decision by President Trump has caused Global Stock Markets to plunge with the ftse 100 falling 6 . 5 . The government here prepares for an emergency meeting. Its expected to announce stepping up its response to delay the spread of the virus rather than containing it. Major breaking news in the sport, we knew la liga, spains top and Second Division would be behind closed doors for the next fortnight. Now the top division, la liga, will not play any top division matches for the next two match days, that is at least the next ten days. Real madrid players are in isolation at the moment, that is because they came into co nta ct moment, that is because they came into contact with one of the real madrid Basketball Team, they have a basketball tea m madrid Basketball Team, they have a Basketball Team as well. So the hole real madrid players are in self isolation and will be for the next 14 isolation and will be for the next 1a days. That is notjust going to impact on the spanish top division, but they are due to play against Manchester City in manchester next week in the champions league, they trail to one from the first leg. So almost inevitably that champions
league tie will not go ahead because la liga is in shutdown and real madrid players are in self isolation. We will have more on that as we get it. The English Football League will have talks with the wbr id wbr10350 premier league today after a crisis plan was leaked, a contingency plan, to play all remaining matches this season behind closed doors because of the virus. 0fficials season behind closed doors because of the virus. Officials at the premier league believe matches taking place without fans is inevitable, but their plan reported in the times has not been approved by the government, and it has taken efl bosses by surprise, we understand. They are said to be against matches taking place behind closed doors for now because of huge loss of revenue for some of the smaller teams. Premier league bosses have distanced themselves from that report. We are seeking some comment on that story. Two english clubs are playing behind b
closed doors tonight. Manchester united are in austria, wolves asked for their match in athens to be postponed, that was rejected by uefa so it goes ahead. Rangers are at home tonight wbrid wbr10950 at ibrox, but will play behind closed doors against germany next week. The play offs in bosnia could be postponed. Some of the team play in italy which we know is in lockdown. The friendly against denmark is almost sure to be cancelled. The danish fa have stopped all football in their country until the end of the month. Notjust country until the end of the month. Not just football effective, the country until the end of the month. Notjust football effective, the nba season has been suspended until further notice. A utahjazz season has been suspended until
further notice. A utah jazz player tested positive. Lewis hamilton has described the decision to go ahead with formula 1 puss s Season Opener in australia this weekend as shocking. The chinese grand prix has already gone. Five f1 team members are in isolation in melbourne after displaying symptoms of the virus. Asked why f1 is going ahead this weekend, hamilton replied, cash is king. That is all the sport for now. Just a reminder, the breaking news, coronavirus, sport related, the league are shutting down for the next couple of match days at least, so that will be ten days. Real madrid in self isolation. Their match against Manchester City will almost surely have to be postponed. The chancellor defended his budget this morning after a stark warning that the uk could tumble
into recession if the coronavirus outbreak causes widespread disruption. The office for budget responsibility also predicted falling growth even before the Coronavirus Impact is reflected. Rishi sunak insisted his plans would bring stability and security. The its because of the responsible management of the economy over the past several years that we are in a strong position now, the foundations of our economy are good, which means i can stand here and say that we will do what it takes to respond to coronavirus. It is because we have that Strong Foundation that we can do that, that is why thats important, and thats what indeed the projections show we are continuing to do over the medium term. We had a set of fiscal rules in our manifesto, ive delivered a budget within those rules which means we dont borrow for day to day spending, we borrow to invest in things like infrastructure road, rail, broadband and we do that because it raises our long term productivity as a country, it provides jobs, it raises wages and that, i think, is the right economic plan. The shadow chancellorjohn mcdonnell reacted to the budget by saying that labour supports
the government in trying to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, but said it doesnt go far enough in protecting the low paid and self employed through sickness. Of course, there is no Party Politics in this. We support the government. We will work with them, we will do everything we possibly can to support our nhs, we support the government in that. We support them in terms of the support they are giving to businesses. But there are issues, and we will raise this constructively as others have overnight, this issue about the people who are low paid, on zero hour contracts, part time workers the first thing is weve got to make sure that they have access to financial support. Statutory sick pay, this issue quite rightfully others have raised the fact that actually it is very low, and what weve got to do now is make sure self employed people are properly covered too. A british soldier has been killed in a rocket attack on a military base in iraq. The missiles were fired on a camp near baghdad where Coalition Forces were training iraqi soldiers. Us military sources said an american soldier and a contractor were also killed. A bbc investigation has found that a hard drive belonging to a paedophile could not be used as evidence because it was kept in a Police Commissioners safe for 1h years. The hard drive, which contained indecent images of children, belonged to the ex lord mayor of leeds, neil taggart. The office of the West Yorkshire police and crime commissioner Mark Burns Williamson did not disclose the computer equipment until after taggart had pleaded guilty. Mark Burns Williamson said he was unaware of its existence and has apologised for embarrassing mistakes. Emma glasby reports. West Yorkshires Police and crime commissionerfor eight West Yorkshires police and crime commissioner for eight years, now after a bbc investigation Mark Burns Williamson has said sorry for m ista kes Burns Williamson has said sorry for mistakes in his office. There has
been errors made. So, yes, i absolutely do apologise for that. This is neil taggart. He worked with Mark Burns Williamson at the West YorkshirePolice Authority. When neil taggart left, Mark Burns Williamson became chair the next month and went on to become the police and crime commissioner, the watchdog of West Yorkshire police. But for neil taggart a public downfall, in 2016 police discovered he had thousands of indecent images of children. Neil taggart handed in his computer hard drive when he left the Police Authority in 2003. Detectives would eventually find and in seasoned images of children on that hard drive, but the bbc has discovered it was kept for 1h years ina discovered it was kept for 1h years in a safe at the Police Authority, later the office of the police and crime commissioner. The hard drive was handed over to police nine
months after neil taggarts arrest. The day after he pleaded guilty. A member of Mark Burns Williamsons staff had remember it had been kept. The bbc discovered what had happened after being contacted by a Police Whistle blower. After being contacted by a Police Whistleblower. I cant think of any reason why they would have kept the ha rd reason why they would have kept the hard drive, having kept it then there is a high profile investigation for a very serious offences of child sexual imagery. Why have they not brought it forward . Why have they not brought it forward . I dont know if he withheld evidence but given that it took so long to disclose this it does seem suspicious. Mark burnswilliamson has told the bbc he wasnt aware the ha rd has told the bbc he wasnt aware the hard drive existed and any suggestion of a cover up is com pletely suggestion of a cover up is completely untrue. Did the office of the police and crime commissioner withhold this evidence because it looked bad that youd had it . Absolutely not. There is no conspiracy here around covering anything up. Errors have been made, but the police have investigated this and interviews of staff
including myself were undertaken. But a former chief Prosecutor Says that case raises many concerns. Staggering. Youve got criminal material, that the abuse of children, sitting on a drive in your office. A man is going through the courts for possession of similar material. And we are going live to washington where the irish Prime Minister is making an announcement on coronavirus. Yesterday the World Health Organization formally describe it as pandemic. And the European Centre for disease prevention and control updated its guidelines advising us all to act early to be effective. 0ur guidelines advising us all to act early to be effective. Our own National HealthEmergency Team at last night and has issued new advice to government. We are acting on that advice today. There will be many more cases, more people will get sick, and unfortunately we must face
the tragic reality that some people will die. The virus is all over the world. It will continue to spread, but it can be slowed. Its impact can be reduced, making it easierfor our Health Service to cope. And giving our scientists more time to develop better testing, treatments and a vaccine. It is important to recall that the disease affects will be a mile for the majority of people, especially the young and healthy. But we know older people and those with a chronic illness are at real risk, and we have a duty as a society to protect ourselves and above all to protect others. Our pa rents above all to protect others. Our parents and grandparents, ourfamily and friends, our co workers and neighbours. We have not witnessed a pandemic of this nature in living memory, and this is uncharted territory for us. We said we would ta ke territory for us. We said we would take the right actions at the right time, and we have to move now to
have the greatest impact. So from 6pm today the following measures are being put in place. They will stay in place until the 29th of march. Schools, colleges and cut childcare facilities will close from tomorrow. Where possible, teaching will be done online or remotely. Cultural institutions will close as well. Our advice is that all indoor Mass Gatherings of more than 100 people and out door Mass Gatherings of more than 500 should be cancelled. Arrangements are being made to make sure everyone entering ireland through ports and airports is fully informed and sulphite slates if they develop symptoms. You should continue to go to work if you can, but where possible you should work from home and in order to reduce unnecessary face to face interaction in the workplace, break times and working time should be staggered and meetings done remotely or by phone. Public transport will continue to operate, the shops will remain open, and we have plans to ensure the supply chains will not be interrupted. We need public and
businesses to take a sensible level headed and responsible approach during this difficult time. Restau ra nts, during this difficult time. Restaurants, cafe is another businesses can stay open, but should look at ways they can implement Public Health advice on social distancing. As a general rule, outside of work people should seek to reduce social interaction as much as possible. You can all play your pa rt by as possible. You can all play your part by hand washing, coughing and sneezing into your elbow or tissue, seeking medical advice if you develop symptoms. This is now more important than ever. The cabinet will meet later today, opposition parties and counterparts in Northern Ireland and britain will be briefed. In the period ahead the government will deploy all the resources we can muster, human and financial to tackle this threat head on. Those resources a re extensive tackle this threat head on. Those resources are extensive but not unlimited. 0ur Health Care Workers have been at the forefront of this crisis since it started, they will
be at the front line of the crisis ina time be at the front line of the crisis in a time ahead. We must do all we can to help them so they can help those who need to help the most. I know some of this is coming as a real shock, and is going to involve real shock, and is going to involve real changes in the way we live our lives. But i know i am asking to make people enormous sacrifices. But we are doing it for each other. The irish Prime Minister leo varadkar in washington announcing some big changes to life in ireland because of his decision to up the countrys response to coronavirus, schools, colleges, childcare facilities closing from tomorrow, Mass Gatherings of more than 100 people banned, effectively, not to be encouraged, he says where people can they should work from home, work remotely, restaurants, cafe is will stay open but businesses should take all measures they can to encourage social distancing, to tackle this
threat. Leo varadkar, who is in washington for st patricks day, making that announcement live in the last few moments. Now, lets stay with the subject of coronavirus, because here to answer your questions on the subject is deputy chief medical officer were england, doctorjenny harries. We are very grateful that you are coming along to talk to us today. As well as being on the news channel and bbc two, the bbc News Facebook page and website. Can i ask for your response to what the irish Prime Minister has been saying, in contrast to what is happening in the uk . Im sure some of your viewers may be asking questions on these, but i think the important thing here is to
really be understanding of