Plans for social distancing for the elderly and the vulnerable will be discussed at the governments emergency meeting on coronavirus this afternoon. Downing street is to hold the first Daily Press Conference on the crisis in which the next steps in the uks plan will be outlined. As the pressure grows on the nhs, there are concerns about the health of front line workers. The immediate priority, from my end, representing the nations doctors is to keep them protected, keep them free from infection. Because if they fall sick and they arent able to work, we wont have a workforce. Well bring you all the latest from developments at home and abroad, where markets are plunging and borders closing. British airways, virgin and easyjet all say they are grounding the vast majority of their flights, as customer demand plummets. Germany becomes the latest country to close borders, as europe tightens up its response. Global markets dipped dramatically amid continued concern about the economic impact.
Youre watching bbc newsroom live its11am and these are the main stories this morning. The pm chairs a meeting of the governments Emergency Committee on coronavirus as Public Health england warns of the spread of the outbreak. It is likely now that we will see in due course widespread transmission in the uk. What we dont know is exactly how widespread that will be. As the worldwide death toll from the virus passes 3,000 the bank of england says it will take all necessary steps to preserve Financial Stability following recent falls on stock markets. The first round of trade talks between the uk and the European Union begins today 100 negotiators are travelling to brussels for discussions. Greece says its stopped nearly 10,000 migrants crossing the border into the eu from turkey
over the weekend. The government says it wants to give people in Northern England more powers over their railways as it starts Running Services previously operated by arriva rail north. Good morning. Welcome to bb
Tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. President trump set to speak at the coronavirus outbreak widens in the u. S. And tonight, the stock market freefall. The dow plunging 2,000 points. Thats nearly 8 . The biggest oneday point drop ever. Trading suspended just minutes after the opening bell. Amid global concern tonight over oil prices. Just one of the reasons why were live on wall street. The states of emergency in several states here in the u. S. And tonight, what were now learning about several members of congress, now in selfquarantine. Two republican congressmen just today added to the list. And they have been in contact with President Trump. One riding with him just today on air force one, then in the president s limousine. Congressman matt gaetz, who wore a gas mask on the house floor just last week, drawing criticism he was making light of
the outbreak. Also developing tonight, at least three new deaths reported in Washington State. The nursing home crisis there. And th
This program is live captioned by red bee media. This is the Business Briefing. Im Samantha Simmonds the sell off continues. Asian shares fall sharply after the dow racks up its biggest points loss on record. Plus out of office. Is coronavirus forcing the worlds biggest ever experiment in working from home . And here are those market numbers. Those sharp losses continuing in asia after us shares lost more than 4 on thursday. Its shaping up to be the worst week on the markets since the financial crisis more than a decade ago. We start with those markets because the sell off on wall street has gathered pace as fears grow about the economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak. And the selling has continued in asia well update you on that in a moment. It has been the worst day on wall street for almost a decade. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost more than 1,100 points its biggest points drop on record. All major us indices lost more than 4 . Investors were particularly spooked by a wa
Tonight, the coronavirus now in all 50 states. President trump calling himself a wartime president. Two navy ships on their way to u. S. Cities. And what the white house said today about young people and cases of the virus. New yorks governor calling for 110,000 more hospital beds within 45 days. You will hear from e. R. Doctors on the front lines. What theyre saying, what they need. The alarming images. Long lines waiting for testing in this country. The white house is asked why some highprofile people like nba stars are getting tests more quickly. Even when theyre asymptomatic. And the new effort to get self swab tests out to americans to test at home. Breaking news from wall street. All trading moved off the floor. And the stark unemployment numbers. Millions of americans out of work. The white house wants to send two checks out to families. How much, and when . From italy, 475 deaths. The most in a single day. New video inside the icu. And the message tonight about what to prepare