More than 70 Britons stranded on a coronavirus-hit cruise ship could be flown home, Downing Street has confirmed. It comes after those trapped on the ship, which has been struck by the virus, accused the Foreign Office of abandoning them. Earlier, health officials told schools they do not need to close or send staff and pupils home if there is a suspected case of coronavirus. All the latest news below: The death toll from China"s new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 1,800 on Tuesday after 93 more people died in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicentre of the outbreak. In its daily update, the province"s health commission also reported 1,807 new cases, a smaller number of infections compared to those declared on Monday. The new cases mean more than 72,300 people have now been affected across the country. Most of the cases are in Hubei, where the virus first emerged in December before spiralling into a nationwide epidemic. Tuesday"s jump in the death toll was also lower than the increase reported Monday, bringing the national number of deaths to 1,863. 11:28pm No need to send pupils home over suspected cases Health officials have told schools they do not need to close or send staff and pupils home if there is a suspected case of coronavirus. Public Health England (PHE) will publish guidance saying that no restrictions or special control measures are needed while tests for Covid-19 are carried out on a suspected case. While a pupil or staff member suspected of coming into contact with the virus is being tested, the guidance says no action is needed. If a case of the virus is confirmed, then health protection teams would trace those at risk. The new guidance comes the week after at least seven schools in Brighton, Hove and Eastbourne messaged parents saying that they would authorise absences for families wishing to self-isolate. 10:37pm China reports 2051 new COVID19 cases in past 24 hours In the past 24 hours China has reported 2,051 new coronavirus cases, the World Health Oragnisation said. It comes as the WHO confirmed that from today it would be reporting all confirmed cases: laboratory & clinically diagnosed and that it has developed guidance for managing public health events at entry points and mass gatherings Apple admits it will not meet its second-quarter revenue forecast It had expected to report net sales between $63bn to $67bn in its fiscal second quarter The company cited global supply constraints for iPhones and lower Chinese demand on the back of the coronavirus outbreak. Apple manufactures most iPhones and other products in China Second time in the last 13 months Apple has cut its guidance due to China concerns 9:18pm Hotel chain Oyo cautious about business in China SoftBank-backed hotel chain Oyo has warned that it is cautious about the China market, given the coronavirus that has all but put a halt to travel. “The coronavirus crisis is gripping all of China, it will impact the business in the short term. We can’t say how much,” said Aditya Ghosh, a board member. “It is too soon to say how much our business will get impacted, there are too many affected provinces and it is too sensitive a matter.” The company was founded in 2013 by the then 19-year-old entrepreneur Ritesh Agarwal. 8:43pm 13 US citizens at "high risk" treated in Nebraska Thirteen US citizens deemed "high risk" for the deadly new coronavirus are being treated at a federally designated facility in the University of Nebraska following their evacuation from a cruise ship in Japan, officials said. A total of 338 Americans were flown home from the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan"s Yokohama, touching down first at Travis Air Force Base in California shortly before midnight Sunday. The second flight arrived early Monday at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. "A select number of high risk patients were transported onward from both locations using those same aircraft to Omaha, Nebraska for care at the University of Nebraska," Health and Human Services official Robert Kadlec told reporters. State Department official William Walters added these included six passengers from the base in California and seven from the base in Texas. South Korea halts more Thai flights South Korean airlines have suspended more flights to Thailand amid coronavirus fears. It comes after the South Korean government issued a travel advisory to its citizens last week. The country"s Health and Welfare Ministry urged South Koreans to refrain from travelling to regions confirmed to have infectious cases. South Korea has prioritised guarding against the entry of the virus from regions other than China, using screening measures for passengers who have travelled to Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Macau. 7:22pm Coronavirus under the microscope Here are a few images of what the virus itself ... Son of British couple appeals to Govt The son of a British couple stuck on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship has renewed appeals for the UK Government to help his parents. Steve Abel appeared in a video posted from his father’s YouTube channel and admitted that his “greatest fear” was that his parents would become separated in Japan. "Please bear in mind they"ve been on that cruise ship for 28 days. They"re getting pretty fed up and they are the way they are because of the stress, the confinement within the cabin," he said. "This is my plea: I want my mum and dad to wake up in the morning and actually have some information sent to them - they need to be communicated with. "We"re seeing things on the news and we"re seeing things are happening but they"re getting nothing, no-one is actually speaking to them which is driving them crazy. They must be going crazy as it is just being inside that cabin." Mr Abel said that he was extremely concerned that his parents would be separated abroad. 6:34pm COVID-19 threat could erode with time just as with H1N1, say experts The outbreak of COVID-19 infections, which has now spread to almost 30 other countries, could follow the same trajectory seen in the H1N1 influenza outbreak in Mexico just over a decade ago, Channel News Asia reports. According to infectious disease experts, it could fade into something less sinister later on. In early March 2009, Mexico experienced outbreaks of respiratory illness and increased reports of patients with flu-like symptoms in several areas of the country. “This is the historical pattern of past pandemics, and happens because the virus ‘burns out’ and runs out of people to infect as a result of many factors,” said Prof Pang, citing warmer temperatures, better public awareness and public health measures. “There is a possibility that the virus could mutate into something more ‘sinister’, (that) spreads faster (or causes) more severe disease, but, so far, we have not seen any evidence of this happening.” 6:19pm Family of four die from virus The deaths of four members of the same family in Wuhan raise concerns about the practice of self-isolating at home, Chinese media group Caixin reports. According to an obituary published by his employer, Chang Kai, a director at Hubei Film Studios, died on 14 February aged 55 from pneumonia caused by the virus. His father, mother and older sister are also reported to have died from the disease between 28 January and 14 February. Caixin reported that the film director tried to take his ill father to a number of hospitals, but was turned away due to a lack of beds. His father is said to have died at home a few days later. 6:13pm Coronavirus may be spreading undetected outside China A growing number of cases with no direct link to China may mean the virus is being transmitted under the radar, experts have said. Japan, South Korea and Singapore have all reported cases of the disease, now called Covid-19, where there has been no direct link between the infected person and China. The number of cases in all three countries is in double figures. Some experts now believe that containment is no longer possible, instead mitigation is now the only policy. Global Health Security deputy editor Anne Gulland has all the details here. 6:07pm Good evening Here"s an update of today"s events so far... Number of confirmed cases reach 71,900 worldwide, with 1,755 dead so far A 433-bed hotel is set to become a coronavirus testing centre for arrivals at Heathrow Coronavirus is not "a risk is high of [becoming] a pandemic", says WHO New data reveals that 80% of COVID-19 cases are mild and patients will fully recover The Tokyo Marathon has closed to all but elite runners in a bid to reduce the risk on infection While armed robbers, fuelled by coronavirus rationing, made off with hundreds of pounds of toilet roll in Hong Kong this morning. The stolen loo was later discovered in a guest house not far from the robbery. For all the latest updates, keeping following our live blog throughout the night. 5:58pm Hong Kong confirms three new coronavirus cases Three new cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Hong Kong, bringing the city-wide total to 60 confirmed cases, including one death, the Hong Kong Health Ministry announced on Monday. The new cases are: A 69-year-old man with underlying illness and no recent travel history A 45-year-old man linked to a previous case A 46-year-old woman married to a patient who was confirmed to have the virus on Sunday 5:52pm Manhunt in Taiwan Three Hongkongers who sparked a manhunt in Taiwan after flouting coronavirus quarantine rules have each been hunted down and fined, the South China Morning Post reports. Contact was lost with the three Hongkongers – two men and a woman – who arrived on February 8, according to the Taipei city government. Taiwan has imposed restrictions on people from Hong Kong and Macau since February 7 to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, requiring all travellers from the two cities to place themselves under home or hotel quarantine for 14 days after they land on the self-governed island. After health officials failed to contact them via the phone numbers and hotel addresses they provided, a manhunt was launched. The trio then reportedly contacted police on Friday night and were sent to quarantine centres. But not before authorities fined them NT$70,000 (£1793). 5:42pm How *NOT* to survive a deadly global virus Inspired by the current coronavirus outbreak, Max Siedentopf, a German designer based in London, has created a series of provocative images showing everyday items being used as (not-so) protective face masks. The project, titled How-To Survive A Deadly Global Virus, features various bizarre objects positioned over a number of model"s faces. A man with a sanitary towel stuck to his face, a women breathing into a bra and an orange segment mask both feature, along with a sneaker and plastic Tescos bag with eye holds. "Since the virus is currently spreading globally, the series offers handy solutions how you can use simple everyday objects to protect yourself," the designer told Dezeen Magazine. While none of these alternative face mask ideas should be taken seriously, that"s not to say they"re not creative... 5:26pm America has the power to put its citizens in lockdown – with one catch A Chinese-style quarantine in America could be a giant legal mess, one expert writes for The Atlantic. Polly J. Price, professor of law and global health at Emory University, explains how the US has the power to enforce a coronavirus quarantine, much like the one seen in China, but who has the authority to trigger such a lockdown is where it gets complicated: "Government officials can prevent travel, require vaccinations, make people submit to medical exams, and commandeer private property. "Even those who are not sick can be ordered into quarantine—confined to their home or another location with others who may also have been exposed to a virus. When quarantine is medically justified, individual rights give way to the greater good." But... "Except at the nation’s borders, the federal government, with the expertise of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is not in charge. Instead... "State and local health officials are the final authority on what preventive measures to take within their jurisdiction." This localised response, as Prof Polly points out, actually has the potential to make matters worse. In response the lecturer argues that a centralised strategy, enforced by one known national authority (aka the US"s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), is very much needed – sooner rather than later: "The world-leading scientific expertise of the CDC is essential. "With a SARS-like virus or pandemic flu with the ability to spread through the air, the potential exists for constitutional conflict that could be too fast-moving for courts to intervene. "If it comes to that, the CDC’s credibility will be necessary to coordinate the responses of all the different jurisdictions, or something much worse than a constitutional dispute could befall the country." 5:01pm Wuhan hospital director dies The People’s Daily has reported that a hospital director in Wuhan, China, has died after being infected with coronavirus. According to the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuchang hospital, passed away on Monday and has become the first hospital director to die from the virus. Liu Zhiming, director of #Wuhan Wuchang Hospital, died on Feb. 17 due to the infection with #COVID19. He is the first hospital director that died from #coronavirus. #RIP pic.twitter.com/fva8E2pDz6 — People"s Daily, China (@PDChina) February 17, 2020 4:46pm Health officials turn Heathrow hotel into testing centre A 433-bed hotel has been commandeered to become a coronavirus testing centre for arrivals at Heathrow, in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, our health editor Laura Donnelly can confirm. Passengers who fly into the airport from at-risk countries such as China will be sent to the nearby Holiday Inn to undergo checks if they are showing possible signs of the virus. The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed today that it has block-booked the hotel indefinitely, as part of measures to control the spread of coronavirus. Doctors will be sent to the site to carry out the tests, and anyone with a positive result will then be sent on to specialist hospitals for treatment. Officials hope it will limit the number of passengers travelling into London - and beyond - when they are infectious. The rooms - which normally cost £80 a night - will be used to isolate suspected cases while test results are awaited. Health officials said that most of those who stay at the centre would be expected to stay for 48 hours, while awaiting test results, and would be free to leave after a negative result. However, the hotel may also be used for those who have been advised to “self-isolate” for 14 days. Such cases could include those who have had contact with a confirmed case, or those who have travelled from countries which are deemed high risk. Latest figures show 4,501 people in the UK have now been tested, with nine positive cases. 4:39pm Diamond market under pressure from coronavirus outbreak It"s not just the Diamond Princess cruise ship that has been hit by the coronavirus outbreak, the deadly virus has also dampened demand for the ship"s namesake, too. Shares in Petra Diamonds fell by 16 per cent on Monday after the miner warned the outbreak of coronavirus is reducing demand for diamonds, the Financial Times reports. The coronavirus has “served to significantly reduce activity,” in the diamond market, Petra said, causing the company to cut its debt reduction target. 4:27pm WHO: "Not high risk of a pandemic" Speaking at the same press conference Dr Mike Ryan, executive direction of the WHO health emergencies programme, cautioned against using the term "pandemic" to describe the outbreak, saying it would create unnecessary panic: "We need to be extremely cautious in using the term pandemic. There were lots of controversies during H1N1 [swine flu outbreak] about when it was and wasn"t a pandemic yet. "The real issue here is whether we’re seeing efficient community transmission outside of China. And at the present time we are not observing that. The majority of cases outside China have a direct link still back to China. "Risk very high in China, regionally and around the world. That"s not a risk is high of a pandemic - it"s a high risk that the disease will spread further... "We need to reflect on the fact that the vast majority of cases are in China, even then within Hubei and wuhan - [we"re] talking about an overall rate of about 4 people per 100,0000." Dr Ryan added that while "all predictions are important, most predictions are wrong". And he warned against imposing blanket shutdowns of borders, transport and trade - suggesting they create stigma and that it is impossible to reduce the risks to zero. 4:17pm "Every scenario is still on the table", says WHO Speaking at a World Health Organization press conference in Geneva, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that although cases seem to be declining it"s too early to tell if that drop will continue. "Every scenario [is] still on the table", he said. Dr Tedros added that a "clearer picture of the outbreak" is emerging. He said that China have shared today data on 44,000 confirmed cases, which "gives us a better understanding of the age range of people infected, the severity of the disease and the mortality rate." The data showed that: 80% of cases are mild and patients will fully recover 14% of cases more serious, causing illness including pneumonia and shortness of breath 5% of cases need intensive hospital care, with symptoms including septic shock and multi-organ failure 2% of cases are fatal – and the risk of death increases the older you are Relatively few cases among children, though experts are not yet sure why But Dr Tedros said the WHO had not received the $665 million they have called for to help fight the outbreak" "We have not seen the urgency in funding that we need. As I keep saying we have a window of opportunity now, we need resources now to ensure countries are prepared now. "We don’t know how long this window of opportunity will remain open, lets not squander it." 3:57pm Saudi Arabia weighs in Saudi Arabia has pledged its full support to combatting the coronavirus in China, the press association reports. According to the official release, around 1,159 medical devices, including ultrasound machines, non-invasive ventilators and patient monitors, protective masks and isolation suits will be sent to China. 3:44pm Ghost town Fears about the coronavirus and government-enforced lockdowns have left many once-bustling cities across China looking like abandoned ghost towns. Below a boy wearing a protective mask can we seen visiting a nearly empty park in Beijing, China. Viral misinformation Ronny Chieng"s skit on The Daily Show, a satirical news show aired in the US, has gone viral for all the right reasons. The Malaysian comedian"s four-minute speech poked fun at all the coronavirus misinformation and racism swirling around the internet. Well cared for Nurses and midwives in China have been drafted in to care for babies and children of parents quarantined by the coronavirus. As well as performing regular medical checks, the nurses are also on hand to make sure all the children are fed, washed and well looked after. State-run Xinhua News Agency has the footage: Kim Jong-Un"s brief hiatus ends Seen for the first time in three weeks, Kim Jong-un pays tribute to his late father and former leader Kim Jong-il, at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. It was Kim"s first reported public appearance since January 25, when he attended a concert in Pyongyang celebrating Lunar New Year"s Day. Festivities to mark the anniversary of Kim Jong Il"s birth on Sunday - the Day of the Shining Star - were noticeably more subdued than past years, with thinner crowds and fewer visiting dignitaries, the Straits Times reported. Some have speculated that the North Korean leader has spent the last three weeks laying low in wake of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, which originated in neighbouring China. North Korea has closed off its borders and has yet to declare a case of the potentially deadly virus. Cameroonian student studying in China cured of coronavirus Kem Senou Pavel Daryl, a 21-year-old Cameroonian student living in the Chinese city of Jingzhou, has become the first African person known to be infected with the deadly coronavirus and the first to recover, the BBC reports. Mr Senou first fell ill with a fever, dry cough, and flu-like symptoms. For 13 days, he remained in isolation in a local Chinese hospital where he was treated with antibiotics and drugs typically used to treat HIV patients. After two weeks of care he began to show signs of recovery. Mr Senou is the first to be cured of the virus, but he just one of a thousand African students, workers and families under lockdown in China after many of their home governments declined to evacuate them. As of mid-February, Egypt, Algeria, Mauritius, Morocco and Seychelles had moved their citizens out of Hubei province. Other nations such as Ghana and Kenya are reportedly considering evacuating. While others, including Cameroon and Zambia, have been accused of "abandoning" its citizens. 2:24pm Impact on the EU economy will be "temporary" The head of the Eurogroup Mario Centeno said on Monday he expected the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the euro zone economy to be temporary. "We expect it to be a temporary effect," Centeno told Reuters in Brussels. But he added that the EU should carefully assess developments in the long-term. 2:11pm Is it safe to travel to Japan? As cases of coronavirus in Japan continue to rise, travellers are beginning to ask: is it safe to visit the country? Greg Dickinson looks into the latest Japan travel advice, and how the outbreak could affect the Olympic Games, here. Virgin Atlantic in "discussions" with government Virgin Atlantic is "in discussions" with the government over whether it could help fly a group of Britons quarantined on the Diamond Princess in Japan back to the UK, Richard Brandon has said. Branson tweeted: "VirginAtlantic does not fly to Japan, but we are in discussions with the UK government and seeing if there is anything we can do to help." Branson"s comments come after British passengers David and Sally Abel directly asked for the businessmen to help them reach home. The pair have been vocal in their criticism the UK government"s response to the situation. 1:46pm North Sea oil rig worker tested for coronavirus following Thailand trip A worker on a North Sea oil rig remains in isolation after testing negative for suspected coronavirus, Gazette Media reports. The male crew member on the Tern Alpha platform off Shetland had shown "minor symptoms" after returning from a holiday in Thailand. After further tests on Saturday, the worker tested negative for the virus, and is now well – but remains in voluntary isolation. A spokeswoman for Taqa, said: "We can confirm that the individual on its Tern Alpha platform has tested negative for coronavirus and is well. "Health Protection Scotland have advised that there is now no need for ongoing isolation and that the individual can go about normal activities. "However, in line with other crew who have recently returned from the affected regions, the individual remains in voluntary isolation while we arrange his return to shore." Tern Alpha is a fixed installation serving as a manned drilling and production installation in the East Shetland Basin of the northern North Sea. 1:42pm Spate of racist attacks reported across the south coast Police have launched an investigation following reports of five racist attacks linked to the coronavirus in two neighbouring south coast cities, Solent News reports. Members of the Asian community including university students and school pupils are said to have been verbally abused with racial slurs in the space of four days. A University of Southampton student reportedly had a stone thrown at him in the centre of the Hampshire city and was told by a man and a woman: "Go back to your fucking country." Another student wearing a face mask was called a "fucking virus" while she walked home and a staff member at a Chinese restaurant in Southampton was harassed by a man who cited the coronavirus. In neighbouring Portsmouth, a man was allegedly asked to get off a bus by its driver because he was wearing a face mask. The University of Southampton"s Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSASoton) has urged people not to insult people by creating a anti-abuse poster. The poster reads: "I am not a virus, I am a human." It has been distributed in Chinese restaurants across Southampton and may also be used across the University of Southampton campus. Dr Michael Ng, chair of the association and an Associate Professor at the university, said: "There are racist people who are using the coronavirus as an excuse to racially abuse the Asian community. "Students at the university are affected - they are afraid of putting on their masks in case they face abuse. There have been no incidents on campus, but there are many which have happened in the city centre. "There are many incidents which have not been reported to the police." A Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson said: "There have been a small number of incidents of racial abuse. Any crimes perpetuated by hate and prejudice are completely unacceptable. We are working with Chinese community leaders." Dr Ng also said pupils from Hong Kong and Macau studying at a private school in Portsmouth were verbally abused by fellow pupils however the matter was dealt with internally. 1:38pm Coronavirus could tip Japan into recession Japan is in danger of being tipped into recession by the coronavirus outbreak after ending 2019 with its biggest quarterly contraction in five years, Tom Rees reports. The world"s third-largest economy suffered a shock 1.6pc fall in GDP in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three months after a sales tax rise and a large typhoon took a bigger-than-expected toll on shoppers. And economists warned that Japan was likely to face further pain in the first quarter of 2020 as Covid-19 causes havoc across Asia. Follow the story here. 1:32pm E-commerce giants cash in on virus merch Amazon and eBay have been cashing in on the coronavirus outbreak – which has killed more than 1,700 people worldwide – by flogging slogan T-shirts, Triangle News reports. A T-shirt printed with the words "I survived coronavirus 2020" and a gas mask is available in 12 different colours for £10.99 on Amazon. While ladies top with the words "Coronavirus. Welcome to hell. Free entry." is also available for £11.99. Over on eBay similarly shady slogans can be found: One £15 tshirt had the words "Just arrived from Wuhan" emblazoned on the front in reference to the Chinese city dubbed the epicentre of the global health epidemic. The e-commerce giant also offered one with the Corona beer logo with the the word "beer" replaced with "virus." When approached by Triangle news, eBay said the sale of the Coronavirus T-shirts breached its "Disaster and Tragedy Policy" and it has now removed them. Amazon declined to comment. 1:23pm Front-line medical workers battle the coronavirus – in pictures A medical workers holds a new born girl baby after a woman infected with novel coronavirus gave birth in an ambulance at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi"an Jiaotong University in Xi"an, China. The baby was not infected with the virus and was discharged from hospital on Saturday. Medical works chat between breaks at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in China. A team comprised of 102 medical workers from Gansu Province have their head"s shaved to better fit the protective suits before leaving for Wuhan on Saturday to aid the novel coronavirus control efforts there. Health officials in protective suits prepare a shuttle bus transporting U.S. passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship to a chartered flight at Haneda airport in Japan. Attack on Exeter taxi driver Police are investigating a racially aggravated attack on a taxi driver in Exeter, Devon after he was taunted over coronavirus, Apex News reports. The 35-year-old taxi driver, who is of Asian descent, was reportedly taunted with coronavirus jibes before being head butted by a passenger. He is said to have picked up two female and two male passengers from a taxi rank. Once in the taxi one of the men proceeded to question the driver about where he was from and whether he had coronavirus. The male started to repeatedly slap the driver on the back of the head while he was driving and when he stopped the car to let the passengers out on New North Road, near the prison, the male started kicking him. The second male then head butted the driver causing a gash to his eyebrow which required stitches. The driver also had his car key and £120 in cash stolen from his vehicle during the ordeal. The incident occurred at around 12.30am on Sunday 16February near Augustus House on New North Road, Exeter. Police have appealed for witnesses or anyone with information which could assist with police enquiries to contact police on 101 quoting CR/013859/20. 12:58pm Rise in number of infected passengers on board Diamond Princess cruise An additional 99 people on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship berthed in Japan tested positive for the new coronavirus on Monday, bringing the total number of infected passengers to 454, the Japanese health authorities confirmed. The news sparked more angst among the thousands of holidaymakers and crew nervously waiting out their quarantine in the confinement of their cabins or bracing for their own test results, including British couple David and Sally Abel who have been posting prolific updates to social media. The Japanese government said on Sunday that guests who had been tested and did not have the virus, known as Covid-19, would be allowed to leave the liner on Wednesday, at the end of the mandatory 14-day quarantine period. However, any new infections will be treated in hospital and their close contacts forced to restart their isolation. Further restrictions may face passengers when they return to their home country. Meanwhile back at home, the Prime Minister"s official spokesman has confirmed that the Foreign Office is looking into a repatriation flight for the 78 British citizens quarantined on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Nicola Smith reports. 12:53pm Heathrow hotel turned into possible quarantine centre A hotel near Heathrow Airport is believed to have been taken over for use as a potential coronavirus quarantine centre. The Holiday Inn Heathrow Ariel hotel is said to be "booked out" as health officials prepare for a potential spike in cases over the coming weeks. The Independent reported the hotel will be fully booked from Saturday and staff have been told it will not reopen until March at the earliest. It is thought the choice of location is linked to the potential arrival of international visitors to the UK who have the virus, or those returning from overseas. Guests have reportedly been transferred to sister hotels run by the franchise which owns Holiday Inn, the InterContinental Hotels Group. A source did not deny the report when approached by the Telegraph, but would not be drawn on the precise purpose of what they described as a "block booking" of the busy hotel. 12:50pm China postpone standing committee China has said it may postpone its annual congress in March, its biggest political meeting of the year, Associated Press reports. It comes as the military dispatched hundreds more medical workers and extra supplies to the city hit hardest by a 2-month-old virus outbreak. The standing committee for the National People"s Congress said it believes it is necessary to postpone the gathering to give top priority to people"s lives, safety and health, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. It noted that one-third of the 3,000 delegates are provincial and municipal-level cadres with important leadership roles working on the front line of the battle against the epidemic. The standing committee said it would meet on 24 February to further deliberate on a postponement. The meeting is due to start on March 5. 12:40pm China arrests activist who called for President Xi Junping to step down Reuters reports that Chinese authorities have arrested a prominent rights activist and legal scholar who had called on President Xi Jinping to step down over his handling of crises including the coronavirus outbreak. Xu was arrested on Saturday night by the Beijing police with assistance by police in Guangzhou, Hua Ze, an activist and friend of Xu"s said. Xu, a long-time activist for judicial and legal reform, founded the New Citizens Movement in 2012, which called on government officials to disclose their wealth. He was sentenced in 2014 to four years in prison for his work with the group. In recent weeks, Xu had written many articles criticising Beijing"s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 71,000 people in China and killed 1,775. In a Feb 4 article published on a website that is blocked in China and belongs to the New Citizens Movement, Xu called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to resign, citing his handling of crises, from Hong Kong"s anti-government protests to the epidemic that originated in the central city of Wuhan. "Medical supplies are tight, and the hospitals are overcrowded with people, and a large number of those infected are unable to have their cases verified," Xu wrote. "You say you personally directed the deployment, it is a mess." "Mr. Xi Jinping, please give way," he wrote. 12:30pm Hold on HSBC staff travelling to Hong Kong HSBC has extended restrictions on staff travelling to Hong Kong until 16 March amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Monday. The bank also said it is maintaining an outright ban on all travel to mainland China. HSBC said exceptions to the Hong Kong travel ban would require approval from a senior manager. 12:24pm "Resting risk face" A San Fransisco-based product designer and satirical artist has gone viral on Twitter after suggesting she has created a service that prints customer"s faces on a N95 masks. Danielle Baskin"s prank claims to protect customers against viral epidemics whilst also allowing them to unlock their phones using facial recognition. Ms Baskin is keen to stress that she will not be making these while there"s still a global mask shortage, but if "you enjoy late stage capitalism, facial recognition respirator masks will retail for $40 per mask" at a later date, says her website. However, this disclaimer hasn"t stopped some Twitter criticising her for supposedly trivialising the global epidemic which has so far infected more than 71,000 people and killed 1,775. 12:07pm Britons stuck on quarantined ship express frustrations David Abel, a passenger on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, has released another blog expressing his frustration over the UK government"s handling of the coronavirus outbreak which has so far left a number of British citizens stranded on a detained cruise ship in Japan. As of this afternoon, No.10 has confirm reports that the Foreign Office are now looking into a repatriation flight for the 78 British citizens quarantined on board – some good news that Mr Abel will do doubt be delighted to hear. 11:46am Beijing to build a new mask factory in less than a week The Chinese capital of Beijing will set up a new mask factory within just six days to meet soaring demand for protective gear in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday. Reuters reports that the factory, converted from an industrial building by China Construction First Group, will be able to turn out 250,000 masks each day. The rapid turn around of the plant is not too dissimilar to the hospital shelters built in the virus epicentre of Wuhan to treat those infected with the coronavirus, which were completed in around 10 days. Producers of masks and other protective equipment around the world have been unable to meet demand in the wake of the outbreak, which has killed more than 1,700 people in China. Last month, CMmask, a Chinese mask maker that supplies 30% of the domestic market, said daily orders for 5 million masks were more than 10 times its usual level. 11:21am Britons on board the Diamond Princess may be flown home According to a Tweet by Rowena Mason, the deputy political editor at The Guardian, Downing Street has said that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is looking at a repatriation flight for 74 Britons on board Diamond Princess cruise ship hit by Coronavirus 11:20am Tokyo Marathon closed to all but elite runners Japan said on Monday it would limit public crowds in Tokyo to prevent further spread of the deadly coronavirus, closing next month’s Tokyo Marathon to all but elite runners, Reuters reports. Organisers of the Tokyo Marathon said the 38,000 general participants who signed up for the race on 1 March will not be allowed to compete, a person with knowledge of the issue told Reuters. The event will instead be limited to top-level competitors, which includes 176 elite runners and 30 elite wheelchair athletes. Japan also announced it would be scrapping the emperor’s birthday celebrations. The event regularly attracts tens of thousands of people to the inner grounds of the Imperial Palace in the heart of Tokyo. The last time the birthday celebration was cancelled was 1996, during a hostage crisis at the Japanese embassy in Peru. 11:14am Russian woman forcibly hospitalised A Russian woman who pulled off a daring escape from coronavirus quarantine has been forcibly hospitalised, our Moscow correspondent Nataliya Vasilyeva reports. Alla Ilyina bragged last week about putting her physics degree to good use when she short-circuited the lock in her hospital ward and escaped. Ms Ilyina, who came back from a package holiday in China at the end of January, insisted that she had been misinformed about the length of the quarantine and was told on several occasions that she was healthy. A court in Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg on Monday upheld a lawsuit by health officials seeking to hospitalise the woman, dubbed Sarah Connor by Russian media after the hard-nut character in the Terminator films. Authorities argued in court that the woman locked herself up at her home and wouldn’t let in doctors to examine her. Despite potential health risks, the St. Petersburg court on Monday held a regular hearing which was swarmed by reporters and visitors. Just one person in the audience appeared to be wearing a face mask, Fontanka.ru website reported. Ms Ilyina complied with the ruling and was taken from the courtroom to hospital by paramedics dressed in protective suits. 11:07am February sales fall as storm and coronavirus disruption hits Bicester Village Workers at the Oxfordshire retail outlet centre report a fall in the number of visitors as Storm Ciara causes travel disruption and fears about the worldwide Covid-19 outbreak force people to stay inside. A shop assistant told the BBC that they are "concerned" about how reliant Bicester Village is on tourism. More than 72% of Chinese visitors to the UK go shopping during their trips, according to research by VisitBritain. In total, there were 415,000 visits from China to the UK in the 12 months to September 2019, the tourism body says. Chinese tourists are the biggest group for the luxury shop, staff told the BBC. The last two weeks have been "quiet", with staff estimating a drop of about 85% in the number of Chinese customers visiting the retail village. 10:51am Producers suffer as world goes bananas over coronavirus fears Work stoppages and market closures in China stemming from a coronavirus epidemic are hurting small- and medium-sized banana growers in the Philippines, an industry group said on Monday. According to Reuters, mainland China is one of the Southeast Asian nation"s biggest buyers of bananas, its top agricultural export. Together with Japan, it bought more than half the Philippines" exports of the fruit last year. The Philippines" banana shipments last year were valued at $1.93 billion, up roughly 40% from the previous year, and accounting for 3% of overall exports. Representatives of the Pilipino Banana Growers & Exporters Association met farm ministry officials on Monday to tackle the industry challenges, including the virus outbreak. "The China problem is not as serious for the big exporters because of their existing contracts with the importers," said Stephen Antig, the group"s executive director. The hardest hit are the small- and medium-sized growers who deal with spot buyers, he added. "Their shipments cannot be readily delivered, because of the work shutdown and closure of markets," Antig told Reuters in an email. "Chances are, some of the fruit will get rotten on the piers sooner or later." 10:42am Coronavirus fears hit China"s cash In a new form of infection control, the Chinese government issued a statement on Saturday ordering branches of the People"s Bank of China to withdraw cash from circulation. The press release advises that cash should be disinfected with ultraviolet light and high temperatures, then stored for more than 14 days before being released back into the market. 10:23am 60 per cent of Britons consider coronavirus a major threat According to a new YouGov international study conducted among 27,000 people in 23 countries, 60 per of Britons consider the coronavirus to be a major or moderate threat. While nearly a third of people living in Britain say that they are not at all familiar with the coronavirus, which originated in China. The results of the poll also reveal how attitudes to the disease differ across the world: Filipinos feel they are most familiar with the disease, although Chinese people are unsurprisingly the most likely to see it as a major threat. Generally speaking, people in Europe and the US report lower levels of familiarity with the ailment, while those in the Middle East report higher levels. 10:08am "I am going to eat a kebab and drink a beer" A Belgian man infected with the novel coronavirus has said he plans to "eat a kebab and drink a beer" upon his release from hospital. Our Brussels correspondent James Crisp tweeted the news: Gambling hub gets go-ahead Macau, the world"s biggest gambling hub, will allow casinos to resume operations from 20 February, after authorities imposed a two-week suspension to curb spreading of the coronavirus, public broadcaster TDM reported on Monday. The unprecedented halt of gaming operations started on 5 February and was due to end on 19 February, Reuters reports. Macau has not reported any new cases of the virus since 4 February, authorities said. There have been 10 confirmed cases of the virus in total. Government services, which had mostly been suspended since the start of February, gradually resumed operations this week but authorities cautioned that residents needed to remain vigilant. Macau"s government has told casino operators that they have 30 days to go back to full business, health officials said on Monday. 9:40am Confirmed cases swell to more than 70,000 The total confirmed number of Covid-19 cases in China has risen to 70,553, with a further 1,257 across the world. Armed robbers make off with hundreds of pounds of toilet roll The South China Morning Post reports on a group of armed robbers who stole about HK$1,700 (£168) worth of toilet paper from outside a Hong Kong supermarket on Monday morning. Three masked men stole 600 rolls in about 50 packets from a delivery man outside a Wellcome store in Mong Kok, at around 6am on Monday. Police said one of the men was armed with a knife. Two people had been arrested by midday on Monday, and the force said they were hunting down a third suspect. The stolen toilet rolls were found in a guest house not far from where it was taken. The incident followed weeks of panic buying at supermarkets across the city after online rumours sparked fears of a shortage of essential goods, caused by the outbreak of the virus. Another 99 cases on the Diamond Princess An additional 99 people on the quarantined cruise ship have been confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus, Japanese media reported on Monday. That would take the total number of positive cases on the Diamond Princess to 454. The health ministry declined to confirm the reports immediately. The widening impact of the outbreak, which began in China in December and has killed over 1,700 people, is threatening large public events and damaging output and tourism in Japan. This morning China said it might postpone its annual congress in March, its biggest political meeting of the year, because of the virus outbreak. 6:59am 14 test positive among US plane evacuees from Japan virus ship Fourteen people who had tested positive for the new coronavirus were among the more than 300 US citizens and family members evacuated by plane from a quarantined ship in Japan, the US State Department said Monday. The passengers had already disembarked from the Diamond Princess and were preparing to return to the United States on chartered aircraft when US officials were informed 14 of them who had been tested days earlier were positive for COVID-19, it said in a joint statement with the Department of Health and Human Services. "These individuals were moved in the most expeditious and safe manner to a specialized containment area on the evacuation aircraft to isolate them in accordance with standard protocols," it said. "During the flights, these individuals will continue to be isolated from the other passengers." The first flight is due to land shortly at a US Air Force base in California, where all passengers will undergo 14 days quarantine. Australia to evacuate 200 citizens from cruise ship Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia will evacuate more than 200 of its citizens onboard the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship being held under quarantine in the Japanese port of Yokohama. Mr Morrison said the passengers will depart on Wednesday and will be taken to Australia"s tropical north, where they will be required to be quarantined for another 14 days. The Diamond Princess cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corp , has been quarantined since arriving in Yokohama on Feb. 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong before it travelled to Japan was diagnosed with the virus. More than 350 passengers onboard the Diamond Princess have tested positive for coronavirus, including 24 Australians. British citizens remain trapped on the ship have accused the Foreign Office of abandoning them. "For those more than 200 Australians who will be returning to Australia, we are going to have to require a further 14-day quarantine period to be put in place on their return to Darwin," Mr Morrison told reporters in Melbourne. Despite passengers" spending two weeks confined to their cabins, some of which were windowless, Australian health officials said a further quarantine period was necessary. Scramble to track Cambodia cruise ship passengers Holland America Line said it is working with governments and health experts to track passengers who disembarked from its Westerdam cruise ship docked in Cambodia after an American woman tested positive for coronavirus in Malaysia. The cruise line, which is owned by cruise giant Carnival Corp, said none of the other 1,454 passengers and 802 crew have reported any symptoms. "Guests who have already returned home will be contacted by their local health department and be provided further information," a statement from the company said. Passengers had been cleared to travel by Cambodian authorities after health checks when the cruise ship docked on Thursday. It had spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines and Thailand. But on Saturday, Malaysia said an American woman who arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Friday on a chartered flight had tested positive for the new coronavirus. The woman"s husband tested negative for the coronavirus. About 137 of the 145 passengers on the chartered flight had already left for other countries as of Sunday after showing no signs of illness, Malaysian authorities said. Dozens more of the Westerdam passengers had flown through Thailand and onward to other countries, Thai officials said. At least 236 passengers and 747 crew remain aboard the vessel off the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville, Holland America said. Others were in hotels in Phnom Penh, the capital. Armed robbers who stole hundreds of toilet rolls were being hunted by Hong Kong police on Monday, in a city wracked by shortages caused by coronavirus panic-buying. Toilet rolls have become hot property in the densely packed business hub, despite government assurances that supplies remain unaffected by the virus outbreak. Supermarkets have found themselves unable to restock quickly enough, leading to sometimes lengthy queues and shelves stripped bare within moments of opening. Alongside toilet rolls, there has been a run on staples like rice and pasta as well as hand sanitiser and other cleaning items. Police said a truck driver was held up early on Monday by three men outside a supermarket in Mong Kok, a working class district with a history of "triad" organised crime gangs. "A delivery man was threatened by three knife-wielding men who took toilet paper worth more than HK$1,000 ($98)," a police spokesman told AFP. 3:39am Asian markets open lower over virus fears Hong Kong stocks opened lower on Monday as the death toll from China"s new coronavirus jumped and concerns deepened over the potential economic fallout from the epidemic. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.18 percent, or 48.89 points, to 27,766.71 in early trade. Mainland China"s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.27 percent higher, or 7.98 points, at 2,924.99. In Japan, Tokyo stocks also opened lower. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.81 percent, or 191.88 points, at 23,495.71 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.85 percent, or 14.46 points, at 1,688.41. The number of new cases in China grew yesterday, the country"s health commission confirmed, ending three consecutive days in which the number of new cases fell. Cases grew to 2,048, up slightly from a leap of 2,009 on Saturday. In total, there are now more than 70,000 cases of the coronavirus and 1,770 have died - 105 since yesterday.