Coronavirus: North-East breakfast briefing

North-East and North Yorkshire

• Public Health England yesterday confirmed the number of cases in the North-East and Yorkshire has risen to 44, up 12 from Wednesday.
• The first cases were reported in Redcar and North Yorkshire. So far other confirmed cases have been reported by local authorities in Newcastle, Sunderland, Stockton, County Durham, North Tyneside and York.
• A primary school in Stockton closed following "advice" from Public Health England over latest coronavirus concerns. Oak Tree Academy confirmed that one of its pupils had recently been in contact with a person who had tested positive for COVID-19.

National

• The Prime Minister described Covid-19 as “the worst public health crisis” in a generation.
• The Government's top scientist warned that up to 10,000 people in the UK are already infected.
• Boris Johnson introduced new measures to try and protect the elderly and vulnerable.
• The FTSE 100 closed the day down by more than one 10th as fears over Covid-19 sparked the index's worst bloodbath since 1987.
• The Electoral Commission recommended local elections in May be postponed.
• First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said mass gatherings over 500 people in Scotland are set to be restricted.

International 

• The World Health Organisation said it was "deeply concerned" some countries are not handling the pandemic with "the level of political commitment needed to control it".
• Ireland announced the closure of schools and tourist attractions until the end of the month.
• US stocks plunged to their worst losses since the Black Monday crash of 1987. The plunge extended a sell-off that has wiped out most of Wall Street's gains since President Donald Trump's election.
• The European stocks index ended the day with its biggest loss on record.
• French President Emmanuel Macron said that all of the country's schools, kindergartens and universities will be closed until further notice from Monday in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
• Italy, the centre of Europe's coronavirus pandemic, has hit the milestone of 1,000 deaths since it saw its first cases in mid-February.