Here is a fuller report of Shapps’s comments on UK breakfast television this morning, by Peter Walker, my colleague on the politics team.
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has used a morning broadcast round to insist the UK is not lagging behind other nations in measures to limit the spread of coronavirus and is following scientific advice rather “doing things that just sound good”.
He told Sky News:
It is a real desire to be driven by the evidence and by the science. I don’t think that necessarily means that our approach is markedly different. But I do think it means we deploy each of these different measures at the appropriate time.”
Shapps said he would be at a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee later on Monday, at which more measures could be decided:
We are just being entirely science-led.
We are not doing the things that perhaps are happening elsewhere just because it seems like a popular thing to do. We want to know that the scientists back it.”
The UK was arguably at a slightly different stage of the virus outbreak than some other countries in Europe, Shapps added, and should thus not always do things at the same time. He said:
I do think it’s important that we do not get knocked off the course of what this country has done very well so far, which is to follow the medical and scientific advice, rather than doing things that just sound good but perhaps don’t have the right impact at the right moment in time.
On the troubles faced by airlines such as Easyjet, which announced more “significant cancellations” on Monday, Shapps said viable companies would be offered help, for example on deferring tax, to help them cope with the global disruption. He said:
We want to make sure that companies and organisation who are in a good state, not those who were going to fail anyway, are able to continue. We’ll be looking at all these measures, and I’ll be discussing them with the chancellor and the prime minister.
Hello this is Damien Gayle taking over the live blog now from London. As usual I’ll be publishing all the latest updates on the developing pandemic, of which Europe is now the centre, from the Guardian’s network of correspondents, as well as aggregating the most important news from the wires and from social media.
As usual, of course, I’ll be relying on you, the readers, to send in any information about what is happening in your part of the world, as well as any tips or suggestions for coverage you might have. You can reach me at [email protected], or via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle. I can’t guarantee a reply to every message but I’ll do my best to look through everything I’m sent.
Updated
The Malaysian government is under pressure to impose tougher restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus after a major spike in cases was reported on Sunday, when 190 new infections were confirmed.
The majority of the new cases were linked to a gathering at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur that was attended by 16,000 people, including around 1,500 people from neighbouring countries. Brunei and Singapore have also identified cases linked to the event.
The Malaysian government is racing to identify attendees but some experts say officials must adopt a stronger approach. Lee Boon Chye, the country’s former deputy health minister, said in a statement that “the number of cases and contacts is enormous and it is unlikely MOH (Ministry of Health) is able to track and isolate all”.
Containment is no longer possible, he said.
There is also growing concern about a Hindu gathering that attracted 30,000 people in Penang state on 8 March.
Malaysian MP Charles Santiago said in a statement that the government must act before it is too late:
If we drive around Kuala Lumpur, we will see people in restaurants, cafes, coffee bars, cinema, night markets and places of worship. Businesses and shops remain open. And if not for the school holidays, our schools would be open as well. We need to observe how Italy had 200 cases three weeks ago and now more than 20,000 infections… I urge the government to consider a lockdown for the next two weeks so that everyone has no choice but to stay unless they go out for food, medicine or in the event of an emergency.
Lee recommended a ban on gatherings for one month including the suspension of “all activities including religious, social, sports activities. School, college, university, kindergarten”.
Coronavirus deals China’s economy a ‘bigger blow than GFC’
China has suffered even deeper economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic than predicted, with figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showing factory production inside the country dropped at the fastest pace seen in three decades.
Financial analysts have said the economic impact of the pandemic may have cut China’s growth in half during the first quarter.
Industrial output fell 13.5% in January-February, compared with 2019, which ING economist Iris Pang told AFP was the first contraction since January 1990, when industrial production shrank 21.1%.
Year-on-year, fixed asset investment fell 24.5%, private sector investment fell 26.4%, and retail sales shrank 20.5%.
“Judging by the data, the shock to China’s economic activity from the coronavirus epidemic is greater than the global financial crisis,” Zhang Yi, chief economist at Zhonghai Shengrong Capital Management told Reuters.
Updated
Today’s Coronavirus latest: at a glance
This year’s London St. Patrick’s Festival was cancelled over coronavirus concerns. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
In the UK, here is the Guardian’s front page for the UK on Monday, 17 March 2020:
Helen Miller
(@MsHelicat)Monday’s GUARDIAN: Virus ‘may last a year and put 8m in NHS hospitals’ #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/vrLb3MhPpF
The Financial Times:
Helen Miller
(@MsHelicat)Monday’s FT: Johnson to step up virus battle as lockdowns widen in Europe #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/vWuaIscNW9
The Independent leads with the headline “No.10 bows to pressure for daily TV briefings,” as Boris Johnson announced that he will hold daily ministerial press conferences on the crisis in an attempt to shore up public confidence in the government’s handling of the pandemic.
Helen Miller
(@MsHelicat)Monday’s INDEPENDENT digital: No.10 bows to pressure for daily TV briefings #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/gZc6Mx4dEr
The Telegraph focuses on the penalties Britons could face for refusing quarantine:
Helen Miller
(@MsHelicat)Monday’s TELEGRAPH: £1,000 fine or custody for refusing quarantine #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Kt0nbe9Hh9
The Times looks at what the banks are doing to save the global economy:
Helen Miller
(@MsHelicat)Monday’s TIMES: Banks act to save world economy from pandemic #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/7TCBrXMB6L
As the Daily Mail sounds the call to “pull together for our elderly, Britain!”
Helen Miller
(@MsHelicat)Monday’s MAIL: Let’s pull together for elderly Britain! #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/1Ey1U0I37c
Updated
Hospitals in Nagoya city in Japan’s industrial heartland have more coronavirus patients than they can treat, forcing transfers to nearby areas and offering a glimpse of the challenges the outbreak poses for a country with a huge elderly population, Reuters reports.
Japan has closed schools and cancelled public events, which experts say has helped prevent an explosive spread of the virus. But because testing hasn’t been widespread, some medical experts say the extent of infection is understated, and a surge could yet happen.
“If the numbers rise further, we won’t be able to cope, so we will either have to ask nearby prefectures to help, or tell those with lighter symptoms to stay at home,” a prefecture official in Nagoya told Reuters.
Confirmed coronavirus cases in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture, totalled 98 as of Sunday, the official said, far exceeding the city’s 27 beds at hospitals that meet conditions for patients with the highly contagious disease.
Aichi, home to Toyota Motor Corp, is Japan’s second-hardest hit prefecture, with 121 confirmed coronavirus cases so far. It has a total of 161 beds capable of handling patients with such a disease. Of those, 105 were in use as of Sunday, the official said.