42 tube stations closed in London
The death toll of coronavirus rises by 33 to 137.
The Bank of England has cut interest rates again the lowest ever in the Bank’s 325-year history to 0.1 per cent from 0.25 per cent in an emergency move as it tries to support the UK economy amid coronavirus pandemic.
42 stations on the London Underground network are to be shut as the city attempts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Transport for London (TFL) announced there would be a partial shutdown of the network from Thursday morning and there will be no night tube and bus services will also be reduced. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said people should not be travelling and warned services were likely to reduce potentially very significantly.
In London, there have been more than 900 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 34 people have died in the city. The Prime Minister earlier this week although urged people to work from home and to avoid bars, pubs, and restaurants, some remained open. The school will close on Friday.
Although there are no plans to suspend the congestion charge, TFL said “ Some NHS staff are already eligible for reimbursements from the congestion charge in certain circumstances. “ Patients clinically assessed as too sick to travel by public transport are eligible for reimbursements from both the congestion charge and the ULEZ.”
Global markets were rocked yesterday as forced selling and a loss of faith in government intervention deepened the global economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus.
S&P 500 fell about 5 per cent and oil prices dropped 15 per cent to $20.5 a barrel, their lowest level in nearly 17 years, as Sterling tumbled almost 4 per cent against the dollar to near $1.15, its lowest since the 1980s. The US Treasury yesterday proposed sending $500bn directly to Americans in two payments in April and May in an effort to limit the economic damage from the outbreak.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that while he cherished freedom, the country was about to be asked to make sacrifices.
| Country | Total Cases | Total Deaths | Total Recovered |
| China | 80,928 | 3,245 | 70,420 |
| Italy | 35,713 | 2,978 | 4,025 |
| Iran | 18,407 | 1,284 | 5,979 |
| Spain | 17,395 | 803 | 1,107 |
| Germany | 13,979 | 42 | 113 |
| S Korea | 8,565 | 91 | 1,947 |
| France | 9,134 | 264 | 602 |
| USA | 10,781 | 160 | 108 |
| Switzerland | 3,979 | 36 | 15 |
| UK | 2,692 | 137 | 65 |
| Neterlands | 2,460 | 76 | 2 |
| Norway | 1,739 | 7 | 1 |
| Belgium | 1,795 | 21 | 165 |
| Austria | 2,013 | 6 | 9 |
| Sweden | 1,439 | 11 | 16 |
| Denmark | 1,132 | 6 | 1 |
| Japan | 923 | 32 | 191 |
| Malaysia | 900 | 2 | 75 |
| Canada | 770 | 9 | 12 |
| Australia | 709 | 6 | 46 |
| Czechia | 631 | 0 | 3 |
| Portugal | 785 | 3 | 4 |
| Qatar | 452 | 0 | 13 |
| Israel | 529 | 0 | 13 |
| Greece | 418 | 6 | 14 |
| Brazil | 533 | 4 | 2 |
| Finland | 400 | 0 | 10 |
| Ireland | 366 | 2 | 5 |
| Solvenia | 319 | 1 | 0 |
| Singapore | 345 | 0 | 124 |
| Estonia | 258 | 0 | 1 |
| Pakistan | 384 | 2 | 13 |
| Iceland | 330 | 0 | 5 |
| Poland | 325 | 5 | 13 |
| Romania | 277 | 0 | 25 |
| Bahrain | 268 | 1 | 100 |
| Thailand | 272 | 1 | 42 |
| Luxembourg | 335 | 4 | 0 |
| Philippines | 217 | 17 | 8 |
| Chile | 342 | 0 | 0 |
| Egypt | 210 | 6 | 28 |
| Indonesia | 309 | 25 | 15 |
| Saudi Arabia | 238 | 0 | 8 |
| Hong Kong | 208 | 4 | 98 |
| Iraq | 177 | 12 | 49 |
| India | 197 | 4 | 20 |
| Kuwait | 148 | 0 | 18 |
| Lebanon | 149 | 4 | 4 |
| San Marino | 140 | 14 | 4 |
| Peru | 155 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa | 150 | 0 | 0 |
| Russia | 199 | 1 | 8 |
| UAE | 140 | 0 | 31 |
| Ecuador | 168 | 3 | 1 |
| Taiwan | 108 | 1 | 26 |
| Turkey | 192 | 3 | 18 |
| Solvakia | 124 | 0 | 0 |
| Mexico | 118 | 0 | 4 |
| Panama | 109 | 1 | 0 |
| Armenia | 122 | 0 | 1 |
| Serbia | 97 | 0 | 1 |
| Bulgaria | 105 | 3 | 0 |
| Croatia | 102 | 0 | 1 |
| Argentina | 97 | 3 | 3 |
| Colombia | 102 | 0 | 1 |
| Latvia | 86 | 0 | 1 |
| Vietnam | 76 | 0 | 16 |
| Algeria | 87 | 9 | 32 |
| Hungary | 73 | 1 | 2 |
| Faerore Islands | 72 | 0 | 1 |
| Brunei | 73 | 0 | 0 |
| Albania | 64 | 2 | 0 |
| Costa Rica | 69 | 1 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 79 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyrpus | 58 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan | 56 | 0 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 60 | 0 | 3 |
| Morocco | 61 | 2 | 2 |
| Palestine | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| Andorra | 53 | 0 | 1 |
| Georgia | 40 | 0 | 1 |
| Malta | 53 | 0 | 2 |
| Belarus | 51 | 0 | 5 |
| Venezuela | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| Cambodia | 37 | 0 | 1 |
| Kazakhstan | 44 | 0 | 0 |
| Azerbaijan | 44 | 1 | 7 |
| Bosnia & Herzegvina | 49 | 0 | 2 |
| Oman | 39 | 0 | 13 |
| North Macedonia | 49 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 230,050 | 9,386 | 86,256 |
| Updated March 19, 16:26 GMT |