Good morning. Its 8am in singapore and midnight in london. The World Health Organization has for the first time declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. The number of cases outside china had increased is fold over the past two weeks. In south korea a network of nearly a hundred laboratories has been set up and tests done on more people per capita than anywhere else in the world. Our seoul correspondent laura bicker has had exclusive access to one of the super labs where thousands of tests are being conducted every day. Getting critical patients to hospital as a race against time. They have to be tracked and tested, quickly. So in this battle to contain the contagion, these labs have become the front line. So, because of the safety, we are not going to go into this room. This is where the samples are being opened and prepared. Theyre testing up to 20,000 people a day, more than any other country in the world. A Lesson Learned from bitter experience with previous infectious diseases. So is this the busiest youve ever been . Yes. This is my busiest day. The Computer Programme can tell whether the sample is positive or negative for the virus. How long does the process take . The whole process takes about 5 6 hours. So it is quite quick . I think its quite quick. Scientists believe early testing and early treatment could be why fewer people are dying here. Makeshift clinics such as this one are set up to combat mass infections. Nearly a hundred staff at this building in seoul contracted covid i9 now everyone who works here will be tested. There is no shortage of kits they were mass produced to prepare for this outbreak. The blood of recovered patients like mr lee is also being monitored in the hope of finding antibodies and potentially a vaccine. Lee told me he had almost no symptoms, just a little cough. Translation its really important to be cautious and safe, but i wish people would have less fear of the virus itself. But i also know those who are older need to be careful. While they appear to be containing this outbreak for now, they know that with coronavirus, there is no room for complacency. Laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. Once again us share prices tumbled over concerns about the Economic Impact of the virus. The declines pushed the dowjones index more than 20 below its recent high, a threshold that often accompanies a recession. Here in the uk, the chancellor or finance minister, rishi sunak has put aside nearly 40 billion in the budget to get the country through the coronavirus outbreak. He warned of a significant but temporary disruption to the british economy. Iam acting i am acting today with a multibillion pound commitment, more money for oui multibillion pound commitment, more money for our nhs, more generous sick pay, faster access to benefits if you are self employed, extra local support for the most vulnerable, tax cuts, loans and gra nts vulnerable, tax cuts, loans and grants for businesses to protect peoples jobs. Compressive action and if more is needed, i will take it. Comprehensive. And reports from iran say that the first Vice President has contracted the coronavirus. Iran reported 63 new deaths, its highest single day toll which brings the total fatalities to 354. India has suspended tourist visas until april and said it would quarantine travellers arriving from the seven virus hit countries in an attempt to contain its spread. The government also advised indians to avoid all non essential travel abroad. Denmark has become the Second European country to announce a lockdown following a io fold surge in coronavirus cases since monday. Denmarks Prime Minister announced that all kindergartens, schools and universities will close for two weeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. And events attended by more than 100 people will be banned. Juventus defender Daniele Rugani has tested positive. The 25 year old has been placed in quarantine as the serie a club makes checks on those who have had contact with him. Disgraced hollywood Film Producer, Harvey Weinstein, has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. Weinstein who was long considered one of hollywoods most powerfulfigures was found guilty in a trial in new york last month. Our north america correspondent nick bryant is in new york. There was joy in this moment for the victims of Harvey Weinstein. That the convicted rapist will spend so long behind bars, that their voices have finally been heard. In courtjessica mann and mimi haley delivered victim statements describing how he ruined their lives and then had to listen to weinsteins rambling remarks, in which he expressed remorse for the women but also the men going through this crisis. Then came the sentencing, 23 years. There were gasps in the courtroom as the sentence was read out, not least because it is so severe. Most legal analysts had expected 10 15 years. So from this courthouse in manhattan, a punishment that will echo around the world. This is whatjustice looks like, 20 plus three years. The model tarale wulff was one of the women to testify during the trial. For the first time i can say i can feel a sense of happiness i guess. Because this is not a happy circumstance to be, that we are all here for, but i feel joyous. This is very severe, what is your response . Ridiculous, is what it is. Harvey weinsteins defence team had sough the minimum sentence of five years in prison. He faces 23. I think that number is a cowardly number to give. I think the judge caved, just as i believe the jury caved and i am not happy. But it is the feelings of weinsteins victims that matter and for the model, amber battila na gutierrez, that number, 23, is especially poignant. I was 23 when he assaulted me. That is the number when my life was ruined, so. Any response to todays sentence . I am super happy. From his limousine to a prison van, from the red carpets of hollywood to the notorious Rikers Island jail in new york, a metoo message, especially to men of power that wealth and menace offer no immunity from prosecution. Nick bryant, bbc news, new york. Lets turn to italy, europes worst affected country by the coronavirus where shops, restau ra nts a nd bars are being closed for two weeks, in an effort to contain the 12,500 infected people there. The death toll has jumped by nearly 200 in the last day alone, to 827. From rome mark lowen reports. Connecting the epicentres. A doctor in wuhan and those in europes equivalent, northern italy. Colleagues in crisis. Sharing the know how. We reached that italian doctor on the right in his hospital. The first to diagnose coronavirus here. It hit like a bomb that has kept on exploding. The first few hours, we received 10, 50, 60, 70, until 200 patients in our Emergency Department and we had some hours where the oxygen supplies sockets were insufficient to give oxygen to all the patients. So we were in a sort of, let me say, war scenario. But, in his town, it may have peaked. With no cases there, in the past day, it could be a sign of containment working. I think that what we did in this area has demonstrated that we are on the right pathway. So i am quite optimistic, i am quite confident that this could be the right way to go. But the rest of italy is days behind, and the virus is still surging. Rome is quiet. With limits on movement. Under new restrictions and ends tonight, Companies MustClose Department not needed for productions and all shops apart from food stores or pharmacies will be closed. Pharmacies are only allowing customers in one at a time. In the next cafe is, tables must be a metre apart. They will close at 6pm. If you come over here, you can see the childrens playground over there is close, as our schools, universities, cinemas and theatres and so many other venues. Please have a new target, traffickers of hands gel and facemasks, cracking a ring that tries to make a huge profit like prized drugs in these dystopian times. Many of the measures being taken against coronavirus aim at limiting its reach, trying to reduce the overall number of people it will infect. But experts say limiting the speed at which it spreads may be more important so that Health Services can keep going. Its called flattening the curve. Ros atkins and the outside source team have been looking at the idea, starting with comments earlier in the week from angela merkel. Translation in a situation like this, the most effective means against the virus is to gain that time, to reduce the pressure on doctors and hospitals. If a lot of people we re hospitals. If a lot of people were to become ill within a very short space of time, the most effective tool against the virus is to slow it down and to stretch out its development. This idea is often called flattening the curve, disorder looks like in a graphic form. This from the New York Times adapted from a report from the center for disease control. The red area here is what would happen with the surgery infections if you have no proper measures in place. You can see it goes across the sublime use signifies healthcare capacity, sublime use signifies healthca re capacity, it sublime use signifies healthcare capacity, it is way above healthcare capacity. If a country can see early on there is going to be large numbers of cases and focuses on slowing the spread, the outbreak takes longer to play out but you never reach the point where a Healthcare System cannot cope. There is wonder senior us official. There are a number things one can do in order to wa nt things one can do in order to want to. If you look at the curves of outbreaks, big peaks and they come down. What we need to do is flatten and thats down was that that would have less people infected, and would ultimately have less deaths. You do that by trying to interview with the natural flow of the outbreak. The man who popularised this graph is a man called drew harris who was using this to take his classes but has since gone viral since it was leased to this particular virus was not as drew points out in this tweet, youve got to bear in mind that what this graph represents is the difference between finding an intensive care unit. Later or being treated in the parking lot tent. I spoke to drew earlier from philadelphia on what governments can do to flatten the curve. They certainly can begin to isolate and treat the sick, to quarantine the people who have been contacted. Close the schools, prevent the spread of disease among children. And encourage social distancing, keeping people apart both in time and place which means a folks staggering work hours that i dont go to work at the same time or you make sure that when you are in the same place that youre not as close to each other. And of course, we need to protect ourselves individually by making sure we wash our hands and using hand sanitiser. That was ross atkins and the outside source team. Much more about the coronavirus outbreak on our website. Theres a guide from our medical correspondent on what you need to do if you are told to self isolate. Just log on to bbc. Com news. Youre watching newsday on the bbc. Still to come on the programme what exactly is a pandemic . We look at the definition and other pandemics in recent history. Also on the programme how a bbc report helped reunite an indonesian Migrant Worker with the family he hadnt seen for 15 years. The numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. This the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. In less than 2a hours then the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. We heard these gunshots in the gym. Then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. God, we were all petrified. James earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when hes 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight car convoy. Paul, whats it feel like to be married at last . It feels fine, thank you. What are you going to do now . Is it going to change your life much do you think . I dont know really. Ive never been married before. This is newsday on the bbc. Im Sharanjit Leyl in singapore. Im kasia madera in london. Our top stories the World Health Organization labels the coronavirus a pandemic and calls on governments to take urgent action. And in italy, new government restrictions shut all shops except food stores and pharmacies. Lets take a look at some front pages from around the world, which again are dominated by stories about the coronavirus. We can start with the japan times there which notes that events to commemorate the 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which killed more than 15,000, have been scaled down because of the spread of the virus. A state sponsored memorial that has been held every year in tokyo since 2012 was cancelled for the first time ever. The New York Times focuses on the Shincheonji Church ofjesus in south korea which was at the centre of the outbreak there. It says more the 1. 2 million citizens have called for it to be disbanded. And more upbeat news if you can call it such on the same subject in the china daily which pictures three highly qualified medics on its front page. They include a nurse, a respiratory expert and a university lecturer, all from sichuan province, who are heading to italy to help fight the coronavirus outbreak in europes worst hit country. That brings you up to date with some of the papers. Thank you, sharanjit. So, what is a pandemic . As weve heard, thats what the World Health Organization is now officially calling the coronavirus outbreak. The change in definition came after the number of infections outside china increased thirteenfold over the past two weeks. Well, a pandemic is a disease spreading in multiple countries around the world at the same time. The bbcs vincent knee explains. The coronavirus or covid 19 originated in the chinese city of wuhan late last year. It is now spreading and after weeks of speculation, the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak to be a global pandemic. So, what is a pandemic . Well, its an outbreak of a disease that occurs over wide geographic areas and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population. Now, pandemics are more likely to occur if a virus is new and can easily spread from person to person. And the crucial thing, all it takes is one person to start an outbreak. Pandemics are nothing new. In fact, in 1918, spanish flu killed an estimated 15 Million People around the world. People aged 1534 around the world. People aged 15 34 years old were particularly affected. Asian flu was first reported in singapore in 1957, it killed 1. 1 Million People worldwide. Hong kong flu appeared in 1968, it affected half a Million People in hong kong. It then spread across asia and europe. American soldiers returning from vietnam carried the virus home, where tens of thousands died. Swine flu killed up to 200,000 people in 2009, it was first identified in mexico. It was cold swine flu because it is similarto was cold swine flu because it is similar to flu viruses that affect pigs. Viruses such as hiv and polio can be more deadly. Hiv aids was first reported in 1981 in the united states. 75 Million People have been infected and 32 Million People have died. So far, covid 19 has killed over 4000 people and has spread to at least 100 countries. The pandemic declaration means that governments must now update their strategies to cope with their strategies to cope with the spread of the virus. Vincent knee, bbc news. Thanks to vincent there. Lots more Information Available for you on our website, including this article from our reality check team. It looks specifically at what measures countries are taking to stop the virus, from airport screening to cancelling events. Just head to bbc. Com news. Lets ta ke lets take a slight break from the coronavirus. In other news, Australias High Court is set to conclude its hearing of former vatican treasurer george pells final appeal against his conviction for child sex abuse. Hes serving a six year sentence for sexually assaulting two choirboys. Our correspondent in sydney, phil mercer, has been following the cardinals appeal. His lawyers have told the high court in canberra that a jury later in the appeal court in the state of victoria were wrong to rely on the testimony ofa wrong to rely on the testimony of a single witness, one of those boys that Cardinal George pell was convicted of abusing in melbourne in the 1990s, was according to the appeal court judge, a very compelling witness. Now, lawyers for george pell say that its wrong that the guilty verdict against him was relying on the testimony from the sole witness. His lawyers do conclude that the mans testimony was compelling, but they do insist it was uncorroborated. So the high court in canberra, going fore nsically court in canberra, going forensically through these details and as you say, this is george pells very last opportunity to overturn his six year conviction for abusing two choirboys. And, feel, this is the second day of two days of arguments. When can we expect a ruling phil . Of arguments. When can we expect a ruling phil . Judges could hand down their decision today. It is more likely their decision will be reserved, so we may have to wait a few weeks or even if you months or more for this decision to be handed down to a few. So there has been a small crowd outside of the high court in canberra, inside it has been extremely packed. George pell isnt there, he is serving, as you say, a six Year Prison Sentence and he is in maximum security in the state of victoria awaiting the outcome of this high court hearing. That was phil mercer speaking to kasia a little earlier. No names have yet been released, 12 people were injured in the attack on the Taji Military camp north of baghdad. Engines have been high since the us killed the