Bangladesh tightened its border controls while Sri Lanka arrested more than two dozen people for violating a nationwide curfew.

While the death toll in the country climbed to the highest in south-east Asia, the region, home to 1.9 billion people, appears to have been less hard hit than elsewhere in the world. The rates of new infections in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka have accelerated, with a total of 869 detected cases and seven deaths.

This comes a day after the governor of Jakarta declared a state of emergency in the Indonesian capital for the next two weeks.

Indonesia has confirmed 81 new coronavirus cases and six more deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 450 and deaths to 38, a health ministry official told reporters on Saturday, Reuters reports.

Iran is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic outside of China .

Iran “has to do everything necessary to return economic production to normal,” Rouhani said in comments broadcast on state TV. He also accused “counter-revolutionaries” of plotting to shut down economic production.

On Saturday, Iran announced 123 more deaths from the coronavirus, bringing the toll to 1,556, with 20,610 confirmed cases.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said social distancing measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak in the country will only need to be applied for two to three weeks as he expects the crisis to ease by then.

The Britannia Hotels group, which owns the hotel, did not respond to requests from the Guardian for comment, but later told the Liverpool Echo: “Unfortunately, the communication sent to these employees was an administrative error. All affected employees are being immediately contacted. We apologise for any upset caused.”

The Guardian reported yesterday that more than a dozen workers at the Coylumbridge hotel near Aviemore received a letter on Thursday informing them management was “taking the latest government advice” and that staff employment had been terminated, with those who live at the hotel complex asked to leave the premises immediately.

The Highland hotel that attracted widespread condemnation on Friday after it sacked staff and made them homeless during the coronavirus outbreak has apologised and excused their actions as “an administrative error”.

A reader sent the following two photos of the long queues of shoppers at 5.45am at Tesco Extra on Sunbury-on-Thames in Middlesex. The store’s opening time was 6am.

The government’s message that there is enough food for everyone still hasn’t stopped large queues forming outside of supermarkets.

“Those fortunate enough to know her will remember a whirlwind of energy and ideas - and an ability to make things happen that few can match,” an online statement said.

The mother of four was the founder of a dental communication business based in Shenley, Hertfordshire. Her colleagues praised her “passion, creativity and determination”.

Her husband, Ken, said the couple had exchanged goodbyes “for a few minutes” before she died. “She said that she loved me and we exchanged that for a few minutes and looked into one another’s eyes,” he told the BBC.

Kimberley Finlayson, who had underlying health conditions, underwent two emergency operations before she died on 11 March.

The husband of a British woman who died while on holiday in Bali after contracting coronavirus said he was able to say goodbye to her.

The capital will also extend the closure of schools and bars for another 22 days, while both Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air have both suspended international flights.

The measures were announced as Thailand reported 89 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its tally to 411, with the majority of cases in Bangkok.

Restaurants will be open only for takeaway orders, it was confirmed, while pharmacies will stay open. Boxing stadiums, beauty salons, arcades and other entertainment venues will remain shut.

Panic buy at the supermarket at Central Chidlom. The store staff said the supermarket will stilll operates tomorrow. But many shoppers rushed to the store despite the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration saying mall closure tomorrow will not include supermarket and pharmacies pic.twitter.com/t6vLTHoybV

Despite advice against panic buying, shoppers rushed to supermarkets, it was reported, while others tried unsuccessfully to book online food deliveries.

Shopping centres, except for supermarkets, will be closed from Sunday until April 12 in an attempt to stop the outbreak from spreading further.

All shopping centres in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, will be temporarily closed, it was announced on Saturday, as the country reported its biggest leap in cases yet.

Jeremy Hunt called for NHS staff to have the protective equipment they need

Hello, I’m Aamna Mohdin taking over the liveblog from my colleague Rebecca Ratcliffe.

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said NHS staff treating coronavirus patients must have the protective equipment they need. He shared his concerns that not all NHS staff were receiving the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“We must sort this out. We are asking people to put their own lives at risk on the NHS frontline. We have all seen the terrible scenes as to what is happening in Italy,” he said. “It is absolutely heartbreaking when NHS frontline professionals don’t have the equipment that they need.”

He added: “I think thegovernment has done a lot in the last week. I think they have unblocked the supply chains, but there is this question about whether it is the right equipment.”

Lisa Anderson, a consultant cardiologist at St George’s hospital in London, echoed Hunt’s concerns. She said the government had changed the rules so they were no longer compliant with World Health Organization recommendations, which required medics to wear a full gown and visor.

She said that since Monday, staff in the NHS only had to wear a simple face mask, short gloves and a pinafore apron. “This is not just about the risk to ourselves and our families. We are travelling home on the tube, on buses,” she told the Today programme.

“Sainsbury’s this morning has announced that they are opening up the early hours to the frail, elderly and NHS workers. We are cross-infecting everybody at the moment,” she said.

Updated at 18.08 BST