This was the coronavirus blog for Sunday, March 15. For updates on Monday, March 16, visit here.

The number of people who have died from coronavirus has hit 35 - a jump of 14 from the previous day.

And the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has hit 1,372.

Meanwhile new measures to tackle the spread of the coronavirus by shielding elderly and vulnerable people could be introduced.

People over 70 could are likely to be instructed to stay in strict isolation as part of a planned response to COVID-19.

A government source has told ITV's political editor Robert Peston that the policy could be announced within the next five to 20 days and would last four months, the Mirror reports.

The new measures come the day after the latest figures said the number of patients in the UK who had died after testing positive for Covid-19 had reached 21 .

Meanwhile stores such as Urban Outfitters in Gloucestershire have closed in a bid to protect their staff from the outbreak.

Supermarkets have urged people to be considerate in their shopping habitats after panic buying has left shelves bare of some products.

Yesterday it was revealed that 1,140 people have tested positive for the virus and US President Donald Trump extended the ban on travelling to the US to include the UK and Ireland, starting from Monday.

A further update from the Department of Social Care is expected this afternoon.

There have been six officially confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Gloucestershire after the latest figures were announced on Friday afternoon: two linked cases in Tetbury; two linked cases in Cheltenham; one case in the Tewkesbury area; one case in the Gloucester area.

No professional football games took place on Saturday after matches were postponed, affecting Premier League games as well as the English Football League in which Cheltenham Town FC and Forest Green Rovers play in League Two.

It is anticipated that the UK will soon ban large gatherings, according to Government sources.

This is a rapid change from the position a few days ago when the UK said the evidence did not yet support such a move.

The local elections have been put back until next year and the Queen has cancelled public engagements.

The London Marathon has been postponed and organisers of events are taking early decisions to postpone public events.

Schools remain open for now as any closure would have to be for 13 to 16 weeks , the Government has said.

The UK Chief Medical Officers have raised the risk to the UK from moderate to high and further social distancing measures could be introduced in the near future.

In America, Donald Trump has declared a national emergency and many European countries are putting tough restrictions on people crossing their borders.

You can see yesterday's updates here.

Updates on the rapidly developing situation will appear below.