The patient had been "in and out of hospital" for other reasons, Royal Berkshire NHS Trust said, but was admitted on Wednesday and tested positive for the virus.

In a statement, the trust said: "Sadly, we can confirm that an older patient with underlying health conditions has died.

"The patient has previously been in and out of hospital for non-coronavirus reasons, but on this occasion was admitted and last night tested positive for coronavirus.

"The family has been informed and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time."

RBFTCopyright: RBFT

Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, said: "We believe they contracted the virus in the UK and contact tracing is already under way."

Last week, a British tourist who had been on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan died from the virus.

Italian officials have confirmed 41 new deaths in the country on Thursday, bringing the national death toll to 148.

The number of deaths is the highest for a single day since the outbreak began in the country last month.

The number of confirmed cases has also jumped by a new high of 769, and is now 3,858.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The Paris Marathon has been postponed to a later date, French media is reporting.

According to Le Parisien, the race - which was supposed to take place on Sunday 5 April - may be held in autumn instead.

About 65,000 runners were registered for this year, the paper said.

Earlier today, the French health ministry said there had been two more deaths from coronavirus in the country, bringing the total up to six.

It added here had also been 92 new confirmed cases since Wednesday - the biggest one-day jump in the number of French cases since the outbreak began.

The total number of cases in France is now 377.

The first person has died in the UK from coronavirus.

An older patient with underlying health issues died after testing positive for the virus, the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust said.

The death toll in the northern Italian region of Lombardy has risen to 98 over the past day, from 73 yesterday, Reuters news agency has reported.

The latest national death toll will be released later in the day. On Wednesday, the total death toll in Italy was 107.

Tennessee and New Jersey have each confirmed their first cases of Covid-19, raising the total number of affected states to 18, according to the New York Times.

Officials in New Jersey said on Wednesday that a 32-year-man from the New York City area was being isolated in hospital after he was tested for the virus.

The patient is Tennessee is a 44-year-old man who recently returned home from out of state travel, according to the state's governor. He is now remaining at home while authorities try to trace everyone with whom he had contact.

An India-EU summit set for 13 March has been cancelled because of the coronavirus, Indian officials said on Thursday.

"Both sides have agreed that due to health authorities advising against travel between regions, it would be wise to reschedule the summit to a mutually convenient date," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar told reporters.

India's PM had been due to attend.

So far there have been 30 cases of Covid-19 in India. The government has said it plans to set up testing centres in every district in the country.

AFPCopyright: AFP

In today's coronavirus briefing, World Health Organization head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries needed to take an "all-government approach" to the virus, and not leave the response to their health ministries.

"This epidemic can be pushed back but only with a collective, co-ordinated and comprehensive approach that engages the entire machinery of government," he said.

"We're calling on every country to act with speed, scale and clear-minded determination."

He warned that countries needed to take the outbreak seriously, adding: "This is not a drill. This is not the time to give up. This is not a time for excuses. This is the time for pulling out all the stops.

"Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans."

BBC Monitoring

The world through its media

NorthKorea's official daily Rodong Sinmun is calling on the country's people to beware of misinformation on Covid-19, saying it is important to use only scientifically proven knowledge to prevent the virus spreading.

Thepaper says there is currently no evidence to support spraying high-concentrationdisinfectants indoors to kill the virus, or taking anti-viraldrugs to prevent infection.

It also urges senior citizens to refrain from going outside and for people in general to avoid largecrowds as it seeks to prevent a Covid-19 outbreak in the country.

North Korea, a secretive, centralised communist state, hasnot reported any confirmed cases of coronavirus. Neighbouring South Korea has reported 5,766.

The total number of UK coronavirus cases has now risen to 115 - an increase of 30 on yesterday - the UK's Department of Health and Social Care has said.

As of 09:00 GMT on 5 March, a total of 18,083 people have been tested in the UK, of which 17,968 were confirmed negative, it added.

BBC Monitoring

The world through its media

Ascountries around the world change their greeting styles, Cambodian PM Hun Senhas also called on locals to use “sampeah” instead of shaking hands to preventthe spread of Covid-19.

Sampeahis a traditional Cambodian greeting where a person places both palms on the chestin a prayer-like fashion while bowing slightly.

"Weshould avoid shaking hands until the Covid-19 is over. Instead, we use thegesture of sampeah to greet each other, it's easy and fast," he said in aspeech during the closing ceremony of the health ministry's annual conference.

EPACopyright: EPA

Thailand's raucous full moon party - which draws some 10,000 backpackers - has been cancelled this month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"To prevent the spread of Covid-19, [the organisers] have voted to suspend the party," a local official said.

Thailand currently has 47 confirmed cases of the virus.

The country is expecting to shed around six million of its average 40 million tourists this year because of the outbreak in Asia.

AFPCopyright: AFP

French officials have reported two more deaths linked to the coronavirus outbreak, bringing the total number of deaths to six.

France has also registered92 new confirmed cases, taking the total toll ofcases to 377.