The #coronavirus could be up to 1,000 times more infectious than SARS because it plagues the body in the same way as HIV and Ebola, scientists warn. Experts initially presumed the spread of COVID-19 would follow the same trajectory as the SARS outbreak in 2002/3, because the viruses are almost identical genetically. But they have discovered the way it binds to cells in the human body is akin to far more aggressive diseases like HIV and Ebola. This makes it '100 to 1,000 times' more efficient at infecting people than SARS, according to researchers from Nankai University in Tianjin, northern China.

French police evacuated the Gare de Lyon railroad station in Paris on Friday after a major fire broke out on a street next to the station. Clouds of black smoke billowed over the station and a row of parked scooters and motorcycles was burning. At 1730 GMT the police prefecture said on its Twitter feed that the fire was under control and asked people to stay away from the area. BFM Television reported that the fire had been started on the sidelines of a concert by Congolese singer Fally Ipupa in the area.

An 18-year-old student was killed and four others injured during a shooting inside a Chicago food mart after the suspects missed their intended targets, Chicago police department said. Jaya Beemon, a nursing student at Malcolm X College, was identified as the deceased victim after she was shot in the neck on Tuesday. The violence began just after 5pm when two men and a woman approached Ali's Minimart in the Avalon neighborhood with guns drawn. The three suspects walked into the store, looked inside and then suddenly opened fire. #WANTED

Supermarket shelves are starting to be stripped bare as Americans prepare for the spread of coronavirus by stockpiling on medications and non-perishable items across the country. People have been panic buying items from stores ever since health authorities warned that Americans should start preparing for domestic acceleration of the virus, which has infected more than 80,000 people worldwide and killed nearly 3,000. There are now 60 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. and the first case where the origin of the disease is unknown was confirmed on Wednesday. Supplies have been flying off the shelves countrywide this week with people posting photos on social media showing the lack of products available in some stores and pharmacies. In California, some Walgreens stores had been completely depleted of cough medicines, cold and flue medications, vaporizers, masks and thermometers. Shoppers in Hawaii were buying up flatbeds of canned goods, bottled water, toilet paper and paper towels from a local Costo.