Italy is currently on on lockdown due to the spread of the coronavirus, with the country's prime minister Giuseppe Conte ordering 60 million citizens not to travel or even socialise in coming days.

It is understood that the team member reported symptoms associated with the disease in the Albert Park paddock on Wednesday morning.

Hamilton said it was 'shocking' that the Australian Grand Prix could go ahead amid the threat of the coronavirus and suggested organisers had put financial concerns ahead of people's health.

F1 confirmed the next two races, in Bahrain and Vietnam, are off, meaning the first four races of the season will not take place as planned after April's Chinese Grand Prix was earlier postponed.

After Sunday's season-opener in Melbourne was called off, the FIA and the sport's owners Liberty Media are seeking a new timetable including the key Grand Prix in Monaco.

Formula One bosses on Wednesday took the first step to save the sport from financial meltdown by bringing forward the summer break from August to now.

The three latest races to be called off take the grand total of postponed events to seven, with Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Holland, Spain and Monaco all now falling foul of the virus.

Formula One will run a series of virtual races, with some current drivers taking part, to replace a string of grands prix postponed by the coronavirus outbreak.

Formula One star Lewis Hamilton has warned the public they must self-isolate in order to reduce the threat of the coronavirus.

McLaren now have all their employees home from Australia after a period in quarantine following a positive test at the cancelled season-opener in Melbourne.

EXCLUSIVE: Bernie Ecclestone is locked down at his coffee farm in Brazil. At 490 acres it is literally the size of Monaco, and, with coronavirus lurking, staff living on site go out a couple at a time to shop.

The reigning Formula One champion is waiting to agree terms over a new contract with Mercedes, with his current £40million-a-year deal expiring at the end of this season.

Carey's salary figure is a guarded secret but it is thought to be several million pounds a year. The London -based company have put half of their 500 F1 staff on furlough this week, it can be revealed.

The Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal has joined a growing list of Formula One races postponed due to the new coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, with the 2020 season yet to get on the starting grid.

JONATHAN McEVOY: The French Grand Prix is about to become the 10th Formula One race, of 22, to be postponed or cancelled owing to the coronavirus outbreak.

JONATHAN McEVOY: Grand Prix races are falling like green bottles. Nine so far have been postponed or cancelled, and the event in France on June 28 looks set to topple.

Last year teams agreed to a budget cap of 175million US dollars (£142million) for 2021 but there have been suggestions that could be cut further.

The French Grand Prix became the 10th race to be postponed or cancelled this season with the pandemic decimating the sporting calendar worldwide.

JAN MOIR: Are you panic buying yet? I was tempted to stick another pack of loo rolls in my supermarket trolley yesterday but resisted the impulse. Why? Because I want to be British about this.

Even a pandemic can't stop Meghan Markle and husband Prince Harry in their grandiose scheme to save the world, writes Jan Moir, as they announce plans to open a new charity named 'Archewell'.

JAN MOIR: The lockdown is not going to end any time soon and I for one am profoundly grateful for that. Surely it would be too hasty and too rash to peel away now from the path of self-isolation?

JAN MOIR: They sang You Can't Always Get What You Want from rooms that suggested, actually they could - and did. Celebs perform live for 'One World: Together At Home' by Global Citizen.

JAN MOIR: Yes, my friends. We are in the middle of something unknown, something that will change lives and history forever. Where will it all end?

RUTH SUNDERLAND: The terrifying collapse in share prices since the coronavirus started to spread worldwide is taking a vicious toll on the wealth of nations.

'It is not inevitable at this stage that the epidemic will trigger a meltdown, but if it does, the most likely transmission mechanism is a tsunami of corporate debt', says Ruth Sunderland.

it is outrageous that the Prime Minister should tell people to stay away from the high street without putting in place practical help for the businesses that will suffer as a result, Ruth Sunderland writes...

RUTH SUNDERLAND: Once again, the banks are in the dock, this time for letting down hundreds of thousands of firms in their hour of direst need.

Covid-19 should be the trigger for wholesale change. Once and for all, there must be a reckoning with the morally bankrupt moguls who put profits before the safety of their staff.

There has been only one recorded case on the island to date but the squad are taking a proactive approach with all players and backroom staff provided with an 'immunity pack' for the Test tour

The participation of England players at this year's IPL has been thrown into doubt due to fresh visa restrictions on foreigners entering the country due to coronavirus.

Northamptonshire's decision to travel to Singapore on Monday for a 12-day warm weather trip led Nottinghamshire to scrub it, fearful that facing such opponents invited unnecessary risk.

EXCLUSIVE: English cricket is facing a 'cash black hole' as it struggles to come to terms with the implications of the coronavirus. The warning came from Surrey ahead of a conference call.

A number of English players, including Alex Hales, Tom Banton and James Vince, would have been involved in the semi-finals but they had already left the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nottinghamshire continued pre-season preparations unabated, as Alex Hales self-isolates since returning from the Pakistan Super League.

As with every other sport, cricket has been thrown into crisis by the coronavirus pandemic. Here, Sportsmail's Nasser Hussain answers the key crisis questions...

Former England captain Alastair Cook says he would rather the County Championship was not played at all this season rather than attempting to hold a dramatically condensed campaign.

The ECB are soon to outline details of the financial support package they will offer counties who will hit problems because the start of the domestic season has been delayed due to coronavirus.

Joe Root has issued a warning about player burnout this winter as England's cricketers face a fixture pile-up caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: ECB chairman Colin Graves will face calls from counties to stand down early and be replaced by Ian Watmore if the launch of the Hundred is postponed.

Professional Cricketers' Association remain resistant to pay cuts for their membership as counties seek to lessen the financial burdens pressed upon them by the coronavirus crisis.

The Test side could face West Indies or Pakistan, this season's proposed red-ball opponents, while Eoin Morgan's white-ball World Cup winners face Australia, who are currently due here in July

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: County cricketers could be asked to play six days-a-week if a truncated season is permitted later this summer.

The traditional toss of the coin was due to return to the County Championship on Sunday but the half-dozen grounds scheduled to host fixtures stood empty.

Fears over international teams getting stuck at this year's Twenty20 World Cup will feature prominently in the ICC's teleconference talks between chief executives next Thursday.

Almost the whole squad were stricken by two sickness bugs, the first a type of flu and the second a stomach problem, that weakened England in their heavy first Test defeat over Christmas.

English cricket supremo Tom Harrison has warned of dire financial consequences for the sport amid fears that the new season will not take place at all because of the coronavirus.

ECB chief Tom Harrison revealed on Friday that he had offers 'on the table' from both New Zealand and Australia, as English cricket explores all options in a bid to fulfil its fixture list.

The Hundred's inaugural season is set to be formally delayed at a board meeting of the England and Wales Board Cricket Board.

One of the deepest thinkers in the England squad has concerns over the safety of players and concerns about playing cricket while so many people are losing their lives.

Cricket manufacturer Kookaburra have developed a wax applicator that would allow balls to be shined without using sweat or saliva during the coronavirus crisis.