9.34am: More than 2,083,300 people have been infected across the world and over 134,600 have died but at the same time 510,350 people have recovered.
The USA is now the country with the most infected cases (644,089) ahead of Spain (180,659) who overtook Italy (165,155) last week. France and Germany follow with 147,836 and 134,750 cases respectively
Confirmed deaths by country:
USA: 28,529
Italy: 21,645
Spain: 18,812
France: 17,167
UK: 12,868
THE PANDEMIC IN NUMBERS
WORLDOMETER CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN NUMBERS (Updated continuously)
REUTERS TRACKING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS
REUTERS TRACKING THE SPREAD IN THE USA
All the latest news in brief as it happens
6.25 NZ’s Ardern says many restrictions to be kept in place when lockdown ends
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that significant restrictions would be kept in place even if the country eases the nationwide one-month lockdown enforced to beat the spread of the coronavirus.
New Zealand introduced its highest, level 4 lockdown measures in March, under which offices, schools and all non-essential services like bars, restaurants, cafes and playgrounds were shut down. A decision on whether to lift the lockdown would be made on April 20.
The measures were tougher than most other countries, including neighbouring Australia, where some businesses were allowed to operate.
Ardern said if New Zealand moves to the lower level 3 of restriction, it would permit aspects of the economy to reopen in a safe way but there will be no “rush to normality”.
04.30 Schools urged to reopen as Australia mulls easing of coronavirus restrictions
Australia’s federal government on Thursday urged state premiers to reopen schools as it considers how to start winding back some other restrictions on movement that have helped slow the spread of the coronavirus throughout the country.
Australia has averted the high numbers of coronavirus casualties reported in other countries around the world thanks to strict “social distancing” measures and the effective closure of its borders, including internally between states.
03.15 Mexico registers 448 new cases of coronavirus and new 43 deaths – health ministry
Mexican health officials reported on Wednesday 448 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 43 new deaths, bringing the country’s total to 5,847 cases and 449 deaths.
Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said last week the country might have as many as 26,500 people infected with the fast-spreading coronavirus.
Citing government models, Lopez-Gatell said many who are infected likely did not have symptoms or were not diagnosed.
2.01 UK retail sales drop by a quarter in first two weeks of lockdown
British retail spending slumped by more than a quarter during the first two weeks of lockdown measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the British Retail Consortium said on Thursday, in the clearest sign so far of COVID-19’s economic hit.
The BRC said its members reported a 27% drop in sales in the two weeks to April 4, which largely overlapped with the start of a lockdown Britain’s government announced on March 23 that has barred the public from most stores other than supermarkets.
“The closure of non-essential shops led to deserted high streets and high double-digit declines in sales which even a rise in online shopping could not compensate for,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.
1.37 IMF board approves creation of new short-term liquidity line
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Wednesday that its executive board had approved creation of a new short-term liquidity line to help member countries with strong fundamentals deal with the new coronavirus pandemic.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the facility would provide a revolving and renewable backstop for member countries with very strong policies and fundamentals, who needed short-term and moderate support with their balance of payments.
She said the instrument would allow the Fund to provide revolving access of up to 145 percent of a country’s quota, filling “a critical gap in the Fund’s toolkit.”
1.11 Second day in a row US deaths increase by a record amount
U.S. coronavirus deaths increased by a record number for the second day in a row, rising by at least 2,371 on Wednesday to top 30,800, according to a Reuters tally, as states spared the worst of the pandemic mulled a partial lifting of restrictions on business and social life by May 1.
What happened on Wednesday
EUROPE
- WHO said countries that ease restrictions should wait at least two weeks to evaluate the impact, as some European countries including Spain and Austria have begun small-scale steps to reduce severe lockdowns.
- Nearly 700 sailors assigned to the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle’s naval group have tested positive for the coronavirus, the armed forces ministry said.
- Britain’s virus outbreak is probably peaking, but it is too early to start relaxing restrictions, officials said.
- Northern Ireland will keep coronavirus restrictions in place for another three weeks, First Minister Arlene Foster said.
- Spain’s prime minister promised more testing to try to build on a decline in daily deaths.
- Belgium has extended measures to control the spread of the coronavirus to May 3, with a slight easing of restrictions to allow home improvement stores and garden centres to open.
- A 106-year-old great-grandmother, thought to be the oldest patient in Britain to beat the novel coronavirus, was discharged from hospital to applause from nurses and health workers.
- Portugal’s virus curve has flattened but the good news is not enough for the country to lift lockdown measures and reopen its economy, government ministers said.
AMERICAS
- U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to halt funding to the WHO over its handling of the pandemic prompted condemnation from world leaders.
- U.S. Senate Democrats unveiled a $30 billion plan to vastly increase nationwide testing for the coronavirus.
- The Bank of Canada said the coronavirus outbreak was set to trigger the biggest ever near-term domestic slump, but expressed optimism the economy might be able to start reopening by June.
- Shoved to the ground, splashed with bleach or glared at on public transportation, health workers face a growing tide of hostility across Latin America for potentially spreading COVID-19.
- Mexican president said the United Nations had been slow in ensuring fair prices and equal access to medical equipment during the pandemic.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
- China reported a decline in new cases on the mainland, but there was an increasing number of local transmissions in its far northeast bordering Russia.
- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed China’s top diplomat on the need for full transparency and information sharing regarding the coronavirus outbreak.
- Japan urged its citizens to stay home, as media reports warned that as many as 400,000 could die without urgent action, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came under pressure to hand out more cash.
- Australian prime minister urged schools to reopen after Easter holidays so students do not lose a year of education and parents can work.
- India has agreed to sell hydroxychloroquine tablets to Malaysia, with New Delhi partially lifting its bar on exports of the anti-malarial drug.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
- Countries in the Middle East and Central Asia region will see a contraction this year bigger than the one seen during the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2015 oil price shock, the International Monetary Fund said.
- Qatar detained dozens of migrant workers and expelled them last month after telling them they were being taken to be tested for the new coronavirus, human rights group Amnesty International said.
- Iran’s president said the outbreak had not hit the farm sector and citizens did not need to worry about food supplies.
- Yemen’s war-scarred hospitals are marshalling resources to face the outbreak which has yet to make clear inroads in the country, with the little testing that has been done uncovering just one case.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
- A double whammy of economic data showing the U.S. economy in a deep downturn and reports of persistent crude oil oversupply and collapsing demand slammed global markets.
- Finance officials from the G20 major economies are set to finalise an agreement for some 76 countries to have debt payments worth a combined $20 billion suspended.
- Canada’s economy shrank a record 9% in March from February, Statistics Canada said in a flash estimate.
- U.S. electricity demand last week plunged to a near 17-year low as government travel and work restrictions to slow the coronavirus spread caused businesses to shut, according to analysts and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) trade group.
- Harley-Davidson Inc said it had temporarily laid off most of its global production employees and implemented salary cuts in a bid to lower costs.
- Africa is expected to reverse an economic contraction next year after containment measures are eased, the IMF said, but the impact will be felt for years to come.
REUTERS