More than 730,000 coronavirus infections globally and almost 35,000 deaths
Read the latest developments of the novel coronavirus outbreak here
US FDA gives anti-malaria drugs emergency approval to treat Covid-19
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat patients hospitalized with Covid-19.
Both the drugs are used to treat malaria and other conditions, reports the CNN.
US President Donald Trump has called them as game changers.
Coronavirus death toll in Italy's Lombardy rises by around 458 in a day
The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy, the epicentre of Italy’s contagion, has risen by around 458 in a day to some 6,818, a source familiar with the data said on Monday.
The daily deaths were up from Sunday’s tally of 416.
The number of cases in the region, which includes the country’s financial capital Milan, increased by some 1,154 to around 42,161, the source said.
The increase in cases was much smaller than the 1,592 new cases registered on Sunday and the 2,117 new cases on Saturday.
The nationwide tallies will be released at around 6:00 pm (1600 GMT). On Sunday, the national death toll stood at 10,779, the highest in the world.
Johnson & Johnson, US government plan one billion doses of coronavirus vaccine
Johnson & Johnson said on Monday it made a $1 billion deal with the US government to create enough manufacturing capacity for more than 1 billion doses of a vaccine it is testing to fight the new coronavirus that has killed more than 34,000 people around the world.
Johnson and Johnson said that it had selected its own lead vaccine candidate and would start human testing of its experimental coronavirus vaccine by September, with an eye on having it ready for emergency use in early 2021, the drugmaker said on Monday.
Africa's megacity Lagos braces for two-week coronavirus lockdown
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s announcement imposing a 14-day lockdown on sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest city triggered a last-minute rush on Monday as people hurried to stock up on food and other supplies.
Traffic snarled the streets and touts made quick money taking cash to let people leave cars in no-parking zones.
“Everything is expensive, may God help us,” said Jimoh Kolawole at the Oyingbo market on Lagos Island.
“Rice, beans, cassava grain and palm oil are all expensive, even onions. Only God can help us.” he said, the back of his car laden with sacks of flour, rice and yam.
Both Lagos and Abuja, the capital, will ban movement for two weeks from Monday night.
Lagos, the epicentre of Nigeria’s coronavirus outbreak which has so far spawned 111 confirmed cases, is home to at least 20 million people. Many of them dwell in slums and eke out a living at the best of times. Social safety nets do not exist.
Georgia PM declares curfew to halt coronavirus spread
Georgia will impose a curfew from 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m., close the metro system and ban gatherings of more than three people from March 31 in an effort to prevent spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said on Monday.
He told a briefing that tightened quarantine rules would come into force across the country from 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
Traffic between cities and municipalities by public transport will be banned and gatherings of more than three people will be allowed only in groceries and pharmacies, but with social distancing rules in place.
The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million had reported 98 cases of coronavirus as of Monday with no deaths and 18 patients recovered.
Zimbabwe locks down to fight coronavirus amid economic crisis
Zimbabwe began a 21-day nationwide lockdown on Monday, following South Africa in implementing some of the world’s toughest anti-coronavirus measures likely to hurt an economy already suffering hyperinflation and food shortages.
But unlike neighbouring South Africa, where many citizens defied calls to stay indoors, with some clashing with security forces at the weekend, Zimbabweans mostly stayed home.
Zimbabwe has recorded just seven coronavirus cases and one death, but the government announced a range of financial measures to help fight the epidemic and said it was unfreezing 4,000 posts in the health sector.
England coronavirus death toll rises 159 to 1,284
A further 159 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in England, the National Health Service said on Monday, taking the total number of confirmed deaths in the country to 1,284.
Saudi king offers to pay for coronavirus patients' treatment
Saudi Arabia will finance treatment for anyone infected with the coronavirus in the country, the health minister said on Monday, while the agriculture ministry took steps to boost wheat and livestock supplies amid global fears of a food shortage.
The kingdom has registered eight deaths among 1,453 infections, the highest among the six Gulf Arab states.
Cabin crew swap aircraft aisles for hospitals in UK's coronavirus fight
Britain's temporary hospitals are seeking volunteers from airlines, calling on cabin crew members who are currently grounded to use their first-aid skills and calm manner to help get the new Nightingale hospitals up and running.
Ashley Brown, 23, will soon swap easyJet's orange-trimmed gray suit and waistcoat for the blue plastic overalls of personal protective equipment after he signed up to help the National Health Service (NHS) fight coronavirus.
Germany aims to launch Singapore-style coronavirus app in weeks
Germany hopes to launch a smartphone app within weeks to help trace coronavirus infections, after a broad political consensus emerged that adopting an approach pioneered by Singapore can be effective without invading people’s privacy.
Germans are deeply suspicious of digital surveillance, and the use of individual smartphone location data to track the spread of the pandemic would be illegal under national and European Union privacy laws.
Poland expects rapid rise in coronavirus infections
Poland expects a rapid growth in the number of new coronavirus infections, Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski said on Monday.
“We are expecting a very rapid growth in the number of infections in the coming weeks. This number will be rising at an exponential pace,” Szumowski told news conference.
Italy may be on wrong path in fighting coronavirus contagion: scientist
Italy's measures to halt coronavirus contagion do not seem to be working and it should change its strategy by setting up centers to separate people with suspected symptoms from their families, a prominent Italian scientist said on Monday.
Italy, which has suffered the world's highest death toll from coronavirus, has been in nationwide lockdown for about three weeks, but in the last three days new infections have continued at between 5,000 and 6,000 per day.
Dutch coronavirus cases rise by 884 to 11,750: authorities
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose to 11,750 on Monday from a day earlier, with 884 new cases and 93 new deaths, health authorities said.
The Netherlands’ National Institute for Health (RIVM) confirmed the numbers, an 8.1 percent increase in cases, on its official Twitter account. The total number of deaths increased to 864. The RIVM website was not accessible for details.
Human testing of coronavirus vaccine to start by September, says J&J
Johnson & Johnson plans to start human testing of its experimental coronavirus vaccine by September and make it ready for emergency use in early 2021, the drugmaker said on Monday.
'This is bliss': Chinese barber has clients queuing up as Wuhan eases lockdown
For barber Xiong Juan, a recent easing of restrictions in the city of Wuhan, epicentre of China's coronavirus outbreak, means she is now busier than ever.
Xiong, 39, now spends her days riding around on her electric bicycle and offering her services to local residents who like her were stuck at home after authorities ordered a lockdown in the city of 11 million people in early January.
Prince Charles, 71, out of self-isolation and in good health
British heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, 71, who had tested positive for coronavirus, is out of self-isolation and is in good health, his spokesman said on Monday.
"Clarence House has confirmed today that, having consulted with his doctor, The Prince of Wales is now out of self-isolation," the spokesman said.
Europe's economic response to epidemic must be quick - EU executive
Europe’s economic response to the coronavirus epidemic has to based on options on which all countries agree and which can be deployed quickly, European Commission spokesman Eric Mamert said on Monday, effectively ruling out joint debt issuance.
Coronavirus spreading too fast for us to loosen restrictions, says Germany
Coronavirus is spreading too fast for restrictions on public life in Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, to be lifted yet, a spokesman for the German government said on Monday.
Germany is in virtual lockdown, with more than 57,000 people infected and 455 dead from the virus. Schools, shops, restaurants and sports facilities have closed and many firms have stopped production to help slow the spread of the disease.
Neymar denies flouting social distancing rules
Paris St Germain forward Neymar has denied flouting social distancing rules following his return to his native Brazil after posting pictures on Instagram which showed him sun-bathing and playing foot-volleyball with a group of friends.
The 28-year-old said in a statement that the people in the photographs had travelled with him from Paris in a private jet and were in quarantine with him.
Ukraine dusts off Soviet-era ventilator designs to help fight coronavirus
Ukraine is dusting off Soviet-era ventilator designs that lay forgotten in a mothballed military factory for years in a bid to ramp up domestic production of equipment that could help in the fight against the coronavirus.
In response to an urgent appeal by hospitals to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for ventilators, some of the country's wealthiest men chipped in to buy machines from abroad.
The US weighs the grim math of death vs the economy
Hollstadt Consulting CEO Molly Jungbauer has had to let go 30 of the 150 employees at her St. Paul, Minnesota firm to weather the drop in revenue from travel industry clients because of the coronavirus.
She's worried about her daughter, who lives in New York and has the disease. But she also worries that shutting the economy with open-ended stay-at-home orders could have an "irreversible" impact.
Nearly 12,300 Spanish health workers have coronavirus
Some 12,298 health workers have tested positive for coronavirus in Spain, deputy health emergency chief Maria Jose Sierra said at a news conference on Monday.
That is equivalent to around 14% of the country’s 85,195 confirmed cases, roughly the same proportion as last week.
Indian police fire tear gas on jobless workers defying coronavirus lockdown
Police in western India fired tear gas to disperse a stone-pelting crowd of migrant workers defying a three-week lockdown against the coronavirus that has left hundreds of thousands of poor without jobs and hungry, authorities said on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the country's 1.3 billion people to remain indoors until April 15, declaring such self-isolation was the only hope to stop the viral pandemic.
UK prime minister says 20,000 former NHS staff return to fight virus
In a video posted online, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has revealed that some 20,000 former National Health Service (NHS) staff have returned to work to help the fight against coronavirus.
The UK prime minister, who is self-isolating after testing positive for the virus, said the country would get through the crisis "together", reports the BBC.
England's deputy chief medical officer said it could be six months before life returns to "normal".
Iran's coronavirus death toll reaches 2,757: health official
Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus has increased to 2,757 with 117 new deaths in the past 24 hours, a health ministry spokesman told state TV on Monday, adding that the total number of cases has climbed to 41,495.
“In the past 24 hours we had 117 new deaths and 3,186 new confirmed cases of people infected with the coronavirus,” Kianush Jahanpur told state TV, calling on Iranians to stay at home.
Spain's coronavirus cases rise to 85,195
Spain’s total number of coronavirus cases rose to 85,195 on Monday from 78,797 on Sunday, the country’s health ministry said, as the infections surpassed those reported in China, at 81,470 according to the latest data.
The death toll from the virus in Spain rose to 7,340 on Monday from 6,528 on Sunday, the ministry said.
Top Japanese doctor calls on PM Abe to declare coronavirus emergency
A top Japanese doctor on Monday called on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to issue an emergency decree to fight the coronavirus before it was too late.
“If we wait until an explosive increase in infections before declaring an emergency, it will be too late,” Satoshi Kamayachi, an executive board member of the Japan Medical Association, told a news conference, in comments carried by broadcaster Nippon Television.
Johnson's senior adviser Cummings has coronavirus symptoms
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, has symptoms of coronavirus and is self-isolating at home, the Daily Mail's political editor said on Monday.
Thailand reports 136 new coronavirus cases, two more deaths
Thailand reported 136 new coronavirus cases and two new deaths on Monday, raising the total number of infections to 1,524 and fatalities to nine.
Popular tourist resort island Phuket, in southern Thailand, began a partial lockdown on Monday, when it started closing beaches and all points of entry and exit except air travel until the end of April.
The new cases were scattered across 18 of Thailand’s 77 provinces. The capital Bangkok now accounts for nearly half of the cases overall.
Australia pledges $80 billion wages subsidy to protect jobs from coronavirus
Australia will spend A$130 billion (64.5 billion pounds) to subsidise the wages of an estimated 6 million people, marking a third tranche of stimulus designed to limit the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic on the country's economy.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the six months of funding was necessary to ensure businesses were able to retain staff and were able to bounce back when the crisis had passed, Reuters reported.
Recession in Germany unavoidable due to coronavirus outbreak - economic advisors
The coronavirus outbreak has made a recession in Europe's largest economy inevitable in the first half of this year, Germany's council of economic advisers said on Monday, predicting that output could shrink by up to 5.4 percent this year.
The panel, which advises the government on economic policy, said its baseline scenario - in which the economic situation would normalise over the summer - was for the economy to contract by 2.8 percent this year before potentially growing by 3.7 percent next year.
Japan ruling party calls for 20 trillion yen direct spending in stimulus package
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LD) on Monday called for direct spending of 20 trillion yen ($185.6 billion) as part of a stimulus package to support the economy amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The LDP proposed a package of measures totaling 60 trillion yen, party lawmakers said.
UK epidemic is slowing and antibody test could be ready in days, top epidemiologist says
The coronavirus epidemic in the United Kingdom is showing signs of slowing and antibody tests could be ready in days, Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, said on Monday.
"We think the epidemic is just about slowing in the UK right now," Ferguson told BBC radio.
Vietnam asks mask firms to increase production to five million a day
Vietnam has asked local mask producers to ramp up their production to make 5 million masks a day, the government said on Monday, as coronavirus cases in the country rise to 200.
“The Ministry of Health has asked mask producers to operate at full capacity,” the government said in a statement, adding that Vietnam is also seeking to produce ventilators.
Japan to ban US, China, Europe travellers
Japan will step up its efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus by banning the entry of foreign citizens travelling from the United States, China, South Korea and most of Europe, the Asahi newspaper reported on Monday.
Non-Japanese citizens who have been in any of these areas in the past two weeks will be barred, the paper said. Tokyo may also ban travel to and from some countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, it said, citing unidentified government sources, Reuters reported.
At present, Japan only bans entry of citizens from some parts of South Korea, China as well as numerous European nations, with a request for a two-week self-quarantine for those entering from the United States, China and South Korea.
Philippines reports seven coronavirus deaths, 128 more infections
The Philippines' health ministry on Monday reported seven new coronavirus deaths and 128 more infections, Reuters reported.
Total deaths have risen to 78 and infections to 1,546, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a regular news conference. With the arrival of thousands of testing kits and the start of operations of more laboratories, authorities are able to detect more infections, she added.
Indonesia confirms 129 new coronavirus infections, taking total to 1,414
Indonesia confirmed 129 new coronavirus infections on Monday, taking the total to 1,414 in the Southeast Asian country, said a health ministry official.
Achmad Yurianto, the official, reported eight new deaths, taking the total to 122, while 75 had recovered, Reuters reported.
US regulator approves limited use of malaria drugs for virus
A limited emergency-use authorization for two antimalarial drugs touted as game-changers by President Donald Trump has been issued by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat coronavirus patients.
In a statement published Sunday, the US Department of Health and Human Services detailed recent donations of medicine to a national stockpile — including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, both being investigated as potential COVID-19 treatments, AFP reported.
South Korea to pay cash to families, bring in extra budget relief
South Korea will make an emergency cash payment to most families and draw up a second supplementary budget next month in a bid to ease the drawn-out economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, President Moon Jae-in said on Monday.
Moon, after an emergency meeting with economic policymakers, said an "emergency disaster relief payment" of up to 1 million won (658.88 pounds) would be made to all households except the top 30% by income, Reuters reported.
Drop in China's new coronavirus cases; none in Wuhan for sixth day
China reported a drop in new coronavirus infections for a fourth day as drastic curbs on international travellers reined in the number of imported cases, while policymakers turned their efforts to healing the world's second-largest economy.
The city of Wuhan, at the centre of the outbreak, reported no new cases for a sixth day, as businesses reopened and residents set about reclaiming a more normal life after a lockdown for almost two months, Reuters reported.
South Korea coronavirus cases rise steadily
South Korea reported 78 new coronavirus cases on Monday, keeping the rate of infections fairly steady, as President Moon Jae-in held an emergency meeting with economic policymakers to discuss financial support for the public.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the national tally stood at 9,661, while the death toll rose by 6 to 158. It added that 195 more people had recovered from the virus for a total of 5,228, Reuters reported.
The daily number of new infections in South Korea has been hovering around 100 or less for the past three weeks, but authorities have tightened border checks as small outbreaks continued to emerge and the number of imported cases rose. At least 13 of the latest cases were overseas travellers, KCDC data showed.
Queen Elizabeth is in good health
Britain's Queen Elizabeth last saw Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has tested positive for coronavirus, on March 11 and she remains in good health, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.
"The queen last saw the PM on the 11th March and is following all the appropriate advice with regards to her welfare," a palace spokesman said.
The queen, 93, is currently at Windsor Castle, her home to the west of London, with her husband, 98-year-old Prince Philip, and a small number of staff, Reuters reported.
Ivory Coast records first coronavirus death
Ivory Coast’s health minister on March 29 announced the country’s first confirmed coronavirus during a daily briefing on the outbreak there.
Eugene Aka Aouele gave no details on the victim’s age or sex, but said the diagnosis had been made “post-mortem”, AFP reported.
Aouele also announced another 25 cases of the virus had been recorded, bringing the official total in the country to 165.
President Alassane Ouattara declared a state of emergency last Monday to tackle the outbreak, imposing a curfew between 9:00pm and 5:00am, and shutting the country’s borders.
Number of coronavirus cases in Germany rises to 57,298
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Germany has risen to 57,298 and 455 people have died of the disease here, statistics from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.
Cases rose by 4,751 compared with the previous day while the death toll climbed by 66, the statistics showed, Reuters reported.
The highest number of cases, 13,989, are in the southern state of Bavaria, where the disease first appeared in Germany.
US sees 518 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours
The US recorded 518 new coronavirus-linked deaths in the span of 24 hours, according to data published on Sunday by Johns Hopkins University.
The record toll, higher than the previous day’s increase of 453, brings the country’s total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 2,409, AFP reported.
The number of cases shot up 21,333 in one day, the data showed.
With 136,880 total cases, the US has the highest number in the world, ahead of Italy, China and Spain.
Spain toughens restrictions as coronavirus death toll crosses 6,500
Spain prepared to enter its third week under near-total lockdown on Sunday, as the government approved a strengthening of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus and the death toll rose by 838 cases overnight to 6,528.
Second only to Italy in fatalities, Spain also saw infections rise to 78,797 from 72,248 the day before, Reuters reported.
Trump backs off plan to reopen businesses by mid-April amid coronavirus warnings
President Donald Trump on Sunday extended his stay-at-home guidelines until the end of April, dropping a hotly criticized plan to get the economy up and running by mid-April after a top medical adviser said more than 100,000 Americans could die from the coronavirus outbreak.
The reversal by Trump, which he said would be disclosed in greater detail on Tuesday, came as the US death toll topped 2,460 from the respiratory disease, according to a Reuters tally, with more than 141,000 cases, the most of any country in the world.
Japanese comedian Ken Shimura dies from coronavirus
Japanese comedian Ken Shimura, who had been hospitalised after being infected with the new coronavirus, has died, public broadcaster NHK reported today. He was 70.
Shimura, one of the country's best-known comedians with a career dating back to the early 1970s, had been hospitalized in Tokyo and died on March 29 evening, Reuters reported.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus donate $100mn in wages to fight Covid-19
Juventus and Coach Maurizio Sarri have agreed to give up four months' wages, a total of $100.5 million, to help the club manage the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic first-team squad.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus' star forward, has already donated $1.1 million to help fight coronavirus in his native Portugal, CNN reported.
Netherlands tops 10,000 coronavirus cases
The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the Netherlands passed the 10,000 mark on Sunday, the authorities said, as the country focuses on building up herd immunity rather than confining the population of 17 million.
A total of 771 people have died from the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands and 10,866 have tested positive, the country’s institute for public health and environment (RIVM) said, AFP reported.
The Dutch government has adopted a series of measures to fight the virus, but has decided so far not to force people to stay home. A review of the policy is due to be unveiled on Tuesday.
Argentina extends coronavirus quarantine until mid April
Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said on Sunday that the country would extend a mandatory nationwide quarantine period until the middle of April in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus that has killed over 30,000 people worldwide.
The quarantine, which restricts non-essential workers from leaving their homes apart from to buy groceries or medicines, has seen the South American country’s streets virtually emptied, while its major grains industry has faced some disruption, Reuters reported.
The tough measure was initially until the end of March. It will now be in place until the end of the Easter Holy Week, Fernandez said, which would mean it would be lifted on April 12.
Fernández added that the initial results of the compulsory isolation since March 20 looked “good”. The country has recorded 820 coronavirus cases with 20 deaths, although the increase in cases has shown some signs of slowing in recent days.
US Covid-19 death toll could be 100,000 or more: Trump
US President Donald Trump for the first time acknowledged that deaths in the United States from the novel coronavirus could reach 100,000 or more.
"If the death toll stays at or below 100,000, we all together have done a very good job," Trump added, CNN reported.
Coronavirus deaths fall again in Italy but lockdown extension looms
The number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy fell for the second consecutive day on Sunday but the country still looked almost certain to see an extension of stringent containment measures.
The Civil Protection department said 756 people had died in the last day, bringing the total to 10,779 - more than a third of all deaths from the virus worldwide, Reuters reported.
There were 133 fewer deaths than the 889 deaths reported on Saturday, when the numbers fell from a record high of 919 on Friday.
Mexico's confirms 145 new coronavirus cases, four new deaths
Mexico’s health ministry on Sunday confirmed 145 new coronavirus cases and four new deaths in the last 24 hours, for a total of 993 cases and 20 deaths, Reuters reported.