US infectious diseases expert called for a federal stay-at-home order
This live article covers developments regarding the coronavirus. We will update it regularly as the situation unfolds around the world
Peru limits movement by gender to stem spread of coronavirus
In order to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease, Peru has begun to restricting public movement by gender.
Under new rule, men can only leave home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; women can do so on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, reports the BBC.
Both genders are allowed to go out on Sundays.
Similar restrictions were introduced in Panama earlier this week
The South American country has recorded more than 1,400 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 55 related deaths.
Mexico president says gang violence persists despite coronavirus
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that violence among criminal groups has persisted despite the coronavirus outbreak on the country.
“It seemed in late March, when the coronavirus had become more widespread, that we would have a considerable reduction in violence,” he said during his regular morning news conference.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way.”
UN worried about Iran prisoners amid coronavirus outbreak
A United Nations rights official on Friday voiced concern over prisoners after reports of unrest in facilities prompted by worries over a coronavirus outbreak in countries including Iran, one of the worst-hit in the world.
Iranian media have reported unrest in several prisons, and a mass escape from a facility in the west of the country, despite the temporary release of some 100,000 inmates to curb prison overcrowding.
Italy looks to safeguard biomedical valley leading fight against Covid-19
Italy plans to tighten health checks to ensure that work is not disrupted in a small northern town specialising in the production of medical supplies to tackle its coronavirus crisis.
The area snuggled around the medieval town of Mirandola has become a focus for desperate health authorities seeking to source equipment in the European country where Covid-19 has taken the most deadly toll.
Already home to a cluster of companies making high-end products for dialysis, heart surgery and transfusions, it has found itself on the front line of efforts to treat patients during the pandemic.
EU to fly home another 250,000 nationals stranded by coronavirus
More than 250,000 European Union citizens are still trying to get home, as the number of people stranded by the coronavirus outbreak remains high even after the EU has repatriated some 350,000 people, its top diplomat said on Friday.
While the repatriation of EU nationals since mid-March was moving swiftly, the number of people abroad seeking help keeps rising as more of them seek assistance via their embassies, said the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.
"We have brought home 350,000 Europeans but there are still 250,000 remaining and many operations are under way," Borrell told reporters after an EU foreign ministers' videoconference.
Russian ventilators shipped to US made by firm under US sanctions
Ventilators delivered by Russia to the United States to help treat patients of the new coronavirus were manufactured by a Russian company that is under US sanctions, Russia's RBC business daily reported on Friday.
A Russian military plane carrying the ventilators landed in New York on Wednesday after US President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone.
Sweden's liberal pandemic strategy questioned as Stockholm death toll mounts
A spike in novel coronavirus infections and deaths in Stockholm has raised questions about Sweden's decision to fight the outbreak without resorting to the lockdowns that have left much of Europe at a standstill.
Governments across Europe have closed schools and taken draconian measures to limit exposure to possible carriers with Germany for example enforcing bans on more than two people meeting in public.
Among Sweden's Nordic neighbours, Denmark has closed its borders and shut its schools, as has Norway, while Finland has isolated its main urban region.
Yet Swedes are able to go to restaurants, get a haircut and send their children to school even as the number of confirmed cases and deaths have mounted, above all in Stockholm which accounts for more than half the fatalities.
Norway pleads for more aid to help Palestinians tackle coronavirus
Norway called on Friday for more money to help the Palestinian Territories get through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although there has only been one death and 161 reported cases of the coronavirus in the Palestinian Territories, the outbreak is expected to worsen there.
Globally cases have now passed 1 million, with more than 53,000 fatalities, with most in the United States, Italy and Spain after the initial outbreak in Asia.
"We need to work together to prevent this from being a bigger humanitarian and health disaster than we think it can be, especially in Gaza, but also in the West Bank," Norway's Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide told Reuters.
"We are urging donors to step up their efforts both through the World Bank and also directly to the Palestinians," she said.
Queen to make rare address to nation over coronavirus
Queen Elizabeth II will make an extremely rare nationwide address to the nation on Sunday as it grapples with an increasingly deadly coronavirus outbreak.
"Her Majesty The Queen has recorded a special broadcast to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in relation to the coronavirus outbreak," Buckingham Palace said.
The queen rarely addresses the nation directly apart from her traditional televised Christmas Day message. The address, which was recorded at Windsor Castle where the 93-year-old monarch is staying with her husband Prince Philip, will be broadcast at 1900 GMT on Sunday.
Coronavirus could trigger biggest fall in carbon emissions since World War Two
Carbon dioxide emissions could fall by the largest amount since World War Two this year as the coronavirus outbreak brings economies to a virtual standstill, according to the chair of a network of scientists providing benchmark emissions data.
Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project, which produces widely-watched annual emissions estimates, said carbon output could fall by more than 5 percent year-on-year — the first dip since a 1.4 percent reduction after the 2008 financial crisis.
Former prime minister of Somalia dies of coronavirus in London
The former prime minister of Somalia, Nur Hassan Hussein, died in a London hospital on Wednesday after contracting the new coronavirus.
Somalia has entered a three-day mourning period after the death of the 83 year old politician, reports the Al Jazeera.
Nur Hassan Hussein was popularly known as Nur Adde. He was the East African country's prime minister from November 2007 to February 2009.
Istanbul mayor says time running out to halt coronavirus spread
Europe's largest city, Istanbul, is running out of time to impose a lockdown and stop a surge in coronavirus cases as around two million people are still going out into the streets every day, its mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said on Thursday.
Compounding the problem, revived tensions between his opposition CHP municipality and President Tayyip Erdogan's government are distracting attention from the battle against the disease, he told Reuters in an interview.
Dutch coronavirus deaths rise to 1,487: health authorities
The Netherlands announced a further 148 deaths linked to the coronavirus on Friday, bringing the country’s total to 1,487.
It also confirmed 1,026 new coronavirus cases, taking the overall tally of infections to 15,723, according to the daily report from The National Institute for Health
Face masks no replacement for distance amid coronavirus -Fauci
Wearing a face mask is not a substitute for physical distancing and other coronavirus mitigation measures, the nation's top infectious disease official said on Friday, as the Trump administration readies its formal recommendation on such coverings.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Fox News in an interview American must continue to lean into physical separation recommendations for the rest of the month, saying he had "no doubt" they would help turn around the crisis.
Bolsonaro says Brazil cannot take months of isolation
President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that Brazilian society will not be able to stand two or three months of shutdowns to fight the new coronavirus, denouncing social-distancing measures enforced by states and municipalities across the country.
"You know my stance. It will bring massive unemployment," he told supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia.
Chechnya becomes first Russian region to impose coronavirus curfew
The southern Russian region of Chechnya on Friday became the first to introduce a night curfew to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, despite having reported only a dozen confirmed cases.
Rights activists have raised concerns over how the lockdown measures will be enforced in the republic, where violent human rights abuses are reported on a regular basis. Chechen authorities deny those allegations.
Swiss coronavirus death toll rises to 484, cases jump by more than 1,000
The Swiss death toll from coronavirus has reached 484, the country’s public health ministry said on Friday, rising from 432 people on Thursday.
The number of people who have tested positive for infections also increased to 19,303 from 18,267 on Thursday, it said.
Countries face 'fights' over facemasks in China: German health minister
Countries' procurement agents are fighting each other in China for access to the protective equipment that must play a key role in stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said.
He was responding to a spate of reports of consignments of protective masks destined for European countries being bought up by United States officials, sometimes even as aeroplanes stood ready for departure on the tarmac.
ADB warns coronavirus may halve GDP growth in developing Asia
Developing Asia's already slowing economic growth is set to weaken even more sharply this year, hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic before it bounces back strongly next year, the Asian Develpoment Bank (ADB) said on Friday.The Manila-based lender said its baseline forecast called for growth in developing Asia, a group of 45 economies that includes China and India, to slow to 2.2 percent in 2020 from a previous forecast of 5.2 percent, matching last year.
"This will be the lowest growth that developing Asia will have seen in 22 years, or since the Asian financial crisis," said Abdul Abiad, director of ADB's macroeconomic research division.
For 2021, the region is forecast to recover and grow 6.2 percent, the ADB said in its Asian Development Outlook report.
Hospitals are "at maximum stress" in Spain's second worst-hit region by coronavirus
Hospitals in Catalonia, Spain’s second worst-hit region by the coronavirus pandemic, are at “maximum stress”, the regional leader Quim Torra told Reuters on Friday.
Spain’s second most populous region has the highest number of coronavirus patients in intensive care in the country - 2,053, according to the latest data - and has registered 2,335 fatalities, second only to the Madrid region.
“At the hospital level we are being able to give response to all the cases that are arriving but we are at the limit, we are at maximum stress,” Catalan regional government chief Torra said in an interview. He added that the main issue was a shortage of equipment.
Torra suggested that, given the coronavirus outbreak, the snap election he was due to call in the coming weeks will likely be held after the summer instead.
Vietnam's total coronavirus cases rise to 237, no deaths: health ministry
Vietnam’s health ministry reported 10 more coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the tally to 237.
More than 73,000 coronavirus tests have been carried out in Vietnam, it said, and 72,942 people have been placed under quarantine. The health ministry has not reported any coronavirus deaths in the country.
US sounds alarm on coronavirus in Japan, Tokyo pushes for state of emergency
The US government on Friday sounded alarm about the surge in coronavirus cases in Japan, adding to a chorus of prominent domestic voices - including the governor of Tokyo - who have called for decisive action to avoid an explosive outbreak.
Amid growing clamour for tighter curbs on people's movements to stem a rising tide of infections, the government has so far been reluctant to pull the trigger, warning of the heavy damage that could ensue in the world's third-biggest economy, already close to recession.
Instead, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has urged school closures and called on citizens to avoid unnecessary and non-urgent gatherings and outings while preparing to roll out an economic stimulus plan next week - even as he acknowledged the country was barely avoiding a major jump in infections.
Business activity collapses across Europe as coronavirus lockdowns spread
Business activity has cratered across Europe as attempts to contain the coronavirus pandemic push governments to shut down vast swathes of their economies, from shops to factories to restaurants, surveys showed on Friday.
The pandemic has infected more than a million people worldwide, paralysing economies as consumers worried about their health and job security stay indoors and rein in spending.
UK peak of coronavirus outbreak could be Easter Sunday, health minister
The deadliest peak of Britain's coronavirus outbreak could be on Easter Sunday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Friday.
When asked about reports that the death rate could peak on April 12, Hancock told Sky: "I defer to the scientists on the exact predictions, I'm not going to steer you away from that. That is one perfectly possible outcome."
Coronavirus likely ended record US job growth in March
The US economy likely shed jobs in March, abruptly ending a historic 113 straight months of employment growth as stringent measures to control the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses and factories, confirming a recession is underway.
The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report on Friday will not fully reflect the economic carnage being inflected by the contagious coronavirus. The government surveyed businesses and households for the report in mid-March, before a large section of the population was under some form of a lockdown, throwing millions out of work.
Friday’s report could sharpen criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the public health crisis, with President Donald Trump himself facing criticism for playing down the threat of the pandemic in its initial phases. Already, data has shown a record 10 million Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits in the last two weeks of March.
Singapore closes workplaces, schools as coronavirus cases jump
Singapore will close schools and most workplaces for a month as part of stricter measures to curb a recent jump in coronavirus infections, it said on Friday, an announcement that sent locals racing to supermarkets to stock up on staples.
The city-state has won international praise for its two-month long battle against a virus that has infected over a million people globally, avoiding lockdown measures increasingly common around the world.
But authorities said record jumps in new infections this week, taking its total to 1,114 cases, pointed to the need for a tougher approach.
Spain's daily coronavirus death toll falls for first time since March 26
Spain’s coronavirus death toll rose to a total of 10,935 from 10,003 on the previous day, the Health Ministry said on Friday, but showed the first fall in a daily death toll since March 26.
A total of 932 people died from the disease in 24 hours, down from 950 people in the previous daily toll, the figures showed.
The number of registered cases rose to 117,710 on Friday up from 110,238 on Thursday, the ministry said.
Iran's coronavirus death toll rises to 3,294: Health Ministry
Spain’s coronavirus death toll rose to a total of 10,935 from 10,003 on the previous day, the Health Ministry said on Friday, but showed the first fall in a daily death toll since March 26.
A total of 932 people died from the disease in 24 hours, down from 950 people in the previous daily toll, the figures showed.
The number of registered cases rose to 117,710 on Friday up from 110,238 on Thursday, the ministry said.
Fiat Chrysler starts ventilator component output in Italy
Fiat Chrysler (FCA) (FCHA.MI) (FCAU.N) has begun producing ventilator parts to help Italy's Siare Engineering boost its output of the medical equipment needed to treat patients during the coronavirus crisis, the carmaker said on Friday.
Carmakers around the world are ramping up production of critical healthcare products and machines to respond to the enormous demand during the pandemic.
Medical aid marooned as Africa shuts borders amid coronavirus pandemic
Medical charity Alima planned to open an emergency operating theatre this week in Burkina Faso, but the project has stalled because the country closed its borders before a surgeon and anaesthetist could fly in, its director told Reuters.
In Central African Republic, health officials say a measles vaccination campaign may be cancelled because of a delay in the supply of vials normally flown in from France.
Coronavirus has infected more than 3,000 people In sub-Saharan Africa and killed about 100, prompting some of the world's poorest countries to shut land and sea borders.
Fujifilm says new coronavirus test can produce results in two hours
Fujifilm Holdings Corp said it has developed a new, faster test for the novel coronavirus that that causes the COVID-19 disease, reducing the time of results delivery to about two hours.
The test was developed by subsidiary Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp and will be released on April 15, the company said on Friday.
The SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR detection kit will be able to test for the virus faster than existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which take four to six hours, the company said.
UK opens new hospital erected in conference centre to fight coronavirus
A new hospital, built in under two weeks in a conference centre in London to provide thousands of extra beds to treat those who have contracted coronavirus, will open its doors on Friday.
The Nightingale Hospital, which will initially provide up to 500 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen with the capacity increased to treat about 4,000 patients, has been created in the Excel Exhibition Centre in the Docklands area of east London, near the River Thames.
Built with help from the military, it is the first of six new temporary hospitals to be set up across the country to cope with the outbreak. So far, 2,921 people who have tested positive for the COVID-19 in Britain have died.
Global coronavirus cases surpass one million
Global coronavirus cases surpassed 1 million on Thursday with more than 52,000 deaths as the pandemic further exploded in the United States and the death toll climbed in Spain and Italy, according to a Reuters tally of official data.
Italy had the most deaths, more than 13,900, followed by Spain. The United States had the most confirmed cases of any country, more than 240,000, the data showed.
Since the virus was first recorded in China late last year, the pandemic has spread around the world, prompting governments to close businesses, ground airlines and order hundreds of millions of people to stay at home to try to slow the contagion.
EU open to all options to finance coronavirus fight: Dombrovskis
The European Union's executive is open to all options to fight the coronavirus emergency, Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis told Italian daily La Repubblica when asked if Brussels favoured eurobonds.
Last week EU leaders gave finance ministers until next week to come up with ideas on financing the recovery after Germany and the Netherlands shot down a call from France, Italy, Spain and six other countries for a common debt instrument issued by a European institution.
China advises foreign diplomats to stop coming to Beijing
China’s foreign ministry is advising foreign diplomats to stop coming to Beijing, after the country temporarily banned most foreigners from entering to prevent a resurgence of a coronavirus epidemic, a spokeswoman said on Friday.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters during a daily briefing that the ministry was aware of confirmed coronavirus cases among foreign diplomats in China.
Philippines reports 29 new coronavirus deaths, highest in a single day
The Philippines’ health ministry on Friday reported 29 new coronavirus deaths, marking the single largest daily increase in casualties.
The latest figures brought total deaths in the country to 136, while 385 new cases were reported, increasing the tally to 3,018, the health ministry said in a bulletin.
The Philippines’ health ministry on Friday reported 29 new coronavirus deaths, marking the single largest daily increase in casualties.
The latest figures brought total deaths in the country to 136, while 385 new cases were reported, increasing the tally to 3,018, the health ministry said in a bulletin.
India's coronavirus lockdown hits poor, tests Modi's support
Ravi Prasad Gupta, a worker at a pipe plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat, for years proudly supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his promise to usher in "good days" for millions of impoverished labourers.
But Modi on March 24 announced a three-week lockdown to fight the coronavirus, which meant Gupta lost his job and so decided to head home, first by train and then on foot.
"I voted for Modi in all the elections but now I'm very sure that he works only for the big people and not for a man like me," Gupta told Reuters in the northern town of Lucknow where he was getting on a truck for the next leg of his journey home.
Beijing autoshow postponed to September due to virus
Organisers of the Beijing autoshow, which was scheduled to be held in late-April, said on Friday the event would be held between Sept. 26 and Oct. 5 due to the coronavirus pandamic.
Several other auto shows globally have been cancelled or postponed due to the outbreak, including those in New York, Geneva and Sao Paulo.
Italy's civil protection chief sees lockdown continuing beyond May 1
Italy's national lockdown to try to contain the spread of coronavirus will probably continue beyond the start of May, Angelo Borrelli, the head of the Civil Protection Agency, said on Friday.
This week the government extended the lockdown — which imposes severe restrictions on movement and shutters all services and firms not deemed essential Italy's supply chain — until April 13.
In a radio interview with state broadcaster RAI, Borrelli was asked whether the measures would need to remain in place many more weeks.
Pakistan, Bangladesh try to stop Friday prayers to avert coronavirus spike
Police in Pakistan will enforce a strict lockdown to prevent people from going to mosques to offer Friday prayers and fuel a rise in coronavirus infection, officials said, after failing to prevent large congregations last week.
Health experts have warned of an epidemic in South Asia, home to a fifth of the world's population, that could easily overwhelm its weak public health systems.
But authorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh, another Muslim majority nation, and even India have struggled to persuade conservative religious groups to maintain social distancing in order to curb the spread of the virus.
Saudi Arabia brings forward its nightly curfew by 4 hours
Saudi Arabia has brought forward its nightly curfew by four hours in three areas to combat the coronavirus epidemic, state news agency SPA said.
From Friday, the curfew will begin at 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) instead of 7 p.m. in the city of Dammam and the governorates of Taif and al-Qatif, SPA said, quoting a senior interior ministry official. The curfew is lifted at 6 a.m, reports Reuters.
Saudi Arabia has recorded 1,885 infections and 21 deaths, the most among any of the Gulf Cooperation Council states, which also include Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The port of Dammam, on the Gulf, is a main entry point for supplies for the oil industry centered in the eastern region and for the rest of the kingdom.