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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Alison Rourke (now), Kevin Rawlinson Damien Gayle, Alexandra Topping , Aamna Mohdin and Helen Sullivan(earlier)

Confirmed cases pass 1 million – as it happened

Medical staff in protective clothes carry a patient down a street in Naples.
Medical staff in protective clothes carry a patient down a street in Naples. Photograph: Ciro de Luca/Reuters

We are about to wrap up our coverage on this blog for the day, but you can follow all developments on our new global live blog here. In the interim, you can catch up on all the day’s latest news here, on our latest At a Glance:

And here is a summary of the other key events of the day.

Just dipping back into the Trump press conference at the White House, and the president has blame states for lack of supplies.

“By the way, the states should have been building their stockpiles,” Trump said, reiterating that the federal government is “a backup.”

States are to blame for not buying up supplies, and keeping them. “Ideally those states should have had the equipment,” he said. “We’re (the federal government) a back-up not an ordering clerk”

Reuters reports that morgues and hospitals in New York City, the centre of the US outbreak, bent under the strain on Thursday, struggling to treat or bury casualties, as New York state’s Governor Andrew Cuomo offered a grim prediction the rest of the country would soon face the same misery.

Staff at one medical centre in Brooklyn were seen disposing of their gowns and caps and other protective wear in a sidewalk trash can after wheeling bodies out of the hospital and loading them into a refrigerated truck.

Cuomo had earlier said the New York would run out of ventilators in six days.

'Worrying spike' in cases and deaths in Middle East, says WHO

Governments in the Middle East need to act fast to limit the spread of the coronavirus after cases rose to nearly 60,000, almost double their level a week earlier, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

“New cases have been reported in some of the most vulnerable countries with fragile health systems,” said Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the WHO’s director for the Eastern Mediterranean region, which includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Djibouti, as well as Middle Eastern states.

“Even in countries with stronger heath systems, we have seen a worrying spike in the numbers of cases and deaths reported,” he said in a statement.

Outside of Iran, which has reported just over 50,000 cases, confirmed coronavirus numbers have been relatively low in the Middle East compared to Europe, the United States and Asia.

But health officials fear that cases of the highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the virus are under-reported and that many countries with weak governments and health systems eroded by conflict will struggle to cope.

“I cannot stress enough the urgency of the situation,” said Mandhari. “The increasing numbers of cases show that transmission is rapidly occurring at local and community levels.”

“We still have a window of opportunity, but this window is slowly closing day by day,” he added.

Updated

The Walt Disney Co says it will start standing down (furloughing) non-essential employees on 19 April, citing the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on its business.

The daily White House press briefing is underway. You can keep up today date with it on our US live blog here:

Donald Trump addressed the conference briefly, confirming he had tested negative to the coronavirus. The US now has just under 240,000 infections and 5,798 deaths according to the Johns Hopkins university tracker.

Trump spoke briefly about the production of new masks and establishing dedicated Covid-19 hospitals in three states, including New York.

We have also just heard from the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who spoke for about five minutes, but didn’t really announce anything, apart from the fact that everyone was working hard and doing a good job. He’s working on the coronavirus response team.

He said the president asked him to “break down every barrier” to help the effort, he said. “The president wants us to think outside the box and get the best ideas to keep Americans safe.”

Updated

The Zaandam cruise ship on which four people have died, including a 75-year-old British man, has docked in a port in Florida after previously being denied entry. Its sister-ship, the Rotterdam has also been granted permission to dock.

The operating company, Holland America, said that, following arrival in Port Everglades, all guests will be health screened and cleared for entry by US Customs and Border Protection. It added that disembarkation is expected to be complete by Friday evening, with priority given today to those who need immediate care.

The US president, Donald Trump, has said arrangements have been made with the UK government to evacuate British passengers.

Trump tests negative in 15-minute process – White House

The US president, Donald Trump, has tested negative for the second time, with the result obtained in just 15 minutes, according to a letter from his physician that has been released by the White House.

In the note, Sean Conley, said Trump had undergone the test for coronavirus, having already been tested last month after coming into contact with a Brazilian official who had been infected. Conley said Trump was tested with a new, rapid point-of-contact test. “He is healthy and without symptoms.”

Updated

Residents of Canada’s most populous city caught walking within six feet (two metres) of anyone in a public park or square face a fine of as much as 5,000 Canadian dollars (£2,850, $3,500).

According to the Associated Press, Toronto’s mayor John Tory says the public has been warned many times and the wilful disobedience needs to stop amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Lives are potentially at stake, and we will turn up the heat in the hopes that the few who still don’t get it, or pretend not to get it, will get with the programme.

The US navy has relieved the commander of the aircraft carrier, Theodore Roosevelt, after he wrote a scathing letter asking for stronger measures to control an outbreak onboard that ended up being leaked to the public.

Egypt has reported 86 new cases, bringing the total number to 865, its health ministry has said. That is the highest daily jump since registering the first case in February. Six more people died of the virus, the ministry said in a statement. In total, 58 people have died.

Darren Miller didn’t expect many people to come out to clap for the NHS and frontline workers last week. Still, the 35-year-old, who works for the Scottish ambulance service, put on his jacket and stepped out to stand in solidarity with his colleagues.

He was taken aback by the roar of applause and cheers that he was met with in East Kilbride last week. On Thursday evening, he was overwhelmed to see his neighbours had come again.

See how the UK paused to recognise its key workers:

We reported earlier that the UK government is thinking of issuing immunity certificates to people who have recovered.

But one expert is warning they could be dangerous. Eleanor Riley, professor of immunology and infectious disease at the University of Edinburgh, say they could give people a “sense of false security”.

It’s not something that we’ve ever done before. When we vaccinate people, particularly for certain diseases where they’re going to travel overseas ... we give people a certificate saying they have been vaccinated.

But that certificate doesn’t say they are immune and there’s a difference. We don’t know yet whether somebody who has had this virus is immune.

They have antibodies, they’ve clearly been exposed, yet will those antibodies protect them against reinfection? I’m not sure that we know that.

So to give a certificate saying somebody is immune, I think is actually quite dangerous because: A, we don’t know if it’s true; and B, it could give people a slight sense of false security, where they start to do things that they wouldn’t otherwise do.

For the general public, saying you’re immune they will think ‘oh, OK, I don’t need to worry anymore’ – and there will be people who will die as a result of that. I think it’s very risky and I don’t think it’s necessary.

“A glimmer of hope but little detail.” See the experts’ reaction to the UK health secretary Matt Hancock’s new testing plan:

The US president Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to aid companies building ventilators for coronavirus patients to receive the supply of materials they need.

In a memo released by the White House, Trump directed the US health and human services secretary to use his authority to help facilitate the supply of ventilator materials for six companies – General Electric Co, Hill-Rom Holdings Inc and Medtronic Plc, as well as Resmed Inc, Royal Philips N.V. and Vyaire Medical Inc.

France will probably extend the coronavirus confinement beyond 15 April, the country’s prime minister Édouard Philippe has said. France went into lockdown on 17 March and a first two-week period has already been extended to 15 April. Philippe told TF1:

I can understand the impatience, but deconfinement is not for tomorrow morning.

Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, is continuing to play down the pandemic, saying it is “not all it’s being made out to be” and denying that any hospital in the country has reached its full capacity due to the outbreak.

Speaking to church ministers outside his official residence in Brasilia, he has urged state governors not to be so “radical,” warning that their confinement and quarantine measures are taking a heavy toll on the economy. He estimated that 60% to 70% of Brazilians will eventually contract the virus.

Summary

Here’s a summary of the latest events:

You can see a summary of earlier events here.

Updated

Global number of confirmed cases passes million mark

At least one million people around the world have been infected since the outbreak began, according to figures collected by researchers from Johns Hopkins University.

The true extent of the pandemic is likely to be significantly greater because some countries are suspected of underreporting their figures and a lack of testing facilities in others. The institution’s data are based on official releases, as well as media reports and other sources.

The USA has seen by far the most cases, with at least 234,462, while Italy and Spain have also passed the 100,000 threshold. Next is Germany, which has reported at least 84,264 cases, and then China, where the outbreak began, which researchers say has seen at least 82,432 cases.

Researchers say at least 1,002,159 people have now been infected.

Updated

Staying in the UK, the opposition Labour party has been responding to the health secretary’s new target of carrying out 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, has said:

A commitment to 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month is welcome, but NHS staff will recall that only a few weeks ago Boris Johnson was promising 250,000 a day.

We look forward to seeing the details of how this commitment will be delivered, especially for NHS and care staff for whom this is now a pressing and urgent priority.

It has taken us weeks to get to 10,000 tests today, and we still have no details of what proportion of this 100,000 will be PCR tests or antibody tests.

As public health experts have repeatedly highlighted, reintroducing community testing and contact tracing will be vital to end cycles of lockdown and we repeat our calls for a clear national testing strategy.

The billionaire retailer, Philip Green, is asking for UK taxpayer help to prop up his crumbling fashion empire, with 14,500 employees set to be paid out of the government’s emergency wage support scheme.

Like other fashion retailers, Arcadia, which owns brands including Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, is facing financial turmoil as the lockdown prevents Britons from shopping. The company has already asked landlords for rent cuts and paused payments into its pension scheme.

UK pauses to recognise key workers

After the widespread participation in last week’s “clap for carers” event – in which isolated people all over the UK applauded NHS workers from their windows, gardens and balconies – people are planning a repeat for the country’s other key workers in about 10 minutes’ time.

Updated

The UK is looking at the possibility of issuing immunity certificates to people who have developed resistance to the coronavirus, but there needs to be more research into the science behind it, the country’s health minister, Matt Hancock, has said.

It is an important thing that we will be doing and are looking at but it’s too early in the science of the immunity that comes from having had the disease. It’s too early in that science to be able to put clarity around that. I wish that we could but the reason that we can’t is because the science isn’t yet advanced enough.

Updated

As the pandemic worsens, panicked governments have been accused of using questionable methods to acquire supplies in the battle against the coronavirus. Tactics have ranged from blocking exports of medical supplies to sending spies on clandestine missions to find tests.

The Guardian’s network of correspondents have looked at how fears of shortages are driving many countries to take increasingly devious measures to secure masks and tests.

French death toll rises by 471

The number of coronavirus deaths in hospitals in France has reached 4,503, an increase of 471 in 24 hours, slightly fewer than in previous days, Kim Willsher reports from Paris.

Added to the figure, however, are an estimated 884 deaths in retirement and care homes given for the first time. The head of France’s national health authority, Jérôme Salomon, also said the figures from non-hospital health establishments were only partial.

The figures suggest the number of people being admitted to hospital with the coronavirus has dropped slightly and is stabilising, and that the number being taken into intensive care has risen very slightly by 20 extra cases in 24 hours.

  • Number of confirmed cases in France: 59,105 (+2,116)
  • Number of deaths in hospitals 4,503 (+471)
  • Estimated number of deaths in retirement/old people’s/care homes : 884
  • Number of those in hospital with coronavirus : 26,246 (+1,607)
  • Number in intensive care: 6,489 (+472)

Of those in intensive care, 60% are 60-80 years old, 35% are under 60, and 90 people are under 30.

Updated

Numbers of cases of Covid-19 have continued to rise across Africa, even if the continent has yet to see outbreaks comparable to some elsewhere, Jason Burke reports from Johannesburg.

African Union member states are now reporting 6,470 cases and 241 deaths, and they say the growth is “close to exponential”.

Dr John Nkengasong, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters the virus was an existential threat to African countries and that with local transmission now underway many would pass the 10,000-infection mark by the end of April.

Health officials also cautioned, however, against the total lockdowns that increasing numbers of African nations have imposed on tens of millions of people.

John Nkengasong, Director of Africa-CDC, speaks during a press conference on Covid-19 at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last month
John Nkengasong, Director of Africa-CDC, speaks at a press conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photograph: Michael Tewelde/AFP via Getty Images

South Africa announced a partial easing of some restrictions on Thursday night. The minibuses that provide transport for millions of people will now be allowed to run 70% full if drivers and passengers all wear masks. Informal food traders are also allowed to sell the snacks and meals that many poorer people rely on, and earn much-needed income.

Nkengasong said:

Don’t lock down the whole country. Lock down cities or communities where there’s extensive community transmission so ... social harm is minimised. But if infection is spreading across the entire country, you have no choice.

The World Health Organization called for socially restrictive measures “to be accompanied by strong, sustained and targeted public health measures that locate, isolate, test and treat COVID-19 cases”.

Health experts in Africa are rushing to understand whether factors such as Africa’s youthful population — about 70% of the continent’s people are under age 30 — will be a benefit in fighting off the virus and how the widespread problems of malnutrition, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria might affect the situation.

Updated

‘Shoot them dead’: extreme Covid-19 lockdown policing around the world – video report

As coronavirus lockdowns have been expanded globally, billions of people are faced with unprecedented restrictions.

The Guardian’s video team has taken a look at some of the extreme strategies governments are using to police their citizens, from teargas and death threats to beatings and bleach.

Updated

Global Covid-19 death toll passes 50,000

The global total of confirmed deaths from Covid-19 has passed 50,000, according to the tally of official figures maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

According to the research university based in the US state of Maryland, which has been running an interactive map tracking the progress of the pandemic, 50,230 people have so far died from Covid-19 since it was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late December.

Italy remains the country worst-affected by the outbreak with 13,915 deaths, followed by Spain with 10,003. The US is now the third worst-affected country with 5,316.

Updated

The mayor of Ecuador’s second city, Guayaquil, has called on the government to collect bodies as residents complain they have been forced to spend days with the bodies of deceased relatives, Dan Collyns reports from Lima.

Cynthia Viteri, who has tested positive for the coronavirus, appealed to the government in a video plea published on Twitter. She said:

What is happening with our health system?

They don’t remove the dead from houses, they leave them on the pavement, they collapse in front of hospitals. No one wants to collect them.

The coronavirus is sweeping through the coastal city, and CCTV images have shown people abandoning bodies in the streets.

Other images show coffins waiting to be collected from outside of hospitals. One reportedly shows the body of woman in a wheelchair in the entrance to the emergency room of a local hospital.

City officials have been forced to deny they are planning to dig a mass grave to bury the dead. Shipping containers have been brought in to temporarily house bodies.

CNN en Español reports that the number of Covid-19 deaths could rise to 3,500 in Guayaquil. Without beds or medical staff, the healthcare system has collapsed, it says.

Men carry a sick man into a hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador on Wednesday
Men carry an ill man into a hospital in Guayaquil on Wednesday. Photograph: Enrique Ortiz/AFP via Getty Images

Ecuador has been one of the South American countries hardest hit by the coronavirus. The government reported 3,163 cases of Covid-19 and 12o deaths on Thursday. The true figure is thought to be higher.

Jorge Wated, the government official appointed to deal with the disposal of the dead during the coronavirus crisis, said that 2,500 to 3,500 people were expected to die from Covid-19 in Guayas, the province encompassing Guayaquil, AP reported.

Troops are patrolling the city’s streets to enforce a strict lockdown, but hundreds of people have also been arrested for breaching the measure, which includes a night-time curfew between 4pm and 8am.

Ecuador’s president, Lenín Moreno, is expected to announce new measures to combat the crisis later on Thursday.

Updated

1.1m applications for 'immediate financial help' in Germany

Authorities in Germany have so far received 1.1 million applications for “immediate financial help” from self-employed people and small businesses, Kate Connolly reports from Berlin.

€1bn (£877m) has already been paid out and €1.8bn in payments has been approved and is due to be received any day.

Most payments are going to restaurants, hairdressers, cosmetics salons and business consultants, far less to craftspeople and construction workers, who are still able to work as long as they can keep to physical distancing rules.

Self-employed people have expressed their amazement on social media at how unbureaucratic the access to the funds has been, just days after the measures were passed as emergency legislation in Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag.

Freelancers, self-employed people and small companies are eligible for funds. Those with up to five workers can get a one-off payment of €9,000, and businesses with up to 10 workers €15,000. The monies do not have to be paid back.

A few socially distanced people on the square Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, on Thursday
Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on 2 April. Photograph: Clemens Bilan/EPA

Jens Spahn, the increasingly popular German health minister, who joked on Thursday that a more accurate job title would be “mask procurement manager”, has said he will personally enter into discussions with employers in the health sector to ensure that nurses and auxiliaries receive surplus pay in reflection of their efforts during the coronavirus crisis. He said:

I would like to talk to the employers to find ways in which we can show special recognition to those who are doing amazing things every day. I think this is the right idea.

On Thursday evening Germany reported a total of 80,499 confirmed cases and 990 deaths.

Updated

Doctors at a public hospital in northern Mexico staged a protest over working conditions on Wednesday after after at least 26 members of medical staff fell ill with Covid-19 and one died.

The hospital in Monclova, Coahuila, was undergoing a deep clean on Thursday, the Associated Press reports. It accounts for the majority of the 39 reported cases of medical staff from Mexico’s national health system infected with the virus.

The specialist’s death led to the protest by hospital staff, who refused to work until the authorities give them the necessary equipment to avoid contagion. The first shipment of personal protective equipment arrived at the hospital on Wednesday, a day after the doctor’s death.

The national health system also said the hospital’s director had been removed from his position and put into isolation because he was over 60.

There was no immediate explanation of why personal protective equipment was only sent to the hospital this week. Mexico’s federal health officials have said they had been preparing for the virus since early January.

According to a statement from the Coahuila state government, everyone who works in the hospital’s emergency department is being screened for symptoms of the illness.

Doctors and hospital workers protest at a hospital after a doctor died, in the municipality of Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico
Doctors and hospital workers protest at a hospital in Monclova, Coahuila. Photograph: Gustavo Rodriguez/EPA

The outbreak raised questions about the preparedness of the public health system to confront a pandemic that is just beginning to gather momentum in the country.

Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said on Thursday that 80 public hospitals were being converted to handle patients infected with the coronavirus. In a subsequent clarification, he said that just segments of 80 hospitals were being isolated, with on average eight beds and ventilators reserved for coronavirus patients.

There have been 37 deaths in Mexico and more than 1,300 confirmed infections.

Updated

As coronavirus lockdowns have moved many in-person activities online, the use of the video conferencing platform Zoom has escalated quickly. So too have concerns about its security, Kari Paul reports.

There has been a 535% rise in daily traffic to the Zoom.us download page in the last month, according to analysis from the web analytics firm SimilarWeb. Its app for iPhone has been the most downloaded app in the country for weeks, according to the market research firm Sensor Tower. Even politicians and other high-profile figures including the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the former US federal reserve chair Alan Greenspan use it for conferencing as they work from home.

Security experts, however, have called Zoom “a privacy disaster” and “fundamentally corrupt” as allegations of the company mishandling user data snowball.

Updated

As its president ordered workers to stay away from their jobs until the end of the month, Russia is considering aggressive new surveillance methods to enforce a mandatory lockdown across its 11 time zones, Andrew Roth reports from Moscow.

The details of the new system have not been confirmed, but official statements and leaked plans have indicated they could include mobile apps that track users’ location, CCTV cameras with facial recognition software, QR codes, mobile phone data and credit card records.

A sign on the platform at the Kotelniki station on the Moscow Metro reminds passengers about social distancing guidelines
A sign at the Kotelniki station on the Moscow metro reminds passengers about physical distancing. Photograph: Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

The hastily developed patchwork to monitor individuals’ movements could tell authorities whether Russians had broken coronavirus lockdowns for reasons other than those allowed: seeking medical care, shopping for groceries, visiting the pharmacy or traveling to an authorised job. Leaked plans indicate that parts of the system may go online this weekend.

Updated

Italy reports 760 deaths from coronavirus

Italy registered 760 more deaths from coronavirus on Thursday, 33 more than on Wednesday, bringing the total to 13,915, Angela Giuffrida reports from Rome.

The growth rate in new infections was slower compared with Wednesday, with 2,477 more cases registered, a day-to-day rise of 3%, compared to highs of 15% during the early phase of the emergency.

The infection rate has also slowed again in Lombardy, the worst-affected region, with 1,292 new cases registered on Thursday compared with 1,565 on Wednesday.

The Italian government extended the country’s lockdown until 13 April on Wednesday.

“When the [scientific] data consolidate, we will begin to programme a gradual loosening of the restrictions,” the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, told the population. “I can’t tell you when that will be.”

Updated

Ukraine has made an appeal to the US tycoon Elon Musk-, after he announced on Twitter that he had spare ventilators to ship to any country where they are needed.

The Ukrainian embassy in the United States posted replied, saying: “People in hospitals need ventilators. We are ready to cooperate!”

Ulana Suprun, a former health minister, also replied to Musk.

Ukraine has confirmed 804 cases of the virus and 20 fatalities.

Updated

Continuing a response to the coronavirus pandemic that is becoming the envy of the world, German hospitals have increased their number of intensive care beds to 40,000, the chief of the country’s hospital federation said on Thursday.

Three out of four of the beds (30,000) are equipped with ventilators, Gerald Gass, the head of the German Hospital Federation, told Rheinischen Post daily, according to an AFP report.

It comes after Berlin urged hospitals to double their intensive care bed capacity to 56,000, to deal with any potential surge in patients needing 24-hour care. About 2,000 intensive care beds are currently occupied by Covid-19 patients. Germany has also taken in more than 100 seriously ill patients from other EU nations.

Europe’s biggest economy has recorded 73,522 confirmed infections and 872 deaths, according to the disease control agency the Robert Koch Institute.

Updated

The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ali Larijani, has contracted the coronavirus, the highest-ranking official among several senior government figures to catch the disease, the Associated Press reports.

The parliament in Iran announced Larijani’s illness on its website, saying he was receiving treatment in quarantine.

Iran’s health ministry said Thursday the coronavirus had killed another 124 people, pushing the country’s death toll to 3,160.

In a rare acknowledgment of the severity of the outbreak by a senior Iranian official, the president, Hassan Rouhani, said the coronavirus may remain through the end of the Iranian year, which just began late last month, state TV reported Thursday.

Iranian parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, who has been confirmed sick with coronavirus
Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani, who has been confirmed sick with coronavirus Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP

Updated

Jack Ma, the founder of Chinese wholesale online market Alibaba, has donated millions of dollars in medical aid around the world to help countries battling the coronavirus, including sending a million masks and 500,000 testing kits to the US.

But this week an attempt by Ma to make a similar donation to Cuba – which has itself been sending doctors around the world to help with coronavirus medical efforts – was blocked by the US government, reports Xinhua, China’s official news agency.

According to Xinhua, the US haulier hired by Alibaba to carry face masks, test kits and ventilators to the Caribbean island pulled out at the last minute, citing backdoor sanctions against Cuba implemented last year by the Trump administration.

Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, enacted by the Trump government last May, gives US nationals and companies the right to sue foreign citizens and enterprises investing in properties nationalised by the Cuban government.

Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba’s president, criticised the move on Twitter on Wednesday. He wrote:

Cuba denounces that medical supplies from Alibaba Foundation to help combat Covid-19 have not arrived in the country due to the criminal US blockade against the island nation.

Updated

The Hong Kong government has been accused of attacking the editorial independence of its public broadcaster after criticising it for asking a World Health Organization official why Taiwan had not been admitted as a member.

In an official statement, a spokesman for Hong Kong’s Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said Radio Television Hong Kong had “breached the One-China Principle” as well as its mission of “engendering a sense of citizenship and national identity”. The statement said:

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, has clearly stated in a press release issued by the CEDB on 18 February and at his media stand-up on 17 March that RTHK must uphold and abide by the Charter of RTHK in discharging its duties to provide public service broadcasting. In reporting their work to the CEDB, the Director of Broadcasting and RTHK management have repeatedly pledged to the Secretary that RTHK will strictly adhere to and at all times abide by the Charter.

The public purposes and mission of RTHK have been clearly specified in the Charter, which includes engendering a sense of citizenship and national identity through programmes that contribute to the understanding of our community and nation; and promoting understanding of the concept of ‘One Country, Two Systems.’

The extraordinary official criticism comes after an RTHK reporter, Yvonne Tong, interviewed Dr Bruce Aylward, a Canadian physician and epidemiologist, and senior adviser at the WHO, and asked him about Taiwan’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Questions were raised about the WHO’s relationship with China, a major funder, after Aylward, a former director general of the organisation, first appeared to hang up on Tong, then refused to answer further questions because they had “already talked about China”.

In a story on its own website on Thursday, RTHK said it rejected the attack by the Hong Kong government, quoting a spokeswoman denying it had breached either its own charter or the “one country, two systems” principle.

Fermi Wong, a member of RTHK’s programme advisory panel, said she suspected the statement had been made under pressure from Beijing. She told RTHK:

When you look at the interview done by the Pulse reporter, it is about the coronavirus issue, it is about health. I don’t really understand why when a reporter is asking something relating to health, she or he has to remember there is ‘one country, two systems’ … in line with the government or China.

I believe the government statement may come after some kind of pressure from the foreign ministry or the Chinese Communist party, I don’t know. But I think the statement is the biggest nonsense.

Updated

The Guardian’s graphics team has produced this visualisation of the rate of increases in officially confirmed coronavirus infections in several countries around the world.

Of course, with wildly differing testing regimes in different countries, and accusations that China is hiding the true extent of its outbreak, such comparisons ought to be viewed in context.

Fresh cases of Covid-19 continue to rise rapidly in the US while Spain and Italy have started to see fewer fresh cases each day

A consignment of masks heading from China to one of the worst-hit coronavirus areas of France was hijacked by American buyers as it was about to be dispatched, it was reported on Thursday, writes Kim Willsher.

The masks were on a plane on the tarmac at Shanghai airport ready to take off when US buyers turned up reportedly waving wads of cash and offered three times what the French were paying.

The plane later left for an unreported destination in the US.

Jean Rottner, an emergency hospital doctor at Mulhouse in eastern France, and president of the Grand Est regional council, confirmed reports that part of an order of masks heading for the region, where intensive care units are inundated with coronavirus patients, had been snatched by Americans.

“On the tarmac, they arrive, get the cash out and pay three or four times more for the orders than we have, so we really have to fight,” Rottner told RTL radio.

Rottner said they had still managed to receive 2m masks earlier this week. “It’s complicated. We’re having to work round the clock to make sure these masks get here,” he said.

As well as orders from the French government, several French regions have ordered a total of 1bn masks, one-quarter of them from China.

Rénaud Muselier, the head of the south-eastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, said he had also experienced problems securing masks. Muselier said he had opted for them to be transported by sea, which he said was slower but more certain. “At least that way, I can be sure nobody will steal my masks from the tarmac,” he told BFMTV.

Updated

Vladimir Putin has announced that most people in Russia will be expected to stay off work until the end of the month, the Associated Press reports.

Speaking in a televised address to the nation on Thursday, Putin said he was extending the non-working policy he ordered for this week to remain in force throughout April.

A woman in in St. Petersburg watches Russian President Vladimir Putin televised address to the nation
A woman in in St Petersburg watches Vladimir Putin’s televised address to the nation Photograph: Anatoly Maltsev/EPA

There are exceptions for essential industries, and grocery stores and pharmacies will remain open. It is up to the regional authorities to decide which sectors should keep working in their areas.

Putin said Russia’s virus-prevention strategies have bought time and helped slow the outbreak. But he also warned that cases had not yet peaked.

Russia has 3,548 confirmed cases of coronavirus, while 30 people have died and 235 have recovered from the disease, according to the tally of official figures kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Updated

Agreement to let coronavirus-stricken liners dock 'very close'

Officials in Fort Lauderdale have told the Guardian an agreement to allow two coronavirus-stricken cruise liners to dock in Port Everglades should be reached “within a few hours”, Erin McCormick and Patrick Greenfield report.

The Broward County commissioner, Beam Furr, said that excluding a few logistical details, the county had reached an agreement with Holland America on Wednesday night to allow for the ships to disembark.

The Zaandam cruise liner last entered port in Valparaíso, Chile, more than two weeks ago and has been stranded at sea with a worsening Covid-19 outbreak onboard after several Latin American countries refused to let it dock.

Asymptomatic passengers were transferred to the Rotterdam, its sister ship, off the coast of Panama in a boat-to-boat rescue operation and both vessels are now waiting for permission to dock in Port Everglades.

Speaking to the Guardian, Furr said:

We’re very close – definitely yes, we have an agreement. There are a couple details to clean up (over transportation of passengers).

It’s a matter of everyone getting off the ship, getting on planes and getting home.”

In the few cases where passengers need hospital treatment, Furr said “we can handle it within Broward County”.

There is no vote that needs to happen. It’s a done deal. They will just let us know. We gave our county administrator the authority to sign off. I think it will be wrapped up within a few hours.

He said he expected the ship to dock late tonight or early tomorrow.

It was the right thing to do. We’ve been letting people in and out of this port for 100 years in good times and bad times. I’m proud we could do this.

In a statement on Wednesday, Holland America Line said guests that met CDC health guidelines would be transported home immediately once on land, largely on charter flights. Around 10 guests will require immediate critical care once at shore and 45 guests with mild illness will be required to stay onboard until they have recovered with the crew.

Updated

France has called for hundreds of billions of dollars in aid and a debt moratorium for developing countries, particularly in Africa, to help them deal with the coronavirus crisis, AFP reports.

The world’s poorest continent is far behind other regions in terms of confirmed cases and deaths but infections are rapidly increasing and most African countries lack the healthcare infrastructure to deal with a largescale outbreak.

In one particularly extreme example, highlighted on Tuesday by the Norwegian Refugee Council, there are currently three ventilators to help save the lives of coronavirus patients in the Central African Republic - a country of almost five million people.

The French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, on Thursday called for a $500bn war chest to support healthcare efforts in Africa. “We have the responsibility of avoiding a drama in developing nations, especially in Africa,” he said, days after urging the G20 group of rich nations to take steps to help poor countries hit by the pandemic.

“We support a moratorium in the coming months on the debt of the poorest countries,” he told reporters in Paris.

Nearly 6,500 cases of coronavirus have been recorded across all of Africa, 238 of them fatal, according to an AFP toll. South Africa is the worst-hit country on the continent with more than 1,400 cases, including five deaths.

Updated

Two coronavirus-stricken cruise liners have reached the edge of US waters and are waiting for permission to dock in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Patrick Greenfield reports.

The Zaandam cruise liner last entered port in Chile more than two weeks ago and has been stranded at sea with a worsening Covid-19 outbreak on board after several Latin American countries refused to let it dock.

The Zaandam in the Panama City bay on Tuesday. The ship has reached the edge of US waters
The Zaandam in Panama City bay on Tuesday. The ship has reached the edge of US waters. Photograph: Ivan Pisarenko/AFP via Getty Images

Asymptomatic passengers were transferred to the Rotterdam, its sister ship, off the coast of Panama in a boat-to-boat rescue operation and both vessels are now waiting for permission to dock in Port Everglades.

In a statement on Wednesday, Holland America Line, the ships’ operators, said guests that met CDC health guidelines would be transported home immediately once on land, largely on charter flights.

Around 10 guests will require immediate critical care once at shore and 45 guests with mild illness will be required to stay onboard until they have recovered with the crew.

Updated

As Northern Ireland’s first minister, Arlene Foster, leads the regional battle to contain coronavirus, she faces deep embarrassment from within her own ranks, Henry McDonald reports.

The Democratic Unionist councillor John Carson has caused outrage today after claiming Covid-19 was “the judgment of God” in response to the introduction of equal marriage and abortion reform in the region.

In a social media post the councillor from Ballymena – the heart of Ulster’s bible belt – stated that “you reap what you sow”.

Foster’s DUP has distanced itself from Carson’s linkage of the virus with gay and abortion rights but the party now faces demands from its political partners in the Belfast power-sharing government to suspend him.

The cross-community Alliance party said Carson’s comments insulted those who had died from the virus.

Updated

Data released on Wednesday night by the New York City health authority shows that it is the poorest districts that have been hit hardest by the spread of coronavirus.

Residents in the Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona sections of Queens, which are poorer and could be more likely to have many people living under one roof, have tested positive for the virus in far greater numbers and at higher rates per capita than in wealthy, mostly white parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

According to an Associated Press report, people living in one Queens zip code just south of LaGuardia airport were roughly four times as likely to have tested positive as people in the gentrified section of Brooklyn where Mayor Bill de Blasio lives. According to the AP’s report:

The numbers back something that has, for days, seemed obvious at Elmhurst hospital, the only major medical center serving that part of Queens where infections are most prevalent.

Long lines of people waiting for testing and treatment outside the hospital have been one of the defining images of the pandemic, as have stories of multiple deaths in Elmhurst’s overburdened wards.

Dr Mitchell Katz, the chief executive of the city-run hospital system, told the agency that housing could be playing a role. He said:

We know that in Queens, many families, because of poverty, live together in very close quarters. So that while we are practising as a city social distancing, you may have multiple families living together in a very small apartment. And so its easy to understand why theres a lot of transmission of Covid occurring.

As of Wednesday evening, the city had recorded 1,374 deaths from Covid-19, and nearly 46,000 city residents had tested positive for the coronavirus.

However, with officials rationing tests and encouraging all but the most seriously ill people not to seek treatment, the true number of people sickened by the virus is likely much higher.

Updated

These pictures from São Paulo, Brazil, show how the country is being forced to prepare for a surge in deaths as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, after the Brazilian president had dismissed the danger of the virus.

The Vila Formosa cemetery, the largest in Latin America, has had a 30% increase in the number of burials, its management told the Associated Press. More than 1.5 million people are already buried at the cemetery, which covers an area of 780,000 square metres.

Brazil has so far confirmed a total of 6,931 cases of coronavirus infection, with 244 deaths and 127 recoveries.

Cemetery workers in protective clothing bury a person at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday
Cemetery workers in protective clothing bury a person at the Vila Formosa cemetery in São Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday. Photograph: André Penner/AP
Grave diggers bury a person suspected to have died from Covid-19 at the Vila Formosa cemetery, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo
Gravediggers haul the coffin of a suspected Covid-19 victim at Vila Formosa cemetery. Photograph: Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images
An employee digs a grave at Vila Formosa, where authorities say they have already seen 30% increase in the number of burials
An employee digs a grave at Vila Formosa, where authorities say they have already seen a 30% increase in the number of burials. Photograph: Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

UK hospital deaths rise by 569 to 2,921

A total of 2,921 patients have died in hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Wednesday, the Department of Health and Social Care has said, up by 569 from 2,352 the day before.

As of 9am on Thursday, a total of 163,194 people have been tested of which 33,718 tested positive.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, the prime minister, still has mild Covid-19 symptoms, meaning he may not be able to leave self-isolation as intended on Friday.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said Johnson was still symptomatic, six days after he was diagnosed with the illness.

If he still has a temperature on Friday, he will not be able to leave self-isolation as planned.

Updated

Catalonia asks Spanish army for help

The pro-independence leader of Catalonia, the region of Spain hardest hit by the coronavirus after Madrid, has abandoned his government’s initial reluctance to seek help from the Spanish army, saying any assistance would be gratefully received, reports Sam Jones from Madrid.

Last month, Quim Torra’s separatist administration said the Spanish military was not needed in the region. But as the region confirmed 21,804 cases of the virus and 2,093 deaths on Thursday, Torra asked for help from the army.

“If they can help us – and if any doctor can come and help us – I’d be very grateful,” he told Radio Ser Catalunya.

However, while Torra admitted that his government had not kept people sufficiently informed about the desperate situation in Catalonia’s care homes – where 362 people have died from the virus – he said his government was bearing the brunt of the health crisis when it came to resources.

“We haven’t received any tests from the Spanish state,” he said.

“The Catalan government is providing 90% of the resources, with the other 10% coming from the Spanish state.”

Catalonia’s health minister, Alba Vergés, also appealed for assistance from the Spanish military, which is already disinfecting old people’s homes in the region and helping to set up a large field hospital in a conference centre in Barcelona.

“We need hands,” Vergés told Catalunya Ràdio. “And by ‘hands’, I also mean that if the army has doctors and nurses, they should be made available to us.”

Relations between the Catalan regional government and the central government have been severely strained since Torra’s predecessor and close ally, Carles Puigdemont, made a unilateral and unlawful attempt to secede from Spain in October 2017.

Updated

6.7m Americans apply for jobless benefits in a week

More than 6.65 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the US last week, the latest official figures to highlight the devastating economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the American economy, Dominic Rushe and Lauren Aratani report from New York.

As reports emerged of long lines at unemployment offices, jammed phone lines and broken websites across the US, the federal labor department said on Thursday that a new record number of people sought benefits after losing their jobs in the week ending 27 March.

About 3.3 million had filed for unemployment the previous week, bringing total claims to 9.95 million for the two weeks. More people have filed for unemployment in the last two weeks than filed in the last six months.

The US faces the sharpest rise in unemployment in its history, a surge that is already highlighting income inequality across the nation and comes as the global economy goes into a nosedive that is likely to exacerbate the situation in the months ahead.

Updated

How does Covid-19 affect pregnancy?

One of the most frightening things about the coronavirus pandemic is how little we know about the virus, and the respiratory disease it causes, which has been officially named Covid-19. And because of that, it is difficult to know how it will affect people in different conditions.

In the UK, pregnant women are among the groups of people who have been advised to self-isolate for a period, in order to lessen their risk of contracting the disease. But what do we know about how Covid-19 might affect pregnancy?

In this edition of Science Weekly, Sarah Boseley, the Guardian’s health editor, spoke to Prof Sonja Rasmussen, an expert in both paediatrics and epidemiology at the University of Florida, about how the virus might affect mothers who are expecting and their unborn child.

Updated

The shockwaves of the Covid-19 emergency measures in Spain are reverberating across the economy, with the country registering the biggest monthly increase in unemployment on record.

The labour ministry reported that 302,265 people signed on as jobless in March, AFP reports, a figure described by the labour minister, Yolanda Díaz, as “truly historic”.

Spain, the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, imposed a nationwide lockdown on 14 March to fight coronavirus, with people allowed out only to go to work, buy food, seek medical care and briefly walk their dog.

Restrictions have since been tightened, with non-essential workers in the nation of about 47 million people asked to stay at home from 29 March.

The pandemic “changed the trend” in unemployment figures for March, after only 2,857 workers filed jobless claims in the first 12 days of the month, the ministry said in a statement.

The services sector recorded the most job losses, with 206,016 jobless claims in a country where tourism accounts for about 12% of national output. But all sectors of the economy took a hit, with nearly 60,000 construction workers filing jobless claims and 6,520 people who work in agriculture.

Updated

About 18,000 prisoners have been freed in Indonesia, in a bid to stop Covid-19 from spreading through the country’s overcrowded jails, AFP reports.

On Wednesday the Indonesian government had said it would free more than 30,000 inmates. Prisons in the south-east Asian country are already beset by unsanitary conditions and infectious diseases, according to AFP.

The release order included juvenile offenders and adult prisoners who had served at least two-thirds of their sentences. Those released were advised to self-isolate at home for two weeks.

Firdaus, a fisherman jailed in 2017 on Sulawesi island for stealing a gold ring, told AFP he was relieved to be out.

I was scared of being infected in prison, not to mention that the guards come and go so we don’t know who they’ve had contact with.

Updated

This is Damien Gayle taking the reins on the global coronavirus live blog, as the number of confirmed cases around the world ticks towards the symbolic milestone of 1m.

As usual, I will be relying on updates from the Guardian’s global network of correspondents, as well as the news wires and social media. But as ever I will be hoping for your help with covering anything we have missed or that may need more attention.

If you want to contact me with any tips or suggestions, you can reach me on email at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via Twitter direct message to @damiengayle.

Updated

UN secretary general: recovery from the coronavirus crisis must lead to a better world

Writing in the Guardian, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, has called for a global and coordinated response to the pandemic, but says it must lead to greater global resilience and solidarity.

He writes:

Only by coming together will the world be able to face down the Covid-19 pandemic and its shattering consequences. At an emergency virtual meeting last Thursday, G20 leaders took steps in the right direction. But we are still far away from having a coordinated, articulated global response that meets the unprecedented magnitude of what we are facing.

Far from flattening the curve of infection, we are still well behind it. The disease initially took 67 days to infect 100,000 people; soon, 100,000 people and more will be infected daily. Without concerted and courageous action, the number of new cases will almost certainly escalate into the millions, pushing health systems to breaking point, economies into a nosedive and people into despair, with the poorest hit hardest.

Updated

Cases graphic

Updated

Thailand imposes national curfew

Thailand’s prime minister has announced a nationwide curfew which will start on Friday.

Prayuth Chan-ocha said the order banned people from being on the streets between 10pm and 4am to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Anyone breaking the order faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Some individuals, such as medics, are exempt.

Updated

WHO launches tool to analyse EU countries Covid-19 response

The World Health Organization has today launched the COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor (HSRM) – a new online platform to provide evidence of how national health systems are responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said:

This tool is a breakthrough resource for health systems decision-makers tackling the pandemic. By mapping and analyzing country narratives on response and providing essential data and evidence on Covid-19, the platform will be of real value to those who are responding to the crisis across the region and seeking to mitigate its far-reaching consequences.

The new website will systematically map and analyse health system responses to the pandemic across the region. It is a joint undertaking between the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the European commission and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.

https://www.covid19healthsystem.org

Updated

Global infections move closer to 1 million

We reported this earlier, but the relentless, grim progress to 1m global cases of coronavirus continues.

Confirmed Covid-19 infections are nearing the million mark after “near exponential growth” led global cases to more than double in the past week. Read our full piece below.

Updated

Half of Britons think UK government was too slow with lockdown

More than a half of Britons think Boris Johnson’s government was too slow to order a lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus, according an opinion poll published on Thursday.

The Ipsos Mori poll, carried out online between 27 and 30 March, showed 56% of respondents believed the government’s enforcement of social distancing measures was taken too late, compared with 4% who felt that they were taken too soon, Reuters reports.

Johnson ordered bars, restaurants, gyms and other businesses to close on 20 March after similar measures were taken by other European governments, plunging their economies into a likely deep recession.

Figures published on Wednesday showed the number of people with coronavirus who have died in Britain rose by 563 to 2,352, fewer than in Italy, Spain and France but more than in Germany.

Johnson is also facing criticism about a slow rollout of testing for Covid-19.

The poll showed 79% of respondents said they were avoiding leaving their homes, up from 50% before the government’s lockdown. Ipsos Mori said it interviewed 1,072 British adults aged 18-75.

Updated

Zambia records 39 cases and first death from coronavirus

Zambia has recorded its first death from coronavirus, and the number of confirmed cases has risen by three to 39, the health minister, Chitalu Chilufya, said on Thursday.

Reuters reports:

“The same patient had an underlying chronic respiratory disorder and a history of travel to South Africa and contact with some cohorts who travelled to high-risk countries prior to his admission,” Chilufya said at a news conference.

Chilufya said the three new cases registered in the southern African country had all got the virus from people who had travelled abroad.

Africa has now registered almost 6,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 200 deaths. The continent is already suffering a huge economic impact from lockdowns aiming to contain the virus and a sharp fall in global demand for commodities.

African governments including Zambia have become heavily indebted in the past decade and are seeking support from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and EU for wide-ranging debt relief.

Zambia’s finance ministry said this week it was looking for advisers to make its $11.2bn of external debt more sustainable.

Updated

Summary

Spain death toll passes 10,000 with record single-day rise of 950

Spain’s coronavirus death toll rose to 10,003 on Thursday, up from 9,053 on Wednesday, an increase of 950. On Tuesday Spain had recorded 864 deaths related to coronavirus, its previous highest figure.

Cambodian government accused of using coronavirus pandemic to assert absolute power

The Cambodian government has been accused of manipulating the coronavirus pandemic to assert absolute power “over all aspects of civil, political, social, and economic life”.

Iran update: 2,875 new cases and 124 more deaths

Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus has reached 3,136, with 124 deaths in the past 24 hours, the health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV on Thursday, adding that the country had 50,468 total cases.

France to set up road blocks to block Easter holidaymakers

France’s interior minister Christophe Castaner warned the country to stay at home as the Easter holidays begin. He said roadblocks would be set up on major highways and axes and extra police, gendarmes or soldiers dispatched to train stations and airports to verify the documents of anyone stopped out and about.

Indonesia records highest number of recorded fatalities in Asia after China

Indonesia reported a further 13 deaths and 113 new cases, taking its total number of infections to 1,790. South Korea has reported 169 deaths and 9,976 infections, according to the latest figures released there.

Known global cases pass 950,000

According to data collected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, 951,901 (as of 1200 GMT) people around the world have become infected, 48,284 of whom have died.

US intelligence accuses China of playing down crisis

American officials reportedly believe China has been underreporting the total number of cases and deaths. The conclusions of a classified report from the intelligence community to the White House were revealed to Bloomberg by three anonymous officials who declined to detail its contents.

Trump said that the federal stockpile of personal protective equipment is nearly empty

Trump is also resisting calls to issue a national stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the coronavirus despite his administration’s projections that tens of thousands of Americans are likely to be killed by the disease.

Updated

Ursula von der Leyen, the European commission president, has for the first time publicly called out the Hungarian government over an emergency law it has adopted in response to the coronavirus pandemic, writes Daniel Boffey in Brussels.

Legislation passed by the Hungarian parliament on Monday enables the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, to rule by decree without a time-limit.

Von der Leyen told a virtual press conference in Brussels: “I am concerned that certain measures go too far and I am particularly concerned with the situation in Hungary ... We are monitoring and mapping the whole situation but these emergency measures have to be limited to what is necessary and they have to be strictly proportionate because they have to be adequate in this situation. they should not last indefinitely and very importantly they should be sub to regular scrutiny.”

The commission had put out a statement on Tuesday calling for emergency measures adopted by member states to be proportionate but it had been criticised for not making any reference to Hungary.

Updated

Indonesia records highest number of recorded fatalities in Asia after China.

Indonesia’s coronavirus death toll rose to 170 on Thursday as the world’s fourth most populous nation passed South Korea as the country with the highest number of recorded fatalities in Asia after China, reports Reuters:

Indonesia reported a further 13 deaths and 113 new cases, taking its total number of infections to 1,790. South Korea has reported 169 deaths and 9,976 infections, according to the latest figures released there.

The data comes amid alarm expressed by some medical experts and officials that President Joko Widodo’s government has been slow to bring in measures similar to those in other countries to curb the spread of the virus.

Indonesia only reported its first case of the virus one month ago, but epidemiologists say a relatively low level of testing means the number of cases appears to have been vastly underreported.

A model from the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine would put the true number of infections in Indonesia at between 22,000 and 37,000.

A model from the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford estimated the number as close to 80,000.

Faced by fears that an annual exodus for the Muslim Ramadan holiday would accelerate the outbreak across the archipelago, Indonesia announced on Thursday it would give cash to poor families to encourage them not to leave the capital, Jakarta.

Each year, tens of millions of people in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation return to their hometowns or villages after the Islamic fasting month, an exodus known locally as mudik, which this year is scheduled to fall in late May.

The measures announced by the government fall short of the ban on mudik that some medical experts had sought.

Officials said Indonesians would not be banned from travelling, but would be required to undergo medical checks if they wanted to join mudik this year.

Health officials take samples of saliva and nasal fluid in Tangerang.
Health officials take samples of saliva and nasal fluid in Tangerang. Photograph: Fajrin Raharjo/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

The next EU budget should take the form of a new “Marshall plan” to stoke Europe’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis, the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Thursday. Reuters reports:

“We know in this crisis that we need quick answers. We cannot take one, two or three years to invent news tools,” she told a news conference, adding that the long-term budget, known as the multiannual financial framework (MFF) was its strongest tool.

“We want to shape the MFF in such a way that it is a crucial part of our recovery plan ... Many are calling right now for something which is called this Marshall plan. I think the European budget should be the Marshall plan we are laying out together as a European Union for the European people,” she said.

The Marshall Plan was a US aid programme for western Europe from 1948 to stimulate a recovery after the second world war.

Updated

Spain: analysis of new figures

Spain hit another grim milestone on Thursday, as the number of deaths passed 10,000 and yet another record single-day death toll of 950 was recorded, writes Sam Jones in Madrid.

However, while the total number of cases in the country rose to 101,238, the spread of the disease appears to be continuing to slow during the so-called “stabilisation phase”.

Between Wednesday and Thursday, there was an 8% increase in the number of new cases, consistent with recent days and well down on the first half of March, when cases were increasing by around 20% a day. By the end of March, the daily increase rate had fallen to 12%.

“Over recent days, the number of daily cases has been slowing down,” Spain’s health minister, Salvador Illa, told a press conference on Thursday morning.

“Spain is the second most affected country in Europe [after Italy]. The daily increase in cases in comparison to yesterday was 8%.”

Illa added that the area around Madrid remained the hardest hit in Spain. The region has 32,155 confirmed cases of the virus and has reported 4,175 deaths.

Once again, the number of new cases there hovered around the 8% mark between Wednesday and Thursday.

Health workers attend to a COVID-19 patient at the intensive care unit of the Vall d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona, 1 April.
Health workers attend to a Covid-19 patient at the intensive care unit of the Vall d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona. Photograph: Ricardo Garcia Vilanova/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

France to set up road blocks to block Easter holidaymakers

As France’s staggered Easter school holidays begin, interior minister Christophe Castaner warned the country to forget the usual “grand départ” or great departure, writes Kim Willsher in Paris.

He said roadblocks would be set up on major highways and axes and extra police, gendarmes or soldiers dispatched to train stations and airports to verify the documents of anyone stopped out and about.

Local officials in areas where city dwellers have second homes or popular tourist spots have also been told to check those travelling.

The two-week Easter holidays begin on Friday evening and are staggered over four weeks and three different zones.

During the lockdown, the French are required to carry a signed, dated and timed, attestation “on oath” giving the reason for leaving home. The document has a legal status.

Castaner told those thinking of ignoring the confinement rules: “Absolutely do not go on holiday during the lockdown period … people must rest confined.

“Any abuse will be punished. I know the lockdown is a constraint for families, but we must hold out,” the minister told LCI radio.

Trains are still running across the country, but fewer than one in 10 services have been maintained.

“When people are stopped and checked it’s not to fine them, it’s to guarantee and protect the French from the coronavirus and stop its spread. The objective is that people stay home,” Castaner added.

“During the confinement, we do not go on holiday.”

Since the lockdown began at noon on Tuesday 17 March, police and security forces have carried out 5.8m checks on people’s papers, Castaner said. They have issued 359,000 fines, now ranging from €135 for a first offence up to €1,500 for a repeat. Those found to have ignored the regulations four times can be fined up to €3,750 and sent to jail for up to six months.

“I know how difficult it is to be confined for all French but Covid-19 doesn’t choose its targets depending on their revenue, their job, the holidays ... it hits everyone,” Castaner said.

“If people start leaving for the weekend or the holidays, the whole strategy of the lockdown fails.”

French police check a mobility form required by citizens to go outside of their homes, in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, during curfew on the streets of Mulhouse.
French police check a mobility form required by citizens to go outside of their homes, in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, during curfew on the streets of Mulhouse. Photograph: Sébastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

Ireland: restrictive measures may continue after 12 April

The highly restrictive measures Ireland put in place last week to slow the spread of coronavirus may well be extended beyond the initial deadline of 12 April, Simon Coveney, the deputy prime minister, said on Thursday.

Reuters reports:

Ireland’s prime minister significantly ramped up previous restrictions last Friday when he ordered citizens to stay home and only leave to shop for groceries, for brief individual physical exercise or make absolutely essential family visits.

“I think people do need to realise that these restrictions may go on for some time. We’ve set an initial period but I think it may well be that we will need to go beyond that initial deadline, but again that will be a decision take with the best public health advice,” Coveney told a news conference.

Updated

Iran update: 2,875 new cases and 124 more deaths

Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus has reached 3,136, with 124 deaths in the past 24 hours, the health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV on Thursday, adding that the country had 50,468 totol cases.

“We have 3,956 infected people in critical condition ... There was 2,875 new cases of infected people in the past 24 hours ... 16,711 people have recovered from the disease,” Jahanpur said.

Security forces are seen at the entrance of a closed national park yesterday.
Security forces are seen at the entrance of a closed national park in Iran yesterday. Photograph: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Updated

Spain death toll passes 10,000 with record single-day rise of 950

Spain’s coronavirus death toll rose to 10,003 on Thursday, up from 9,053 on Wednesday, an increase of 950.

On Tuesday Spain had recorded 864 deaths related to coronavirus, its previous highest figure.

Updated

Afghanistan marks biggest one-day rise in number of infections

Afghanistan has reported 43 new coronavirus cases in last 24 hours, marking the biggest one-day rise in number of infections, reports Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat.

The total number of Covid-19 infections yesterday jumped to 239 from 196 – 41 of the new positive cases confirmed in western province of Herat. Health officials have also warned that the virus has now spread in society.

None of new positive cases have travelled to Iran, said the health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar in a press conference in Kabul.

The new cases push the total number of positive cases to 184 in Afghanistan’s worst-affected city, which borders Iran. Herat is under partial curfew in a bid to contain spread of the virus. Sixteen healthcare workers have also tested positive so far in Herat.

In the country’s capital Kabul two more cases were confirmed, taking the total number of infections there to 18, including 4 in Nato forces.

On Wednesday the Taliban said they were ready to declare a ceasefire in areas of Afghanistan under their control if they were hit by a coronavirus outbreak, AP reported.

The announcement follows a UN security council statement on Tuesday urging Afghanistan’s warring parties to heed the UN secretary general’s call for an immediate ceasefire to respond to the pandemic and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid throughout the country.

“If, God forbid, the outbreak happens in an area where we control the situation then we will stop fighting in that area,” a Taliban spokesman said.

The health ministry spokesman welcomed the Taliban announcement and also asked “all Afghans, including the Taliban, to get united against the virus”.

Taliban have already started a campaign of information about coronavirus in areas they control.

Afghanistan has reported four deaths from coronavirus.

Afghan authorities distribute rations in Herat.
Afghan authorities distribute rations in Herat. Photograph: Jalil Rezayee/EPA

Updated

The European commission will propose to borrow €100bn against EU governments’ guarantees to finance a short-term work scheme to protect jobs impacted by the coronavirus epidemic, according to an internal document seen by Reuters.

The commission will propose on Thursday to increase cash advances to farmers under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and provide more time for applications for support and for claims to be processed.

Reuters reports that the commission will also propose to remove any national co-financing normally needed when countries get EU money to build infrastructure projects such as motorways, sewage plants or bridges, making the projects fully paid for by the bloc

Updated

Three-quarters of Britons said they experienced shortages of products when shopping in the week leading up to the prime minister’s orders to stay at home because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to research published today by the consumer group Which?

In a survey of more than 2,000 members of the public on the impact of the outbreak carried out between 20 and 24 March, three-quarters (76%) reported experiencing shortages of products in supermarkets, shops or online. They included vulnerable people who struggled to get essentials when unable to get to physical stores.

A third (34%) said they could not find hand sanitiser anywhere while around a quarter could not find toilet roll (27%) or rice and pasta (25%).

The coronavirus outbreak has also impacted shopping habits, with around a third (32%) saying they have shopped at independent and convenience stores more than usual.

The survey provides a snapshot of shopping patterns during initial panic-buying and before new rules on physical distancing led to supermarkets and other retailers racing to introduce measures such as restricting shopper numbers.

Sue Davies, the head of consumer protection and food policy at Which?, said: “Millions of people have been experiencing product shortages in supermarkets, with all parts of the country affected. While many can adapt their shopping habits, it is particularly concerning that we are hearing from vulnerable consumers who are struggling to get hold of essentials.”

Updated

Ireland’s lower house of parliament, the Dáil, will convene on Thursday but at least one party will stay away, saying the sitting is non-essential and a needless risk.

The Labour party has said it will send in written statements and post video messages rather than join other deputies in the chamber to hear statements on health and social protection.

Ireland has a caretaker government following February’s election but there will be no vote today on a new taoiseach, nor can legislation pass because there is no functioning upper house.

Sinn Féin has said the chamber must meet to hold to account a government that has imposed sweeping restrictions and adopted new powers to deal with coronavirus.

Updated

China reported six new coronavirus deaths as of the end of Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Wednesday’s death toll was the same number as on Tuesday.

China had 35 new coronavirus cases on 1 April, all of which were imported, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

Updated

Cambodian government accused of using coronavirus pandemic to assert absolute power

The Cambodian government has been accused of manipulating the coronavirus pandemic to assert absolute power “over all aspects of civil, political, social, and economic life”, after it put forward a draft state of emergency law that includes no time limits, checks or balances, reports Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok.

Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s regional director, described the draft law as “wildly disproportionate”, adding that it threatens to permanently undercut the human rights of everyone in the country.

The legislation contains sweeping provisions that would grant the government 12 specific powers including unlimited surveillance of telecommunications and control over the press and social media. The government would also gain the ability to restrict freedom of movement and assembly, seize private property and enforce quarantines.

In addition, a catch-all clause would grant unlimited powers by authorising any “other measures that are deemed appropriate and necessary in response to the state of emergency.”

A state of emergency could be invoked whenever “the nation is facing a great risk” such as in war, a pandemic, or “grave disruption to national security and to public order”, according to the draft law.

Rights groups point out prime minister Hun Sen’s poor record on human rights, and warn the law is so vaguely worded that it could be used to target government critics.

Anyone found guilty of disobeying emergency measures faces 10 years in prison.

Brad Adams, Human Right Watch’s Asia director, said the Cambodian government was using the pandemic as “a pretext to assert absolute power over all aspects of civil, political, social, and economic life”.

The country has recorded more than 100 coronavirus cases.

Cambodian soldiers unload medical supplies off a Chinese plane at the Phnom Penh International Airport.
Cambodian soldiers unloading medical supplies off a Chinese plane at the Phnom Penh International Airport. Photograph: Mak Remissa/EPA

Updated

Russia records largest single-day rise in coronavirus cases

Russia posted its largest single-day rise in identified cases of coronavirus as the country has passed tougher measures to enforce shelter-in-place orders to slow the spread of the disease, reports Andrew Roth in Moscow.

Officials said they had identified 771 new cases of coronavirus in the past day, a 28% increase from the previous day that brings the country’s total number of infected to 3,548. Nearly 600 of the new cases were in Moscow, which has been the Russian city hit hardest by the crisis, with 2,475 confirmed cases. So far, 30 people have died due to the virus, official statistics report.

Putin has also signed into law tougher sentences for violating medical quarantines required for coronavirus patients and others required to self-isolate, and also for spreading false information about coronavirus and ways to prevent its spread. The toughest measures would give violators of quarantines up to seven years in prison, if their actions lead to the deaths of two people or more.

The numbers indicate that the disease is still on the rise in Russia and reflect the country’s increased testing capacity, which this week began to announce strict shelter-in-place measures. Moscow has told its population of 12 million to stay at home unless they are seeking medical help, going to the store or pharmacy, or walking a pet. Vladimir Putin, who shook hands last week with a doctor who later tested positive for coronavirus, is holding his meetings by teleconference, according to a Kremlin spokesman.

Russia yesterday said it had delivered a planeload of medical supplies, including masks and ventilators, to the United States to help fight coronavirus there. US officials however said that the equipment had been purchased. Russia in early March banned the export of masks because of a lack of medical supplies in the country. Most pharmacies in Moscow do not have masks for sale.

Updated

Japan: Abe faces criticism after offering two masks per household

Facing calls to declare a coronavirus state of emergency, the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was criticised on Thursday for instead offering people free cloth masks, pointing to growing frustration for some over his handling of the crisis. PA Media reports:

Abe’s offer of masks - two per household - came the day after experts had warned Japan was on the brink of a medical crisis as cases rose around the nation, especially in Tokyo. The prime minister said on Wednesday Japan was “barely holding the line” in its battle against the virus.

The prime minister launched his offer to send cloth masks out while wearing one at a meeting of a government task force late on Wednesday. The masks will be sent to each of Japan’s more than 50 million households starting the week after next, first to areas seeing a spike in cases.

“You can use soap to wash and re-use them, so this should be a good response to the sudden, huge demand for masks,” he said.

The leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, Yuichiro Tamaki, this week called on Abe to declare a state of emergency, while the Japan Medical Association pointed to a crisis at hospitals in some regions, where beds for virus patients are full and doctors and nurses are getting infected.

“Abe has always been ‘economy first’,” said Jesper Koll, CEO of fund manager WisdomTree Japan. “If you declare an emergency, it is definitely the end of ‘Abenomics’, the end of ‘economy first’.”

Twitter users were scathing, with Abe and mask references trending on Thursday. “Is the Japanese government for real? This is a total waste of tax money,” wrote a user with the handle Usube.

It’s not the first time Abe has faced criticism for his coronavirus strategies.

Some have said his initial response to the virus outbreak was sluggish, with charges from critics that he played down the threat in the hope that Tokyo could go ahead and host the now-postponed Summer Olympics this year. Abe denied the claims.

Critics say he should act now on a state of emergency, fearing a surge in infections after crowds gathered in some places to attend traditional cherry blossom viewing parties last month, despite calls to stay home. Abe’s wife, Akie, was blasted after pictures emerged of her at one such event, but Abe defended her, saying it was a private gathering at a restaurant.

Though small compared with outbreaks in the United States, Europe and China, coronavirus infections are on the rise in Japan - with more than 2,500 confirmed cases as of Thursday morning and 71 deaths, according to NHK public broadcaster. A record of more than 90 new cases appeared in Tokyo alone, its biggest one-day increase, Kyodo news agency said.

A businessman wearing a protective mask walks at Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan.
A businessman wearing a protective mask walks at Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan. Photograph: Kimimasa Mayama/EPA

Updated

In a worrying sign, a refugee camp in Greece has been placed under quarantine after 20 of its in-place residents were diagnosed with coronavirus, reports Helena Smith in Athens.

Officials began testing people in the facility after a woman from the camp was discovered to have contracted the virus after giving birth in an Athens hospital this week.

Those who tested positive were among a group of 63 traced through the woman although officials none were displaying symptoms of the novel virus, the migration ministry said. North-east of the capital, the Ritsona installation is home to 3,000 asylum seekers.

“For a period of 14 days, entry and exit form the reception centre will be strictly forbidden,” the ministry said in a statement this morning. “There is a reinforced presence of police in the surrounding area.”

The national organisation of public health had also rushed in extra staff. Tests will continue to be conducted throughout the day, officials said.

Greece has faced growing pressure from an array of organisations, including the United Nations, to evacuate severely overcrowded migrant and refugee camps since the pandemic’s arrival in Europe. Facilities on Aegean isles opposite the Turkish coast - outposts that have been the main port of entry for refugees into Greece and the EU - are currently hosting more than 40,000 men, women and children.

In Lesbos, alone, around 22,000 people are crammed into a single camp where doctors say extremely poor sanitation and lack of basic facilities make it a particularly high-risk environment for the spread of coronavirus.

Updated

Professor Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of PHE, said testing is “critically important” but that social distancing is too.
He told Good Morning Britain: “Social distancing is absolutely the way that we will reduce the spread of this infection and ultimately will get on top of it.”
He said social distancing measures will need to stay in place until spread of the disease becomes “minimal”.

PA Media reports:

Prof Cosford admitted testing numbers in England appear low but insisted they will “increase rapidly”. He said: “I know 2,000 doesn’t sound a lot compared with the many hundreds of thousands of NHS staff that we’ve got but that is now ramping up quickly.”

Asked why the process is taking so long, he said: “This is an incredibly complex operation to put in place in a very short period of time.”

He added that there is “24/7 work” going on to overcome “a whole range of issues” when it comes to ensuring testing is rolled out properly.

Cosford said the NHS looks set to remain “within capacity” if social distancing works.

He told GMB: “If we get to a position where demand outstrips supply, and all the figures that I have seen so far look as if we won’t get to that position, certainly it looks as if we should be able to stay within capacity if the social distancing works and that’s why the social distancing is so important.”

Asked about new guidance for doctors should hospitals become overwhelmed with patients, he said that situation could lead to “difficult decisions” for medics.

He said: “Of course we’ve always said there will be huge challenges in dealing with this pandemic and if we get to a position where the requirement outweighs the supply then there will be some difficult decisions that people have to make. But all our efforts are to making sure that doesn’t happen.”

Updated

The UK’s shadow attorney general, Lady Chakrabarti, said Labour wants the government to show clarity in its testing strategy and how it will protect Britons on health and economic matters.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Never has an opposition wanted a government to succeed as much as we want to help the government defeat the coronavirus, and everything I say is in that spirit.”

Chakrabarti added: “We’re asking the government to be transparent and to be clear... about what its plans are to deliver the kind of scale of testing that we need, both to get the NHS workforce tested but also to return as quickly as possible to community-based testing.

“Without widespread testing in the population, we don’t understand - having listened to experts - the way out of the lockdown.”

Updated

Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive of the Francis Crick Institute in London, has said its research laboratory had been repurposed so it could carry out Covid-19 tests at a rate of 500 a day by next week - rising to 2,000 a day in future.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We hope that we can roll this out to other research institutes so that everybody can contribute.”

He added: “A metaphor here is Dunkirk - we are a lot of little boats and the little boats can be effective.

“The government has put some big boats, destroyers in place. That’s a bit more cumbersome to get working and we wish them all the luck to do that, but we little boats can contribute as well.”

Nurse said their tests can be turned around in under 24 hours, which could help get NHS staff back on the front line.

Updated

Jazz pioneer Ellis Marsalis Jr has died at the age of 85 after being diagnosed with coronavirus, his son has said. Press Association reports:

Marsalis Jr - described as a “legend” of the New Orleans jazz scene - was the patriarch of a well-known musical family. His death on Wednesday came hours after Adam Schlesinger, best known for his work with rock band Fountains Of Wayne, died after contracting coronavirus.

Famous fans paid tribute online.

Singer John Legend tweeted: “Sending love to the Marsalis family. Condolences to them and all of those who loved Ellis Marsalis.”

The Wire star Wendell Pierce, who is from New Orleans, described Marsalis Jr as an “icon of our culture”.

Apple CEO Tim Cook shared a picture of himself with Marsalis Jr. He said: “Ellis Marsalis was a true legend. In his music, his passion for New Orleans and his steadfast dedication to education, he showed us all the power of community. He’ll be missed dearly. My thoughts are with his sons who carry on his legacy.”

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Marsalis Jr was a “legend” and the “prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz”.

She added: “The love and the prayers of all of our people go out to his family, and to all of those whose lives he touched.”

Hello this is Alexandra Topping at the helm of our global coronavirus liveblog. If you think we’ve missed a story or want to draw our attention to something please do get in touch.

I’m on alexandra.topping@theguardian.com and @lexytopping on Twitter: my DMs are open.

Here’s an update on some of the key UK stories we have:

The UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has responded to mounting criticism over the UK’s failure to provide widespread testing by telling the public he had no doubt the tide would be turned if Britain’s measures were followed.

Speaking in a video posted last night from his quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19, Johnson said testing was “massively increasing” and it was “the way through” the pandemic.

“This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end.”

Just 2,000 of half a million NHS staff to date have tested to date. Health Minister Matt Hancock returns today after his own quarantine.

Summary

That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan for today. My colleague Alexandra Topping will take it from here.

Here are the main events from the last few hours, as the world nears a million confirmed cases of coronavirus.

  • Known global cases pass 935,000. According to data collected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, 937,567 people around the world have become infected, 47,256 of whom have died. They also count 194,311 people who have recovered.
  • US intelligence accuses China of playing down crisis. American officials reportedly believe China has been underreporting the total number of cases and deaths. The conclusions of a classified report from the intelligence community to the White House were revealed to Bloomberg by three anonymous officials who declined to detail its contents.
  • Trump said that the federal stockpile of personal protective equipment is nearly empty. Trump is also resisting calls to issue a national stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the new coronavirus despite his administration’s projections that tens of thousands of Americans are likely to be killed by the disease.
  • A major NHS hospital almost ran out of oxygen for its Covid-19 patients on ventilators because it was treating so many people with the disease who needed help to breathe.
  • British Airways expected to announce suspension of 36,000 employees. IAG-owned British Airways is expected to announce a suspension of about 36,000 of its employees, BBC News reported on Wednesday.
  • Philippines president orders police to shoot dead residents who cause “trouble” during quarantine. Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has been widely criticised by labour groups.
  • Australia announced free childcare. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has announced that parents need childcare during the crisis will be able to access it for free, and that childcare centres will remain open.
  • New Zealand reported its biggest one-day rise in cases. With 89 cases – including 76 positive cases and 13 probable – New Zealand has reported its highest daily rise so far, according to Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield.
  • Key UN climate talks, Cop26, that were due to take place in Glasgow in November have been postponed until 2021, it has been announced. The UN’s climate change chief, Patricia Espinosa has also called Covid-19 the “most urgent threat facing humanity”,
  • The UK’s Ministry of Defence is calling up about 3,000 reservists to help with its pandemic response. That brings the number of armed forces personnel helping manage the crisis to about 23,000.
  • Director of WHO “deeply concerned”. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the WHO, has said he was “deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection”.
  • UK death toll passes 2,300. The UK government has confirmedhundreds more deaths in hospitals, taking the total to 2,352. However, figures from the Office for National Statistics have already revealed that dozens more people have been dying as a result of the pandemic in care homes and other settings.
  • New York City death toll passes 1,000. Deaths from the coronavirus reached 1,096 in New York City as an emergency field hospital opened in Central Park. Data released by the city’s health department showed the virus was having a disproportionate effect in certain neighbourhoods, mainly Brooklyn and Queens.
  • Spain passes 100,000 confirmed cases. Spain has crossed the threshold of 100,000 confirmed cases, health officials have said. According to official figures, it has had more cases than any country except Italy and the US.

Updated

Poland may face a peak in coronavirus infections in April, government spokesman Piotr Muller told state radio on Thursday, adding that further curbs on people’s movements could not be ruled out.

By Wednesday, 2,554 people had been infected with the virus, with 43 dead in the country of 38 million people.

Coronavirus outbreak, Bialystok, Poland, 01 Apr 2020.
Coronavirus outbreak, Bialystok, Poland, 01 Apr 2020. Photograph: Wojciech Wojtkielewicz/PRS/East News/REX/Shutterstock

The new rules of lockdown: how to stay clean, safe and two metres away from everyone

We face, among other more existential challenges, a whole new set of rules. Coronavirus has turned etiquette on its head and what once were gestures of friendship are now acts of daring. Fundamentally, society used to run on the idea that we were all welcome in one another’s space; suddenly, civility amounts to how much distance we keep between ourselves, and how much we shield others from our presence. It is one hell of a gear shift. And it is also important not to overcorrect, not to judge one another from a thousand yards, not to needlessly insult one another in situations that are not, actually, that endangering. Courtesy has never been more serious: it is the way we signal that we still care about each other, when we’re not allowed to hug. So here are some answers to the questions that we are increasingly asking.

A lot of people are quoting TS Eliot’s The Wasteland at the moment, because it starts “April is the cruellest month,” but none so well as – strangely enough – the chair of Columbia University’s surgery department, who wrote in an update:

Writing on April 1, late in the day, I can’t possibly be the first person to shout out the first four lines of “The Wasteland” (TS Eliot). But first or not, I can’t resist: “April is the cruelest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring / Dull roots with spring rain.” The rest of the poem is much too long, too grim and overwrought for my taste. The line-breaks that highlight three verbs (breeding, mixing, stirring) are a nice writerly touch, but I admire it most for one phrase—mixing memory and desire. In an April that may be apocalyptically cruel, that is how we are poised, desiring spring.

Time for the UK front pages now.

The unfolding coronavirus testing fiasco dominates the major UK newspaper front pages after the daily death toll hit climbed to a new record and it emerged that only 2,000 NHS staff had been tested.

“Shambles” says the Mirror’s headline alongside pictures of the latest two health workers to die from the disease – including retired doctor Alfa Saadu, 68, who was volunteering at the Queen Victoria memorial hospital in Welwyn, Hertfordshire.

The Mirror also has a picture of an empty drive-through testing station in Chessington, Surrey to emphasise its point – an image also used across the width of the Times’ front page under the headline “Virus testing plans in chaos”.

The Mail focuses on the “statistic that humbles ministers” with the headline “550,000 NHS staff only 2,000 tested”, in what it calls the “latest shocking example of our testing scandal”. It goes on to claim that its reporting has “finally” stung Boris Johnson into action, and quotes the prime minister as promising to “massively increase” testing.

The Telegraph also wonders about the testing disaster with the headline “Questions without answers” over a picture of the business secretary, Alok Sharma, at Wednesday’s Downing Street media briefing. The paper – which has carried many front page pictures of Johnson portraying his policy in a positive light – says the government was unable to explain why its testing strategy was failing, why so few NHS staff had been tested and how it was going to manage an exit from the lockdown.

The FT reports on the damage to the economy and says “Jobless claims rocket by 1m as virus delivers shock to economy”.

You can read the full roundup in our story below:

Major NHS hospital almost runs out of oxygen

A major NHS hospital almost ran out of oxygen for its Covid-19 patients on ventilators because it was treating so many people with the disease who needed help to breathe.

The incident, which occurred at a London teaching hospital last weekend, has prompted NHS bosses to urgently warn all NHS trusts in England to limit the number of people they put on mechanical ventilators and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines.

NHS England was so concerned by what happened that it told hospital bosses in a letter on Monday that the risk constituted a “critical safety concern” which could have major consequences for all patients relying on oxygen to stay alive. It told them to take a series of urgent actions to reduce the risk of their own oxygen supply suddenly running short because of heavy demand.

Global coronavirus infections near million mark after ‘near exponential growth’

Covid-19 infections are nearing the one million mark after “near exponential growth” saw global cases more than double in the past week.

The World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned of the approaching milestone as new cases reached almost every country and territory across the world.

“As we enter the fourth month since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic I’m deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection,” Tedros said.

On Wednesday evening, Donald Trump warned of “difficult days” for the US, saying: “We are going to have a couple of weeks, starting pretty much now, but especially a few days from now, that are going to be horrific.”

He again questioned China’s reported numbers on the virus: “The numbers seem to be a little bit on the light side – and I am being nice when I say that – relative to what we witnessed and what was reported.”

The comments followed a Bloomberg news story that said a classified US intelligence report had concluded that China had under-reported the total cases and deaths it had suffered. On Wednesday – the last day of available figures – China reported 82,361 confirmed cases and 3,316 deaths.

Trump’s warning came as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reportedly asked US defence agencies for 100,000 body bags, for use by civilian authorities. The White House has previously said deaths could reach 240,000.

Medical teams to be flown to cruise ships off Australian coast to treat sick crew

Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Australia had an obligation to provide healthcare to people who are sick and within our territorial waters, as the government began plans to fly doctors from a private company to at least seven cruise ships floating off the coast of eastern Australia.

Approximately 8,500 crew, mostly foreigners, are on board the ships.

Thanks, brands.

The Chinese city of Shenzhen has banned the eating of dogs and cats as part of a wider clampdown on the wildlife trade since the emergence of the new coronavirus, Reuters reports.

Scientists suspect the coronavirus passed to humans from animals. Some of the earliest infections were found in people who had exposure to a wildlife market in the central city of Wuhan, where bats, snakes, civets and other animals were sold.

Authorities in the southern Chinese technology hub said the ban on eating dogs and cats would come into force on 1 May.

“Dogs and cats as pets have established a much closer relationship with humans than all other animals, and banning the consumption of dogs and cats and other pets is a common practice in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan,” the city government said in an order posted on Wednesday.

“This ban also responds to the demand and spirit of human civilization.”

China’s top legislature said in late February it was banning the trade and consumption of wild animals.

Provincial and city governments across the country have been moving to enforce the ruling but Shenzhen has been the most explicit about extending that ban to dogs and cats.

Dogs, in particular, are eaten in several parts of Asia.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has joined Facebook, telling her online followers that she had done so to share messages about coronavirus.

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. Photograph: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA

Posting online on what is apparently her first personal Facebook account, Suu Kyi said she was initially reluctant to use the site, but that her profile “was created in order to communicate with people faster and more efficiently related to Covid-19 challenges”.

Almost half of the country’s 51 million people use Facebook, according to the company, and her profile has already gained more than 955,000 followers.

Suu Kyi’s health messages will not, however, be accessible to many people living in conflict-torn areas of the country. The internet has been blocked since June in areas of Rakhine and Chin state, where there is intense fighting between the military and the Arakan Army, a rebel group that demands greater autonomy for the state’s ethnic Rakhine people.

Numerous rights groups and international agencies have urged Myanmar to lift the restrictions, warning that communities must be allowed to access crucial information.
This call was reiterated on Wednesday by 18 ambassadors to Myanmar, including the UK and US, who expressed deep concern “about the high level of fighting, casualties and civilian displacement occurring in Rakhine and Chin states, and the threat of further conflict in other areas.”

They also echoed the UN secretary general’s call for a global ceasefire, so that countries can focus on tackling the pandemic.

Updated

Israel’s health minister and his wife were diagnosed with coronavirus and are in isolation following guidelines, the health ministry said on Thursday.

Yaakov Litzman, 71, an ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has appeared regularly alongside the premier to provide updates on the spread of the pandemic and new measures to combat it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu (R) and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu (R) and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman. Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

But Litzman has scaled back public appearances in recent weeks and the ministry’s director-general has held daily briefings instead.

Litzman and his wife feel well, the ministry said in a statement.

Netanyahu tested negative for the virus on Monday after a parliamentary aide was confirmed to have it.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has risen to 73,522 while 872 people have died of the disease, statistics from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday.

Cases rose by 6,156 compared with the previous day while the death toll climbed by 140, the tally showed.

Illuminated windows are seen at a retirement home in Dortmund, Germany, western Germany, on 1 April, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Illuminated windows are seen at a retirement home in Dortmund, Germany, western Germany, on 1 April, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Photograph: Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

Germany has the fifth-highest humber of cases worldwide, but a low death rate compared to other badly impacted countries.

My colleague Philip Oltermann wrote about this last week:

“Germany’s relatively low mortality rate continues to intrigue experts as Covid-19 spreads across Europe, with some questioning the methodology behind its data gathering while others argue the country’s high testing rates allow a more accurate approximation of the threat posed by the novel coronavirus.”

Philippines president orders police to shoot dead anyone causing "trouble"

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has been widely criticised by labour groups after he ordered police to shoot dead residents who cause “trouble” while quarantine rules are in place.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photograph: King Rodriguez/AP

His violent threat follows the arrest of 21 people who had apparently taken to the streets of Metro Manila’s Quezon City to demand help from the government.

Police said the group had protested without a permit, though the website Rapper reported that it is not clear if all residents were demonstrating or if some were simply looking for food. There is growing concern about how the poorest people in the Philippines will survive a month-long lockdown that has been imposed on the country’s main Luzon island.

Many of its 48 million residents live hand-to-mouth and depend on daily work to feed their families.

The government has promised that 18 million low-income households will receive support, but this has not been released due to administrative hurdles.

On Wednesday night, Duterte told people to wait for assistance, adding: “Even if it’s delayed, it will arrive and you will not go hungry. You will not die of hunger.”

“I will not hesitate. My orders are to the police and military, also the barangay, that if there is trouble or the situation arises that people fight and your lives are on the line, shoot them dead. Do you understand? Dead. Instead of causing trouble, I’ll send you to the grave,” he said in a televised address.

Updated

Still with finance but a really good insight into how the virus is heaping costs on higher risk businesses such as the cruise ship operator Carnival.

The company has clearly been very badly affected by the outbreak on several of its vessels and its shares in the US have fallen 80% this year. It has admitted that demand might never be the same again and has been forced to pay a massive premium to raise money this week to keep afloat.

It has raised $6.25bn in the US by issuing new debt and equity. But while the issue was oversubscribed, Carnival priced $4bn in bonds maturing in 2023 with a yield (or interest rate) at par value of 11.5%, it said.

That’s a huge cost. Carnival paid a 1% yield in October, when it borrowed $657.7m in the European debt market. Significantly it also had to use its ships as collateral to secure the funding.

Ships like the Carnival Sensation will be used as collateral to raise money for the firm.
Ships like the Carnival Sensation will be used as collateral to raise money for the firm. Photograph: Jorge Delgado/Reuters

The company also raised $1.75bn in convertible notes with a 5.75% coupon, it added.

For more on the credit crunch facing companies, this is a piece I wrote a week or so agO;

Updated

Financial markets are in a strange position at the moment. They have recovered some losses thanks to massive government and central bank intervention around the world, but the grim reality of what the virus is doing to economies continues to weigh on investor sentiment.

In Australia the ASX200 benchmark index is off nearly 2% today as parts of the nation contemplate another 90 days of lockdown. In Japan, the Nikkei is down 0.4% as cases continue to rise. Shares in China, Hong Kong and Korea are up.

The US dollar held gains against other currencies as people continue to shift their money into the greenback because it’s seen as a safe haven at a time when everything else is turning to custard.

Trump’s warnings about tough days ahead are not helping here.

This comment to Reuters from one expert, Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York, is quite chilling:.

If America’s optimistic president is warning the worst of the pandemic is yet to come, what factory in their right mind would keep the doors open and workers on the payroll? With only a few actual data points so far, the results indicate this is looking more like a depression than a garden-variety recession.

Updated

Summary

  • Known global cases pass 935,000. According to data collected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, 937,091 people around the world have become infected, 47,231 of whom have died. They also count 193,764 people who have recovered.
  • US intelligence accuses China of playing down crisis. American officials reportedly believe China has been underreporting the total number of cases and deaths. The conclusions of a classified report from the intelligence community to the White House were revealed to Bloomberg by three anonymous officials who declined to detail its contents.
  • Trump said that the federal stockpile of personal protective equipment is nearly empty. Trump is also resisting calls to issue a national stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the new coronavirus despite his administration’s projections that tens of thousands of Americans are likely to be killed by the disease.
  • Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti is asking Angelinos to wear face masks when they leave the house to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
  • The US states of Florida, Georgia and Mississippi issued stay-home orders. More than 280m people in at least 36 US states, as well in several dozen counties the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are now being told to stay home.
  • British Airways expected to announce suspension of 36,000 employees. IAG-owned British Airways is expected to announce a suspension of about 36,000 of its employees, BBC News reported on Wednesday.
  • Australia announced free childcare. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has announced that parents need childcare during the crisis will be able to access it for free, and that childcare centres will remain open.
  • New Zealand reported its biggest one-day rise in cases. With 89 cases – including 76 positive cases and 13 probable – New Zealand has reported its highest daily rise so far, according to Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield.
  • Key UN climate talks, Cop26, that were due to take place in Glasgow in November have been postponed until 2021, it has been announced. The UN’s climate change chief, Patricia Espinosa has also called Covid-19 the “most urgent threat facing humanity”,
  • The UK’s Ministry of Defence is calling up about 3,000 reservists to help with its pandemic response. That brings the number of armed forces personnel helping manage the crisis to about 23,000.
  • Director of WHO “deeply concerned”. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the WHO, has said he was “deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection”.
  • UK death toll passes 2,300. The UK government has confirmedhundreds more deaths in hospitals, taking the total to 2,352. However, figures from the Office for National Statistics have already revealed that dozens more people have been dying as a result of the pandemic in care homes and other settings.
  • New York City death toll passes 1,000. Deaths from the coronavirus reached 1,096 in New York City as an emergency field hospital opened in Central Park. Data released by the city’s health department showed the virus was having a disproportionate effect in certain neighbourhoods, mainly Brooklyn and Queens.
  • Spain passes 100,000 confirmed cases. Spain has crossed the threshold of 100,000 confirmed cases, health officials have said. According to official figures, it has had more cases than any country except Italy and the US.

New Zealand reports biggest one-day rise in cases

With 89 cases – including 76 positive cases and 13 probable – New Zealand has reported its highest daily rise so far, according to Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield.

There are now almost 800 cases in the country.

Indonesia may start a new holiday to replace the Eid exodus amid coronavirus concerns, Reuters reports.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Thursday the government is considering starting a new national holiday to prevent the annual mass exodus usually occurring at the end of the Muslim fasting month amid concerns over the spread of Covid-19.

Muslims attend the Ramadan tarawih prayer at Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, 5 June, 2016.
Muslims attend the Ramadan tarawih prayer at Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, 5 June, 2016. Photograph: BEAWIHARTA/Reuters

Widodo said at a cabinet meeting that measures could be put in place during the new holiday such as making tourist attractions free to help “bring some calm to the people”.
Indonesians, nearly 90% of whom are Muslim, celebrate the end of Ramadan or the Eid al-Fitr festival with a feast and new clothes, usually returning to their home villages or towns.
Ramadan this year falls over April and May.

South Korea will allow coronavirus patients to vote by mail or as an absentee in this month’s parliamentary elections, as campaigning started on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Campaigners of Cho Han-ki of South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party seek citizens’ support at a square in Seosan, South Korea, 02 April 2020.
Campaigners of Cho Han-ki of South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party seek citizens’ support at a square in Seosan, South Korea, 02 April 2020. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA

Voters will go to the polls on 15 April to elect 300 members of the National Assembly for the next four years, posing challenges over how to prevent a spread of the coronavirus at polling places while ensuring people’s right to vote.

The some 4,000 patients receiving treatment will be able to case their ballot via mail or early absentee voting, Interior Minister Chin Young said.

A two-week campaign period for the election began on Thursday with candidates wearing masks and shunning handshakes and large rallies.

The National Election Commission has said all voters must wear a mask when they go to the polling stations, use sanitisers and gloves available there, and maintain distance with others. Officials will conduct temperature checks at the entrance and regular disinfection work.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 89 new cases on Thursday, taking the national tally to 9,976. A total of 5,828 have recovered from the virus, while 4,148 are still receiving treatment.

A Guatemalan migrant died and 14 others were taken to hospital after a riot broke out in a detention centre in southern Mexico, authorities said on Wednesday, as tensions rise in such facilities due to the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reports.

It started on Tuesday evening in the state of Tabasco after migrants voiced concerns about coronavirus and recent border closures, Mexico’s interior ministry and National Migration Institute (INM) said.

As cases of coronavirus rise in Mexico, concerns are mounting over how to prevent the spread of the disease among the thousands of migrants who have been waylaid in the country as a result of hardline US immigration policies.

Mexico has registered 1,378 coronavirus cases and 37 deaths; its detention centres are seen as particularly vulnerable.

One 42-year-old Guatemalan died and 14 people were taken to hospitals in Tenosique and Villahermosa for smoke inhalation after migrants set fire to mattresses, authorities said, adding that 27 migrants escaped during the turmoil.

Japan’s government and ruling parties agreed to exempt firms from certain taxes if their sales decline by more than half from the previous year in any three-month period between February and October amid the coronavirus outbreak, Kyodo newswire said on Thursday.

View of Shinjuku business and entertainment district on a rainy day in Tokyo, Japan, 1 April 2020.
View of Shinjuku business and entertainment district on a rainy day in Tokyo, Japan, 1 April 2020. Photograph: Franck Robichon/EPA

Firms would be exempted from taxation on property and assets if they see sales decline by more than half in a three-month period, Kyodo said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday ordered his cabinet to compile an unprecedented package of steps to support the world’s third-largest economy as the pandemic threatened widespread disruption across the nation.

More now on Dr Fauci’s extra security needs:

Security for Dr Anthony Fauci, the 79-year-old infectious disease expert who has become a calm, reassuring foil to Donald Trump at coronavirus briefings, has been expanded, according to multiple reports.

While Fauci’s straight talk and willingness to gently correct the president’s outrageous exaggerations has drawn admiration from late-night talkshow hosts, professional basketball players and doughnut shop owners alike, the doctor has received threats and unwelcome communications from both critics and fervent admirers. The Washington Post first reported the news.

At a coronavirus taskforce briefing at the White House on Wednesday, Fauci declined to comment on whether he was receiving security protection, deferring to the health department’s inspector general.

Trump interjected, saying that Fauci “doesn’t need security, everybody loves him”. If anyone were to attack Fauci, Trump added, “they’d be in big trouble”, touting the disease expert’s high school athletic career.

“He was a great basketball player, did anybody know that?” Trump said. “He was a little on the short side for the NBA but he was talented.” As basketball captain at Regis high school in 1958, Fauci had helped lead the team to an unlikely victory.

British Airways expected to announce suspension of 36,000 employees

IAG-owned British Airways is expected to announce a suspension of about 36,000 of its employees, BBC News reported on Wednesday.

The airline has reached a broad deal with Unite union that will include suspension of jobs of 80% of BA’s cabin crew, ground staff, engineers and those working at head office, the news agency reported, adding that no staff were expected to be made redundant.

Talks with the union are still ongoing, British Airways said in a brief statement to Reuters.

British Airways had said on Tuesday it was temporarily suspending flights from Gatwick Airport, Britain’s second-busiest airport, as the aviation sector reels under the coronavirus crisis.

Americans purchasing record-breaking numbers of guns amid coronavirus

Americans have responded to the coronavirus epidemic with a record-breaking number of gun purchases, according to new government data on the number of background checks conducted in March.

More than 3.7m total firearm background checks were conducted through the FBI’s background check system in March, the highest number on record in more than 20 years. An estimated 2.4m of those background checks were conducted for gun sales, according to adjusted statistics from a leading firearms industry trade group. That’s an 80% increase compared with the same month last year, the trade group said.

Nearly 1.2m total gun background checks were conducted in a single week, starting 16 March, breaking all previous records going back to 1998, according to FBI data.

While the number of background checks doesn’t correlate one-to-one in terms of guns sold, the number of firearm background checks conducted through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System is the best available proxy for gun sales in the United States. The figures highlight how the pandemic has created a surge in demand for gun ownership, with some gun stores finding themselves inundated with panic-buyers, including, at least anecdotally, many Americans purchasing a gun for the first time.

Australia announces free childcare

In Australia, prime minister Scott Morrison has announced that parents need childcare during the crisis will be able to access it for free, and that childcare centres will remain open.

Morrison also said the spread was slowing, and that federal parliament would resume next week Wednesday.

Updated

We reported earlier based on an AFP alert that the US had recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus-related deaths, but analysis by the Wall Street Journal shows that the previous day’s record appears to have been higher:

“In the US, 884 people died between 8 p.m Tuesday and the same time Wednesday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data. That was down slightly from 895 in the prior 24 hours, a record in the US for the pandemic.

For those of you who think you have an excuse to wear sweatpants, tracksuits – or “tracky dacks” or “joggers” as they’re known in Australia in your Zoom meetings:

Updated

Brazil confirms first indigenous case of coronavirus in Amazon

An indigenous woman in a village deep in the Amazon rainforest has contracted the novel coronavirus, the first case reported among Brazil’s more than 300 tribes, the Health Ministry’s indigenous health service Sesai has said.

The 20-year-old from the Kokama tribe tested positive for the virus in the district of Santo Antonio do Iá, near the border with Colombia, 880km (550 miles) up the Amazon river from the state capital Manaus, Sesai said in a statement on Wednesday.

Four cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the same district, including a doctor who tested positive last week, raising fears the epidemic could spread to remote and vulnerable indigenous communities with devastating effect.

You can contact me with news, tips or questions on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Japan’s government will consider support to increase production of ECMO machines, used in a potentially life-saving treatment for coronavirus patients, as a part of an economic package to deal with the outbreak, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Thursday.

Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation, or ECMO, machines pump oxygen directly into a patient while removing carbon dioxide, replacing someone’s breathing:

This photo taken on 28 February 2020 shows a patient infected by coronavirus receiving treatment by an Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province.
This photo taken on 28 February 2020 shows a patient infected by coronavirus receiving treatment by an Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images

In Australia, there are now at least 576 coronavirus cases nationwide linked to the Ruby Princess.

In a move the NSW health minister later admitted was a mistake, 2,700 passengers were allowed to disembark without checks from NSW Health on 19 March, with many boarding flights interstate. Another boatload of passengers disembarked on 8 March.

On Tuesday, we revealed that there were at least 229 cases interstate – according to the health departments of every state and territory. That number will be inevitably be higher today, as we’re still waiting for the other states to release their latest numbers.

But as of Wednesday, there were 78 in SA, and of Monday, there were 70 in Queensland, 43 in Western Australia, 22 in the ACT, 18 in Victoria, 3 in Tasmania and 3 in the NT. Add that to NSW’s announced 340, and you get 576.

That’s 11.5% of our national total of coronavirus cases (4,976).

Australian states have instructed police to issue fines of up to A$11,000 ($6,672) to people who violate federal orders that ban non-essential travel and limit groups of people gathering outside to two.

A bike-share bicycle is seen parked at Hickson Road Reserve on 1 April 2020 in Sydney, Australia. The state of New South Wales in Australia has the highest number of reported Covid-19 cases.
A bike-share bicycle is seen parked at Hickson Road Reserve on 1 April 2020 in Sydney, Australia. The state of New South Wales in Australia has the highest number of reported Covid-19 cases. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

In New South Wales, the most populous state with nearly a third of the country’s 25 million population, police have also threatened prison terms of up to six months for people who violate the rules.

“When is the turn-off period for these orders? It is 90 days,” state police commissioner Mick Fuller told a televised news conference in Sydney.

“People will have gotten the message by then, hopefully. And we won’t be talking about the powers, we’ll be talking about what does it look like coming out of this?”

Police in NSW and other states have already started issuing tickets to people suspected of breaching orders which authorities themselves have called “draconian”.

Officials in the second most populous state of Victoria said policing of social distancing rules may last until June, without giving specific dates.

Animal tragic: New Zealand zoos strive to entertain lonely inhabitants amid lockdown

While humans have been using Netflix and Zoom to quell the coronavirus lockdown ennui, New Zealand’s zoo animals have also been struggling with boredom – and zookeepers have had to resort to some unusual measures to keep them entertained.

Puzzles, perfume and new types of play have all been deployed to keep the more curious residents engaged and happy.

The rhinos keep turning up for their 3.15pm appearances – when they usually get a belly rub – while the giraffes have remained punctual for their noon and 3pm commitments.

Zookeepers have been forced to work twice as hard to stimulate and entertain the animals, including taking llamas for long walks, spraying cologne and perfume in hiding places to intrigue the lions, and offering puzzle feeders or playing unusual sounds to keep the keas on their toes.

The Japanese government’s plan to send two reusable cloth masks to every household in the country has been met with derision and humour on social media.

One Twitter user posted a photo of the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, wearing both masks:

While another had a slightly different visual take:

This user came to the rescue of a “friend” who said they would have preferred “two Yukichis” – a reference to the influential 19th century figure Yukichi Fukuzawa, who appears on the 10,000 yen note.

There were plenty of manga and anime references, including one that enlisted characters from the long-running animated TV series Sazae-san to illustrate the difficulties facing larger households:

Abe told a meeting of a coronavirus taskforce on Wednesday that the cloth masks would help respond to growing demand for masks since they are washable and reusable. Two masks will be posted to every address in the country later this month, starting with Tokyo and other prefectures with higher numbers of recorded Covid-19 cases, according to public broadcaster NHK.

In a more serious post, Kentaro Iwata, a specialist in infectious diseases who was critical of the government’s handling of the Diamond Princess quarantine, described the measure as “a waste of money”:

Updated

Moving away from US news now to Asia Pacific, South Korea has reported 89 new coronavirus cases, slightly lower than the 100-case average over the last three weeks, bringing the country’s total to 9,976.

Police officers wearing protective clothing wait to guide South Korean citizens repatriated from Italy to a bus at Incheon international airport, west of Seoul, 1 April, 2020.
Police officers wearing protective clothing wait to guide South Korean citizens repatriated from Italy to a bus at Incheon international airport, west of Seoul, 1 April, 2020. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images

More now on Trump’s comments regarding the Zaandam cruise ship.

Aerial view of Holland America’s cruise ship Zaandam as it entered the Panama City bay on 27 March 2020.
Aerial view of Holland America’s cruise ship Zaandam as it entered the Panama City bay on 27 March 2020. Photograph: Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has insisted that the United States “has to help” two coronavirus-stricken cruise liners approaching Florida amid warnings that more passengers could die on board if the boats are left stranded at sea. Four people have died and dozens of people are sick with flu-like symptoms on the Zaandam and Rotterdam cruise liners, which are awaiting permission to enter port in Fort Lauderdale.

Florida gov. DeSantis and some Broward County commissioners have expressed concerns about allowing the passengers to dock. But on Wednesday, DeSantis, who previously dismissed passengers as “foreigners”, has now offered National Guard support after speaking with President Trump, telling Fox News: “I think they’re going to be able to deal with this in a way that make sense.”

At the White House press briefing on Wednesday, Trump indicated that British and Canadian nationals would be immediately evacuated after leaving the ships.

“We are taking the Canadians off and giving them to Canadian authorities. They’re going to bring them back home. The same thing with the UK. But we have to help the people. They are in big trouble no matter where they are from. Happen to be Americans, largely Americans, but whether they were or not, they are dying so we have to do something and the governor knows that too,” Trump said.

Updated

LA mayor asks residents to wear masks when leaving the house

Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti is asking Angelinos to wear face masks when they leave the house to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Speaking from an afternoon press conference, Garcetti said the masks can be homemade, like a bandana, and don’t have to be N-95, which are needed for medical personnel.

The city of Los Angeles is also ratcheting up efforts to get local businesses to comply with a “Safer at home order” and says they are shutting off water and power to non-essential businesses that refuse to stop operating even after being warned.

The advice comes as awareness grows those who aren’t showing symptoms can be carriers of the disease. As many as 1 in 4 of those infected with the new coronavirus may not show symptoms, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned this week.

Trump says federal stockpile of protective equipment nearly gone as US experiences record deaths

Donald Trump has admitted the US government’s emergency stockpile of protective equipment is nearly exhausted because of the extraordinary demands of the coronavirus pandemic.

The shortage was first reported by the Washington Post, which said the supply of respirator masks, gloves and other medical supplies was running low.

Trump, who has been criticised for a lack of central planning, confirmed on Wednesday: “It is, because we’re sending it directly to hospitals. We don’t want it to come to the stockpile because then we have to take it, after it arrives, and bring it to various states and hospitals.”

The president had urged states to “make a deal” and buy personal protective equipment (PPE) directly from manufacturers, he added. “We’ve asked states where they have large manufacturers of different types of equipment to use those local factories, those local plants and have it made directly, ship it right into the hospitals.”

Trump continued: “We’re shipping things right in. We have, as you know, almost 10,000 ventilators which we need for flexibility. It’s sounds like a lot but it’s not.”

The National Guard had been authorised to move equipment into hospitals when necessary, he added.

The US had 884 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, the highest since the outbreak began, AFP reports.

The news comes as president Donald Trump said earlier that federal stockpiles of personal protective equipment for medical professionals were almost depleted.

Updated

California appears to be flattening the curve. But its testing lags behind other states

The Guardian’s Maanvi Singh reports from Oakland with Sam Levin in Los Angeles

California has not seen the surge in coronavirus cases that have overwhelmed cities like New York and Detroit in the past week, which suggests that the state’s early and restrictive shelter-in-place orders could be slowing the virus’ spread. But experts say delays in testing have limited the understanding of the outbreak and have hindered containment efforts.

As of Tuesday, more than 86,100 tests had been administered in the state, and of those, 57,400 results were still pending. By comparison, New York, which has about half the population of California, has processed more than 200,000 tests. Washington state, which has less than a fifth of California’s population, has processed 65,462 tests.

Testing efforts in California have been set back due to a lack of swabs, vials and media for collecting patient samples, as well as a shortage of kits and bottlenecks at labs.

The award-winning singer-songwriter Adam Schlesinger, best known for his work with US rock band Fountains Of Wayne, has reportedly died at the age of 52 after being diagnosed with coronavirus.

Fountains Of Wayne’s hits included Stacy’s Mom and Hey Julie. They formed in New Jersey in 1995 and were named after a lawn ornament store in the state. Over his career, Schlesinger earned nominations for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, Tonys, Grammys and Emmys, winning the latter two.

In 2019 he won the Emmy for outstanding original music and lyrics for Antidepressants Are So Not A Big Deal from the TV musical drama Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

He died on Wednesday morning, according to Variety.

A statement from his family on Tuesday said he was in hospital in New York fighting Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

Chris Carrabba, from the band Dashboard Confessional, confirmed Schlesinger’s death:

The Washington Post reports that Dr. Anthony Faici, the infectious disease expert leading the US response to coronavirus is “facing growing threats to his personal safety, prompting the government to step up his security.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens during a briefing about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Wednesday, 1 April, 2020, in Washington.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens during a briefing about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Wednesday, 1 April, 2020, in Washington. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

The Post reports:

The concerns include threats as well as unwelcome communications from fervent admirers, according to people with knowledge of deliberations inside the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice.

Nearly 3,000 sailors aboard a US aircraft carrier where the coronavirus has spread will be taken off the ship by Friday, Navy officials said Wednesday as they struggle to quarantine crew members in the face of an outbreak, AP reports.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt arrives at the harbour of Da Nang, Vietnam, 5 March 2020.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt arrives at the harbour of Da Nang, Vietnam, 5 March 2020. Photograph: EPA


So far, fewer than 100 of the nearly 5,000 sailors assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt, now docked in Guam, have tested positive for the virus, but the Navy is moving sailors into various facilities and probably will begin using hotel rooms in the coming days. Navy leaders are talking with government officials in the U.S. territory to identify rooms for the crew members.
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, however, made it clear that while several thousand will leave the ship, other sailors will remain on board in order to continue to protect the ship and run critical systems.

US President Donald Trump resists calls for national stay-at-home order

US President Donald Trump is resisting calls to issue a national stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the new coronavirus despite his administration’s projections that tens of thousands of Americans are likely to be killed by the disease. One by one, though, states are increasingly pushing shutdown orders of their own, AP reports.

US President Donald Trump is seen from behind the backdrop of the Brady press briefing room as he arrives to lead the daily coronavirus response briefing at the White House in Washington, 1 April, 2020.
US President Donald Trump is seen from behind the backdrop of the Brady press briefing room as he arrives to lead the daily coronavirus response briefing at the White House in Washington, 1 April, 2020. Photograph: Tom Brenner/Reuters

Trump said earlier this week that he and members of his administration had discussed issuing a stay-at-home order but it was pretty unlikely for now. The White House later released sobering new projections that 100,000 to 240,000 Americans will likely succumb to the coronavirus even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained.

On Wednesday, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Mississippi added or expanded their stay-at-home orders.

Updated

Here is a summary of US news from the last few hours:

  • Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi issued stay-home orders. The Republican governors of those states — especially Ron DeSantis of Florida — had drawn criticism for not taking decisive action as the number of cases in the southern states rose.
  • Officials announced “enhanced counter-narcotics operations” in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean during the Coronavirus Task Force briefing. The US has intelligence that drug trafficking efforts may pick up as countries turn inward to focus on the pandemic, according to Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  • Trump said that the federal government is considering districting domestic travel between coronavirus hotspots, but isn’t anticipating a nationwide shelter-in-place mandate. During another lengthy coronavirus briefing, the president often meandered, boasting about the souther border wall and hearkening back to “caravans... marching through Mexico.
  • New York reported more than 83,000 cases of coronavirus and 1,941 deaths. Governor Andrew Cuomo also announced the closure of all New York City parks after residents failed to respect social distancing guidelines.
  • The vice president compared the coronavirus situation in the US to Italy, which has seen the highest number of deaths linked to the virus. Italy has already reported more than 13,000 coronavirus fatalities, and that number continues to climb.
  • The Dow dropped nearly 1,000 points as US markets continue to suffer amid the pandemic. Unemployment claims are also expected to jump in tomorrrow’s report after many major employers announced layoffs this week.
  • Bernie Sanders called on Wisconsin to delay its presidential primary, which is scheduled to take place next week. Wisconsin Democrats and civil rights advocates have already sued the state to press officials to ease absentee voting requirements for the primary.

The Pentagon is looking into sourcing and providing as many as 100,000 military-style body bags for civilian use, according to Bloomberg News.

Bloomberg reports:

The Pentagon is looking into buying more bags and will draw some initially from a stockpile of 50,000 it maintains, according to two people familiar with the request.

The move is a somber counterpoint to the Pentagon’s highly-praised deployment of two hospital ships to New York and Los Angeles to help alleviate pressure on regional hospitals overburdened by the pandemic.

The Defense Logistics Agency’s Troop Support unit manages the Pentagon’s stockpile of the green nylon, 94-inch by 38-inch body bags that are typically distributed to war zones. The unit has been in contact with the current contractor to assess its manufacturing capabilities but hasn’t yet placed a formal order, according to one of the people.

Yesterday, the White House projected that as many as 240,000 Americans could die from Covid-19, even if distancing meaures and other public health interventions are put in place.

The US Energy Department on Wednesday urged Saudi Arabia and Russia to calm oil markets after the kingdom’s crude supply rose to a record of more than 12 million barrels per day even as oil demand falters on the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.

An employee rides a bicycle next to oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia 12 October, 2019.
An employee rides a bicycle next to oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia 12 October, 2019. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters


“Boosting production during this time of an unprecedented loss in global demand is frustrating, and does not represent the kind of deliberative planning we would like to see from partners, and does not advance our shared interest in stable markets,” said spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes.

She said Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette is talking with his counterparts in major oil-producing nations to try to stabilise the markets.

Another iconic New York City landmark is being converted into a temporary hospital to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, joining Central Park.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home to the US Open, will relieve some of the pressure on one of the state’s hardest hit hospitals, Elmhurst in Queens.

It’s expected to open next week to treat Covid-19 patients who aren’t in need of intensive care. The facility is projected to hold 350 patients.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio holds media briefing at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where a 350-bed temporary hospital will be built, New York, USA - 31 Mar 2020
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio holds media briefing at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where a 350-bed temporary hospital will be built, New York, USA - 31 Mar 2020 Photograph: Erik Pendzich/REX/Shutterstock

Summary

Hello and welcome to a new coronavirus pandemic live blog.

It looks likely that confirmed cases globally will reach one million today. The US accounts for more than 210,000 cases currently, and Italy, with the next highest has just over half this number, at 110,000. Spain has also passed the 100,000 mark.

American officials also reportedly believe China has been deliberately underreporting the total number of cases and deaths.

Stay with us for the most important developments as they happen. You can contact me with news, tips or questions on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

  • Known global cases pass 900,000. According to data collected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, 932,605 people around the world have become infected, 46,413 of whom have died. They also count 193,031 people who have recovered.
  • US intelligence accuses China of playing down crisis. American officials reportedly believe China has been underreporting the total number of cases and deaths. The conclusions of a classified report from the intelligence community to the White House were revealed to Bloomberg by three anonymous officials who declined to detail its contents.
  • Trump said that the federal stockpile of personal protective equipment is nearly empty. “It is,” he said. “Because we’re sending it directly to hospitals.” Earlier, CNN reported that the “Strategic National Stockpile is deploying the last round of shipments in its inventory, depleting the bulk of its protective gear.”
  • The US states of Florida, Georgia and Mississippi issued stay-home orders. More than 280m people in at least 36 US states, as well in several dozen counties the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are now being told to stay home.
  • Key UN climate talks, Cop26, that were due to take place in Glasgow in November have been postponed until 2021, it has been announced. The UN’s climate change chief, Patricia Espinosa has also called Covid-19 the “most urgent threat facing humanity”,
  • The UK’s Ministry of Defence is calling up about 3,000 reservists to help with its pandemic response. That brings the number of armed forces personnel helping manage the crisis to about 23,000.
  • Director of WHO “deeply concerned”. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the WHO, has said he was “deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection”.
  • UK death toll passes 2,300. The UK government has confirmed hundreds more deaths in hospitals, taking the total to 2,352. However, figures from the Office for National Statistics have already revealed that dozens more people have been dying as a result of the pandemic in care homes and other settings.
  • Britons warned against complacency as figures continue to rise. People in the UK have been urged to stay at home as a recent acceleration in the number of cases being reported comes alongside data that suggest people are out and about in their cars more.
  • New York City death toll passes 1,000. Deaths from the coronavirus reached 1,096 in New York City as an emergency field hospital opened in Central Park. Data released by the city’s health department showed the virus was having a disproportionate effect in certain neighbourhoods, mainly Brooklyn and Queens.
  • Germany extends distancing measures. Physical distancing measures have been extended in Germany until at least 19 April, and will be re-evaluated on the Tuesday after Easter, Angela Merkel has said.
  • Austrian unemployment jumps to highest level since 1946. Unemployment in Austria has jumped by 66% to the highest level since records began in 1946, despite a government bid to avoid mass lay-offs.
  • Growth in Italy’s death toll slows. Another 727 people have died in Italy, taking the total to 13,155. That represents the smallest increase since 26 March.
  • Spain passes 100,000 confirmed cases. Spain has crossed the threshold of 100,000 confirmed cases, health officials have said. According to official figures, it has had more cases than any country except Italy and the US.

Updated

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WrestleMania 42 is live on ESPN and Netflix this weekend — here's who's going to win
WrestleMania 42 is live this weekend across two nights and 13 matches. I've been watching WWE for 30 years, and I've gone through every match on the card, given you my prediction, and picked out the best merch to buy before the bell rings.
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