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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Helen Sullivan (now and earlier); Kevin Rawlinson , Damien Gayle and Sarah Marsh

Italian death toll passes 20,000; more than 1.87m Covid-19 cases reported worldwide – as it happened

A member of the Italian Red Cross walks through an alley in Bergamo, Italy.
A member of the Italian Red Cross walks through an alley in Bergamo, Italy. Photograph: Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images

We’ve launched a new global coronavirus liveblog at the link below where I’ll be bringing you rolling coverage throughout the day:

Dr. Fauci opens by saying he does not claim to know anything about economics. “But the one thing we do know as health experts is... some people think it will be like a light switch on and off. But it won’t be.”

Each state is different, he says. There will be a “rolling re-entry,” says Dr. Fauci. “It’s not one size fits all.”

“The president will get a lot of input from a lot of others but we’ll give an honest public health recommendation.” He leaves the podium.

President Trump has left the briefing room, leaving the public health experts to answer questions. We’ll have more on updates from Dr Anthony Fauci shortly

But first, let’s revisit that campaign-ad style video that Trump played earlier today. As ABC’s Will Steakin demonstrates — it’s almost identical to a campaign ad from a few weeks ago.

The White House Press briefing continues live:

42 dead in coronavirus outbreak at Virginia nursing home, more expected

As Trump continues to boast of his success in managing the coronavirus pandemic in the US – the epicentre of the crisis worldwide, with 400,000 more confirmed cases than Spain, the next worst-affected country – 42 residents of a Virginia nursing home near Richmond have died from the Covid-19 disease pandemic in one of the worst clusters of the new coronavirus in the United States, and officials expect more deaths to come.

At least 127 elderly people out of the 163 residents of the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Henrico County have tested positive for the new coronavirus in recent weeks, said its medical director Dr. James Wright. News reports say the latest two people died in the last three days.

“It’s been tough,” Wright, 56, said in an interview with Reuters. “We were surprised by how quickly this went through,” he said.

Wright told media at a recent news conference: “It’s a battle that at times we feel like we’re losing. It’s a battle that we have to fight every day and night, seven days a week.”

At least 35 members of Canterbury’s staff have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Monday, but Wright said he did not know how many have fallen ill.

But he said the virus has exacerbated an existing staffing shortage, with some staffers refusing to come to work for fear of getting ill.

“We did the best we could,” he said.

President Donald Trump has said repeatedly during this briefing that his administration was close to completing a plan to re-open the US economy, which has been largely shut down to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Trump noted that the number of deaths from the virus in the United States had begun to plateau, indicating that “social distancing” efforts had succeeded.

State governors, meanwhile, appear to be discussing plans to resume economic activity without seeking input from the Trump administration.

Nine states on the US East and West coasts said on Monday they had begun planning for the slow reopening of their economies and lifting of strict stay-at-home orders.

Pressed on the question of whether governors or the federal government would make the decision to re-open schools and closed businesses, the president said that he had ultimate authority.

“The president of the United States calls the shots,” Trump said. “That being said, we’re going to work with the states.”

Meanwhile on CNN:

The president said that he’ll decide by the end of the week whether the US will continue to fund the World Health Organization (WHO). The international body has been a frequent scapegoat for Trump, who blames WHO officials for the severity of the pandemic.

He also referred to the WHO and the World Trade Organization as the Bobbsey Twins, characters from children’s books first published in 1904.

Read more here on why WHO’s responsibility far outweighs its power and capacity:

Vice President Mike Pence is speaking now:

As Steve Mnuchin leaves the podium Trump says “Phase 4 Steve, Phase 4, come on Steve,” referring to the Phase 4 bill of the economic stimulus package, which Mnuchin is leaving the press briefing to negotiate.

You can get in touch with me on Twitter @helenrsullivan. Thanks to those who have sent news and tips today so far – they’ve been helpful.

Trump says we’ll know “in the next few days” whether he wants to reopen the country on 1 May.

The US has 577,307 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 23,232 people have died.

Trump is asked whether he will assure people that he will take the advice of health exerts. He says he absolutely will. Asked whether he would ever go against their advice he says, “I don’t think it would be very likely because I think we’ll be on the same page.”

Updated

Trump is being asked now about his powers over states.

My colleague Maanvi Singh is ready again with a fact check:

“I have the ultimate authority” to re-open the country and scale back distancing measures, Trump claimed. He was wrong.

That is not correct. University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck has countered that: “The president has no formal legal authority to categorically override local or state shelter-in-place orders or to reopen schools and small businesses.”

Trump himself has said that state governors are — and should be — ultimately responsible for managing state shelter-in-place orders.

When previously asked about whether he would issue a national stay at home order, the president repeatedly deferred to the governors.

Today, the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut announced they had formed a regional advisory council. New York governor Andrew Cuomo said each state would name a public health official and an economic development official to serve on a working group alongside each governor’s chief of staff to design a “reopening plan” for their states.

Shortly afterward, the states of California, Washington and Oregon announced a similar plan.

Asked whether he believes the country should be reopened on 1 May, Mnuchin dodges the question and says he knows the president is very keen to reopen the country, and his own advice is to listen to medical professionals and open when it’s safe.

Trump is speaking again. “I think we’re going to – Boom! I think it’s going to go quickly,” he says of whether reopening will happen gradually or all at once. Right before that he said “eventually, eventually” of whether people would be able to return to cinemas, malls and so on.

Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin is asked what emergency he needs to leave the press conference for – this was something Trump said.

Mnuchin says it’s to head to negotiations for a further US$250bn in a bipartisan bill for small business relief.

Updated

A few minutes ago Trump said:

“We inherited a stockpile where the cupboards were bare,” seeking to blame the Obama administration for a lack of adequate resources tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

My colleague Maanvi Singh has her fact check at the ready below:

In fact, it seems that the stockpile was plenty stocked before Trump took office. Although the National Strategic Stockpile is a bit mysterious — it’s unclear where exactly the government has stashed supplies, and the stockpile’s contents aren’t generally public disclosed — an NPR reporter was able to visit one warehouse facility in June 2016, just a few months before Trump was inaugurated. “Shelves packed with stuff stand so tall that looking up makes me dizzy,” NPR’s Nell Greenfieldboyce observed at the time.

“There are rows upon rows of ventilators that could keep sick or injured people breathing...Everything here has to be inventoried once a year, and expiration dates have to be checked. Just tending to this vast stash costs a bundle — the stockpile program’s budget is more than half a billion dollars a year.”

Updated

At the White House Press Briefing, treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin is speaking now.

“We are ahead of schedule delivering the economic payments... We expect that 80 million hardworking Americans will get the payment this Wednesday.”

Back to the US now.

In case you missed it: earlier today, Bernie Sanders endorsed Joe Biden’s bid for president. The announcement comes five days after Sanders withdrew from the Democratic primary, and the former candidate told his supporters today, “We’ve got to make Trump a one-term president.”

A quick break from Trump now.

In the UK, The Times is reporting that “British foreign minister Dominic Raab is set to announce on Thursday that the lockdown in the country will stay in place until at least 7 May,” according to Reuters.

We’ll to bring you more on this soon.

Over and over again, Trump is touting his travel restrictions, which he’s referring to as a “ban on China” as evidence that he acted early, and saved lives. We’ve already fact-checked this claim, below — there’s no evidence that the travel restrictions would have made a difference because they were enacted after the virus was already spreading within the US.

Moreover, the administration’s travel policy did not “ban” travel to and from China. Although non-US citizens were prohibited from entering the country if they had traveled to China within the previous two weeks, American citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members were exempt.

Per a New York Times analysis, “Since Chinese officials disclosed the outbreak of a mysterious pneumonialike illness to international health officials on New Year’s Eve, at least 430,000 people have arrived in the United States on direct flights from China, including nearly 40,000 in the two months after President Trump imposed restrictions on such travel, according to an analysis of data collected in both countries.”

Trump says “nobody who needed a ventilator didn’t get a ventilator”.

Earlier he said, “Nobody is asking for ventilators.”

Below a fact check from my colleague Maanvi Singh:

It is true that some states, so far, have ended up with more ventilators than they originally projected they would need. California has loaned 500 ventilators to states like New York. California hospitals managed to increase their stock from 7,500 machines to more than 11,000, according to the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom. “That has put less strain and pressure on the state’s effort to procure additional ventilators,” Newsom said.

However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a national shortage. The US has roughly 173,000 ventilators, according to the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University. Experts from Harvard Medical School predict that the US could end up needing 31 times that number to treat coronavirus patients.

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine published on Wednesday 25 March categorically concluded that the US does not have enough ventilators to treat patients with Covid-19 in the coming months.

You can watch the White House task force press briefing live here:

Trump said he’s not planning on firing Dr Fauci. Though he retweeted a post that included the hashtag #FireFauci, “I’m not firing him,” Trump said “No I like him. I think he’s terrific.”

“Not everybody is happy with Anthony,” he added. “Not everybody is happy with everybody.”

Hi, Helen Sullivan with you now.

I’ll be reporting the latest from the White House press conference, where as I type US President Donald Trump is repeatedly calling a reporter “disgraceful”.

Updated

The Brazilian government has banned non-indigenous people from entering tribal lands to stop the spread of the virus in their villages and will distribute masks, gloves, test kits and food to their communities, officials have said.

The pandemic has raised fears of the risks posed to Brazil’s 850,000 indigenous people by the virus because they have no defence against diseases brought from outside and many live in communal houses where physical distancing is not possible.

So far, health authorities have reported three deaths of indigenous people, including a 15-year-old youth from the vast reservation where 25,000 Yanomami live on the border with Venezuela.

Indigenous groups across South America have been blockading their villages in an effort to escape the outbreak.

Last week, the Guardian reported that a Yanomami had reportedly died after contracting Covid-19.

Updated

Australia’s Treasury has estimated that the country is heading for a 10% unemployment rate. The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has been quick to claim that, without the wage subsidy, it was heading to 15%.

Updated

Turkey’s parliament has passed a law allowing the release of tens of thousands of prisoners to ease overcrowding in jails and protect detainees from the outbreak, but which critics slammed for excluding those jailed on terrorism charges.

The AK party of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and his nationalist MHP allies supported the bill, which was accepted with 279 votes for and 51 votes against, the deputy parliament speaker Süreyya Sadi Bilgiç said.

Updated

The UK government’s chief scientific adviser warns the country’s daily death toll is likely to rise this week, before plateauing for potentially two to three weeks, and then declining.

Sir Patrick Vallance said that the UK is tracking behind Italy, the European country with the highest death toll, and “following the same sort of path”.

Updated

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will provide immediate debt service relief to 25 member-countries under its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to allow them to focus their scarce resources on fighting the coronavirus pandemic, it has said.

Its managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said the executive board has approved the first batch of countries to receive grants to cover their debt service obligations to the IMF for an initial six months.

She said the CCRT has about $500m (about £400m) in resources, including new pledges of $185m from the UK, $100m from Japan, and undisclosed amounts from China, the Netherlands and others. The IMF is pushing to raise the amount available to $1.4bn.

Updated

In the space of a few weeks of lockdown, England has acquired a million-strong network of social volunteers – surpassing demand and prompting speculation: is this a new sign of social solidarity, and can the newly acquired community spirit survive?

The extraordinary popularity of the NHS volunteer scheme, which 750,000 people signed up to using a phone app, three times as many as were expected, has been repeated at the country’s volunteer centres, which have registered an estimated 250,000 extra people in the past few weeks.

Those numbers come on the back of the astonishing rise of informal mutual aid “good neighbour” organisations – hyper-local groups that keep volunteers in touch via social media. There are more than 4,300 such groups connecting an estimated 3 million people.

Updated

The UK missed three opportunities to be part of an EU scheme to bulk-buy masks, gowns and gloves and has been absent from key talks about future purchases, Daniel Boffey and Robert Booth write, as pressure grows on ministers to protect NHS medics and care workers on the coronavirus frontline.

European doctors and nurses are preparing to receive the first of €1.5bn (£1.3bn) worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) within days or a maximum of two weeks through a joint procurement scheme involving 25 countries and eight companies, according to internal EU documents.

The EU’s swift work has led to offers of medical equipment, including masks, overalls and goggles, in excess of the number requested, a spokesman for the European commission said. The EU is separately establishing stockpiles within member states, with the first being set up in Romania.

Facial protection is going to become the norm in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) figure has said. Dr David Nabarro, the WHO’s Covid-19 envoy, said people will need to become accustomed to a “new reality”. He has told the BBC:

Some form of facial protection, I’m sure, is going to become the norm, not least to give people reassurance. But, I would say, don’t imagine that you can do what you like when you are wearing a mask.

The use of masks has been a major feature of the pandemic, with healthcare workers seeking them as part of their protection equipment.

But the WHO does not recommend them for widespread use and has raised concerns there could be a shortage of masks for medical workers if they are bought up by the general public.

Dr Nabarro added that people’s lifestyles will also need to change as a result of the virus.

Because this virus isn’t going to go away, and we don’t know whether people who have had the virus stay immune afterwards and will not get it again.

And, we don’t know when we will have a vaccine. So, what we are saying is ‘get societies defended’. Yes, we will have to wear masks. Yes, there will have to be more physical distancing. Yes, we must protect the vulnerable. But, most importantly, we must all learn how to interrupt transmission.

Updated

Brazil is likely to have 12 times more cases than are being officially reported by the country’s government, with too little testing and long waits to confirm the results, a study suggests.

Researchers at a consortium of Brazilian universities and institutes examined the ratio of cases resulting in deaths up to 10 April, considering cases ending in recovery or death while excluding patients still fighting the virus. They then compared that ratio with the expected death rates based on the age of patients from the World Health Organization.

The higher-than-expected death rate in Brazil based on the official figures indicates there are many more cases of the virus than are being counted, with the study estimating only 8% of cases are being reported.

Doctors working in emergency and intensive care have been warning that the government is vastly underreporting the figures:

Updated

Health ministers from the Group of 20 major economies will speak by video conference on 19 April to address the impact of the new coronavirus on the global health sector and society, the Saudi G20 secretariat has said.

The meeting follows last month’s virtual meeting of G20 leaders, who tasked the health ministers with sharing national best practices and developing a set of urgent actions for the G20 to jointly combat the pandemic.

A member of the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt has died 11 days after the aircraft carrier’s captain was fired for pressing his concern that the US Navy had done too little to safeguard his crew.

The sailor is the first active-duty military member to die since the start of the outbreak.

France is going through “difficult times”, its president, Emmanuel Macron, has said.

The epidemic is starting to slow down. The results are there. Thanks to your efforts, every day we have made progress. But our country was not sufficiently ready for this crisis. We will all draw all the consequences.

Announcing the extension of the country’s lockdown until 11 May, Macron added:

Over the next four weeks, the rules must be respected.

He said that by 11 May, France will be able to test every citizen presenting symptoms.

Updated

France sets date for easing of lockdown

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, says creches and schools will begin to reopen on 11 May. That date will mark the start of a new phase, he said, but the lockdown will continue until then.

Macron says he will work on a plan to help struggling sectors, such as tourism and leisure, and will extend aid measures for companies and workers. He called on insurance companies to help in the fight to support the country’s economy.

Updated

French president makes address to nation on virus

In a speech broadcast on French television, Emmanuel Macron said hope was “beginning to arise again in the fight against coronavirus”.

The French president said efforts to combat the outbreak were beginning to have an effect and admitted that France had not been sufficiently ready for the crisis when it unfolded.

Updated

Summary

Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak on Monday include:

  • The number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy passed 20,000 after they rose by 566 on Monday, 135 more than on Sunday. Almost half of the deaths (280) were registered in Lombardy, the northern region worst affected by the virus.
  • The confirmed global death toll passed 117,000, and at least 1.8 million people have been infected, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. The tallies are likely to be underestimates.
  • A total of 11,329 patients have died in UK hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus, the UK’s Department of Health said, up by 717 in 24 hours.
  • Belgian health authorities reported 303 more deaths in 24 hours, bringing the country’s total death toll from the outbreak to 3,903, meaning its outbreak is proportionally now more deadly than that of Italy.
  • Singapore recorded its biggest daily jump in infections, with 386 more cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 2,918 cases. A large number of the new cases are linked to outbreaks in migrant workers’ dormitories.
  • German experts recommended recommended a gradual relaxing of restrictions, as long as new infections stabilise and hygiene measures to control the spread of the virus are maintained.
  • The head of the World Health Organization urged caution over moves to lift lockdown conditions. He said much was still unknown about the virus and that finding, testing and isolating cases was still crucial.
  • The US is nearing the peak of its outbreak, according to the director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, who told NBC: “You’ll know when you’re at the peak when the next day is actually less than the day before. We are stabilising right now.”
  • The UK will not ease lockdown this week, said to the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, who added that it was “still far too early”, and that the UK would be getting ahead of itself if ministers relaxed restrictions before medical experts advised them to.
  • Spain saw another fall in its overnight death toll, down by 102 to 517 in 24 hours, bringing the total to 17,489, the country’s health ministry said, adding that it was the smallest proportional daily increase since tracking began.
  • Iran’s death toll rose by 111 to 4,585, a health ministry official said, adding that the total number of infected cases had reached 73,303 in the most affected Middle Eastern country.

Updated

Brazil’s health minister has publicly defied President Jair Bolsonaro over coronavirus, accusing him of sowing doubt in Brazilian minds over the need for physical distancing, Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro reports.

In a Sunday night interview with Brazil’s most-watched television network, Luiz Henrique Mandetta signalled that Bolsonaro’s insistence on snubbing health ministry distancing recommendations was confusing the country’s 210 million citizens.

“They don’t know whether to listen to the health minister or to the president,” Mandetta said. He urged Bolsonaro’s administration to present “a single, united line” on how to tackle the pandemic.

In a clear dig at Bolsonaro’s repeated defiance of distancing guidelines, Mandetta said: “When you see people going into bakeries, to supermarkets … this is clearly something that is wrong.”

The death toll from coronavirus in Brazil currently stands at 1,269, while 22,720 confirmed cases have been reported so far.

Updated

Former military agents convicted of serious human rights violations under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile could be freed by a controversial new ruling that seeks to halt the spread of the coronavirus among the country’s prison population, reports John Bartlett in Santiago.

An urgent bill proposed by the ministry of justice would release some 1,300 low-risk prisoners from overcrowded prisons to serve out their sentences securely under house arrest.

The measure would apply to people convicted of lesser crimes who are elderly, pregnant, have children younger than two years of age, or are terminally ill – as long as they have already served at least half of their sentences.

But 14 government senators have argued that should also apply to inmates at the infamous Punta Peuco prison – a comfortable facility housing about 70 inmates convicted of dictatorship-era human rights violations.

Two posters in Valparaiso with images of people who disappeared during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet with the words “Where are they?”
Two posters in Valparaiso with images of people who disappeared during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet with the words “Where are they?” Photograph: Rodrigo Garrido/Reuters

The proposed amendment has divided the ruling Chile Vamos coalition and prompted a fierce opposition backlash. Lorena Pizarro, the spokeswoman for the Association for the Families of Disappeared Detainees, said:

Faced by a global pandemic that is costing thousands of lives, our government is making an unethical and opportunistic attempt to free convicted human rights criminals. Although our organisation is in favour of releasing prisoners who meet these conditions serving sentences for lesser crimes, this is an unthinkable concession in this political climate.

According to data from the coronavirus tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University, Chile has reported 7,525 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 82 deaths.

Updated

The world’s shortest woman has taken to the streets in central India to call on people to stay at home after police appealed for help enforcing a coronavirus lockdown, AFP reports.

Jyoti Amge, who is 62.8cm (24.7in) tall, encouraged people to wash their hands and wear a mask and gloves when they leave their homes as she made appearances across Nagpur city in Maharashtra state on Monday.

Jyoti Amge greets a police officer during her campaign supporting the lockdown of 1.3 billion Indians
Jyoti Amge greets a police officer during her campaign supporting the lockdown of 1.3 billion Indians Photograph: AFP via Getty Images

The 26-year-old told AFP:

Our police officers, healthcare workers, military officers are on the front line battling the virus and saving lives, and I wanted to contribute in my own way, however small. I asked people to maintain social distancing and stay home to cut the virus transmission chain.

Amge has achondroplasia and was certified the world’s shortest woman by Guinness World Records.

Updated

New York coronavirus death toll surpasses 10,000

The New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, has announced the state’s coronavirus death toll has surpassed 10,000 after this past weekend.

New York lost 671 patients to coronavirus yesterday, bringing the state’s total death toll to 10,056. This is nearly four times the state’s death toll from the September 11 attacks, when 2,753 New Yorkers lost their lives.

Cuomo mourned the loss of thousands of New Yorkers, describing the “horrific level of pain and grief and sorrow” from this crisis.

However, with the number of coronavirus hospitalisations starting to plateau, Cuomo acknowledged there were glimmers of hope. “Yes, I think you can say the worst is over,” Cuomo said.

For more updates from the US, read our US-focused coronavirus live blog.

Updated

The prime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has thanked the nation for the sacrifices it has made in lockdown, saying the time gained has enabled authorities to reinforce the country’s austerity-hit health system, Helena Smith reports from Athens.

“You made sacrifices, you deserve a big thank-you,” said the centre-right leader, noting that hospital wards were now much better prepared in the event of a second coronavirus wave in the winter.

The civil defence minister Nikos Hardalias, who is handling the government’s response to the pandemic, has used his latest coronavirus briefing to lambast clerics who openly defy orders to keep churches closed to the public.

On Monday, health authorities announced 2,145 confirmed cases of coronavirus, following an overnight increase of 31, and 99 Covid-19 deaths since the start of the outbreak.

Two men chat outside the closed Athens Cathedral
Two men chat outside the closed Athens Cathedral. Rogue clerics have been increasingly in the government’s sights amid reports of churches opening their doors despite the nationwide ban. Photograph: Thanassis Stavrakis/AP

With the Orthodox nation gearing up for Easter on 19 April, officials are becoming concerned at the prospect of Greeks gathering to mark what is the most sacred festival of the year. As the nation began Holy Week, Hardalias chastised priests and bishops who continued to hold services in violation of the recommendations of the Holy Synod, the church’s ruling body, and government orders for “putting people’s lives in danger”.

“They must finally understand that they are not more Christian than the rest,” he said insisting that this Easter would be different, with Greeks staying at home so that the country “could break the virus’ chain of transmission”.

Rogue clerics have been increasingly in the government’s sights amid reports of clerics opening church doors despite the nationwide ban. In a startling snub, for which he has shown no remorse, the Bishop of Corfu, Nektarios, held a service on the island at the weekend attended by a local mayor, a senior municipal councillor and at least three other people. The rite of Holy Communion was also conducted, as is tradition in the Orthodox church, from a shared chalice. The bishop, who was forced to appear before a public prosecutor today, will be tried, along with the two officials who attended the service, on 25 May. His lawyer, Yannis Kontos, said his client did not regret his actions because there is “no decree forbidding Holy Communion”.

Priests were facing “huge moral dilemmas” over what to do, he said.

Updated

Italy death toll passes 20,000

The number of fatalities from coronavirus in Italy rose by 566 on Monday, 135 more than on Sunday, bringing the total death toll to more than 20,000, Angela Giuffrida reports.

Almost half of the deaths (280) were registered in Lombardy, the northern region worst affected by the virus.

The civil protection authority said the number of people who are currently infected rose by 1,363 (1.3%) to 103,616, in a further sign that the curve is flattening. The number of intensive care beds in use continues to decline (-83 on Monday), as does the number of people hospitalised for the virus.

To date, there have been 159,516 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Italy, including 20,465 victims and 35,435 survivors.

Updated

The health ministry in Poland has announced 260 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 13 deaths.

So far, the central European country has recorded 6,934 cases of coronavirus, and a total death of 245, but there has been criticism of the overall number of tests carried out. The total number carried out since the beginning of the outbreak in the country is 143,630, according to health ministry statistics.

Last week, Poland extended a lockdown for businesses until 19 April and restrictions for schools, rail and air transport were extended for another two weeks, with borders to remain closed until 3 May.

Updated

The Africa Centres for Disease Control has released updated statistics on the spread of coronavirus across the continent.

Numbers of diagnoses are so far quite low, reflecting perhaps not just a lack of testing facilities, but also that strict lockdowns are already in force in many African countries.

Coronavirus conspiracy theories targeting Muslims are spreading in India, report Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi and Shaikh Azizur Rahman in Kolkata. According to their report, attacks and boycotts of Muslims are escalating amid false claims that a Muslim group is to blame for the spread of the epidemic. They write:

The men who beat Mehboob Ali did so without mercy. Dragging him to a field in the village of Harewali, on the fringes of north-west Delhi, the group hit him with sticks and shoes until he bled from his nose and ears.

Ali was a Muslim, recently returned home from a religious gathering, and the Hindu mob was quite certain he was part of a so-called Islamic conspiracy to spread coronavirus to Hindus nationwide. His attackers believed the devout 22-year-old must be punished before he carried out “corona jihad”.

Updated

Singapore records biggest daily jump in infections

Health authorities in Singapore confirmed 386 more cases of coronavirus infections on Monday in the city-state’s biggest daily jump since its outbreak began, taking its total to 2,918.

A large number of the new cases are linked to outbreaks in migrant workers’ dormitories.

Updated

News from Turkey.

Six new confirmed cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Malta, bringing the total in the country to 384, the Times of Malta reports.

Three Maltese men, a Norwegian woman and Nepalese man resident in Malta and an asylum seeker were diagnosed with the virus, according to the paper.

Announcing the new diagnoses, Charmaine Gauci, the superintendent of public health, said the public should not be relieved by the low number, adding that more cases were expected and the spread had not yet peaked in the country.

Meanwhile, Lovin Malta reported that Malta was set to criminalise the wilful spreading of the coronavirus, with penalties of up to nine years in prison.

Updated

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has urged caution over moves by some countries to lift lockdown conditions.

In the opening address to today’s coronavirus press conference, he said much was still unknown about the behaviour of the virus, and emphasised that finding, testing and isolating cases was still crucial to controlling the outbreak.

Updated

Health authorities in Kenya have reported 11 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, and one death, in the past 24 hours.

The total death toll from the virus now stands at nine in Kenya, which has in total recorded 208 cases, of whom 40 have so far recovered.

In a briefing on Monday afternoon, Mutahi Kagwe, cabinet minister for health, said Kenya had invested 140m Kenyan shillings (£1.1m) in personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, mobilised 500 ventilators for critical care, and manufactured and distributed millions of litres of sanitiser.

Updated

Thousands of garment workers who blocked the streets in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Monday said they were more afraid of starving than coronavirus, after factories supplying western fast fashion chains failed to pay their wages.

With retailers including H&M, Walmart and Tesco cancelling orders because of the pandemic, Bangladesh’s $40bn export sector, dominated by garment factories, is facing its worst crisis in decades.

Bangladesh is the world’s second-biggest garment maker after China.

Garment workers walk on the street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, demanding wages not paid after the country shut down to halt the spread of coronavirus
Garment workers walk on the street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, demanding wages not paid after the country shut down to halt the spread of coronavirus. Photograph: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

Protesting workers say many factories have not paid them after the orders were cut. Sajedul Islam, 21, told AFP:

We are afraid of the coronavirus. We heard a lot of people are dying of this disease. But we don’t have any choice. We are starving. If we stay at home, we may save ourselves from the virus. But who will save us from starvation?

The workers said they were more afraid of starving than coronavirus, after factories supplying western fast fashion chains failed to pay their wages
The workers said they were more afraid of starving than coronavirus, after factories supplying western fast fashion chains failed to pay their wages. Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP via Getty Images

Another protester, who gave her name as Brishti, told the agency:

We have not been paid for two months. We are starving. If we don’t have food in our stomach, what’s the use of observing this lockdown?

Some 5,500 workers protested on Monday while 20,000 turned out on Sunday, police inspector Islam Hossain told AFP.

With clothers retailers cancelling orders because of the pandemic, Bangladesh’s $40bn export sector is facing its worst crisis in decades
With clothers retailers cancelling orders because of the pandemic, Bangladesh’s $40bn export sector is facing its worst crisis in decades Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

German experts recommend easing of restrictions

As time runs out on emergency measures to limit the spread of coronavirus in Germany, the country’s National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has recommended a gradual relaxing of restrictions, as long as new infections stabilise and personal hygiene measures are maintained, AFP reports.

The academy’s findings are to form the basis for a decision to be made on Wednesday by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the heads of Germany’s 16 states about whether to extend restrictions imposed in mid-March that are set to expire on Sunday.

The latest figures from the Robert Koch public health institute indicate new infections are slowing, dropping to 2,537 on Monday, taking the total to 123,016. With 2,799 deaths so far from Covid-19, the toll in Germany is far behind that of other big European nations.

The academy recommended reopening schools as soon as possible, starting with primary and middle schools, although it said most childcare facilities should remain closed. It recommended reopening shops and restaurants, as long as social distancing measures are rigorously respected, and for government offices to get back to work.

The head of the academy, Gerald Haug, said these relaxations of lockdown measures could only happen if people were obliged to wear a face mask while riding in public transport to prevent a resurgence of infections. He told the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel:

Every citizen should in the future have this type of protection for their mouth and nose and wear it each time social distancing measures can’t be respected.

Updated

Pakistan risks “sleepwalking” into a coronavirus catastrophe, an opposition leader has said.

The country has so far recorded just 93 deaths, out of a total of 5,374 cases, but Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of the former Pakistan leader Benazir Bhutto, said the country’s response to the pandemic so far had been too slow, and that the healthcare system remained under-resourced.

Bhutto told AFP in a video call from his Karachi office:

There is definitely a false sense of security that we’ve seen from the start of this crisis.

We have seen a desire to ignore science and facts and the examples of what has been happening around us internationally, which has hampered us taking the timely and necessary action.

Bhutto said provincial health advisers, academics and experts had recommended tougher measures across Pakistan.

We can bring the economy back to life, but we cannot bring people back to life. If we just hope for the best and don’t prepare for the worst ... then Pakistan is sleepwalking into a disastrous situation and I genuinely fear for the consequences.

Updated

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will not be the only EU leader to address his people tonight.

In an unexpected move, the office of the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced this afternoon that he, too, will be addressing the nation this evening, writes Helena Smith in Athens.

The 7.30pm speech, the third the centre-right premier has given since the public health emergency prompted the country to go into full lockdown in March, comes as Greeks prepare to mark Orthodox Easter next weekend.

Greece, which adopted restrictive policies earlier than most other EU states, appears to have been able to contain the spread of the coronavirus, recording 2,114 confirmed cases and 99 deaths to date – the latter according to media reports today.

But both epidemiologists and government officials are especially worried about the challenges posed by Easter, by far the most important event in the Orthodox calendar and, for the faithful, the biggest holiday of the year.

A disinfecting crew enters a retirement home in Nea Makri, east of Athens, Greece
A disinfecting crew enters a retirement home in Nea Makri, east of Athens, Greece Photograph: Alexandros Vlachos/EPA

The prospect of Greeks being tempted to leave for ancestral villages in the countryside is such that the government spokesman Stelios Petsas said public circulation would be monitored even more closely in the course of the Holy Week leading up to Easter festivities.

Toll stations, bus and train stations, ports, airports and main roads and byroads will all be strictly patrolled, Petsas said. Extra emphasis will also be placed on churches, where police patrols are also expected to be reinforced amid fears of “rogue” clerics enticing worshippers to gather outside them.

“Let’s celebrate a few weeks after the first victory against coronavirus, and let’s celebrate Easter all together next year, as our tradition and religion dictates,” Petsas told reporters.

“No complacency or relaxation can be permitted. Make no mistake. If we relax the measures we will pay for it.”

Updated

UK hospital deaths top 11,000

A total of 11,329 patients have died in UK hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus, the UK’s Department of Health has said, up by 717 from 10,612 the day before.

The increase of 717 is slightly smaller than the rise of 737 recorded in the previous 24 hours.

This may be a sign that the mortality rate is slowing in the UK, three weeks after the country went into lockdown. However, figures reported over a weekend have often been smaller than those given in the middle of the week, so that too is a factor.

Updated

The US is nearing the peak of its coronavirus outbreak, a top health official in the country has said.

The US has recorded more fatalities from Covid-19 than any other country, more than 22,000 as of Monday morning, according to a Reuters tally. About 2,000 deaths were reported for each of the last four days in a row, the largest number of them in and around New York City.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told NBC’s Today programme: “We are nearing the peak right now...You’ll know when you’re at the peak when the next day is actually less than the day before. We are stabilising right now.”

Watch the interview below:

Updated

In Indonesia, researchers have warned that government plans to allow millions of people to leave their homes to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan could send coronavirus cases soaring.

According to Reuters, experts at the University of Indonesia’s public health faculty have forecast that if the Ramadan plan proceeds there could be one million infections by July on Java, the country’s most populous island and home to the capital Jakarta.

Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, has resisted pressure for a total ban on the Ramadan exodus, known in Indonesia as “mudik”, citing tradition and economic factors, instead seeking to persuade people to stay put and using only limited curbs on transport.

Health experts have said that Indonesia faces a sharp rise in cases after a slow government response masked the scale of infections in a country that has already suffered 399 dead – more than any Asian country except China.

Updated

Hello. This is Josh Halliday, in Manchester, UK, taking over from Damien Gayle while he has a bite to eat.

The mayor of Moscow, Russia’s capital, has accused foreign bots of attacking a new electronic permit system meant to keep residents off the streets during the city’s anti-coronavirus lockdown, Andrew Roth reports from the city.

The new site was to give Muscovites a QR code to travel around the city for purposes like going to the hospital or to certain jobs. Police have also begun to block some traffic entering and exiting the city.

The site was knocked offline just hours after it was launched. “There are technical problems,” the website said on Monday afternoon. “Use another method of entry.”

Traffic police officers on the Altufyevskoye highway
Traffic police officers on the Altufyevskoye highway check the documents of drivers arriving from the direction of the Moscow ring road Photograph: Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

In remarks posted online, the mayor’s office said the site’s servers were hit by a “bot attack” that included “those from abroad”. Analysts have been sceptical that authorities could develop a site to handle requests from the city’s 12 million residents in just a few weeks.

Russia has considerably stepped up its quarantine measures as hospitals have warned they are being overwhelmed by new cases of coronavirus.

Russia announced that it had 2,558 new coronavirus infections on Monday, bringing the country’s new total to 18,328 cases, nearly three times the number of confirmed cases just a week ago.

Videos showed dozens of ambulances waiting for nearly 10 hours to deliver patients to hospitals in the city. The head of one Moscow hospital with 1,350 beds said they now had 1,525 patients. “We’re reaching some kind of limit,” said the doctor, Valery Vechorko.

Updated

Migrants and refugees are gathering on the coast of Turkey with plans to cross the Aegean to the Greek islands, in defiance of movement restrictions, Greece’s government has warned.

Last month, border police used violence to stop asylum seekers trying to enter Greece after the Turkish government said it would no longer prevent people crossing the border into the European Union.

Turkey previously inhibited migration to Europe in return for Syrian refugee aid as part of a deal with the EU.

On Monday, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said “signs of activity” have been detected on the shores of Turkey, the Associated Press reports.

“We will ... continue to do whatever it takes to defend our sovereign rights and guard the borders of Greece and Europe,” Petsas said.

Updated

About half of all Covid-19 deaths appear to be happening in care homes in some European countries, according to early figures gathered by UK-based academics, who are warning that as much effort must be made to fight the virus in care homes as in the NHS, Robert Booth, the Guardian’s social affairs correspondent, writes.

Snapshot data from varying official sources shows that in Italy, Spain, France, Ireland and Belgium 42%-57% of deaths from the virus have been happening in care homes, according to a report by academics based at the London School of Economics.

Published official data for deaths in care homes in England and Wales are believed to significantly underestimate fatalities in the care sector, with the Office for National Statistics currently only accounting for 20 Covid-related deaths in all care homes in the week ending 27 March. Fresh figures are due out on Tuesday, but are unlikely to be be up to date.

Last week, the industry body Care England told the Guardian the figure was likely to be approaching 1,000, with deaths reaching into double figures at numerous homes. Over the weekend, fresh death tolls emerged, including 12 fatalities of residents at the 71-capacity Stanley Park care home in County Durham. There have reportedly been five deaths at Almond Court care home in Glasgow.

Updated

The race to develop a coronavirus vaccine

If you’re busy with chores on this bank holiday afternoon, then do have a listen to the audio version of the Guardian’s latest coronavirus-related long read.

Around the world, more than 40 teams are working on a vaccine for Covid-19. Our writer Samanth Subramanian followed one doctor in the most urgent quest of his life.

Updated

Zambia has reported two new confirmed cases of coronavirus.

In total the country has reported 45 confirmed cases, with two deaths and 30 recoveries.

Updated

Following speculation that the BCG vaccine, which protects against certain forms of tuberculosis, may also be effective against Covid-19, the World Health Organization has issued a statement reaffirming that there is as yet no evidence that it does.

Moreover, they warn that diverting supplies could lead to babies missing out on the vaccine, resulting in an increase in infections and deaths from TB.

A scientific briefing on WHO’s website says:

There is no evidence that the Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) protects people against infection with Covid-19 virus. Two clinical trials addressing this question are underway, and WHO will evaluate the evidence when it is available. In the absence of evidence, WHO does not recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of Covid-19. WHO continues to recommend neonatal BCG vaccination in countries or settings with a high incidence of tuberculosis.

There is experimental evidence from both animal and human studies that the BCG vaccine has non-specific effects on the immune system. These effects have not been well characteried and their clinical relevance is unknown.

... BCG vaccination prevents severe forms of tuberculosis in children and diversion of local supplies may result in neonates not being vaccinated, resulting in an increase of disease and deaths from tuberculosis.

Updated

Three prisoners in Turkey have died from Covid-19, Turkey’s justice minister said as he announced the first cases of convicts diagnosed with the disease.

A total of 17 convicts in five open prisons have contracted the virus, Abdulhamit Gül told reporters in Ankara on Monday. “Three of them unfortunately died during their treatment in hospital,” he said.

Thirteen of the sick convicts are in a good condition in hospital, Gül said, but one prisoner with a chronic condition remains in intensive care.

He did not give any further details on where the prisoners were but insisted the necessary precautions had been taken in every jail.

“There are no positive cases in closed prisons,” he insisted.

Turkey has nearly 57,000 Covid-19 infections and around 1,200 people have died, according to health ministry figures published on Sunday.

Updated

The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Africa is closing in on 15,000, according to the latest statistics reported by the Africa Centres for Disease Control.

With delicately balanced healthcare systems, many African countries imposed lockdowns as soon as their first few cases were confirmed, and the spread of the virus on the continent appears to have been slowed by the response.

Updated

Police in Morocco arrested more than 4,300 people over the weekend for flouting emergency measures to slow the spread of coronavirus, AFP reports.

Since imposing the lockdown on 19 March, authorities have arrested 28,701 people across the North African country, 15,545 of whom have been referred to court after being held in custody, according to the country’s national security force, the DGSN.

Penalties for violating measures in place to curb the spread of Covid-19 include up to three months in jail and fines of up to 1,300 dirhams (£102), or both. Apart from those with a permit to work, all Moroccans are confined to their homes. Face masks are mandatory for anyone out in public.

Morocco has recorded 1,746 Covid-19 cases, with 120 deaths and 196 recoveries. However, fewer than 7,000 tests have been carried out.

Updated

A couple of readers have been in touch regarding Covid-19 death rates in Belgium, pointing out that Belgian health authorities are currently counting any death of an individual in an elderly care home with any respiratory symptoms as a Covid-19 death.

This is similar to the way that France records its Covid-19 death rate. So far the UK does not do the same.

It is a point worth remembering when looking at Covid-19 death rates across Europe and the world. We could well be comparing apples with oranges.

Updated

The traditionalist Catholic church of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet in central Paris flouted France’s strict Covid-19 lockdown laws by holding a secret Easter service on Saturday night, local media have reported, writes Jon Henley, the Guardian’s Europe correspondent.

All religious services have been banned in France since 17 March but the church, in the capital’s fifth arrondissement, held an Easter vigil attended by the priest and between 30 and 40 other clergymen, acolytes and choir members, Le Point said.

Police confirmed they had been alerted to the service shortly before midnight on Saturday by local residents who had heard music coming from the church, occupied illegally by the ultra-traditionalist Society of St Pius X since 1977.

It is not clear whether any members of the congregation attended. A YouTube video of the service, celebrated in Latin, appears to show a church empty apart from the priest, clergy and choir members, some of whom were children.

The YouTube video of the secret Easter service at Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet in central Paris

However, Le Figaro reported that the church published a message on its website reminding worshippers that “video retransmission … does not absolve those who are able to do so from their obligation to physically attend”.

The priest was subsequently cautioned and booked for breaching France’s confinement rules, Le Point said.

Separately, about 1,900 sailors from the flagship of the French navy, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, were being tested on Monday after 50 crew members tested positive for the coronavirus.

The ship docked in the southern port of Toulon over the weekend after cutting short its current mission in the Mediterranean by 10 days. Local authorities said the entire crew would be tested and then put into two weeks’ isolation before being allowed to rejoin their homes and families.

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle as docking in the French port of Toulon on Sunday
The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle as docking in the French port of Toulon on Sunday Photograph: Marine Nationale/AFP via Getty Images

On Sunday, France reported a slight fall in the daily number of deaths from Covid-19 compared to the previous 24 hours, to 315. The country’s death toll - including fatalities in nursing homes - reached 14,393, the health ministry said.

For the fourth day in a row, the number of patients in intensive care also fell, the ministry said, confirming that a “plateau” appeared to have been reached but warning the situation remained serious despite the slightly improving data.

Emmanuel Macron is due to address the nation for a third time during the crisis on Monday evening. The French president is expected to say that restrictions will be extended beyond their current 15 April end date, while also sketching a picture of how the country might emerge from lockdown.

Updated

Belgium records 303 new Covid-19 deaths

Health authorities in Belgium have reported 303 more deaths from coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s total death toll from the outbreak to 3,903.

Although its absolute numbers seem small in comparison to those in other European countries and the US, Belgium’s small population means that in terms of deaths per million the impact of the outbreak is now greater than in Italy.

According to the daily situation report published by Belgium’s Sciensano health institute, in the past day, 942 more confirmed cases of coronavirus were detected, with 310 people suffering from Covid-19 admitted to hospital, while 239 left hospital.

Overall, 5,393 hospital beds were occupied by coronavirus patients, 1,234 of whom were in intensive care. Since the start of its outbreak, Belgium has recorded 30,589 cases of coronavirus.

Updated

The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported that a second person fell victim to Ebola in the days before health authorities had hoped to declare an end to the latest outbreak there.

Today had been the deadline to declare the 20-month Ebola epidemic in DRC over, but on Friday, a 26-year-old man, in the city of Beni, was listed as having died from the disease, and a young girl who was being treated in the same health centre died on Sunday.

It means DRC is now battling two epidemics: Ebola and coronavirus. Since 1 August 2018 the Ebola outbreak has claimed 2,276 lives; coronavirus has so far killed 20, out of 234 known cases.

Updated

This is Damien Gayle taking charge on the world news live blog. For the next eight hours or so I’ll be taking you through the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic around the world.

If you have any tips, suggestions or comments then please send them in, either via email to damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via a direct message to my Twitter account, @damiengayle.

Updated

Malaysian health authorities have reported 134 new coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative total to 4,817 as south-east Asia’s third-largest economy reaches a plateau in the number of new infections reported over the past 10 days.

The authorities also reported one new death, a participant at a religious gathering that has been responsible for more than a third of the total confirmed cases in the country, bringing the total number of fatalities to 77.

Malaysia had the highest number of confirmed cases in the region until Monday, when the Philippines reported a cumulative total of 4,932 cases.

Updated

I am now going to be handing over the blog to Damien Gayle, who will be bringing you updates throughout the day. Thanks to all of you who shared information with me, and please do continue to get in touch if you have any story ideas. (email:sarah.marsh@theguardian.com/ Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist)

Spain sees another fall in daily death toll

Spain’s overnight death toll from the coronavirus fell to 517 on Monday from Sunday’s 619, bringing the total death toll to 17,489, the health ministry said, adding that it was the smallest proportional daily increase since tracking began. The ministry said in a statement that overall cases rose to 169,496 from 166,019.

Pedro Sanchez

Updated

Major oil-producing nations agree historic 10% cut in output

The world’s largest oil producers have agreed a historic deal to cut global oil production by almost 10% to protect the market against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Members of the Opec oil cartel and its allies have agreed to withhold almost 10m barrels a day from next month after the outbreak of Covid-19 wiped out demand for fossil fuels and triggered a collapse in global oil prices.

The biggest oil production deal in history is double the size of the cuts agreed following the global financial crisis and marks a truce in the oil price war brewing between Saudi Arabia, Opec’s de facto leader, and Russia.

Read the full article here.

Iran's death toll rises to 4,585 – up by 111

Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus has risen to 4,585, with 111 deaths overnight, a health ministry official said, adding the total number of infected cases had reached 73,303 in the most-affected Middle Eastern country.

“Fortunately 45,983 of those infected with the virus have recovered ... There were 1,617 new infected cases in the past 24 hours,” tweeted Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to Iran’s health minister.

Health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV that 3,877 of those infected with the new coronavirus were in critical condition.

Updated

I am moving into my last half an hour on the blog before my colleague Damien takes over. Please do share any final news tips or information with me. Thanks in advance.

Twitter: @sloumarsh
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Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com

Updated

Indonesia on Monday announced 316 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 4,557, according to data provided by a health ministry official, Achmad Yurianto. Yurianto said there were also 26 new coronavirus-related deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 399.

I am looking after the Guardian’s live blog, bringing you the latest news. Please do share any thoughts, insight or news tips with me via any of the channels below. Thanks

Twitter: @sloumarsh
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Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com

Updated

South Korean firms will make their first shipment of coronavirus tests to the United States this week after a request by US President Donald Trump, Yonhap news agency has reported.

The US has more confirmed Covid-19 cases than anywhere else in the world and also has the highest toll, with more than 22,000 deaths.

In contrast South Korea was once the hardest-hit country outside China, but appears to have brought its outbreak under control with a huge “trace, test and treat” strategy.

It has tested more than half a million people in a process free to anyone referred by doctors or those who have links to a confirmed case.

Japan’s government said on Monday it saw no reason at the moment to extend its state of emergency beyond Tokyo and a handful of other cities around the country.

“So far we have not been informed of any expert evidence suggesting that the state of emergency should be extended to Hokkaido or other regions,” chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a briefing.

The central government declared a state of emergency last week, giving legal authority to governors in Tokyo and six other potential virus hotspot prefectures to ask people to stay home and businesses to close, although there are no penalties for non-compliance.

Britain’s finance minister has told colleagues the economy could shrink by up to 30% this quarter because of the coronavirus lockdown, the Times reported, as the soaring death toll gave little hope restrictions would soon be lifted.

The number of Covid-19 deaths in hospitals across the United Kingdom has passed 10,000 and a senior scientific adviser to the government has said the country risked becoming the worst-hit in Europe.

The government has had to defend its response to the outbreak, with complaints of insufficient testing, a dearth of protective kit for medics and questions about whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson was too slow to impose a lockdown.

Johnson was starting his convalescence from the disease at his country residence on Monday after leaving hospital the previous day, with no clarity on when he would return to work.

The Times newspaper reported that Rishi Sunak, the finance minister, had discussed with colleagues the possibility that gross domestic product would shrink by 25 to 30% between April and June.

A Treasury spokesman declined to comment on the report.

Citing unnamed ministers, the Times reported that Sunak and others were pushing for social distancing measures to be relaxed for the sake of the economy, while others were resisting because of the risk of exacerbating the coronavirus outbreak.

A review of the current measures, which have been in place since 23 March, is scheduled to take place this week. The government is widely expected to extend them.

Updated

Turkey, one of the countries with the fasting rising number of Covid-19 cases in the world, has emerged from a 48-hour total lockdown over the weekend with lessons to be learned over the handling of the crisis.

Interior minister Süleyman Soylu dramatically resigned on Sunday night over the bungled announcement of the weekend lockdown across 31 Turkish cities.

The government said on Friday at 10.30pm that a 48-hour-long total lockdown would go into effect at midnight, causing panic across the country as people rushed to shops and bakeries to stock up before the curfew. Istanbul – home to 16 million people – saw a particular surge in panic buying and snarled traffic as people made late night trips to check on loved ones.

Political resignations are rare in Turkey, where the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party rarely bends to criticism or admits mistakes. The last time a minister stepped down was in 2013.

Soylu’s resignation, however, was not accepted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, leading to speculation over whether the president knew in advance of his interior minister’s intentions or was taken by surprise in a new round of Turkish palace intrigue.

Soylu is viewed by some as a potential successor to Erdoğan and a rival of the president’s son-in-law, finance minister Berat Albayrak.

A total of 24,088 people are facing legal proceedings for breaking the weekend curfew, the interior ministry said on Sunday evening.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Turkey now stands at 56,956.

Updated

India and Pakistan are planning to partially open up some parts of the economy, officials in the two countries said on Monday, as the costs of harsh lockdowns to limit the outbreak of coronavirus mount across the region.

Indian officials said the number of coronavirus cases in the country increased to 9,152 on Monday, including 308 deaths, a swift rise from fewer than 1,000 two weeks ago, even though the country of 1.3 billion people is under a sweeping 21-day lockdown.

But the shutdown has left millions of people without work and the World Bank forecast India’s economic growth could drop to 1.5% to 2.8% in the fiscal year that started on April 1, the weakest pace in three decades.

Updated

The Philippine health ministry on Monday reported 18 new coronavirus deaths and 284 additional infections.

In a bulletin, the health ministry said total deaths have reached 315, while confirmed cases have increased to 4,932, adding 45 patients have recovered, bringing the total to 242.

A summary of the news

• China reported 108 new virus cases, 98 of which were imported from overseas, its highest figure since early March. The country where the disease first emerged has largely brought its domestic outbreak under control, but it faces a fresh battle against imported infections, mostly Chinese nationals returning home.

• Oil prices rose in Asian trade after top producers agreed to massive output cuts, but gains were capped as doubts grew over whether the move was enough to stabilise coronavirus-ravaged energy markets.

• Sri Lanka extended restrictions under which people must work from home by one week, to April 20, while an indefinite curfew remains in place to contain the spread of Covid-19.

• Malaysian scientists have created a barrel-shaped robot on wheels that they hope will make the rounds on hospital wards to check on coronavirus patients, reducing health workers’ risk of infection. “Medibot” is a 1.5 metre (5ft) tall white robot that is mounted with a camera and screen via which patients can communicate remotely with medics.

• Prime Minister Shinzō Abe has appeared in a video playing with his dog and watching TV as part of efforts to encourage Japanese people to stay at home, but it was attacked online with many using the hashtag “Who do you think you are?”.

In the video posted online on Sunday, Abe cuddled a miniature dachshund, sipped a drink from a mug, read a book and watched TV, with a message saying: “You cannot see your friends. You cannot go drinking. But such actions by everyone are definitely saving many lives.”

Updated

China has reduced the number of people crossing its borders by 90% as part of its efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, an immigration official said on Monday.

Speaking at a briefing, Liu Haitao, an official with the National Immigration Administration, said the number of cases was still on the rise in the countries along China’s borders.

The country was working to limit all non-essential crossings, but it remained a huge challenge to control the large number of mountain passes, ferries and roads along the country’s long border, he added.

Tokyo recorded 91 new cases of coronavirus infections on Monday, Japan’s media reported, as the tally of infections in the country’s capital continues to rise.

Monday’s figure showed a decrease in the rate of daily infections from Sunday, when the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 166 new cases. Last week the city announced a state of emergency, requesting residents to stay indoors as much as possible.

Updated

Some of Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores have taken a novel approach to social distancing by hanging plastic sheets from the ceiling to provide a barrier between customers and staff at the cash register during the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime minister Shinzō Abe declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures last week in response to the coronavirus outbreak. While many businesses in Tokyo and elsewhere are now shut, most convenience stores have stayed open as they are considered essential.

There are around 58,000 convenience stores throughout Japan. Most are open 24 hours and sell everything from pre-made bento lunches to beer and neckties. They also offer package delivery and bill payment services.

“I actually feel safer,” said 53-year-old restaurant owner Isao Otsuka, who was shopping at one of the roughly 150 7-Eleven stores, mainly in Tokyo, that have installed the transparent plastic curtains.

7-Eleven’s owner, Seven & i Holdings, has asked convenience store workers to wear masks, check their temperatures, wash their hands frequently and sterilise surfaces.

Updated

Thanks again for all the messages this morning, flagging useful stories and sharing news tips with me is very helpful. I hope everyone is ok today, and please do continue to get in touch. As ever my cat is perched above me, watching me as dutifully as I work.

The Guardian’s live blog is getting an unprecedented amount of traffic at this time, but we are also keen to hear about ways to improve it, so please do get in touch with any feedback too.

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Russia on Monday reported 2,558 new cases of the novel coronavirus, a record daily rise, bringing its overall nationwide tally to 18,328.

Russia’s coronavirus crisis response centre said that 148 people diagnosed with the virus have died so far, an overnight rise of 18.

Moscow authorities are launching a digital permit system to control people’s movements after warning the coronavirus outbreak has put a huge strain on hospitals.

A website to apply for the passes was working Monday for people travelling by car or public transport.

The permit system, which will be operational from Wednesday, may be expanded to monitor people going out even within their local neighbourhood, if needed, authorities said.

City authorities had planned to assign Muscovites scannable bar codes to check whether people adhere to strict isolation rules, but that sparked huge controversy.

People would have had to apply for a QR code from officials online each time they wanted to leave their homes.

The crowds that swarm Stockholm’s waterfront would be frowned upon, or even banned in much of the world, but not in Sweden.

It doesn’t worry Anders Tegnell, the country’s chief epidemiologist and top strategist in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The 63-year-old has become a household name in Sweden, appearing across the media and holding daily briefings outlining the progression of the outbreak.

As countries across Europe have restricted the movement of their citizens, Sweden stands out for what Tegnell calls a low-scale approach that is much more sustainable over a longer period.

President Donald Trump has suggested that a rising number of Covid-19 deaths indicate Sweden is paying a heavy price for embracing the idea of herd immunity that is letting many individuals get sick to build up immunity in the population.

He said: “Sweden did that – the herd. They called (it) the herd. Sweden is suffering very, very badly. It’s a way of doing it.”

But the Swedish health minister, Lena Hallengren, recently told The Associated Press: “We have never had a strategy for herd immunity.”

Updated

The president of Afghanistan called for unity against coronavirus as the country recorded its biggest one-day rise in number of positive cases of the virus, triggered by a surge of infections in Kandahar and Helmand.

Fifty-eight new infections have been confirmed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number to 665, a health ministry spokesman said. Three new deaths have also been reported, with the death toll reaching 21. There have been 37 recoveries.

Herat is worst affected city with 287 confirmed cases. The number of infections in Kandahar rose to 73 after 28 new reports in the last 24 hours. Concerns are high in Kandahar as thousands of Afghan migrants have poured back from Pakistan in recent days.

The country’s capital, Kabul, has so far recorded 160 cases, 13 of them reported today. All the roads to Kabul were blocked on Sunday, tightening the restrictions on movements in a city of around six millions in a bid to contain the outbreak.

Elsewhere in Helmand, seven new cases pushed the total number of infections to nine.

Over the weekend, the European Union directed €117m (£102m) to help Afghanistan’s fight against the virus. The EU said it recognized that Afghanistan “may be severely affected” by the pandemic as its public health service “weakened by years of conflict, has to cope with limited resources”.


Meanwhile Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani called for unity. Speaking at an event at the Presidential Palace on Sunday, Ghani said overcoming a health and economic crisis requires a “unified” perspective.

“There is a need for speed to slow the spread of the coronavirus and manage the activities in a timely and proper way,” Ghani said. “It is everyone’s responsibility to show at this point that we have a resolute decision, the ability to manage the crisis”.

The pandemic comes at a time of intense political tension between president Ghani and and his political rival Abdullah Abdullah.

Updated

Senior politicians in Germany have begun debating a potential easing of restrictions imposed over the coronavirus epidemic ahead of a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.

On Monday, Merkel and premiers of Germany’s 16 states expect to get recommendations from the German National Academy of Sciences that the chancellor has said will weigh heavily in considerations for a possible loosening in movement and social distancing rules in place since around mid-March.

The discussion takes place as the number of new infections and deaths declines in Germany, which has weathered the pandemic better than European neighbours Italy, Spain and France.
But Germany’s export-driven economy – Europe’s largest – has been hit hard and is estimated to contract 9.8% in the second quarter, the biggest decline since records began in 1970 and more than double the decline seen during the global financial crisis in 2009.

Merkel will discuss the recommendations of the science academy with her cabinet on Tuesday. On Wednesday, she will hold a video conference with the state governors to discuss a possible path out of the lockdown and how to manage the recession it is expected to cause.

In Italy, prime minister Giuseppe Conte extended the national lockdown until 3 May, warning that the gains made so far should not be lost.

However, a small proportion of businesses that have been shut since 12 March will be permitted to reopen on Tuesday.

Conte specifically mentioned bookshops and children’s clothing shops, but media reports suggest laundrettes and other services may also be included.

Thanks to everyone who has been sending me messages while I blog. It’s always wonderful to hear from readers and your insight, news tips and comments are very much appreciated. Apologies if I am unable to respond to you all but it makes running the blog a lot easier and also lets me know what you’re finding useful. Please do continue to get in touch.

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Updated

Malaysian scientists have created a barrel-shaped robot on wheels that they hope will make the rounds on hospital wards to check on coronavirus patients, reducing health workers’ risk of infection.

“Medibot” is a 1.5 metre tall (five foot) white robot, equipped with a camera and screen via which patients can communicate remotely with medics.

The invention, built by scientists at the International Islamic University Malaysia, is also fitted with a device to check patients’ temperatures remotely.

It is aimed at helping nurses and doctors working on the wards with social distancing, Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, a member of the team behind the invention, told AFP.

Summary of the latest global updates

India restarting crucial industries
The country is planning to restart some crucial manufacturing to ease the difficulties of the poor, despite expectations it will extend a 21-day lockdown beyond April 15, two government sources said.

Spain lifts some restrictions
They have been lifted for some businesses on Monday after shutting down all non-essential operations nearly two weeks ago. This will allow businesses that cannot operate remotely, including construction and manufacturing, to reopen. The move has been criticised by some as risking a resurgence in the spread of the virus.
WHO looking at reports of patients testing positive again
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was looking into reports of Covid-19 patients testing positive again after clinically recovering from the disease.

South Korean officials had reported on Friday that 91 patients cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again. Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a briefing that the virus may have been “reactivated” rather than the patients being re-infected.

Russian border becomes China’s new frontline
China’s northeastern border with Russia has become its new frontline in the fight against a resurgence in the epidemic, as new daily cases rose to a six-week high. Half of the imported cases from the daily tally involved Chinese nationals returning home from Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District through border crossings in the Heilongjiang province.

Widespread testing needed
The US needs to ramp up testing for the coronavirus as the White House considers when and how to lift stay-at-home restrictions and lockdowns triggered by the pandemic, U. health experts said.
Diagnostic testing determines if somebody is infected with the virus and antibody testing shows who has been infected and is therefore immune. Both will be important in getting people back into the workplace and containing the virus as that happens, the experts said.

Some 3.7 million Kazakhs, or 20% of the oil-exporting central asian nation’s population, have applied for financial aid offered by the government because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the cabinet said.

Out of those applications, about 1.8 million have already been approved, labour minister Birzhan Nurymbetov told a briefing.

The Nur-Sultan government has offered to pay 42,500 tenge (about $100) per month to every citizen who loses their source of income during the emergency period, which began on March 16 and is expected to last at least until the end of April.

The authorities have locked down all provinces as well as several major cities where they also ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down.

Asia markets fell Monday with investors cautious on news of an international deal to shore up oil prices and tentative signs of progress in efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

OPEC producers dominated by Saudi Arabia and allies led by Russia thrashed out a compromise deal on Sunday to cut production by nearly 10 million barrels per day from May.

Oil futures surged in early Asian trade, with WTI climbing nearly eight percent and Brent up five percent before both benchmarks pared their gains in afternoon trade.

The rally followed months of slumping prices after the Covid-19 outbreak sapped demand as countries around the world put their populations under lockdown.

A Saudi-Russian price war also saw the ramping up of production as both countries bid to hold on to market share and undercut US shale producers.

OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo called the cuts “historic” in size but analysts said the measures may not go far enough to secure a long-term rebound.

The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has slowed in some of the worst-hit countries, with Spain readying Monday to reopen parts of its economy as governments grapple with a once-in-a-century recession.

Italy, France and the US have all seen a drop in Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, with Italy – the European nation most afflicted – reporting its lowest toll in more than three weeks.

It came as Pope Francis delivered an unprecedented livestream message to a world under lockdown on Easter Sunday, and Britain’s Boris Johnson left hospital, thanking medics for saving his life.

More than half of the planet’s population is staying home as part of efforts to stem the spread of the virus, which emerged in China late last year and has now killed at least 112,500 people, overwhelming healthcare systems and crippling the world economy.

Spain’s death toll has fallen in recent days, but as a small bump in deaths was reported on Sunday, prime minister Pedro Sanchez warned that the locked-down country was “far from victory”.

“We are all keen to go back out on the streets... but our desire is even greater to win the war and prevent a relapse,” he said, as some companies were set to resume operations at the end of a two-weeks halt of all non-essential activity.

Singapore is preparing to house hundreds of foreign workers in accommodation vessels typically used for offshore and marine industry staff as it races to find alternatives to dormitories where the novel coronavirus has been spreading rapidly.

Tens of thousands of migrant workers, many from South Asia, live in cramped dormitories across Singapore, which have become the biggest source of coronavirus infections in recent days.

Authorities are moving some of the healthy residents of those facilities to other sites including military camps, an exhibition centre, vacant public housing blocks and the accommodation vessels, which they have called “floating hotels”.

“Each facility can hold a few hundred occupants and can be suitably organised to achieve safe distancing,” minister of Transport Khaw Boon Wan said in a Facebook post on Sunday after he visited one of the vessels. They are docked in a restricted area in a port terminal, Khaw said.

I am now running the Guardian’s global live feed, bringing you all the latest news and information from around the world.

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Two mixed martial arts events planned behind closed doors in Singapore this month have been postponed after the city-state tightened restrictions to fight the coronavirus, organisers said.

A spokeswoman for Asia’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion, One Championship, confirmed that the events, on April 17 and 24, have been postponed.

Two more closed-door events next month could also be shelved because of the tougher restrictions imposed by the city-state, she told AFP.

It is still unclear about the fate of another One Championship event scheduled for May 29 in the Philippines capital Manila, which is also under a government lockdown.

“We are living through the most extraordinary of times. The good news is that these short-term restrictions will undoubtedly slow down the coronavirus, and flatten the curve,” One Championship chairman and chief executive, Chatri Sityodtong, said in a Facebook post last week.

Singapore won praise for keeping its outbreak in check in the early stages but has seen a surge in cases this month, with many linked to foreign workers’ dormitories. Health authorities have reported 2,532 COVID-19 cases, including eight deaths.

The Guardian’s front page on Monday. The UK government has been warned that Britain risks having the highest death toll from coronavirus in Europe as the total number of fatalities from the disease in UK hospitals rose above 10,000.

As Boris Johnson left hospital on Sunday, criticism of the government’s response to the pandemic was mounting from senior medics and politicians, particularly over its failure to get enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing to NHS and care home workers.

guardian front page
guardian Photograph: pr

People across the UK are being given incorrect information from the government about whether or not to isolate, with some wrongly instructed to remain indoors for 12 weeks, GPs have warned.

Doctors fear out-of-date information is being used as they are getting an increasing number of calls from people who do not understand why they have received a text or letter saying they are in the most at risk group. At the same time, some of those who are in priority groups are complaining they have been given no information, they said.

The list of who to contact, which would normally take weeks to do, was compiled in 48 hours, and given the huge undertaking errors are likely to have crept in.

Last month, the government announced it would contact 1.5 million people by 29 March to tell them that they should be “shielding”, which means they are most at risk to the virus and should stay indoors for 12 weeks.

Dr Francesca Silman, a London GP, said: “Unfortunately a number of people I know did not receive letters despite fitting in the shielding category, some only received letters in the past few days, and others have received letters even though they don’t actually need to shield.”

She added: “It is all a bit of a mess. Part of the problem was I think originally NHS England thought the GPs could do some of the searches – but this is not at all an easy task and the guidance for GPs to go ahead was retracted … Meanwhile, I think the public are unaware of this issue and likely to be following the letters they have or haven’t received unless they have been proactive themselves and looked up the guidance.”

Amazon will begin to put new grocery delivery customers on a waitlist and curtail shopping hours at some Whole Foods stores to prioritize orders from existing customers buying food online during the coronavirus outbreak, the company said on Sunday.

Many shoppers recently seeking to purchase groceries from the Seattle-based *e-commerce company found they could not place orders due to a lack of available delivery slots.

Amazon said it would have to relegate all new online grocery customers to a wait list starting Monday while working on adding capacity each week.

In recent weeks, it increased the number of Whole Foods stores offering grocery pickup *to more than 150 locations, up from 80 previously.

amazon picture

Hello. I am taking over the Guardian’s global live feed, bringing you all the latest news and information from around the world. I’ve just sat down with a tea, as it’s the morning here in London.

Please do share with me any information, insight or news tips with me via any of the means below.

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That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan. If I weren’t a little tired, maybe I’d make this pie:

Good thing my colleague Sarah Marsh is here to take you through the next few hours of global coronavirus news.

China infections rise as some Spanish companies prepare to restart work

China has seen a rise in Covid-19 cases along its northern border with Russia, as some Spanish factories and construction sites are preparing to resume work amid other continuing restrictions.

On Sunday China’s national health commission reported 108 new infections, the highest number in more than five weeks, surpassing Saturday’s 99, which was nearly double the 46 reported on Friday. All but 10 of the cases were imported, and seven of the local infections were in the Heilongjiang province, a northern region where authorities are increasing restrictions and monitoring after a rise in people with Covid-19 crossing the Russian border.

In Europe, Italy and France reported a drop in deaths in the past 24 hours – with Italy, the European nation most afflicted by the disease, reporting its lowest toll in more than three weeks.

Some Spanish companies will resume operations on Monday, at the end of a two-weeks halt to all non-essential activity. The country’s death toll has fallen over recent days, but as a small bump in deaths was reported on Sunday, the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, warned that the locked-down country was “far from victory”.

‘Now there is nobody’: living in a tourist attraction under lockdown

On a typical day, upwards of 3,000 tourists would stream through her home. But as Spain’snear-total lockdown stretches beyond Easter, Ana Viladomiu has found herself weeks into living a near-solitary life in one of Barcelona’s top tourist attractions.

For more than 30 years, Viladomiu has lived in La Pedrera, a modernist jewel built more than a century ago by famed architect Antoni Gaudí. The passing decades saw almost all the other tenants move out, supplanted by ever growing throngs of visitors lured by the building’s rippling stone facade and knotted balconies.

Coronavirus diplomacy: how Russia, China and EU vie to win over Serbia

As the pandemic gathers speed, major players are looking to use soft power and aid to fulfil their foreign policy goals. For the EU, it’s trying to prove that talk of European values and solidarity is not just empty words. For China, it’s changing the narrative to present the country as the solution to coronavirus, not its cause.

For Russia, it’s using more modest resources for maximum effect, with Russian military vehicles driving through Italy or a planeload of equipment despatched to the US partly produced by a sanctioned company.

The Americans, focused internally under the Trump administration, have largely been absent from the coronavirus diplomacy game.

Iran’s president has left nation open to second Covid-19 wave – critics

Iran’s president has been accused of leaving the country exposed to a second coronavirus outbreak after he relaxed social distancing rules in the face of concerns that as many as 7 million Iranians had been left jobless or suffering wage cuts because of the restrictions imposed by the government over the last month.

You can get in touch with me directly on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Summary

  • The global number of confirmed cases has passed 1.85 million, to reach 1,850,527, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. There have been 114,245 deaths globally.
  • China reported the highest daily infections in over five weeks.Mainland China reported 108 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, up from 99 a day earlier and 46 reported on Friday.
  • Top oil-producing countries agreed Sunday on “historic” output cuts in a bid to boost plummeting oil prices due to the new coronavirus crisis and a Russia-Saudi price war.
  • Alabama cannot block abortions during coronavirus crisis, a judge has ruled.
  • Spain is readying to reopen parts of its economy as governments grapple with a once-in-a-century recession. Spain’s death toll has fallen over recent days, but as a small bump in deaths was reported on Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that the locked-down country was “far from victory”.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron is on Monday expected to warn the country its lockdown will continue for several more weeks at least. France on Sunday reported a lower number of Covid-19 fatalities over the last 24 hours, with 315 deaths in hospital over the last day, compared with 345 the previous day.
  • France is set to isolate 1,900 sailors after virus-hit naval ship docks.
  • Germany had a third day of lower cases. Germany’s number of confirmed coronavirus infections has risen by 2,537 to 123,016. That was lower than a 2,821 increase reported on Sunday, and marked the third decline after four days of increases.
  • Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday refused to accept the resignation of his interior minister over an abrupt nationwide lockdown that triggered a spate of panic-buying.
  • Boris Johnson has been discharged from hospital. He thanked the NHS for “saving [his] life” after leaving St Thomas’ hospital in south London where he had been hospitalised for a week.
  • The UK government is facing mounting criticism over its coronavirus response, particularly over its failure to secure enough personal protective equipment and tests for NHS and care workers as the country’s death toll passed 10,000. This follows a warning that that the UK could experience the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe.
  • Senior US public health officials have pushed back on Donald Trump’s eagerness to reopen the country quickly, as a senior World Health Organization figure warned that Covid-19 “is going to be a virus that stalks the human race for quite a long time to come”.

Alabama cannot block abortions during coronavirus crisis, judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that Alabama cannot ban abortions as part of the state’s response to the coronavirus.

The US district judge Myron Thompson on Sunday issued a preliminary injunction sought by clinics to prevent the state from forbidding abortions as part of a ban on elective medical procedures during the Covid-19 outbreak. He said abortion providers could decide whether a procedure could wait.

In the Alabama court judgement, Thompson said that based on the current record, the defendants’ efforts to combat Covid-19 did not outweigh the lasting harm imposed by the denial of an individual’s right to terminate her pregnancy, by an undue burden or increase in risk on patients imposed by a delayed procedure, or by the cloud of unwarranted prosecution against providers.

Authorities in northern Vietnam have ordered people working at a unit of Samsung Display factory in the country to be quarantined after a worker there tested positive for the new coronavirus.

A 25-year-old worker of the EQC-SI unit of the Samsung Display factory in Bac Ninh province tested positive on Sunday, according to a statement released on Monday by the anti-COVID-19 task force of neighbouring Bac Giang province.

Samsung confirmed the case, but said Samsung Display’s production lines in Vietnam had not been affected.

Ministers ‘must be open with NHS about PPE shortages’

Ministers must admit when the NHS is heading for shortages of personal protective equipment for staff, even if opponents “weaponise” such openness, an influential hospital boss is urging.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, wants the government to start alerting health service trusts when they are about to face a lack of equipment such as the ongoing dearth of gowns and visors that frontline staff need to repel Covid-19.

Writing for the Guardian about PPE shortages, Hopson says: “National NHS leaders will continue their massive efforts to fill current PPE gaps. But trust leaders believe that they should be included earlier in helping to find the solutions. For example, if there is going to be a stock shortage of a particular item, then far better to know about it well in advance.

A “stay home” message posted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Twitter has fuelled anger, with some saying it was insensitive to to people who cannot rest at home because the government’s social distancing measures are voluntary and don’t come with compensation, AP reports.

The one-minute video released Sunday shows Abe sitting at home, expressionless, cuddling his dog, reading a book, sipping from a cup and clicking on a remote control. Entertainer Gen Hoshino appeared in part of the video but later said the clip of him strumming on a guitar at home was used without his permission.

Japan had 7,255 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 114 deaths, according to the latest figures Monday.

Ten foreigners who broke a coronavirus lockdown in Rishikesh, the Indian town made famous by the Beatles, were forced to repent by writing “I am so sorry” - 500 times, officials said Sunday.

Tera Manzil Temple in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
Tera Manzil Temple in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India. Photograph: Stuart Dee/Getty Images

The nationwide lockdown was imposed near the end of March, with residents permitted to leave their homes only for essential services such as buying groceries and medicine.

The travellers - from Israel, Mexico, Australia and Austria - were caught taking a walk in Rishikesh, where the Beatles sought spirituality at an Ashram in 1968.

Local police officer Vinod Sharma said they were each made to write “I did not follow the rules of lockdown so I am so sorry” 500 times.

More than 700 foreign tourists from the US, Australia, Mexico and Israel staying in the area had flouted the lockdown rules, Sharma said, adding the unusual punishment was handed out to teach them a lesson.

Have tips, news, comments, questions or jokes? Get in touch with me directly any time on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

When Covid-19 came to Nepal, AP reports, attention turned to an unlikely group of victims: hundreds of monkeys, cows and pigeons:

Normally, the animals are fed by thousands of devotees at the country’s most revered Hindu temple, Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu. But last month Nepals government ordered a complete lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus. People were forbidden from leaving their homes. Temples closed. And the animals risked starvation.

Now, every morning and evening, a few guards, about a dozen staff and some volunteers come out to ensure that the animals survive.

Staff from the Pashupatinath Development Trust feed pigeons at Pashupatinath temple, the country’s most revered Hindu temple, during the lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Staff from the Pashupatinath Development Trust feed pigeons at Pashupatinath temple, the country’s most revered Hindu temple, during the lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photograph: Niranjan Shrestha/AP
A Nepalese volunteer feeds monkeys at Pashupatinath temple, the country’s most revered Hindu temple, during the lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal.
A Nepalese volunteer feeds monkeys at Pashupatinath temple, the country’s most revered Hindu temple, during the lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photograph: Niranjan Shrestha/AP
Staff from the Pashupatinath Development Trust feed pigeons at Pashupatinath temple, the country’s most revered Hindu temple, during the lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Staff from the Pashupatinath Development Trust feed pigeons at Pashupatinath temple, the country’s most revered Hindu temple, during the lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photograph: Niranjan Shrestha/AP

Updated

India is planning to restart some manufacturing after 15 April to help offset the economic damage of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, two government sources have told Reuters, even as it weighs extending the lockdown.

The 21-day lockdown of India’s more than 1.3 billion people is due to end on Tuesday.

Children seek shelter from the rain as they were standing in queue to collect food during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against coronavirus, in Kolkata on 12 April 2020.
Children seek shelter from the rain as they were standing in queue to collect food during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against coronavirus, in Kolkata on 12 April 2020. Photograph: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images

One of the sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed some ministries to come up with plans to open up some crucial industries.

The sources, who spoke to Reuters on Sunday, asked not to be identified as the plans are still under discussion.

Separately, in a letter seen by Reuters, the industries ministry has recommended restarting some manufacturing in the autos, textiles, defence, electronics and other sectors.

India’s economy, which was already growing at its slowest pace in six years before the onset of the coronavirus, is set to take a severe hit amid the lockdown, say economists.

Third day of lower cases in Germany

Germany’s number of confirmed coronavirus infections has risen by 2,537 to 123,016, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.

That was lower than a 2,821 increase reported on Sunday, and marked the third decline after four days of increases.

The reported death toll has risen by 126 to 2,799.

Updated

Macron set to warn France virus lockdown must go on

Meanwhile in France, President Emmanuel Macron is on Monday expected to warn the country its lockdown to combat the coronavirus must go on for several more weeks at least.

Parisians applaud on their balcony to support caregivers and medical workers on Easter day.
Parisians applaud on their balcony to support caregivers and medical workers on Easter day. Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images

At just after 8.00pm (1800 GMT), Macron will give his third prime-time televised address to the nation on the epidemic from the Elysée palace. In his last, he announced the nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the virus from 17 March.

This speech will come after the first indications of a tentative easing of the crisis in France and that the lockdown is starting to have an effect, with the epidemic starting to plateau, albeit at a high level.

France on Sunday reported a lower number of Covid-19 fatalities over the last 24 hours, with 315 deaths in hospital over the last day, compared with 345 the previous day.

Its death total toll from the coronavirus epidemic, including those who have died in nursing homes, now stands at 14,393, the health ministry said.

But officials have warned that the situation remains serious - especially in the Ile-de-France region around Paris - with no rapid return to normal in sight.

Spain readies to reopen some factories

The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has slowed in some of the worst-hit countries, with Spain readying Monday to reopen parts of its economy as governments grapple with a once-in-a-century recession, AFP reports.

Buildings at Oriente Square during the confinement due to the national emergency caused by Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak, Madrid, Spain, 12 April 2020.
Buildings at Oriente Square during the confinement due to the national emergency caused by Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak, Madrid, Spain, 12 April 2020. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Italy, France and the US have all reported a drop in Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours - with Italy, the European nation most afflicted by the disease, reporting its lowest toll in more than three weeks.

Spain’s death toll has fallen over recent days, but as a small bump in deaths was reported on Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that the locked-down country was “far from victory”.

“We are all keen to go back out on the streets... but our desire is even greater to win the war and prevent a relapse,” he said, as some companies were set to resume operations at the end of a two-weeks halt of all non-essential activity.

A reminder to our readers in Australia (and wherever you are in the globe, really), that our brilliant Australian audio team produce daily podcast episodes of Full Story specifically about the coronavirus. You can find them here.

To get started, try this episode:

You should also subscribe to the Guardian’s terrific global podcast, produced out of London, Today in Focus.

For a taster of that one, have a listen to this two-parter marking 100 days since the virus was first reported.

‘He’s making a very dangerous bet’: Medical experts fear Bolsonaro is dragging Brazil towards coronavirus calamity

Medical experts have said they fear that Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, could be hastening the country’s march towards a devastating public health crisis like those to have hit northern Italy and New York, write Tom Phillips and Dom Phillips in Rio.

Bolsonaro is one of just four world leaders still downplaying the threat of coronavirus to public health, alongside the authoritarian presidents of Nicaragua, Belarus and Turkmenistan.

Over Easter, Brazil’s far-right leader repeatedly sniffed at his own health ministry’s distancing recommendations by going out for doughnuts, glad-handing fans and proclaiming: “No one will hinder my right to come and go.”During one outing, Bolsonaro was filmed wiping his nose with his wrist before shaking an elderly lady’s hand.

Specialists in public health and infectious diseases believe such behaviour is eroding the only measures standing between Brazil – which has suffered more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths – and a healthcare calamity.

“It’s as if everybody’s on the same train heading towards a cliff-edge and someone says: ‘Look out! There’s a cliff!’ And the passengers shout: ‘Oh no there isn’t!’ And the train driver says: ‘Yeah, there’s nothing there!’” said Ivan França Junior, an epidemiologist from the University of São Paulo’s faculty of public health. “My sadness stems from seeing avoidable deaths that we are not going to avoid.”

Andrea Bocelli sang in a closed Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy on Sunday as part of a ‘Music for Hope’ event designed to bring people together during the coronavirus outbreak. The Italian tenor sang four hymns and finished with a moving rendition of Amazing Grace in an online concert broadcast worldwide on Easter Sunday:

Kia Motors Corp told its labour union in South Korea that it wants to suspend operations at three of its domestic factories as the coronavirus outbreak weighs on exports to Europe and the United States, a union official said on Monday.

Cars sit at the Kia Motors Corporation plant in Gwangju, South Korea, 11 February 2020.
Cars sit at the Kia Motors Corporation plant in Gwangju, South Korea, 11 February 2020. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA

The union has not yet decided whether to accept the plan - under which operations would be suspended from April 23-29 - because negotiations over pay are ongoing, the official said.

“Kia Motors is currently reviewing the suspension of some of its plants in Korea in response to declining global demand due to Covid-19. However, a decision has not been made at this time,” Kia Motors said in a statement.

Kia Motors’ share price fell 3.4% and that of affiliate Hyundai Motor Co declined 2% in a wider market that was 0.7% lower in morning trade.

South Korea’s exports for the first 10 days of April plunged 18.6% from the same period a year earlier, far below the 20.8% jump over March 1-10. Shipments of vehicles and vehicle components during the period tumbled 7.1% and 31.8% respectively.

In Australia, health minister Greg Hunt says the country now has 6,335 people diagnosed with Covid-19.

Of those: 61 people have died; 238 people are in hospital; 81 are in intensive care; 35 are on ventilators and more than half have recovered.

The coastal walk in Cronulla, Sydney is closed.
The coastal walk in Cronulla, Sydney is closed. Photograph: Jessica Hromas

He added that the country is beginning to see a flattening of the curve:

The latest data shows that we have had consistent growth in new cases of below 2% a day. What that means is that we are now beginning to see a consolidated flattening of the curve.

That doesn’t mean we’re out of our challenge. There is still growth and there could, at any time, be outbreaks and spikes. But this is a cause for real hope and real aspiration.

Walt Disney World in Florida plans to furlough 43,000 workers, the New York Times reports:

The road to the entrance of Walt Disney World.
The road to the entrance of Walt Disney World. Photograph: John Raoux/AP

In mid-March, Disney theme parks worldwide closed, including Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California.

The furloughs, which are set to begin on April 19, were part of an agreement between Disney World and the Service Trades Council Union, a collection of six unions representing the 43,000 workers at the theme park resort in Florida.

‘This is a decision that the union doesn’t like,’ Eric Clinton, president of Unite Here Local 362, said on Saturday in a Facebook Live announcement. ‘However, it’s within the company’s right to lay off and furlough employees in this situation.’

El Salvador’s congress on Sunday extended a national emergency law that allows the government to prolong certain health measures aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus in the Central American country, Reuters reports. The extension will give lawmakers an additional four days.

Salvadoran soldiers walk during a patrol at El Tunco beach during a quarantine throughout the country, as the government undertakes steadily stricter measures, in Tamanique, El Salvador 11 April, 2020.
Salvadoran soldiers walk during a patrol at El Tunco beach during a quarantine throughout the country, as the government undertakes steadily stricter measures, in Tamanique, El Salvador 11 April, 2020. Photograph: José Cabezas/Reuters

Lawmakers reached no agreement on a separate law that suspends some constitutional guarantees, such as free movement and the right to gather. It is due to expire by the end of Monday.

As of Sunday, El Salvador, a country of some 6.5 million people had 125 cases of coronavirus, and six deaths.

Donald Trump took to Twitter an hour ago to respond to a damning New York Times investigation that found that US public health adviser Dr Anthony Fauci and other Trump administration officials recommended the implementation of physical distancing to combat the coronavirus in February, but were rebuffed for almost a month.

Dr Fauci appeared on CNN’s State of the Union program on Sunday to confirm the report.

Summary

  • The global number of confirmed cases has passed 1.8 million, reaching 1,848,503, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. There have been 114,185 deaths globally.
  • China reported the highest daily infections in over five weeks. Mainland China reported 108 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, up from 99 a day earlier and 46 reported on Friday.
  • Top oil-producing countries agreed Sunday on “historic” output cuts in a bid to boost plummeting oil prices due to the new coronavirus crisis and a Russia-Saudi price war.
  • Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday refused to accept the resignation of his interior minister over an abrupt nationwide lockdown that triggered a spate of panic-buying.
  • Boris Johnson has been discharged from hospital. He thanked the NHS for “saving [his] life” after leaving St Thomas’ hospital in south London where he had been hospitalised for a week.
  • The UK government is facing mounting criticism over its coronavirus response, particularly over its failure to secure enough personal protective equipment and tests for NHS and care workers as the country’s death toll passed 10,000. This follows a warning that that the UK could experience the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe.
  • Thousands of displaced Syrians have begun returning to Idlib, some driven by fear of the spread of the coronavirus to camps near the Turkish border.
  • Italy’s death toll has continued to slow, as did France’s death toll. Spain’s daily death toll has risen after falling for three days in a row.
  • New York’s death toll has slowed, with governor Andrew Cuomo announcing there have been 758 deaths in the state in the last day, down from 783 the day before.
  • France to isolate 1,900 sailors after virus-hit naval ship docks. France on Sunday began an unprecedented operation to isolate 1,900 sailors after 50 naval personnel tested positive for Covid-19 aboard its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle.
  • Italy has ordered 149 migrants onboard a rescue ship off its coast to be quarantined and tested for the coronavirus before they can disembark.
  • China has vowed to improve treatment of Africans in the southern city of Guangzhou following international pressure. Facing accusations of discrimination linked to the pandemic, China said it rejected all “racist and discriminatory” remarks.
  • Senior US public health officials have pushed back on Donald Trump’s eagerness to reopen the country quickly, as a senior World Health Organization figure warned that Covid-19 “is going to be a virus that stalks the human race for quite a long time to come”.

Updated

A federal judge on Sunday ruled that Alabama cannot ban abortions as part of the states response to coronavirus, AP reports.

US District Judge Myron Thompson issued a preliminary injunction sought by clinics to prevent the state from forbidding abortions as part of a ban on elective medical procedures during the Covid-19 pandemic. Thompson said abortion providers can decide whether a procedure can wait.

The ruling was a victory for abortion rights advocates who are fighting efforts in Texas, Ohio, Alabama and other states to prohibit abortion services during the Covid-19 pandemic. States have argued they need to conserve medical equipment and potential hospital beds during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is being urged to declare abortion an essential health service during the coronavirus pandemic.

In guidance notes issued last week, the WHO advised all governments to identify and prioritise the health services each believed essential, listing reproductive health services as an example.

Clinical guidelines published by the organisation last month said that women’s right to sexual and reproductive healthcare “should be respected irrespective of Covid-19 status, including access to contraception and safe abortion”.

Have tips, news, comments, questions or jokes? Get in touch with me directly any time on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Tornadoes and storms hit US south as six killed in Mississippi

A tornado strike destroyed homes and left a trail of devastation across large parts of the US south on Sunday, as forecasters warned that a powerful Easter storm could affect more than a dozen states and millions of people before the early hours of Monday.

Winds damaged buildings and toppled trees throughout Louisiana and Mississippi as they advance to Tennessee and Alabama on 12 April 2o2o.
Winds damaged buildings and toppled trees throughout Louisiana and Mississippi as they advance to Tennessee and Alabama on 12 April 2o2o. Photograph: Mike Evans/AP

By Sunday evening, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency had confirmed at least six fatalities in the state from the severe weather. Mississippi governor Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency after saying several tornadoes had struck the state.

In northern Louisiana, up to 300 homes and other buildings were damaged. Utility companies reported thousands of power outages.

The storm provided a dilemma for public safety officials trying to find a balance between wanting people to stay in lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic and wanting them to leave their homes for shelter if conditions worsened.

Erdogan refuses minister’s resignation over Turkey lockdown chaos

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday refused to accept the resignation of his interior minister over an abrupt nationwide lockdown that triggered a spate of panic-buying, AFP reports.

A first aid worker wearing protectional equipment on 12 April 2020 in Istanbul.
A first aid worker wearing protectional equipment on 12 April 2020 in Istanbul. Photograph: Ozan Köse/AFP via Getty Images

Suleyman Soylu came in for fierce criticism after the 48-hour shutdown to counter the spread of the coronavirus was announced on Friday night with just two hours’ notice. The declaration sent thousands flocking to markets and bakeries in defiance of social distancing rules.

Reacting to the chaotic scenes on Friday, Soylu said the lockdown had been on the “instructions” of the president. But on Sunday the powerful 50-year-old interior minister accepted “entire responsibility for the implementation of this measure”, which he said had been carried out “in good faith”.

Erdogan however refused to accept Soylu’s resignation. “He is going to continue to carry out his functions,” he added.

After the initial chaos, the shutdown, which ended at midnight on Sunday, was generally respected.

Turkey has nearly 57,000 Covid-19 infections and around 1,200 have died, according to the latest health ministry figures.

US public health adviser Dr Anthony Fauci appeared on CNN’s State of the Union program on Sunday to confirm a bombshell New York Times report which said he and other Trump administration officials recommended the implementation of physical distancing to combat the coronavirus in February, but were rebuffed for almost a month.

You can watch the edited interview below:

What happens to people’s lungs when they get coronavirus?

What became known as Covid-19, or the coronavirus, started in late 2019 as a cluster of pneumonia cases with an unknown cause. The cause of the pneumonia was found to be a new virus – severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or Sars-CoV-2. The illness caused by the virus is Covid-19.

Now declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the majority of people who contract Covid-19 suffer only mild, cold-like symptoms.

The WHO says about 80% of people with Covid-19 recover without needing any specialist treatment. Only about one person in six becomes seriously ill “and develops difficulty breathing”.

So how can Covid-19 develop into a more serious illness featuring pneumonia, and what does that do to our lungs and the rest of our body?

African ambassadors in China have written to the country’s foreign minister over what they call discrimination against Africans as the country seeks to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Several African countries have separately also demanded that China address their concerns that Africans, in particular in the southern city of Guangzhou, are being mistreated and harassed, Reuters reports.

China has denied any discrimination.

In recent days Africans in Guangzhou have reported being ejected from their apartments by their landlords, being tested for coronavirus several times without being given results and being shunned and discriminated against in public. Such complaints have been made in local media, and on social media.


The ambassadors’ note said such “stigmatisation and discrimination” created the false impression that the virus was being spread by Africans.
“The Group of African Ambassadors in Beijing immediately demands the cessation of forceful testing, quarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans,” it said.

The note was sent to State Councilor Wang Yi, the Chinese government’s top diplomat, copying the chair of the African Union, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and all African foreign ministers.

More on the latest figures from mainland China now – where the highest number of daily infections in more than five weeks, was recorded on Sunday, with 108 new Covid-19 cases. Saturday’s figure was 99, which had nearly doubled the 46 reported on Friday.

Chinese authorities are increasing restrictions and monitoring in the northern regions bordering Russia, after a rise in people with Covid-19 crossing the border.

Heilongjiang’s capital, Harbin, as well as the border city of Suifenhe now require all arrivals to quarantine for 28 days and undergo testing. Under the new restrictions residential units in Harbin where people have been confirmed to have the virus, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, are to be locked down for 14 days.

People wearing protective face masks ride a ferry across the Yangtze River in Wuhan, China 12 April 2020.
People wearing protective face masks ride a ferry across the Yangtze River in Wuhan, China 12 April 2020. Photograph: Roman Pilipey/EPA

Suifenhe, which has extended the closure of its Russian border and Wuhan-style restrictions, was one of the few routes for people to return to China from Russia after Russia stopped all flights and closed its land border to incoming traffic.

“Of course people want to come back to China. I’ve been to markets in Russia where Chinese people do business. It’s messy and crowded, no one can be safe from infection there,” a Suifenhe fruit-seller, who goes by a single name Ming, told Reuters.

“If the border were to be reopened next week as previously announced, then our city will be stuck with this partial lockdown for the rest of the year.”

Also in focus this week for global markets: US companies will announce their earnings, starting from big banks. China will on Tuesday release its trade data and on Friday release its closely watched gross domestic product data.

A drone view of Yangluo Port on 12 April, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
A drone view of Yangluo Port on 12 April, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Photograph: Getty Images

In foreign exchange markets, risk-sensitive currencies were softer while the safe-haven dollar and the yen found support.

The Australian dollar fell 0.3% to $0.6303 while the Mexican peso dropped 0.4% to 23.430 per dollar.

The euro stood flat at $1.0934 and the yen gained 0.15% to 108.34 to the dollar.

Updated

Market reaction to OPEC output cut

Oil prices and US stock futures dipped in early Monday trade as a landmark agreement by OPEC and its allies to slash output by a record amount failed to give investors any cause for lasting optimism about the economic outlook, Reuters reports.

An Austrian Armed Forces soldier wearing a face mask patrols in front of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, 9 April 2020.
An Austrian Armed Forces soldier wearing a face mask patrols in front of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, 9 April 2020. Photograph: Christian Bruna/EPA

US S&P 500 mini futures dropped 1.54%, erasing a brief gain to a one-month high made right after the start of trading.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago suggest Tokyo’s benchmark is likely to slip about 0.2%.

US crude futures dropped to $22.67 per barrel, down 0.4% as they quickly erased earlier gains to hit the lowest level since 2 April.

Brent futures were down 0.67% at $31.27 per barrel, having risen to $33.99.

A group of oil producing countries known as OPEC+, which includes Russia, said it had agreed to reduce output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for May-June, after four days of marathon talks.

A bigger question for investors, however, is whether the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has ravaged global economic growth, will soon peak in the United States and Europe, as had been hoped.

“While panic selling we saw last month has faded, not many investors would want to chase stock prices higher given we are about to see more evidence of economic downturns,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

Mexican health officials reported on Sunday 442 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 23 new deaths, bringing the country’s total to 4,661 cases and 296 deaths.

A sanitation worker uses special equipment to clean and disinfect the streets as a preventive measurement against the spread of Coronavirus on 12 April 2020 in Queretaro, Mexico.
A sanitation worker uses special equipment to clean and disinfect the streets as a preventive measurement against the spread of Coronavirus on 12 April 2020 in Queretaro, Mexico. Photograph: Jam Media/Getty Images

However, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said last week the country might have 26,500 people infected.

Citing government models, Lopez-Gatell said many who are infected likely did not have symptoms or were not diagnosed.

Iran: Covid-19 outbreak delays investigation into downed Ukrainian flight

Emergency services personnel walk amidst the wreckage after a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 carrying 176 people crashed near Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran, killing everyone on board, in Shahriar, Iran, 8 January 2020.
Emergency services personnel walk amidst the wreckage after a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 carrying 176 people crashed near Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran, killing everyone on board, in Shahriar, Iran, 8 January 2020. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

The Covid-19 pandemic will delay the investigation into the downing of a Ukrainian international flight over Iran, after Canada asked Tehran to delay downloading data on the black boxes due to coronavirus travel restrictions.

Iran agreed in March to hand over the black boxes from Flight 752 to Ukraine or France for analysis – a move welcomed by Canada and Ukraine.

Last week, Iran contacted the countries involved to ask when they could send experts to help download the data off the black boxes, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).

While stressing that the concerned countries were “anxious for the download and analysis of the recorders to proceed”, TSB president Kathy Fox said they all “provided a consistent response, indicating that travelling was impossible at this time, and likely for some time to come” due to restrictions imposed due to the pandemic.

The Iranian military has admitted that the plane was shot down due to “human error”. Of the 176 victims, 57 were Canadian citizens and 29 were permanent residents in Canada.

China reports highest daily infections in five weeks

Mainland China reported 108 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, up from 99 a day earlier and marking the highest number of daily infections in more than five weeks amid continued rise in patients entering the country from overseas, Reuters reports.

Aw oman rides a shared bicycle past an image of the Chinese flag in Wuhan.
Aw oman rides a shared bicycle past an image of the Chinese flag in Wuhan. Photograph: Aly Song/Reuters

The National Health Commission said in a statement on Monday that the mainland reported 98 new imported cases, a record high and up from 97 a day earlier, and another 61 new asymptomatic patients.

Total number of confirmed cases in mainland China now stands at 82,160, while the death toll rose by two to 3,341.

On that note:

The importance of positive emotions during the coronavirus crisis:

Another 103 crew members on the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Navy said on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases from the ship to 550, Reuters reports.

An emergency room nurse prepares an airway cart as part of creating an operationally capable intensive care unit, in order to provide medical support to any sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in need, at Naval Base Guam, 5 April 2020.
An emergency room nurse prepares an airway cart as part of creating an operationally capable intensive care unit, in order to provide medical support to any sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in need, at Naval Base Guam, 5 April 2020. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In a statement on its website, the Navy said 92% of the carrier’s crew members had been tested for the virus, with 550 positive and 3,673 negative results. It said 3,696 sailors had moved ashore.

On Friday, the Navy had reported 447 positive cases and on Thursday, 416.

The outbreak aboard the nuclear-powered carrier led to the resignation on Tuesday of Thomas Modly as acting Navy secretary following a mounting backlash for his firing and ridiculing of the ship’s commander, who had pleaded for help stemming a coronavirus outbreak onboard.

On Thursday, a sailor from the carrier was admitted to an intensive care unit in Guam after testing positive for the coronavirus last month.

The Kremlin said on Saturday a “huge influx” of coronavirus patients was beginning to put a strain on hospitals in Moscow as Russia’s death toll rose to more than 100, Reuters reports.

Moscow and many other regions have been in lockdown for nearly two weeks to stem the contagion, but hospitals in the capital are still being pushed to their limit, officials said.

On Saturday, a Reuters witness saw a tailback of dozens of ambulances queuing outside a hospital handling coronavirus cases in the region immediately outside Moscow, waiting to drop off patients.

One ambulance driver said he had been waiting 15 hours outside the hospital to drop off a patient suspected of having the virus.

Ambulance vehicles queue at the entrance of the Federal Clinical Centre of Higher Medical Technologies (Hospital 119) of the Russian Federal Medical Biological Agency in Moscow, Russia on April 11, 2020.
Ambulance vehicles queue at the entrance of the Federal Clinical Centre of Higher Medical Technologies (Hospital 119) of the Russian Federal Medical Biological Agency in Moscow, Russia on April 11, 2020. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

“The situation in both Moscow and St. Petersburg, but mostly in Moscow, is quite tense because the number of sick people is growing,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview on state television, Russian news agencies reported.

“There is a huge influx of patients. We are seeing hospitals in Moscow working extremely intensely, in heroic, emergency mode.”

Russia’s coronavirus crisis response centre said hospitals were taking all possible measures to ensure rapid admissions and that cases of ambulances needing to wait hours to drop off patients was not a systemic issue.

People in Hong Kong thronged beaches, ferries and outlying islands on Sunday, many of them violating a ban on gatherings of more than four people aimed at containing the spread of the new coronavirus.

each goers crowd Repulse Bay beach in Hong Kong, China, 12 April 2020.
each goers crowd Repulse Bay beach in Hong Kong, China, 12 April 2020. Photograph: Jérôme Favre/EPA

Clear blue skies lured people to popular areas across the territory over the long Easter weekend and many of them were without surgical masks. People in the city of 7.4 million have made a point of wearing masks in the past months.

Hong Kong has recorded 1,005 cases of Covid-19, which has killed four people in the city.

It banned public gatherings of more than four people for 14 days from 29 March, after recording the biggest daily increase in new Covid-19 infections, and later extended that restriction until 23 April.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, the Chinese-ruled city’s leader Carrie Lam urged citizens to comply with social distancing orders in restaurants and said the government would ramp up checks.

“But the most important thing is that customers oblige by the rules. I hope everybody will feel at ease when eating, and go home early,” she wrote.

Top oil producers agree on ‘historic’ cuts to boost prices

Top oil-producing countries agreed Sunday on “historic” output cuts in a bid to boost plummeting oil prices due to the new coronavirus crisis and a Russia-Saudi price war, AFP reports.

OPEC producers dominated by Saudi Arabia and allies led by Russia met via videoconference for an hour Sunday in a last effort to cement a deal struck early Friday.

In a compromise reached Sunday, they agreed to a cut of 9.7 million barrels per day from May, according to its Energy Minister Rocio Nahle, down slightly from 10 million barrels per day envisioned earlier.

OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo called the cuts “historic”.

“They are largest in volume and the longest in duration, as they are planned to last for two years,” he said.

The agreement between the Vienna-based Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and partners foresees deep output cuts in May and June followed by a gradual reduction in cuts until April 2022.

Canada on Sunday formally welcomed a deal by OPEC and allies to cut oil output by a record amount, saying Ottawa was committed to achieving price certainty and economic stability.

“This is good. We welcome any news that brings stability to global oil markets,” Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

In these challenging times, some are pushing themselves to levels of endurance and daring they never thought possible:

France to isolate 1,900 sailors after virus-hit naval ship docks

France on Sunday began an unprecedented operation to isolate 1,900 sailors after 50 naval personnel tested positive for Covid-19 aboard its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle.

The evacuation of infected crew members from the French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle in Toulon military harbour, southern France, 12 April 2020.
The evacuation of infected crew members from the French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle in Toulon military harbour, southern France, 12 April 2020. Photograph: French Navy Handout/EPA

The flagship of the French navy docked in the southern port of Toulon, after cutting short its current mission in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic by 10 days because of the outbreak.

Local authorities said a painstaking operation was now underway by land and sea to evacuate 1,900 sailors to ensure there was no risk of any further infection.

Three sailors had already been evacuated to hospital Toulon as a “precaution” before the ship docked. All the personnel will be tested and they will then be put into isolation for two weeks, with no physical contact allowed with their families, said the spokeswoman for the regional authorities, Christine Ribbe.

Only once the isolation period is over will the sailors be allowed home. From Tuesday, the ship itself will also be the subject of a major disinfection operation.

Summary

Hello and welcome to today’s global live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan.

As confirmed cases worldwide approach two million, death rates have slowed in two of the worst-affected places: Italy, and New York state.

Global deaths meanwhile have passed 113,000.

Here are the main developments from the last few hours:

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