Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States have all reported the highest number of deaths in a single day since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The US recorded 884 coronavirus deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. It has also confirmed more than 213,000 cases of the disease.
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In the UK, a further 563 people died from COVID-19, in what Prime Minister Boris Johnson described as a "sad, sad day".
In Spain, an additional 864 people died.
Globally, about 938,000 have been diagnosed with the virus, and some 194,000 have recovered. Nearly 47,000 people have died from the disease, which originated in China late last year.
Here are the latest updates:
Thursday, April 2
08:45 GMT - More than a quarter of UK firms have cut staff: Report
More than a quarter of British companies are reducing staff levels over the short term as the coronavirus crisis hits the country's economy, a newly published survey shows.
"Over a quarter (27 percent) of responding businesses said they were reducing staff levels in the short term, while 5 percent reported recruiting staff in the short term," the Office for National Statistics said.
08:30 GMT - Ugandan doctors say lockdown could cause more deaths
Ugandan health workers have accused the government of endangering the lives of expectant mothers and those in medical emergencies by requiring that all seek permission to secure transportation to hospitals.
President Yoweri Museveni imposed a virtual lockdown on Monday to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus, including banning private cars from the roads during the 14-day period. He said the government would assist in transporting those who find themselves in medical emergencies to hospitals.
But there is no functioning public ambulance system for medical evacuations, with many pregnant women, as well as those injured in accidents or crime, often relying on private means to get rushed to hospitals.
"Other medical emergencies like maternal have not stopped because coronavirus has come," Ekwaro Obuku, a former head of Uganda’s national association of physicians, told Reuters news agency. "No mother in labour pains should ask for permission to deliver her baby. We will end up having unnecessary and preventable deaths."
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Some countries make wearing surgical masks mandatory |
08:15 GMT - Thailand to announce nationwide curfew starting Friday
Thailand is to announce a nationwide curfew between 10 pm and 4 am starting Friday to try to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, the government has said in a statement.
The curfew will have some exceptions, including for the transport of medical supplies, movement of people into quarantine, patients and travel of medical personnel, according to the statement shown to reporters.
"The prime minister will make the announcement this evening on national television around 6 pm," deputy spokeswoman deputy spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek told Reuters news agency when reached by phone.
07:45 GMT - Russia cases jump to more than 3,500 in record daily rise
Russia's coronavirus case tally jumped has jumped to 3,548, a record daily increase of 771, according to Russia's crisis response centre.
Cases have been recorded in 76 of Russia's more than 80 regions, but Moscow remains the epicentre of the outbreak with 595 cases, the centre said. Thirty people have died across the country, it said
07:30 GMT - Top UK health official says 'everybody is frustrated' over stalled testing
One of the UK's top health officials has said there is widespread frustration within the government that the country was not testing enough people yet.
"Everybody involved is frustrated that we haven't got to the position yet that we need to get to," Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England, told BBC radio.
"But we've got up to almost 13,000 tests a day being available," he said.
07:20 GMT - Almost 900,000 Spanish workers lost their job since lockdown
Some 898,822 workers lost their jobs since March 12 in Spain, social security data showed on Thursday, more than half of which are temporary workers.
The number of people officially registered as unemployed in the country rose to 3.5 million in March, the highest level since April 2017.
07:15 GMT - Cyprus extends flight ban for another two weeks
Cyprus has extended a ban on commercial air links with 28 countries for another two weeks to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The ban, introduced on March 21 for a 14-day period, will remain for a further 14 days, Cypriot Minister of Transport Yiannis Karousos said in a tweet. He said the decision was dictated by the situation in Cyprus, and the "dramatic" situation in other European states.
Cyprus has recorded 320 coronavirus cases and nine deaths. It has imposed tough restrictions on movement, including a night curfew and allowing people to leave their homes only once a day with a special permit.
07:05 GMT - China says US officials made 'shameless' comments about its reporting
China's foreign ministry said US officials are making "shameless" comments casting doubt about China's reporting of coronavirus cases in the country.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said during a daily briefing that China has been open and transparent about the coronavirus outbreak that began in the country late last year, and accused the US of politicising a health issue, adding that the US should instead focus on the safety of its people.
The statement comes after the US intelligence community, in a classified report to the White House, concluded that China's reporting has been intentionally incomplete, according to media reports.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman said China has been open and transparent about the coronavirus outbreak [Aly Song/Reuters]
07:00 GMT - British Airways in union talks to suspend about 32,000 staff: Report
British Airways is in talks with its union to discuss a plan to suspend about 32,000 staff in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters news agency.
The British flag carrier has cut flights and warned it will need to cut jobs to survive the outbreak as the battered aviation sector scrambles to lower costs.
06:45 GMT - Greece quarantines migrant camp after positive test
Greece has quarantined a migrant camp after 20 asylum seekers tested positive for coronavirus, the migration ministry has said.
Movement in and out of the Ritsona camp, 75 kilometres (45 miles) northeast of Athens and home to some 2,500 people, will be restricted for 14 days the ministry said, adding that police would monitor implementation.
Sixty-three people were tested after a 19-year-old female migrant who gave birth in an Athens hospital was found to be infected, becoming the first recorded case among thousands of asylum seekers kept in overcrowded camps across the country. None of the confirmed cases had any symptoms, the ministry said.
Thousands of asylum seekers are kept in overcrowded camps across Greece [File: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]
06:40 GMT - Thailand reports 104 new cases, three new deaths
Thailand has reported 104 new coronavirus cases, bringing its total to 1,875 cases, a spokesman for the government's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration has said.
Three new deaths in the country bring total deaths to 15, spokesman Taweesin Wisanuyothin said.
06:30 GMT - China says new deaths steady at six
China reported six new coronavirus deaths as of the end of Wednesday, the same number as the previous day.
China had 35 new cases on April 1, all of which were imported, the National Health Commission said.
06:15 GMT - New holiday for Indonesia to replace traditional Eid exodus?
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said the government is considering announcing a new national holiday to prevent the annual mass exodus that usually takes place at the end of the Muslim fasting month, Ramadan.
Widodo said at a cabinet meeting that measures could be put in place during the new holiday to help "bring some calm to the people".
Minister of Social Affairs Juliari Batubara also told reporters that the government plans to give special assistance to residents of Jakarta this year to limit the exodus from the capital during the holiday period, which falls over April and May.
Nearly 90 percent of Indonesians are Muslim and usually return to their home villages at the end of Ramadan, buying new clothes and enjoying a feast with their families and friends.
06:00 GMT - Australia begins pre-clinical testing for vaccine
Australia's national science agency has said it commenced the first stage of testing potential vaccines for COVID-19, as it joins a global race to halt the coronavirus pandemic.
Pre-clinical testing by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), comprising injecting ferrets with two potential vaccines, was underway at its high-containment biosecurity facility near Melbourne.
The first phase will take around three months, CSIRO's director of health Rob Grenfell told Reuters news agency, adding that any resulting vaccine would not be available to the public before late next year. Human trials of one of the two vaccines being tested was expected to begin later this month or early next month.
Australia has reported around 5,200 cases and 24 deaths.
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05:45 GMT - WHO expects Malaysia cases to peak mid-April
The number of coronavirus cases in Malaysia is expected to peak in mid-April, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, adding that there are signs of a flattening of the infection curve.
"Based on available data, the WHO Country Office has projected that Malaysia will see a peak in hospitalized cases in mid-April," Ying-Ru Lo, the WHO's head of mission and representative to Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore told Reuters news agency in emailed comments.
The number of critically ill patients is estimated to reach the peak within the next week, she said. There have been 2,908 confirmed cases in the country and 45 deaths.
Hello, this is Joseph Stepansky in Doha taking over from my colleague Kate Mayberry
05:30 GMT - Summary of this morning's developments
I will hand over the blog to my colleagues in Doha shortly.
A brief summary of developments this morning:
- It seems the US will allow the passengers on board the Zaandam cruise ship, where there are a number of coronavirus cases, to disembark in Florida.
- The US is also planning to evacuate sailors from its USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, which has reported cases of the virus. The ship is currently in Guam.
- Australia is optimistic that its "stay at home" measures are helping slow the rate of infection.
- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is being mocked for his plan to send two masks to each household in the country.
05:25 GMT - Health workers in the Philippines battle not only virus but stigma
The Philippines has the second-worst coronavirus outbreak in Southeast Asia, but the doctors and nurses on the front lines find themselves battling not only a virus, but the stigma of infection.
As Al Jazeera's Ana Santos reports from Manila, they have been turfed out of their homes, told not to board buses and refused service at stalls and restaurants.
05:05 GMT - Philippines ambassador to Lebanon dies of COVID-19
Bernardita Catalla, the Philippine ambassador to Lebanon, has died of COVID-19 at a hospital in Beirut.
Today, @DFAPHL lost one of its own. PH Ambassador to Lebanon Bernardita "Bernie" Catalla, a frontliner in our repatriation efforts, died from Covid19 in a Beirut hospital. A great loss to @DFAPHL & to our country. Our nation owes you a debt of gratitude. pic.twitter.com/Vh6nz96SE3
— Dodo Dulay (@dododulay) April 2, 2020
05:00 GMT - China sending flight to UK to bring students home
A chartered flight is currently on its way to London to collect a group of Chinese students who have been unable to return home. China has organised similar repatriation flights from countries including Italy and Iran.
The Chinese government says it has given out "health packages" with more than 11 million masks and 500,000 disinfecting products to Chinese students in hard-hit countries.
04:55 GMT - South Korea says 158 short-term visitors in isolation
South Korea says 158 short-term visitors have been isolated in designated facilities a day after it began enforcing two-week quarantines on everyone arriving from overseas.
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip on Thursday also said 224 South Korean nationals and 11 foreigners remained at the airport awaiting the results of virus tests after showing symptoms when they arrived in the country on Wednesday.
Eight foreign nationals were denied entry after they refused to accept the quarantine.
04:30 GMT - Germany cases rise to more than 73,500
Germany's Robert Koch Institute says the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 73,522 while 872 people have died of the disease.
Cases rose by 6,156 compared with the previous day while the death toll climbed by 140.
04:15 GMT - Jazz great Ellis Marsalis dies from pneumonia at age of 85
Ellis Marsalis Jr, jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan that includes famed performer sons Wynton and Branford, has died after battling pneumonia brought on by the coronavirus, one of his sons said late on Wednesday.
"Pneumonia was the actual thing that caused his demise," Ellis Marsalis III told Associated Press. "But it was pneumonia brought on by COVID-19."
The 85-year old jazz patriarch lived in New Orleans. Four of his six sons are musicians.
Ellis Marsalis, seen here at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival last year, died from pneumonia brought on by the coronavirus at the age of 85 [File: Sophia Germer/AP Photo]
04:00 GMT - Japan's Abe under attack over two-mask plan
People in Japan have responded to a promise by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to send two reusable cloth face masks to every household with mockery.
The hashtag "Abenomasks", a play on the prime minister's signature "Abenomics" economic policy, was trending on Twitter.
Japan Twitter reacts to Abe’s plan to distribute "2 masks per household" pic.twitter.com/m8yHipjtv7
— magdalena osumi 💁🏼♀️ (@jt_mag_os) April 2, 2020
02:35 GMT - Shenzhen announces sweeping ban on breeding, consuming wildlife
The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has issued the most sweeping ban yet on the breeding and consumption of wild animals.
The Shenzhen regulations permanently ban the trade in and consumption of wild animals, a step beyond the temporary ban issued by the central government at the start of the current outbreak. Along with snakes, lizards and other wild animals, it also bans the consumption of dog and cat meat.
Those who break the law risk fines reflecting the value of the wildlife seized, starting at 150,000 yuan ($21,400).
The coronavirus has been traced to a market in Wuhan that sold wild animals such as pangolins and civet cats, as well as more conventional fare such as chicken and fish.
02:30 GMT - Australia says it is slowing the spread of the coronavirus
Some good news from Australia, where Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the country is slowing the spread of the coronavirus, and parliament will reopen next Wednesday.
02:10 GMT - Trump says cruise ship passengers to be evacuated in Florida
US President Donald Trump says passengers on board the Zaandam cruise ship will be evacuated after it docks in Florida.
The Zaandam was anchored off Panama but was denied entry after passengers reported COVID-19 symptoms [Carlos Lemos/EPA]
The ship, where dozens have fallen ill from coronavirus, and at least two have died of it, has been barred from several South American countries.
The Zaandam and its sister ship, Rotterdam, are expected to enter US waters early on Thursday and dock in Fort Lauderdale.
Trump said the US was "sending medical teams on board the ships" and taking people off, after which non-Americans would be repatriated.
02:10 GMT - South Korea starts campaigning for parliamentary polls
South Korea started campaigning for the April 15 parliamentary elections on Thursday with the government's response to the coronavirus outbreak, and its impact on the economy, expected to be among voters' key concerns.
There are 253 direct seats and 47 proportional seats up for grabs, with voters able to cast two ballots - one for a candidate and one for a political party, according to Yonhap news agency.
The government's response to the coronavirus outbreak is expected to be among voters' key concerns [Yonhap via Reuters]
01:55 GMT - HRW warns on Cambodia emergency powers
Human Rights Watch said Cambodia's emergency law could enable longtime prime minister Hun Sen to restrict all civil and political liberties, target the media and crack down on human rights defenders.
"These sweeping, undefined and unchecked powers should set off alarm bells among Cambodia's friends and donors," HRW's Asia Director Brad Adams said in a statement.
The group urged Cambodia to submit a new draft prioritising public health and safeguarding basic rights. The bill is due to go to the one-party National Assembly next week.
00:15 GMT - Sailors to be taken off aircraft carrier by Friday: US Navy
Nearly 3,000 sailors on board a US aircraft carrier where the coronavirus has spread will be taken off the ship by Friday, Navy officials said on Wednesday.
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said some need to remain on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt to protect the ship and run critical systems.
He said about 1,000 have gone ashore and that number will grow to at least 2,700 in a couple of days. Just under 100 of the nearly 5,000 sailors on the ship, now docked in Guam, have tested positive for the virus.
Read more here.
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At least 100 sailors on US aircraft carrier contract COVID-19 |
00:00 GMT - Israel's health minister and his wife test positive for coronavirus
Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife have tested positive for coronavirus, his office said late on Wednesday.
The Health Ministry says the 71-year-old and his wife are feeling well, receiving medical care and will remain in isolation.
Litzman is the most senior Israeli official to be diagnosed with the virus and will continue to work from home.
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I'm Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur with Al Jazeera's continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Read all the updates from yesterday (April 1) here.
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2020-04-02 09:20:29Z
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