As cases ballooned in Europe, the new
epicentre of the coronavirus, several countries imposed new
restrictions to try to curb the spread. California and three
other US states directed tens of millions of people to stay at
home.
DEATHS, INFECTIONS
* More than 274,800 people have been infected across the world
and 11,389 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
EUROPE
* Italy imposed further draconian restrictions on public life on
Friday. The death toll in Italy leapt by 627 to 4,032, an
increase of 18.4% - by far the largest daily rise in absolute
terms since the contagion emerged a month ago.
* Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered pubs, restaurants,
theatres, cinemas and gyms to shut their doors.
* Spain said it would turn a Madrid conference centre into a
giant military hospital, as Europe's second-worst outbreak
claimed another 235 lives.
* France reported 78 new deaths on Friday, taking the total to
450, an increase of 21%.
* Germany may enforce a nationwide curfew if the country's 83
million people fail to keep their distance from each other this
weekend.
* YouTube said it would reduce its streaming quality in the
European Union to avoid straining the internet as thousands
switch to teleworking and watch videos at home.
AMERICAS
* New York state, Illinois and Connecticut on Friday followed
California in directing tens of millions of people to stay at
home in the most sweeping U.S. social-distancing measures yet
imposed.
* The total number of known US infections has climbed past
18,000, including at least 250 deaths as of Friday evening, with
the surge in cases over the past few days reflecting an increase
in diagnostic testing.
* The US Homeland Security Department said restrictions on
travel across the US-Canadian land border will begin at 11:59
p.m. EDT Friday and last until April 20.
* Mexico and the United States have agreed to form a joint task
force to combat the spread at their border.
* Brazil restricted entry of foreign visitors at its borders,
while its Senate has approved emergency.
ASIA
* China reported a record rise in imported coronavirus cases as
students and expatriates returned home from the United States
and Europe, sparking fears of a second wave of infections just
as the country recovers from the initial outbreak.
* All 41 of the new confirmed cases in China were imported from
overseas, the country's National Health Commission said on
Saturday.
* A Chinese report into the coronavirus death of a young doctor
reprimanded by police when he tried to raise the alarm about the
disease drew quick criticism online.
* Indonesia's total of cases rose to 450, with 38 deaths, a
health ministry official said on Saturday. This comes a day
after the governor of Jakarta declared a state of emergency in
the Indonesian capital for the next two weeks.
* Malaysia's cases jumped to 1,183 on Saturday with four deaths,
and the government warned of more cases next week as it looks
for people who attended a mass religious gathering linked to a
majority of the cases.
* Vietnam will suspend all inbound international flights, the
government said in a statement on Saturday.
* An Olympic torch event in Japan, which plans to reopen schools
after spring recess, drew hundreds of spectators on Friday,
creating the type of gathering government and Tokyo 2020
organisers have warned against.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iran's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose on
Saturday by more than 100 to 1,556, and the total number of
people infected now exceeds 20,000, a health ministry official
said.
* Saudi Arabia, which has announced a $31.93 billion support
package, has suspended all domestic flights, buses, taxis and
trains for 14 days starting Saturday.
* Syria, already shattered by nine years of war, has banned
entry for foreigners arriving from many virus-hit countries.
* The coronavirus stopped communal Muslim prayers for the first
time in living memory in many mosques from Indonesia to Morocco
on Friday.
* Syria, already shattered by nine years of war, has banned
entry for foreigners arriving from many virus-hit countries.
People form a long queue snaking a long way around the parking lot, as they wait to enter a wholesaler supermarket in Coventry, England. Picture: Jacob King / PA via AP
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Wall Street retreated on Friday after New York ordered
residents to stay at home, rattling investors who had welcomed
this week's fiscal and monetary measures.
* The Trump administration plans to send a special energy envoy
to Saudi Arabia to work with the kingdom on stabilizing the
global oil market, officials said on Friday.
* Lockdowns and panic food buying could ignite world food
inflation even though there are ample supplies of staple grains
and oilseeds in key exporting nations, a senior economist at FAO
and agricultural analysts said.
* The British government will pay a massive share of private
sector wage bills to discourage bosses from firing staff.
* Vehicle production could be reduced by about 1.44 million in
Europe, North America and Latin America, according to an
estimate by information provider IHS Markit.
* Shattered airlines were left counting the cost of government
support as countries from the United States to New Zealand set
out conditions for bailouts.
* The container shipping industry, a bellwether for
international trade, has been blown off course with container
lines re-routing cargoes and reducing calls to Chinese ports.
* The coronavirus has forced 15% of manufacturing companies in
Vietnam to cut production, with the clothes and textile industry
hard hit.
* Indian key crop prices have plunged as much as 50% just as
farmers prepare for harvest, putting paid to prospects for a
rural economic rebound.
Workers in protective suits disinfect the park in front of the Blue Mosque in response to the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Istanbul. Picture: Reuters
EVENTS
* Formula One drivers will join video gamers in virtual grands
prix to replace postponed races.
* Multiple sports events have been cancelled or postponed.