President Donald Trump signed into law
a $2.2 trillion aid package to help the United States cope with
the economic downturn inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised a huge package of steps to
cushion Japan's economy. The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the
coronavirus outbreak first emerged, began lifting a two-month
lockdown.
DEATHS, INFECTIONS
* More than 551 800 people have been infected globally and
nearly 24 900 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
EUROPE
* Germans have been largely compliant with rules to prevent the
coronavirus spread, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday,
as her chief of staff said the shutdown would not be eased
before April 20.
* The number of confirmed cases in Germany has risen to 48 582
and 325 people have died of the disease, statistics from the
Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on
Saturday.
* Italy recorded 919 deaths from coronavirus, the highest daily
toll anywhere in the world, while the number of confirmed cases
eclipsed the total in China.
Coffins arriving from the Bergamo area, where the coronavirus infections caused many victims, are being unloaded from a military truck that transported them in the cemetery of Cinisello Balsamo, near Milan in Northern Italy. Picture: Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his health minister
tested positive for the coronavirus and said they were
self-isolating.
* Latest data from Spain's health ministry show the death toll
stabilising.
An elderly Covid-19 patient is transferred to an ambulance from a hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Picture: Felipe Dana/AP
* French health authorities reported 299 new deaths from
coronavirus on Thursday, taking the total to 1 995.
AMERICAS
* The US House of Representatives on Friday approved a $2.2
trillion aid package and Trump quickly signed it into
law.
* Confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States reached
100 040 on Friday, the highest number in the world, a Reuters
tally showed.
* Trump on Friday invoked emergency powers to require General
Motors Co to build much-needed ventilators for
coronavirus patients after he accused the largest US automaker
of "wasting time" during negotiations.
Workers, wearing personal protective equipment, build splash guards during a mass manufacturing operation to supply New York City government with protection to distribute against Covid-19 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York. Picture: John Minchillo/AP
* Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro cast doubt on Sao Paulo's
death toll from coronavirus and accused the state governor of
manipulating the numbers for political ends, without giving
evidence for his claims.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
* Japan's Abe on Saturday promised a massive unprecedented
package of steps to cushion the economy, saying the country was
close to a national emergency as infections surged in
Tokyo.
* The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak first emerged,
began lifting a two-month lockdown on Saturday by restarting
some metro services and reopening borders, allowing some
semblance of normality to return and families to
reunite.
* China's authorities plan stronger steps to revive an economy
hit by the spread of coronavirus, as the nation on Saturday
reported no new locally transmitted infections for the previous
day.
* Australia stepped up enforcement of social distancing rules on
Saturday, implementing fines, closing beaches and threatening
stricter measures if people defy pleas to stay at
home.
* Vietnam will limit domestic flights and stop public gatherings
for two weeks from Saturday, as it aims to keep the number of
cases under 1 000.
People sit at distance to receive relief goods during a nation-wide lockdown to contain an outbreak of the coronavirus, in Karachi, Pakistan. Picture: Fareed Khan/AP
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Turkey halted all intercity trains and limited domestic
flights on Saturday, as the number of coronavirus cases jumped
by a third in a day to 5 698, with 92 dead.
* Iraqi doctors say the country may be singularly unprepared for
the coronavirus, with the number of cases at 450 and deaths at
40.
Kenyan police hold back ferry passengers after new measures aimed at halting the spread of the new coronavirus instead caused a crowd to form outside the ferry in Mombasa. Picture: AP
* Iran started an intercity travel ban, as its death toll rose
to 2 378 on Friday.
* South Africans struggled to adapt to confinement rules, with
many city streets no less crowded than normal as a strict
lockdown begun.
* Algeria extended its curfew to nine more provinces.
The empty streets of Paris during lockdown to combat the spread of the new coronavirus. Picture: Prefecture de Police de Paris via AP
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Stocks across the globe fell on Friday after a historic
three-day run-up, as skittish investors kept indices on track
for their worst monthly and quarterly performances since 2008,
while the dollar fell by the most in any week since 2009.
* Canada said on Friday it will cover 75% of wages for small
businesses and the central bank cut its key interest rate to the
lowest level in a decade.
* The European Central Bank chief urged EU leaders to act more
decisively as the bloc feuds over how far to go to cushion the
economic hit of the pandemic.
* Investors rushed into cash and out of bonds at a record pace
over the past week, BofA's weekly fund flow data showed on
Friday.
* Mexico will likely take the longest in Latin America to
recover, S&P said on Friday, a day after it cut ratings of
Mexico and national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos.
* The Reserve Bank of India slashed interest rates.
* Japan is planning a stimulus that could be worth 10% of its
economic output.
EVENTS
* The US Open originally scheduled for June 18-21 has become
the third of golf's four major championships to get postponed,
the New York Post reported.
* Italy's fashion industry body said the men's fashion shows
scheduled for June 19-23 would be held in September.