Reported cases of the coronavirus
crossed 2.07 million globally and more than 138,400 people have
died, according to a Reuters tally as of 1400 GMT on Thursday.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
AMERICAS
* US President Donald Trump plans to announce new guidelines
to reopen the economy on Thursday, despite concerns from health
experts, governors and business leaders about a resurgence in
cases without more testing and protocols in place.
* US defense secretary said he believed China's leaders have
been misleading and opaque about the outbreak and does not trust
that they are being truthful even now.
* Mexico's government said its health experts have recommended
the country extend its current measures until May 30.
* Mexico could force the closure of companies in non-essential
sectors if they refuse to suspend operations during a state of
emergency.
* Haiti will reopen its key textile industry next week.
* A two-month-old baby born to Warao indigenous refugees from
Venezuela has tested positive, the mayor's office in the
Brazilian city of Manaus said.
Manicurist Leticia Machado, 31, who has seven children, sits at her home during the new coronavirus pandemic in Turano favela, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Picture: Silvia Izquierdo/AP
EUROPE
* Europe is in eye of the storm, with the number of cases
nearing a million, and should move with extreme caution when
considering easing lockdowns, the WHO's regional director said.
* Spain's national death toll exceeded 19 000, but figures from
the region of Catalonia indicated the real total could be
several thousand higher.
* Britain's outbreak is starting to peak but it is too early to
lift the lockdown, its health minister said.
* Austria plans to test every retirement home resident as it
expands efforts to measure the pandemic's spread.
* Hungary is extending lockdown measures by one week from
Saturday.
* The Swiss government will start a gradual relaxation of
restrictions from April 27.
* A study of Dutch blood donors found that around 3% have
developed antibodies against the virus, an indication of what
percentage of the population may have already had the disease.
All non-essential traffic is prevented from entering small roads in the tulip fields as part of measures to enforce social distancing and curb the spread of the coronavirus in Lisse, Netherlands. Picture: Peter Dejong/AP
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China reported fewer imported cases on Thursday, but said
locally transmitted infections rose, with the capital Beijing
seeing new local cases for the first time in more than three
weeks.
* Japan's prime minister expanded a state of emergency to
include the entire country and said the government was
considering cash payouts for all.
* South Korea's ruling party won an absolute majority in
parliamentary elections in a landslide victory propelled by
successes in the country's efforts to contain the virus.
* India charged a Muslim leader with culpable homicide not
amounting to murder for holding a gathering last month that
authorities say led to a big jump in infections.
* Malaysia approved the use of antigen rapid test kits from
South Korea, as it looks to increase its testing among high-risk
groups and in places where clusters are detected.
* Indonesia expects the number of cases to peak between May and
June with around 95,000 infections, a government adviser said.
* Australia will retain curbs on public movement for at least
four more weeks, its prime minister said, dashing speculation
the sustained low growth in new cases could spur a quicker
return to normal.
* China said the WHO has said there is no evidence that the
virus was made in a lab, after US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo said Beijing "needs to come clean" on what they know.
A resident wearing a mask against coronavirus walks past government propaganda poster featuring Tiananmen Gate in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. Picture: Ng Han Guan/AP
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iran's official death toll reached 4,869 on Thursday but a
parliamentary report said the actual number could be much
higher.
* Oman locked down a textile market in a town popular with
tourists as the country reported more than 100 new infections to
take its count above 1,000.
* Six Gulf Arab states approved Kuwait's proposal for a common
network for food supply safety.
* The Kingdom of Eswatini recorded its first death on Thursday.
* South Africa will allow mines to operate at a capacity of 50%
during a nationwide lockdown.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Europe led world stock markets higher as tentative moves to
reopen parts of the some of its larger economies and a bounce in
oil offset some truly dismal global economic data.
* Hedge fund Elliott Management said global stocks could
ultimately lose half of their value from February's high,
according to a letter sent to clients.
* The United States opposes creation of liquidity through
issuance of the IMF's Special Drawing Rights as part of the
response to the pandemic, US treasury secretary said.
* The Federal Reserve's program to back emergency government
loans to small businesses is "fully operational," the central
bank said.
* Britain's economy looks set for a record contraction after
figures showed retail spending plunged by more than a quarter
and one in four firms stopped trading temporarily.
* The Philippine central bank cut its benchmark interest rate
for the third time this year, bringing it to a record low of
2.75%.
* China has not seen large-scale exodus of foreign capital amid
the outbreak, the commerce ministry said.
* Mexico's president said the government would provide an
additional one million loans to small businesses.
* Russia is set to spend more than 2 trillion roubles ($26.96
billion) on its anti-crisis programme.