Coronavirus - 23rd April

Summary for Thursday, 23rd April


Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. We're writing to you from Singapore, Sydney and Delhi this morning, and will be handing over to our colleagues in London later today. For now, here's what you need to know to get you caught up:

• China recorded 10 new virus cases on Thursday, down from 30 a day earlier. It extended its streak of reporting no new deaths on Thursday - leaving the death toll unchanged at 4,632.
  
• China has also dismissed the US state of Missouri's move to sue the Chinese government, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang saying it had no "legal or factual basis" and that it invited "ridicule".
  
• An autopsy in California revealed that the first US coronavirus-related death came in early February - weeks earlier than previously thought. The first previously known death in the US was in Seattle on 26 February.
  
• The UK will have to live with some disruptive social measures for at least the rest of the year, its chief medical adviser has said. Prof Chris Whitty said the ideal way out of this would be a "highly effective vaccine".
  

• There have been more than 2.6 million confirmed virus cases globally and 183,027 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.
  

China keeps virus deaths at zero

China continues to keep its number of new coronavirus deaths at zero for a sixth consecutive day, official data shows.
The country reported 10 new positive tests for the past day, down from 30 the previous day. The number of imported cases - travellers returning from overseas - declined, down to six from 23 the day before.
China counts the number of asymptomatic patients in a separate tally and that number also declined, to 27 from 42 the previous day.
China's virus data is difficult to verify and has been called into question by some observers who suggest Beijing is trying to keep the numbers low to maintain its narrative that it has the virus under control.
Read more on that here: Why China's claims of virus success raise eyebrows

What’s happening in Australia?

Australia's government is on the front foot with the US in pushing for an investigation into the virus's origins and World Health Organization's response.
On Wednesday, PM Scott Morrison said he'd had phone calls with US President Trump about the need to "improve the transparency and effectiveness of international responses to pandemics", plus the French and German leaders on the need for international co-operation.
However the European nations say it's too early to focus efforts on blame while they're still fighting the disease.
Meanwhile, China has criticised Canberra as being a mere mouthpiece for Washington's attacks on Beijing.
Australia recorded just seven new cases overnight - further solidifying the infection rate's drop to under 1% from 25% in mid-March.

What's happening in Asia?

As a new working day gets underway in Asia, here's a glance at what's happening across the region:

• At least 48 people onboard an Italian cruise ship which is docked for repairs in the Japanese port city of Nagasaki have tested positive for the virus, says an NHK report. There are 623 crew members onboard and no passengers, say officials.
  
• A citizen journalist who went missing earlier in February in the Chinese city of Wuhan has now re-appeared. Li Zehua posted a video on Twitter saying he had been detained by police and put into quarantine for visiting "sensitive areas".
  
• A Japanese care home for infants has found eight cases of infection amongst its children. One staff member had earlier tested positive for the virus.
  
• A US cyber security firm has accused hackers they say are working on behalf of the Vietnamese government of attempting to break into Chinese state organisations. FireEye said the group had tried to hack into the email accounts of government officials in Wuhan. Vietnam has not responded.
  

Singapore's migrant workers 'living in fear'

A rising wave of infections among Singapore’s massive migrant worker population threatens to derail the city-state’s success in fighting the coronavirus.
About 80% of all cases in Singapore have been linked to the dormitories where low paid migrant workers from South Asia are housed.
Singapore has now sealed off multiple dormitories, as the government carries out extensive testing and tries to move healthy workers out, but questions are being raised about why more wasn't done to protect them.
People living in the dorms told the BBC they were scared about getting ill, and about what the future holds for them.

New Zealand reports two new deaths

The two new Covid-19 related deaths reported in New Zealand today bring the country's total fatalities to 16.
One of the deaths was a woman in her 60s in Dunedin, whose condition had been reported as stable earlier this week. Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield apologised to her family for confusion over her status.
The other person who died, a man in his 70s in Christchurch, had tested negative but officials have determined he was considered a probable case.
New Zealand enacted a full shutdown of public life last month, before its first death was recorded. It plans to move into a lighter lockdown next week after managing to contain the virus's spread.
Read more on their success here.

One month old baby recovers from virus

Some good news for today.
A one-month-old baby - the youngest coronavirus patient in Thailand - has now recovered.
Doctors used four antiviral drugs to cure the baby, said a Reuters report quoting the paediatrician who treated him.
"The strategy used to treat this child was to give him medication for 10 days. We conducted a health check on him every day and three to five days after that, his X-rays showed signs of gradual recovery," said Visal Moolasart of the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Bangkok.
There are currently 2,826 confirmed cases in Thailand and 49 deaths.

Ruby Princess to leave Australia

The source of the biggest outbreak in Australia - the scandal-ridden Ruby Princess cruise ship - will finally leave Australian waters today with a skeleton crew, and head to the Philippines to take them home.
The ship, which freely unloaded sick passengers in central Sydney last month, has been tied to 25 deaths and at least 700 infections, about 10% of all Australian cases.
A public inquiry into the disaster began yesterday with the ship's doctor testifying she was surprised the ship was cleared by officials when there was reported illness on board.

What happened on the Ruby Princess?

The Ruby Princess cruise ship docked in Sydney last month after a trip to New Zealand, letting 2,700 passengers disembark in the city centre despite reports of illness on board.
A day after this decision – four people who’d been on board tested positive for the virus, and now that number is upwards of 700. At least 25 deaths are also tied to the ship – making it the deadliest liner struck by the virus so far.
How did Australian authorities allow the ship to dock in Sydney?
That’s now the subject of several investigations including a New South Wales police probe and a special public inquiry, which kicked off yesterday.
Already it’s heard from the ship doctor and manager who said they were surprised state health officials gave the all-clear for passengers to get off. However NSW Health said they rated the ship as "low risk" based on the information the ship gave to them The inquiry is continuing.
The family of a US passenger who died last week is now suing the operator, Prince Cruise Lines, for alleged negligence.

Vietnam to ease lockdown measures

Vietnam is set to ease social distancing measures in the capital, Hanoi, and the commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City, as the rate of infection in the country slows down.
Stringent social distancing rules will be eased and non-essential services and businesses reopened from Thursday, subject to conditions, reported Vietnam's biggest daily Tuoi Tre.
It's a different story in other parts of Vietnam, however.  According to Tuoi Tre, authorities locked down a small Vietnamese town that sits on the border with China, after a local girl was found to have the virus.
The lockdown, which applies to around 7,600 people in Dong Van, will be maintained until further notice, said authorities.

South Korea continues to see few new cases

South Korea continues to keep its new infections in the single-digit range. Figures released on Thursday for the previous day showed only eight new positive tests, four of which were imported.
The death toll rose by two, taking it to 240.
South Korea was the first country outside of China that saw a large outbreak - in late February, the daily infections peaked at more than 900 cases.
Overall, there have been 10,702 confirmed infections although more than 8,000 of those have already recovered.

Two US pet cats test positive

Two cats in New York have become the first pets in the US to test positive for the virus.
But don't panic just yet - there is no evidence pets can spread the virus to humans, says the top US medical expert Dr Anthony Fauci.
It's believed the cats contracted the virus from infected people in their household or neighbourhoods, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The cats, which have mild respiratory illnesses, come from separate areas of New York.
They are expected to make a full recovery.
Here's a list of all the animals that we know have tested positive for the virus so far:

• Five tigers and three lions at the Bronx Zoo in New York, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society which runs the zoo
  
• A Pomeranian dog in Hong Kong, whose owner was infected with the virus. In February, the dog tested positive and was quarantined - later tests showed it was cleared of the virus and it was allowed to return home. However, it later died, though the cause of death remains unclear
  
• A second dog in Hong Kong also tested positive for the virus, a German Shepherd with an infected owner. It was later put into quarantine
  

Alleged health care worker attackers test positive

Five people who were accused of pelting stones at health workers in India's Uttar Pradesh state recently have tested positive for coronavirus.
Officials have now quarantined more than 70 police officers who may have come in contact with them.
The five are among 17 men who were arrested earlier this month in Moradabad district. The mob were trying to prevent healthcare workers from taking an infected patient to an isolation ward.
Police told local media that 73 officers have undergone tests so far.
Several healthcare workers in India have been attacked as they battle to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, the government passed a new law by which those who are found guilty of attacking doctors or health workers can be sentenced to up to seven years in jail.
The BBC earlier spoke to doctors from across the country who've been harassed and attacked - you can read their accounts here

Australian billionaire exempt from quarantine

Since late March, all Australians who return from overseas have been required to spend 14 days in quarantine in hotels - or almost all of them that is.
Billionaire and media mogul Kerry Stokes and his wife were given an exemption from these quarantine rules on medical grounds by Western Australian police, meaning they could self-isolate in their home rather than be shut up in a hotel room, say local media reports.
The couple had reportedly returned to Perth from the United States on their private jet two weeks ago.
WA Premier Mark McGowan had earlier said the quarantine rules applied "for all Australians".
However, according to Australia's Department of Health, it is possible for people to be granted a quarantine exemption on medical grounds on a case by case basis.

India reports second biggest daily spike as cases soar

With 1,486 new infections confirmed on Wednesday, India has seen its second sharpest daily spike.
The health ministry also said 49 people had died in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 681.
With the new cases, the total official tally in India has crossed 20,000 infections.
The sharpest spike yet was reported on Monday, when authorities said more than 1,500 people tested positive.
But there is also some good news. Officials have said that the doubling rate - the number of days it takes for infections to multiply by two - had increased to almost eight days, up from 3.4 days before the lockdown.

Four ways in which poorer economies will suffer

Economists around the globe are warning the fallout from the pandemic might be the worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Almost every country on the planet is being affected but developing economies might get hit hardest. They'll be affected in four distinctive ways:

• Commodity prices will fall and many developing nations are exporters of those
  
• International investment will fall, investors might even pull money out from developing nations
  
• Declining local currencies will make it harder to repay foreign debt if it was taken for instance in US dollars
  
• Overseas workers will be earning less, sending back fewer remittances to their families.
  

Click here to read the full story on this by the BBC's Andrew Walker.

Controversy over 'India's first virus fatality'

Soutik Biswas - India Correspondent

Siddiqui had spent a month in Jeddah with his younger son's family

Muhammad Husain Siddiqui's family do not believe he died of Covid-19. His family say he was fine, that he looked good after having spent a month with his younger son in Saudi Arabia.
But 10 days after returning, he was dead - India's first official Covid-19 fatality.
Anxious family members had ferried him between two cities and four hospitals - all had rejected him. He died on his way to the fifth, where he was declared "brought dead".
The day after Siddiqui died, authorities announced that he had tested positive for the virus.
"We still do not believe he died of Covid-19. We haven't even got the death certificate," his son, Ahmed Faisal Siddiqui, told me.
In many ways, the story of his father's death underlines the chaos and confusion often marring the treatment of Covid-19 patients in India.
Read the full story behind his death here.

Vietnam - South East Asia's success story

Jonathan Head - BBC South East Asia Correspondent
With no new cases in seven days the Vietnamese authorities have announced they will start easing the lockdown in most of the country from today. There have been only 268 confirmed infections and no deaths.
How did they do it?
Vietnam acted with speed when the first Covid-19 cases were reported in late January, stopping flights, closing the border with China, and launching a nationwide information campaign, with slick video messages and posters reminiscent of the heroic style used in the Vietnam War. It is a one-party, communist state with an efficient local administration and intrusive security apparatus, able to enforce quarantine even on entire districts to stop them spreading.
It has been unable to replicate the mass testing carried out by Germany and South Korea; its health system is poorly resourced, and would have been quickly overwhelmed by a more serious outbreak.
But Vietnam has shown that political will, a well-organised state and a compliant public have been sufficient to spare the country from the worst effects of the coronavirus.

Singaporeans navigate lockdown and lunches

Yvette Tan - Singapore
A Singapore man who broke quarantine orders to go out for dinner has received a six week jail sentence - making him the first in the country to be sentenced for a coronavirus-related offence.
Alan Tham ignored a 14 day Stay At Home order after he returned from Malaysia to go to a hawker centre for dinner as he had a craving for bak kut teh - a pork rib soup dish.
Much of Singapore eats its meals in hawker centres, or food courts, where dishes can be as cheap as S$2 ($1.40; £1.20).
But Singapore, which has more than 10,000 virus cases, is in a partial lockdown - which it refers to as a "circuit breaker". Only deliveries and takeaways are allowed for food, and many restaurants are serving their food on delivery apps.
But many of the small, specialist hawkers stalls are run by elderly Singaporeans who have no idea how to navigate these apps, or can't afford the fees.
One Facebook group however, is trying to remedy this. People have been actively posting in the Hawkers United 2020 group, bringing attention to hawkers who need help and posting phone numbers, so people can arrange for takeaway services.
It's hoped these measures will help hawkers stay afloat during these tough times.


A hawker complex in Singapore

Attempt to sue NZ PM over lockdown dismissed

A New Zealand man who tried to sue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern arguing he had been unlawfully detained by the lockdown has had his court case dismissed.
Everyone in New Zealand currently has to remain at home with the exception of essential movement, though some restrictions will be eased next week.
The man, who cannot be identified, asked for a writ of habeas corpus, which declares that someone's detention is unlawful.
Justice Mary Peters dismissed this, saying he did not consider the man and his family to be detained.
"In my view, the freedom to exercise whenever they wish, to go to the supermarket whenever they wish, to talk to whomever they wish, and to access the internet whenever they wish is quite different from being held in custody," she said, according to local media.
There are currently 1,112 confirmed cases in New Zealand and 16 deaths.

Coronavirus on cruise ships

Another 14 crew members on a cruise ship docked in Japan have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total to almost 50.
The Costa Atlantica arrived in Nagasaki in January for repairs, with more than 632 crew - but no passengers - on board. The crew come from 33 countries.
The Atlantica is the latest cruise ship to suffer a virus outbreak:

• The Diamond Princess was quarantined outside Yokohama in Japan in February, after an outbreak. More than 700 people on board caught the virus and 13 died.
  
• The Ruby Princess disembarked 2,700 passengers in downtown Sydney in March. More than 600 cases and 21 deaths are linked to the cruise, and police are investigating.
  
• The Grand Princess, which was kept at sea before docking in California in March, had more than 100 cases, with at least two deaths.
  
• On the Greg Mortimer, which was due to cruise the Antarctic, more than half of the 217 passengers and crew tested positive, but no deaths have been reported.
  

There are no cruise ships still carrying passengers. Here's our report on "the last cruise ship on Earth", which finally arrived home on Monday.

China faces a growing international backlash

Robin Brant - BBC News, Shanghai
Australia’s relationship with China post-virus is evolving, to put it politely.
It will be further strained by calls from the Prime Minister Scott Morrison for all members of the WHO to co-operate with an independent inquiry into the spread of the virus.
Add to that a push by his agriculture minister for members of the G20 group of advanced economies - which includes China - to ban wildlife markets (one of which in Wuhan is where the virus is thought to have emerged).
This looks like a concerted push back against Beijing. The criticism has been coming thick and fast this week from London, Paris and Washington. The UK’s Foreign Secretary said there could be no "business as usual" with China now.
After Donald Trump turned his fire on the WHO, stopping US funding of the world’s health policeman claiming it was soft on China, the pressure is undeniably mounting.

Australia urges G20 action on wildlife wet markets

Most "wet markets", such as this one selling prawns in Wuhan, do not sell wildlife

More now on the growing pressure on China to rein in its markets, with the Australian government calling for G20 countries to take action on wildlife wet markets.
Australia is not yet calling for a ban - but says its own advisers believe they may need to be "phased out".
"Wet markets" are simply marketplaces that sell fresh food such as meat, fish, fruit and vegetables. A small number also sell wildlife - and it's thought the coronavirus may have emerged at a wet market in Wuhan that sold live "exotic" animals.
"A wet market, like the Sydney fish market, is perfectly safe," said Agriculture Minister David Littleproud.
"But when you add wildlife, live wildlife, exotic wildlife - that opens up human risk and biosecurity risk to the extent we have seen.
"And in fact, China themselves reported this to the World Organization for Animal Health, that that was the cause of Covid-19."
Read more here.

Nothing will be normal as China moves forward

Robin Brant - BBC News, Shanghai
Despite all the criticism it's facing, China is focused on continued containment - as well as putting out the message that their approach has been a success.
The Lancet medical journal praised it as "impressive" and "encouraging" for other countries, while repeating claims that China’s true number of Covid-19 cases early on was much higher than reported, because of its early strict criteria for diagnosis.
But the virus is re-emerging in parts of the north, where the city of Harbin is under restrictions. One hospital there has closed after an 87-year-old man who had visited was diagnosed with the virus - he’d unknowingly infected 78 other people.
With the impact on China’s economy laid bare by last week’s GDP figures the push to get back to business continues.
But nothing will be be normal. Schools in Shanghai are set to start re-opening next week but some teachers have already been told that they will be required to abide by certain safety measures, such as compulsory masks indoors.

Indonesia's Aceh allows Ramadan mass prayer

Resty Woro Yuniar - BBC News, Jakarta


Muslims in Indonesia’s northernmost province, Aceh, held a mass tarawih - the nightly prayer for the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan - at some mosques last night, defying the government’s advice to forgo mass prayers this year.
Indonesia's country’s religious minister earlier this month issued a guidance on praying during Ramadan - which begins this evening - in which he urged Muslims to pray at home and minimise activities at the mosques.
However in Aceh - the only province in Indonesia that implements sharia law - the grand mosque will still allow mass tarawih prayers as long as people wear masks and bring their own prayer mats.
“Muslims can still do tarawih prayers at the mosques as usual, but we hope that they pay attention to their health by wearing masks,” says Tengku Faisal Asli, vice chairman at Aceh Ulama Consultative Assembly, according to news agency Antara.
Indonesia registered 7,418 positive coronavirus cases as of Wednesday and 635 deaths have been linked to the virus.

UK Thursday morning update

If you're just waking up in the UK, good morning. Here are the latest UK headlines:

• Some 20,000 households in England will be contacted to take part in a study to try and track and trace coronavirus
  
• The earliest "realistic" date the headteachers can see schools re-opening is 1 June, after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said no date had been set
  
• Our health correspondent, Nick Triggle, has tried to explain what has gone wrong with the UK's supply of personal protective equipment (PPE).
  

And for something lighter: winning a big jackpot is a dream for a lot of people but lottery winner Ryan Hoyle has had to celebrate his big win... with social distancing in place.

What has gone wrong with PPE?

The lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) has become one of the defining stories of the UK's battle with coronavirus.
The British Medical Association has said doctors on the frontline are "frightened" and being left with difficult choices about whether to risk their lives by treating patients because of a lack of kit.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has described the approach to care homes as "shambolic" as staff have struggled to get hold of the aprons, gloves and goggles needed.
What has gone wrong? Read more here.

Why are international comparisons difficult?

Everyone wants to know how well their country is tackling coronavirus, compared with others.
But it is not always that simple. For example, the US has the most coronavirus deaths in the world. But it only has about half the total of the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain combined - despite having a similar population.
Some countries are also testing a bigger range of people than others.
What else don't the individual statistics tell us? Read more here.

When will we have a vaccine?

About 80 groups around the world are researching coronavirus vaccines and some are now entering clinical trials.
A vaccine would normally take years or decades to develop.
But most experts think a vaccine is likely to become available by mid-2021, about 12-18 months after the new virus, known officially as Sars-CoV-2, first emerged.
However there are no guarantees it will work.
Read more about the hunt for a vaccine here.

UK social restrictions 'to remain for rest of year'

Some social restrictions are expected to remain in the UK for at least the rest of the year, the government's chief medical adviser has said.
Prof Chris Whitty said it was "wholly unrealistic" to expect life would suddenly return to normal soon.
He said the ideal way out would be via a "highly effective vaccine" or treatment drugs but said the chances of having these within the next year was "incredibly small".
"This disease is not going to be eradicated, it is not going to disappear," he said, at the government's daily coronavirus briefing.
"So we have to accept that we are working with a disease that we are going to be with globally... for the foreseeable future."
Read more on this here.

Ramadan warning for mosques

Leading doctors in Pakistan have urged officials and clerics to reverse their decision to allow prayers at mosques during Ramadan, as it could instigate a spread that would be hard to control.
“Unfortunately, our rulers have made a wrong decision; our clerics have shown a non-serious attitude,” Dr Qaiser Sajjad of the Pakistan Medical Association said.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan tested negative for coronavirus, which has infected more than 10,000 and killed 212 people in the country.
Here's news from the rest of South Asia:

• Amnesty has called on Bangladesh to again rescue 500 Rohingya refugees stranded in the Bay of Bengal. Earlier this month, the country took in hundreds of starving refugees drifting at sea
  
• Nepal's prime minister thanked India for supplying it with 23 tonnes of essential medicine as cases rise to 45
  
• Following a sudden spike of 41 cases earlier this week, Sri Lanka has dropped its plan to ease lockdown rules, and has extended it to 27 April
  

Fears for children as parents avoid hospitals

The health of children could be put at risk as parents avoid hospitals during the virus outbreak, doctors have warned.
The number admitted to Wales' biggest children's hospital has fallen by about 75%, compared to last year.
Doctors say potentially life-threatening conditions like meningitis may be missed if parents do not seek help.
"We are anxious other conditions that need urgent treatment including meningitis and sepsis are not being missed and want to reassure parents that children's departments are open and are safe," said Dr Jennifer Evans, a paediatric consultant at the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital.
Here's what one parent had to say.

EU to sign off huge rescue package

European Union leaders are expected to sign off on a huge rescue package for countries hardest-hit by the coronavirus crisis when they hold a video conference later on Thursday.
The 500bn euro (£438bn) package was agreed after bitter debate between richer countries in the north of the EU, and weaker economies in the south which have suffered most from the pandemic.

Schools in England could reopen by 1 June

The earliest "realistic" point by which schools in England could re-open is 1 June, head teachers' leader Geoff Barton has said.
"We cannot see any realistic way that schools could be reopened to more pupils before the second half of the summer term," he said.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said no date has been set.
He said if and when five thresholds in the fight against coronavirus were reached, a date could be agreed for schools to reopen. These are:

• The NHS's ability to cope is fully protected
  
• Daily death rate dropping
  
• Infection rates falling to manageable levels
  
• There are sufficient supplies of testing and protective equipment
  
• There is no risk of a "second peak" of infections
  

Read more about what it would take for schools to re-open here.

The latest world headlines

There are now more than 2.6m cases and 180,000 deaths worldwide

• US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to temporarily suspend the approval of some immigration green cards - a measure he says will protect American workers' jobs during the outbreak
  
• European Union leaders will meet today for a video summit, where they are expected to sign off on a new emergency fund to help the most affected sectors and regions
  

• Vietnam started to ease coronavirus social distancing measures on Thursday. With only 284 recorded virus cases, the country has been seen as a model for how low-income nations can contain the disease
  
• The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against complacency in the fight against coronavirus, saying the disease "will be with us for a long time"
  

Why fractious EU still believes together is better

Katya Adler - Europe Editor

EU summits involving national leaders have become complex video conferences

As we said earlier, EU leaders are due to meet by video conference for a summit on Thursday afternoon.
They're expected to sign off on a new €540bn (£470bn; $575bn) emergency fund to protect European workers, businesses and countries worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
The fund was difficult to agree between member states, but they got there in the end. After considerable push and pull, plus a dramatic intervention by French President Emmanuel Macron, who threatened the end of the EU if agreement wasn't found.
Brussels boasts that, in addition to the fund, EU members have been sharing protective medical equipment and specialist medical teams with one another. In some cases, they've also been treating each other's patients.
The leaders are also expected to approve common measures for gradually lifting coronavirus restrictions. This does not mean co-ordinating an EU-wide end of the lockdown. Each country has its own health service, with different infection patterns and different curbs in place.
Read more here.

Northern Ireland lockdown could end at different time

Northern Ireland may emerge from coronavirus restrictions at a different pace than other parts of the UK, First Minister Arlene Foster says.
She said measures would be eased when scientific and public health criteria were met, regardless of timetables or dates.
Read more here.

Stricken Ruby Princess leaves Australia

Virus-hit cruise the Ruby Princess has now left Australian waters, five weeks after it first docked in Sydney.
It was given a "water salute" as it left Pork Kembla, south of Sydney. A spokesman from the cruise operator Carnival Australia, told the Guardian newspaper that the ship was headed to the Philippines.
The ship has been Australia's largest source of infections after thousands of passengers were allowed to disembark with no health checks, despite the fact that around a dozen passengers reported feeling sick and had swabs taken for Covid-19.
The other passengers on board weren't told of this.
The ship has been linked to more than 600 confirmed cases in Australia and 21 deaths.
Read more about the cruise ship debacle here.

Merkel: 'Clever, cautious' approach needed

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged the nation to remain "clever and cautious" in handling the next phase of the coronavirus epidemic.
Speaking in parliament, she said "it's not the end phase but still just the beginning. We will be with it for a long time".
She said "I know how difficult the restrictions are, it’s a challenge to democracy, it limits our democratic rights". But she said democratic transparency, such as a free press, helped to make the situation tolerable.
"It's amazing how much understanding people have shown for each other," she said. MPs frequently applauded her.

German death toll edges past 5,000

Germany's confirmed virus cases have increased by 2,352 to 148,046, officials said on Thursday. The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 has risen by 215 to now 5,094.

Merkel urges European cohesion

Chancellor Merkel has been widely praised in this crisis

Chancellor Merkel said controlling the virus was a huge challenge for the cohesion of Europe.
"It's the biggest challenge since World War Two, for the life and health of our people," she told the Bundestag - the lower house of parliament.
Later on Thursday she will join other EU leaders in a video conference on the crisis.
She said that by continuing "with maximum discipline, we can get back to living in security faster". She warned that such discipline was needed to avoid stop-start lockdowns.
"We must not waste what has been achieved already," she said, praising the efficiency of Germany's healthcare system and the armed forces' assistance in the national effort.
Her government's decisions in this crisis "have no historical model", she said.
"The question of how we can prevent the virus from overwhelming our health system and subsequently costing the lives of countless people, this question will for a long time be the central question for politics in Germany and Europe."
She said Europe must strengthen its capacity to produce specialised medical kit, instead of depending on global supplies, which are now very stretched.

Florida police pay heartfelt tribute to health workers

Members of the Fort Myers Police Department in Florida came up with this novel way of thanking the health workers battling coronavirus in the US.
They made a heart out of police cars in a local hospital car park to show their appreciation.

Germany agrees more economic aid

Germany on Thursday agreed on a further aid package to help its economy weather the coronavirus crisis. The extra 10.8bn euros (£9.4bn, $11.7bn) are to go to tax cuts for businesses and additional employment benefits for workers. Families will also get help to buy computers for children studying from home.
Workers staying at home due to the lockdown will now receive 70-77% of their net salary from the fourth month of unemployment, a 10% increase over what they got for the first three months. From the seventh month, they will receive 80-87%.
The additional package comes as Germany takes its first steps to reopen the economy after the government said the pandemic was being brought under control.

UK warned against coming out of lockdown 'too early'

Some Conservative MPs have been raising concerns about the impact of the UK lockdown on businesses.
One of them, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the UK needed to start a discussion "about how we get back to normality" or some businesses would have to cease trading.
In response, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said while some businesses were able to reopen with social distancing measures in place, the best way to protect the public and the NHS was to stay at home as much as possible.
“One of the most damaging things for our economy would be if we came out of lockdown too early," he said, adding that this would risk a second peak.

German football league may resume next month

Germany's Bundesliga could take a step closer to becoming the first major football league to resume.
The German Football League is meeting at 10:00 BST (09:00 GMT) to discuss Germany's top two divisions returning on either 9 or 16 May.
Final approval would be needed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders on 30 April.
The Belarus Premier League is the only one in Europe which has not been stopped because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, European football's governing body Uefa is expected to announce today how teams can qualify for next season's European competitions if domestic leagues are cancelled.

French clashes this week unlike 2005 riots - minister

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner does not think this week's outbreak of violent clashes in French housing estates will result in scenes similar to the 2005 riots that broke out throughout the country.
"We are not in this sort of scenario," he told BFM TV.
Current coronavirus-related restrictions have exacerbated tensions in low-income neighbourhoods around the capital.
The 2005 unrest - sparked by the death of two youths who were fleeing police in a northern Paris suburb - lasted three weeks.
Here's a reminder of those riots.

Citizen journalist reappears in Wuhan

A citizen journalist who disappeared after reporting from Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus outbreak started, has resurfaced after an absence of almost two months.
Li Zehua last broadcast on 26 February, in a video that appeared to show him being chased and detained by police.
In a new video on YouTube, he said he'd been away in "quarantine" during this time.

• Read more about Li Zehua
  

Finland's PM in virus isolation

Tom Bateman - BBC News, in Helsinki


Ms Marin appeared at a government press conference yesterday

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin is self-isolating after a person working at her official residence came into close contact with a confirmed coronavirus case.
An official statement from her office said the prime minister had been tested for the virus and was showing no symptoms.
The 34-year old gained worldwide attention after she became the world's youngest sitting head of government, taking office in December last year.

2.8 million workers furloughed - UK business secretary

As of 16:00 BST on Wednesday, 2.8 million workers have been placed on the government's furlough scheme, Business Secretary Alok Sharma says.
Speaking to MPs on the Commons Business Committee, he said there had been 387,000 applications to the scheme, through which the government pays 80% of employees’ wages who have been placed on a leave of absence because of the pandemic.
He also gave an update on the government’s loan scheme, saying around 38,000 businesses had applied for finance, with 16,600 securing loans worth a total of £2.8bn.

Spanish death toll tops 22,000

Spain's virus death toll has passed the 22,000 mark in the third slight daily rise, the country's health ministry says.
Some 440 people had died from the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, which brought total fatalities to 22,157, it added.

Latest from around Europe

Germany's Angela Merkel has said the government is prepared to make "significantly higher" contributions to the EU budget. The extra money will help the 27-member bloc respond to the coronavirus pandemic, among others. What else is happening around the continent?

• EU leaders meet via video from 13:00 GMT on Thursday and are set to sign off a €540bn (£470bn; $575bn) emergency fund to protect European workers, businesses and those countries worst hit by the outbreak.
  
• Bosnia-Herzegovina is one of the few countries that has stopped children going outside, Now its top court says measures restricting freedom of movement for children and pensioners are unconstitutional. Authorities have five days to lift them
  
• Spain has seen a slight rise in fatalities - 440 in the past 24 hours - bringing the national toll to 22,157. Another 4,635 infection cases have been reported
  
• Belgium has reported another 230 deaths in the past 24 hours, mostly in care homes. The number of people in intensive care has fallen below 1,000
  
• Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has begun working from home because an employee at her official residence came into contact with someone who had coronavirus . Ms Marin, 34, has a two-year-old daughter and has no symptoms herself
  

• Turkey has begun a four-day lockdown across 31 provinces. Some stores and workers are exempt from the curfew
  

B&Q reopens dozens of UK stores

B&Q has reopened dozens of UK stores - despite lockdown measures remaining in place.
The DIY group says it has brought in "social distancing controls", such as capping the number of customers inside every store.
Other UK firms, such as luxury carmaker Aston Martin and housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, have also said they will return to work in May.
B&Q had been closed since the government introduced its lockdown measures at the end of March - although hardware stores were included on the government's list of essential retailers that were allowed to trade under the restrictions.
Read more here.

Czech Republic to decide on next steps

The Czech Health Minister, Adam Vojtech, says the latest statistics show there was no significant bump in coronavirus cases over Easter.
The country has confirmed 7,132 cases and 208 deaths so far. It was feared they could reach 15,000 cases by the end of the month, but those estimates have now been revised down.
The director of the Institute for Health Information and Statistics, Ladislav Dusek, said that life in the country could gradually begin returning to normal.
Nine locations around the country have started mass antibody testing today, the BBC's Prague Correspondent Rob Cameron reports. Further information about the next steps will emerge later, he adds.
The government is meeting today to discuss whether to extend a state of emergency into next month and how and when to re-open the country's borders.

Does reading help you get through lockdown?

Some people in the UK are turning to books to help them get through the lockdown, according to a new survey by The Reading Agency.
New figures, released on Thursday, suggest almost a third of people are reading more since lockdown restrictions were imposed last month. This number rises to almost half (45%) in young people aged between 18-24.
Many of those surveyed cited reading as a form of release, escapism or distraction during these uncertain times.
The survey was released for World Book Night and you can read more about it here.

Wearing masks 'makes sense' in some cases - GP leader

The UK government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) is expected to meet later to discuss whether the public should wear face masks.
Prof Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier that while there was no evidence to support wearing masks if you were fit and well, "it makes complete sense" if you were "coughing and spluttering" in order to protect other people.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says masks are useful in some settings, including when worn by those who are ill. However, it says "the wide use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence" and medical-grade face masks should be reserved for health care workers.
This is the position currently adopted by the UK and this morning Northern Ireland Secretary told BBC Breakfast no decision had been made on masks yet.
You can read more about the evidence on wearing masks here.

UK business secretary admits need for more loans

UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma has been speaking to the Commons Business Select Committee this morning. Here are some of the lines to emerge so far:

• Pressed on why other countries had given out more loans to businesses, Mr Sharma said it was important to look at the “totality” of the support the UK was offering, but acknowledged the need to “get more loans out there”
  
• He also said he would look into introducing temporary measures to ease commercial rent demand within the next week, aware that some landlords were “putting undue financial pressure with aggressive debt recovery tactics"
  
• Following reports some pregnant women had been dismissed or asked to take unpaid leave because of the pandemic, Mr Sharma said guidance was clear that they could be furloughed and, if they met the criteria, “there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be”
  

UK garden centres ‘still have plants to sell’

Angie Brown - BBC Scotland news reporter
Garden centres across the UK say they still have plants waiting to be sold, despite the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.
The industry warned last month that millions of plants may have to be thrown away after centres were forced to close.
But Matthew Bailey, general manager of Mortonhall Garden Centre in Edinburgh, said it was "ready to go" if the rules were relaxed.
And he stressed they had not been forced to destroy all their stock.
"We did give hundreds of flowering house plants away when the lockdown was announced to hospitals because we wanted them to be seen while they were flowering - but we still have thousands more high quality plants left," he said. Staff had continued to water, feed and tend to their plants.
Mortonhall is part of the Klondyke chain of family-run garden centres across Britain.
Read more

Merchant sailors - the pandemic's unsung victims

Joshua Cheetham - BBC World Online
An estimated 150,000 merchant sailors are currently stranded at sea - unable to leave because of travel restrictions, even though their contracts may have expired.
Rajnish Shah captains a bulk carrier docked in Chittagong, Bangladesh. He had planned to return to India after finishing a four-month contract. He's been aboard for eight months now - some crew have been there a whole year.
“As a Master I need to be in control of this situation, but as a father and husband I’m worried and sad,” he told the BBC.
Shipping firms insist they are taking steps to support sailors, but some groups say they're not doing enough.
“This is not the time to throw away hard-won and hard-fought-for civil, human rights, labour rights,” says David Hammond, the head of charity Human Rights at Sea. “We need to protect [seafarers] because they are ultimately keeping the world fed and supported.”

Flight for Britons stranded in Fiji

The UK government is arranging a special charter flight to Australia for around 40 British travellers stranded in Fiji.
The flight will depart from Nadi for Melbourne on 29 April, where passengers will be able to access a commercial flight to London. Spare seats on the flight will be offered to EU nationals who wish to return to their countries of residence.
There are currently no commercial flight options from Fiji - which has also been hit by Cyclone Harold this month - and the government is urging all British travellers who want to return home to book on the flight at the Fiji Travel Advice page.
The government has helped more than 1.3 million Britons fly back to the UK so far but tens of thousands are still stranded, the head of the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.

Latin America update: Amnesty for at-risk prisoners

Mexico's economy in the doldrums and some children return to school in Uruguay - here's the latest on the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America.

• Peru is going to release about 3,000 prisoners who are most at risk of contracting coronavirus. The justice minister said pregnant inmates, those with children and those 70 and older would be among those given an amnesty
  
• Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Mexico have passed the 10,000 mark. Mexico's president says he will increase spending on social programmes and infrastructure projects by more than $25.6bn (£20.7bn) with the economy expected to contract by as much as 10% this year
  
• In Uruguay, hundreds of primary schools have reopened after staying closed for five weeks. But it is up to parents to decide whether they want to send their children back to school.
  

Empty middle seat is idiotic, says Ryanair boss

The boss of Ryanair says the budget airline will not resume flights if it has to keep middle seats empty to fight Covid-19, calling the idea "idiotic".
Michael O'Leary said empty seats didn't ensure safe social distancing and were financially unviable.
You might remember that easyJet, Emirates and Delta in the US have all said they plan to keep middle seats empty.
But Mr O'Leary said that if the Irish government imposed it as a rule, it would have to pay for the middle seat "or we won't fly".
Read his comments in full here.

Scientific answers will take time

Norman Smith - Assistant political editor
The UK government is looking at setting up a tracking system to see how much of the population has had the virus, and what sort of immunity they have.
Around 300,000 people will be sent swab kits, and some may even be asked to do their own blood tests.
But this, like the hunt for a vaccine, is unlikely to bear fruit until next year. So the government is emphasising people need to continue with social distancing.
And piecing together the disparate advice on face masks, the general public are not being told to wear them. This might change for vulnerable groups and people who can't distance at work, but experts are currently more concerned that wearing a face mask could make people more relaxed about other, more important measures.

Children to be allowed to play outside in Spain

By the time children under 14 are allowed out of their homes again on Sunday, Spain's lockdown will have been in place for six weeks.
The government has now given details of how it'll work under a so-called 1-1-1 rule. Up to three children will be allowed out with one responsible adult for one hour and for up to 1km (0.6 miles) from their home.
Most families live in flats so for the 6.8 million children involved this is a big moment. They will be allowed to run or scoot, and play with a ball or other toys, between 09:00 and 21:00. But parks and playgrounds will stay out of bounds and social distancing will have to continue.
The government initially said children could only go to the shops with their parents but they relented when faced with a chorus of criticism and now say running, jumping and exercising will be allowed too.

People in care facilities need more protection - WHO

Some more quotes from Dr Hans Kluge, the World Health Organisation's regional director for Europe, who has said that almost half of the coronavirus deaths in Europe were residents in care facilities (see 11:14 entry).
Speaking at a news conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dr Kluge called for greater efforts to protect residents and said carers needed help and supplies.
He said: "Those dying in homes from Covid-19 have the right to be attended to and to receive end of life care including symptom relief with adequate medication surrounded by their loved ones.
"The dedicated, compassionate people working in long-term care facilities who are so often overstretched, underpaid and unprotected are the unsung heroes of this pandemic.
"We must do all we can to ensure those workers have personal protective equipment and other essential supplies to protect themselves and those they care for."

Dr Hans Kluge, the World Health Organisation's regional director for Europe

Arrogance will 'poison' cooperation - Chinese ambassador

China's ambassador to the UK says coronavirus "does not discriminate between races" and "blaming and scapegoating is futile" in the face of the current crisis.
Last month, US President Donald Trump was criticised for describing Covid-19 as the "Chinese virus".
Speaking at a news conference in London, Liu Xiaoming says: "Arrogance and insolence will only poison the cooperation between countries.
"It is against the human conscience to deliberately put various labels on a specific regime, and stigmatise a specific country.
"Such a move will only drive a wedge between countries, undermine international cooperation and harm the interests of all mankind."

58 more coronavirus deaths in Scotland

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirms that a further 58 people who have tested positive for coronavirus have died, taking the total number of deaths in Scotland to 1,120.
She extends her "deepest condolences" to those who have lost a loved one.

5,000 flowers for the NHS

A rainbow tribute to the NHS, made up of 5,000 flowers, has been organised by a team at University College London Hospital.
The original idea came from oncoplastic breast surgeon Cheryl Lobo, pictured below with the finished rainbow.

US attorney general compares shutdowns to 'house arrest'

In the United States, Attorney General William Barr has compared coronavirus shutdowns to "house arrest" and said the Justice Department could take legal action against states.
Speaking on radio programme The Hugh Hewitt Show, Barr said: "These are unprecedented burdens on civil liberties. The idea you have to stay in your house is disturbingly close to house arrest.
"We're looking carefully at a number of these rules and if we think one goes too far, we initially try to jawbone the governors into rolling them back or adjusting them. If they're not and people bring lawsuits, we [will] file statement of interest and side with the plaintiffs."
Barr's comments come after President Trump on Friday published a series of tweets calling for Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia to be "liberated". Protests have been held in those and other states with people pushing to end lockdown rules.
The United States has the highest number of coronavirus deaths of any country in the world, with more than 46,700 fatalities.

Lockdown is damaging economy, education and health - Sturgeon

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says the lockdown measures to contain the virus are doing damage to the economy, living standards, children's education and aspects of our physical and mental health.
Speaking at her daily briefing in Edinburgh, she says: "We cannot and we must not take our eye off the need to suppress the virus and minimise the damage that it does.
But she adds: "We must try to find a better balance than the one we have right now."
Sturgeon says the proposals she's publishing today are not a detailed plan of action but look in general at how to shift the balance between keeping necessary restrictions in place and re-establishing some sort of normality.

We are seeking to find a new normal - Sturgeon

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says "a return to normal as we knew it is not on the cards in the near future".
"What we will be seeking to do, is find a new normal. A way of living alongside this virus, but in a form that keeps it under control and stops it taking the toll that we know it can do." she says.
"Social distancing and limiting of contacts with others will be a fact of life for a long time to come, certainly until treatments and ultimately a vaccine offer different solutions.
"So that means possibly for the rest of this year, and maybe even beyond."

Women's Euro 2021 to take place in 2022

The women's football European Championship, which was due to take place next summer, has been moved to 6-31 July 2022.
The tournament - which will be held in England - would have clashed with the men's event which was delayed from this summer because of coronavirus.
The move also means it won't be played in the same summer as the Tokyo Olympics, which also has a women's football tournament.

Changes to social measures must be gradual - Sturgeon

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says changes to social measures aimed at containing the virus "will need to be careful, gradual, incremental and probably quite small to start with".
"We'll need to assess them in advance and monitor them in action - sometimes, as I said a moment ago, we may even have to reverse things," she says.
"I can't stand here and promise you that it's going to get a whole lot easier soon."
"But as I hope we have started to set out today, if we keep doing the right things and if we consider all of the options carefully and with the right objectives in mind, I do believe there will be a way through and we will find that way through."

Dutch death toll rises by 123

The death toll in the Netherlands has risen by 123 in the past 24 hours, reaching 4,177, officials say.
The country's Institute for Public Health (RIVM) says the number of infections increased by 887 to 35,729.

Latest from the UK

From discussions about whether the public should wear face masks to concerns about the impact of the lockdown on businesses - here are the latest coronavirus updates from the UK:

• 20,000 households in England are being contacted to take part in a study to track coronavirus in the general population
  
• The government’s scientific advisers are expected to present their findings to ministers later on whether the public should wear face masks
  
• A New Zealand nurse credited with helping to save Boris Johnson’s life has spoken about her experience of treating the prime minister for coronavirus
  
• The government is facing pressure to give businesses “hope” after a warning social distancing could last for the rest of the year
  
• It comes as the UK’s budget deficit is set to see “an absolutely colossal increase to a level not seen in peacetime”, according to the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies
  
• Prince Louis has been photographed making a colourful rainbow poster - a symbol of hope during the lockdown - to mark his second birthday
  

Round-up of Nicola Sturgeon's press conference

We've been hearing from Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon - who is still taking questions from the press.
She focused on how Scotland might begin to lift the lockdown, but said the country would have to be flexible and change course as we got more evidence. She committed to giving continued updates on the Scottish government's thinking.
She said the government wanted to find a better balance between the negative effects of severe lockdown and protecting people's health. But she said restrictions would not be changed until the exponential spread of the virus was definitely under control.
Parts of the lockdown would last for months, Ms Sturgeon warned. She said some form of shielding for vulnerable people was likely to continue for a while, and large gatherings would continue to be restricted longer than other activities. She suggested different groups of children were likely to return to school at different times.
Ms Sturgeon urged the public to continue with social distancing.

Communication differences within UK

Vicki Young - Chief Political Correspondent
The four nations of the UK have been working together on the coronavirus crisis, but there have been differences in communication.
The Scottish government wants to give people and businesses some hope about the ending of lockdown restrictions, but also give them a sense of reality that we will not be going back to normality any time soon.
But in setting out a communication strategy, and a strategy for ending complete lockdown, Ms Sturgeon may be setting down a challenge for the UK government.

'Some of us with health conditions get better'

"Getting coronavirus is not a death sentence for everybody with underlying health conditions."
That was the message from a man with chronic pancreatitis who has recovered from Covid-19 and spoke to BBC News earlier today.
"I was scared to sleep as I didn't know if I would wake up," he added.
"But some of us can get through this and that's what has been missed out - that little bit of glimmer of hope. If you can spread that message, it will give people a little bit more hope and a little bit more fight."

Is the UK government at risk of treating the public like children?

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is now taking questions from the press, after outlining her ideas on how to ease the coronavirus lockdown in Scotland.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg asks if, given Ms Sturgeon has announced today's proposals in order to keep the public "in the know", the UK government is risking treating the public like children if they do not do the same.
Ms Sturgeon says "we all have a responsibility and desire to be as open as we can be with the public".
"This is the start of a process, the start of a conversation. There is a lot more detail that lies ahead."
She adds: "There are no absolute rights and wrongs on this."

A further 4.4m Americans file for unemployment benefits

Latest figures show another 4.4 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the last week.
More than 20 million Americans had filed new claims for unemployment in the previous five weeks, while a $349bn loan programme for small businesses ran out of money within two weeks.
The new applications have brought the total number of jobless claims since mid-March to 26.4 million - more than 15% of the US workforce.

• Stories of unemployment, fear and hope in the US
  

Car production resumes

Volkswagen has restarted its plant in Zwickau in eastern Germany, after a five-week standstill. The group is building a fully electric car there, and says it still plans to launch the new model this summer.
Car makers including Renault and Daimler - the maker of Mercedes Benz - have announced plans to kick off production again. But others are holding off, with dealerships shuttered worldwide amid the lockdown measures

PM Johnson making calls and in touch with team

The UK prime minister's spokesman said he could not "give a timetable" for Boris Johnson's return to work, as he continues to recover from coronavirus.
The prime minister has been at his official country residence, Chequers, since leaving hospital.
He has been speaking to his No 10 team and receiving regular updates on the coronavirus response, the spokesman said, but "he is not doing government work".
Mr Johnson spoke to the Queen last night.

Traditional greeting a big talking point in China

Kerry Allen - BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst
The promotion of a traditional Chinese greeting as a way of encouraging people to think about social-distancing has been gripping Chinese social media users.
Tuesday's video of primary school students in the eastern city of Quzhou performing the “zuoyi” led to animated discussion online, and today, the Global Times newspaper notes officials in the city are also being required to use it at government meetings.
The “zuoyi” is a formal custom - people stretch their arms out in front of themselves, link their hands, and bow their head.
It is not without controversy, though, dating back from China’s imperial era thousands of years ago.

Jockey banned for headbutting rival and breaching Covid-19 rules

An Australian jockey has been banned for six months after headbutting a rival rider and breaching social distancing rules.
Luke Tarrant injured Larry Cassidy during an altercation after a race at Doomben, in the state of Queensland.
Racing in Australia has continued during the coronavirus pandemic, behind closed doors and with strict protocols.
A stewards' report said Tarrant's helmet "made contact with the nose" of Cassidy and caused him an injury.
More on this story here.

Coronavirus deaths in Wales reach 641

A further 17 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total number of deaths there to 641, Public Health Wales says.
A further 234 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 8,358.
Dr Robin Howe, from Public Health Wales, says: “Based on the new case numbers there is emerging evidence suggesting a levelling-off in the number of new cases of Covid-19 in Wales, which may be an indication of the effectiveness of lockdown measures.
“However, it is still too early to tell for sure, and it is too soon to end the current social distancing rules."

Coronavirus deaths in England rise to 16,786

NHS England has announced 514 new coronavirus-related hospital deaths, bringing the total number of reported deaths in hospitals in England to 16,786.
Patients were aged between 31 and 100 years old. Sixteen of the 514 patients (aged between 37 and 92 years old) had no known underlying health condition.

Former world youth champion ditches darts to double hours for NHS

Frank Keogh - BBC Sport


A former world youth darts champion has ditched the sport to help out during the coronavirus pandemic.
Keegan Brown had already been working part-time as a medical laboratory assistant despite turning professional.
Now the 27-year-old from the Isle of Wight has stepped up his shifts at the island's only hospital since the crisis started.
"For now my skills are required in the laboratory, not on the dartboard, so my focus is there," the world number 30 told BBC Sport.

Sweden sees spike and admits data error

Madelaine Savage - in Stockholm
Sweden has seen its confirmed cases of Covid-19 jump from 16,004 to 16,755. The rise was much larger than in recent days, during which Sweden’s Public Health Agency had been cautiously celebrating a flattening of cases.
The agency's deputy state epidemiologist Anders Wallensten said the majority of the new cases were in Stockholm. Increased testing of healthcare workers could be a factor, he said, but scientists were looking into other potential reasons.
The agency also adjusted an earlier estimation that one-third of Stockholm residents will have been infected by the virus by 1 May, which was featured in a report released by the agency earlier this week and withdrawn after officials admitted errors in calculations.
“I don’t think this should be looked upon as something that is representative of Swedish statistics in general,” Wallensten told the BBC from the news conference via video link. “It was a mistake, I think many people understand that we are working hard these days... unfortunately this was not spotted before it went out.”
He said it was “too early to say” how much of an impact asymptomatic infection rates and the subsequent potential for immunity would have on the potential to lift social-distancing recommendations in Sweden in the near future, in comparison to places which have endured stricter measures.
Unlike other countries Sweden has not implemented strict social distancing measures.

Bundesliga could return on 9 May

The return of German football's Bundesliga competition is currently being discussed at a news conference held by the governing body.
Christian Seifert, the CEO of the country's football league (DFL), had expressed hope that the league would be ready to return on 9 May with games played behind closed doors, although added that approval from politicians was required.
He said: "Games without spectators are not what we want - but at the moment are the only thing that seems feasible."

WHO issues malaria warning

Anne Soy - BBC News, Nairobi


The supply of nets, which are one way of preventing malaria, may be impeded during the pandemic

The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that the number of deaths from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa could double this year because of the pandemic.
A new modelling analysis by the organisation says nearly 760,000 people in the region could die from malaria in the region in 2020, if there is severe disruption to access to the medicine and insecticide-treated nets that help prevent malaria.
That, the WHO warns, could lead to a return to malaria mortality levels last seen 20 years ago.
At the best of times, African countries account for over 90% of more than 400,000 deaths from malaria recorded each year. But because of the pandemic, borders are closed, air travel is suspended and movement severely restricted in most countries.
The organisation is urging countries to use this time, when Covid-19 cases are still low in Africa, to increase the distribution of malaria prevention and treatment commodities.

No fast track to new normal - WHO

The World Health Organization has also been briefing about the "deeply concerning" coronavirus toll among care home residents across Europe.
"There is no fast track to the new normal" said Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, who warned the world would remain in "very turbulent water" for some time to come.

UK coronavirus deaths rise by 616

A total of 18,738 patients have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 17:00 BST on Wednesday, the Department of Health says, up by 616 from the previous day.
The figures do not include those who died in care homes or in the community.

The latest from the US

Readers just joining us from the US - here's what's been happening.

• Lawmakers in the House of Representatives will vote today on a fresh relief package worth $484bn (£390bn) - expanding loan funding for struggling small businesses
  

• Yesterday President Donald Trump signed an executive order to temporarily suspend the approval of some immigration green cards. He insists the move aims to protect American jobs, after more than 20 million filed for unemployment during the outbreak
  

• Dr Rick Bright, a senior health official who had been leading the US effort to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, has said he believes he was removed from his post after pushing back against recommending the use of a drug, hydroxychloroquine, to treat coronavirus because of the lack of scientific evidence. There has been no response from the administration of President Trump, who has often touted the drug as a "game changer"
  

• The total number of cases in the country is now above 840,000 with more than 46,700 deaths
  

Analysis: UK death figures suggest gradual decline from peak

Robert Cuffe - BBC head of statistics
Tuesday’s jump to 823 deaths reported in a day didn’t mean that the epidemic was growing again.
Today’s fall to 616 doesn’t mean that it’s disappearing rapidly.
The pattern in these data is still a gradual, bumpy decline from a peak of 980 on 10 April.
The peaks and troughs are exacerbated by reporting lags, especially at weekends.
The picture of decline is further supported by NHS England’s analysis of deaths on the day they actually occur – this shows a smooth rise to a peak in the week before Easter and a smoother, gradual decline since then.

UK government insists it is treating public as grown-ups

We heard from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon earlier who said Scotland was likely to face a phased relaxing of restrictions, adding that a "grown-up conversation" was needed around the situation.
When asked whether the UK government was treating people as grown-ups by not discussing more detail on possible lockdown exit strategies, the prime minister's official spokesman replied: "It is."
The spokesman insisted that the public was involved in discussions, saying "that is exactly what is happening" and he rejected suggestions that the five tests for easing restrictions were vague.
Here's more from our health correspondent Nick Triggle on the "five tests" the UK must meet before restrictions are eased, as set out by the government.

US air fares fall further, Europe and Asia bottom out

US air fares have fallen by nearly 40% and are continuing to decline, according to the Airbus risk-management subsidiary Skytra. It says airlines in the North America region have been offering big discounts on the services they are still running.
Average fares in the US-dominated region are now down 37.8% since 1 January, Skytra says.
Meanwhile, ticket pricing in Europe and Asia is bottoming out, with 20.7% and 13% year-to-date declines respectively. This is a slight improvement from a week earlier.

Uefa sticks with Euro 2020 in 2021

Uefa, European football's governing body, has decided to stick with the Euro 2020 branding of its flagship national competition which has been postponed until next summer.
It said: "A lot of branded material had already been produced by the time of the tournament’s postponement. A change to the name of the event would have meant the destruction and reproduction of such items."

The faces of America's 26 million unemployed

Helier Cheung - BBC News, Washington DC
The latest job loss figures in the US mean that 15% of the workforce have filed for unemployment.
It's a staggering statistic - and there's a human story behind each of the numbers too. Many Americans were in jobs that are normally considered secure - or lost jobs they had had for more than a decade.
Stanley Chen, for example, has worked as an automotive technician for more than 30 years. He was furloughed from his job in Texas this month, and his wife has been forced to shut her hair salon too.
He says: "This is the first time in my life in America that I've had no job. We don't really have enough right now - previously, we had another salon, and then Hurricane Harvey destroyed the area, so we lost a lot of money."
Read more: Stories of unemployment, fear and hope in the US

Liverpool mayor wants investigation into Atletico fixture

Dan Roan - BBC Sports editor
The mayor of Liverpool City Region has called for an investigation into whether a Champions League fixture should have taken place in the city in March amid concerns it could have led to a high number of local coronavirus cases.
Liverpool's match against Atletico Madrid at Anfield on 11 March was attended by 52,000 supporters, including 3,000 from the Spanish capital, where a partial lockdown was already in force.
The UK government has defended its decision to allow such events to go ahead before restrictions on mass gatherings were enforced 10 days later.
Mayor Steve Rotheram said: "If people have contracted coronavirus as a direct result of a sporting event that we believe shouldn't have taken place, well that is scandalous."
Read more here

Elizabeth Warren's brother dies of virus

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has revealed her older brother has died after contracting Covid-19.
In a series of tweets on Thursday, the former presidential hopeful paid tribute to the 86-year-old, as well as the staff who looked after him before his death.

  :tweet: :Left Quotes: Elizabeth Warren
My oldest brother, Don Reed, died from coronavirus on Tuesday evening. He joined the Air Force at 19 and spent his career in the military, including five and a half years off and on in combat in Vietnam. He was charming and funny, a natural leader.

US House debate $484bn aid package

Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have gathered to debate a new $484bn (£390bn) relief package meant to revive loan funding for small businesses and provide additional funds to hospitals and coronavirus testing.
The vote is expected at 13:30 EST (17:30 GMT).
It comes as the number of jobless claims filed by Americans since mid-March reach 26.4 million.

Royal Navy postpones sailing of aircraft carrier

Jonathan Beale - BBC defence correspondent


HMS Queen Elizabeth

The Royal Navy has postponed the sailing of its aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in order to carry out coronavirus testing of its 800 crew.
HMS Queen Elizabeth had been due to sail from Portsmouth on Tuesday without any of the crew being tested, but the Navy says extra capacity means all crew will now be screened for Covid-19.
The plan is to then "self isolate" at sea for two weeks to ensure there is no virus outbreak.

The UK picture

We should be hearing from the UK government in the next 30 minutes, but let’s take a look at the latest from the country first:

• Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set out a plan for a phased lifting of Scotland's lockdown, but she stressed it could change as evidence shifted
  
• The government is to ask 20,000 households in England to take part in a trial to track the spread of the virus and immunity levels
  
• The nurse who treated Boris Johnson said the prime minister was "just another patient"
  
• Tory MPs are pressuring the government to give "hope" to businesses on the end of the lockdown
  

Twins killed by pandemics 100 years apart

A 100-year-old man in the US has died of Covid-19 - more than a century after losing his twin brother to the 1918 flu pandemic, his grandson told CNN.
Philip and Samuel Kahn were born on5 December 1919. Samuel died of the flu just weeks later. The Spanish Flu is thought to have killed between 50-100 million people worldwide, and about 675,000 in the US.
Philip, a World War Two veteran, feared another pandemic would happen in his lifetime, his grandson Warren Zysman told CNN.
"I would have conversations with him and he would say to me, 'I told you history repeats itself, 100 years is not that long of a period of time.'"

103 UK healthcare workers believed to have died

Alex Murray
BBC News
Analysis by BBC News suggests some 103 healthcare workers are now believed to have died from coronavirus. 53 were men, 49 women.
Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people represent 65 of those deaths, where we have been able to establish ethnicity. 13 have been reported as Filipino.

• Are ethnic minorities being hit hardest by coronavirus?
  

We've been unable to verify whether these people tested positive for the virus. Instead, our information comes from public reports where the family or workplace have said their death was related to Covid-19.
Of the doctors who we believe were working in a hospital environment, all 16 were BAME and male, with a significant majority over 50.
Medical staff account for 22 deaths; nursing and midwifery 34 deaths; allied occupations 47 deaths.
It is unclear how many contracted the virus in the course of their work in the health sector.
Separate analysis by Health Service Journal suggest that the rate of death is "largely consistent with the number of healthcare workers in the population".

What did we learn from today's UK briefing?

The UK government briefing has now ended. Health Secretary Matt Hancock focused on testing, an issue where there has been significant criticism of the government.

• He said expanding capacity is now ahead of schedule, and stands at 51,000 today. He said any essential worker in England, and anyone in their household, can apply online for a test from tomorrow. Employers can also apply for tests for their staff. There will be mobile and home testing, in addition to testing at labs and hospitals.
  
• Prof John Newton, who is leading the testing effort, says testing has allowed two-thirds of isolating NHS staff who have had the test to return to work. He said the government is on track to reach its target of doing 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. But he emphasised that scientists are not sure how much immunity people acquire through having the disease.
  
• Mr Hancock said there will be a huge contact tracing effort, hiring 18,000 people to track who has had the virus and who they might have spread it to.
  
• Asked about pressure to set out how, not when, the lockdown could be listed, Mr Hancock did not give any details but said the "test, track and trace" strategy could eventually help the UK move to lighter restrictions.
  

UAE relaxes lockdown for month of Ramadan

Sameer Hashmi - Middle East Business Correspondent, BBC News
The UAE has announced it will be relaxing the 24-hour lockdown for the month of Ramadan. The new lockdown timings will be 10pm to 6am - allowing residents to step out during the day.
For the last three weeks, Dubai had imposed a strict lockdown, during which residents were asked to stay at home. The two main cities - Dubai and the capital Abu Dhabi - are also initiating a plan to reopen shopping malls soon.
They have issued a set of guidelines on the eve of Ramadan that include capping mall capacity to 30% and the management ensuring two-metre social distancing in all common areas. Visitors will be allowed to shop for a maximum of three hours and it will be mandatory to wear a mask at all times.
Restaurants will have to restrict seating capacity to 30% and maintain a distance of six feet between tables.The authorities in Dubai have also announced a plan that would allow residents to receive family members during Ramadan and leave home for “one outdoor activity" but the gathering cannot exceed 10 people.
Physical contact such as handshakes and hugging will be strictly prohibited during such gatherings, according to the guidelines issued. However, congressional prayers at mosques will still not be permitted across the UAE. Metro services in Dubai are also expected to start operations soon.
The UAE has reported 8,756 cases of Covid-19 and a total of 56 deaths.

'Vicious and dumb': New York governor lashes out at top Republican

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has hit back at Senate Leader Mitch McConnell for his suggestion that states declare bankruptcy, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to pummel local economies.
"This is one of the really dumb ideas of all time," Cuomo, a Democrat, said at his daily coronavirus briefing. "You want to see the market fall through the cellar? Let New York State declare bankruptcy."
McConnell - the top Republican in the US Congress - said this week that additional assistance for state governments should be "thoroughly evaluated", in a press release called "Stopping Blue State Bailouts" - referring to Democrat-leaning states.
"How ugly a thought," Cuomo said of McConnell's "obsessive political bias", before calling the senator "the self-proclaimed grim reaper".
New York State reported 438 deaths yesterday, continuing a gradual decline in its death toll. Nearly 20,000 people have died statewide since the outbreak began.
At Thursday's briefing, Cuomo also announced that the state would begin an investigation of nursing homes, to ensure they are following state guidance during the Covid-19 pandemic.

First patients injected in vaccine trial

Fergus Walsh - Medical correspondent
The first human trial in Europe of a coronavirus vaccine has begun in Oxford.
Two volunteers were injected - the first of more than 800 people recruited for the study.
Half will receive the Covid-19 vaccine, and half a control vaccine which protects against meningitis but not coronavirus.
The design of the trial means volunteers will not know which vaccine they are getting, though doctors will.
Read more about the trial here.

UK favourites to return for Big Night In

Sir Lenny Henry and Davina McCall are among the show's hosts

It's been a while since we saw favourites like Peter Kay, the Catherine Tate Show and Little Britain on all our television screens - but all three will return tonight for the BBC's Big Night In special.
The three-hour show aims to raise millions of pounds for vulnerable people around the UK who have been affected by the pandemic.
Children in Need and Comic Relief have joined forces for the first time for the event for UK viewers, which begins at 19:00 BST on BBC One.

• Read more about the charity show
  

Charter flights to bring 'thousands' more Britons home from India

The UK government has chartered 14 new flights to bring 3,600 more stranded British travellers back home, the Foreign Office says.
Once completed, these additional flights will bring the total number of people flown to the UK from India on government charter flights to more than 13,000, according to the department.
The flights, which leave from next week from Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Delhi, are for British nationals who normally reside in the UK and their direct dependants. Seats are only available for those who are already registered and on a waitlist.
More than 1.3 million travelling Britons have been helped to return to the UK on commercial flights - but "tens of thousands" are still stranded, officials said on Tuesday.

Moscow 'not even half way' towards peak infection rate

Sarah Rainsford - BBC Moscow Correspondent
The chief doctor at one of the main Moscow hospitals treating coronavirus cases has recorded a video of his ER department full of sedated patients hooked up to artificial ventilators, and warned that more people are being admitted to hospital requiring ventilation.
Dr Valery Vechorko said the hospital was seeing more 40-year-old patients in a serious condition. His comments came as the Moscow mayor said Russia’s capital was "not even half way" towards the peak infection rate, with a daily increase in cases at a pace that was "not dramatic", but persistent - from 8 to 15% daily.
Sergei Sobyanin said Moscow would be "fighting coronavirus" for several weeks. The assessment follows two days in which the total number of new infections in Russia has fallen slightly; a large percentage of the new cases are said to be asymptomatic – picked up through increased screening.
Moscow’s coronavirus headquarters says the number of patients has climbed significantly - 1,300 people were hospitalised daily last week, now 1,900. The mayor said the healthcare system was coping but the number of beds and medical staff would need to be increased.
"I ask everyone to treat this infection seriously," Dr Vechorko wrote on Facebook, urging people to stick to the strict lockdown rules that have been in place in Moscow since the end of March.
"Don’t try to treat yourselves, if you don’t want to end up on a ventilator!" he warned. His hospital is operating over its intended capacity - treating more than 1,000 Covid-19 cases, with 500 more in-patients suspected to have the illness and 81 on ventilators.

The latest from Asia

• A Chinese journalist has reappeared in a YouTube video almost two months after he went missing reporting in Wuhan - where the virus outbreak started
  
• China has pledged an additional $30m to the World Health Organization, one week after President Donald Trump suspended US funding of the body over its handling of coronavirus
  
• Indonesian transport officials have announced a temporary ban on some domestic and international air and sea travel to prevent further coronavirus spread
  
• Malaysian officials have extended curbs on travel and other restrictions for another two weeks to 12 May
  

Smog over Delhi vanishes during lockdown

The Indian capital is one of the world's most polluted cities but in lockdown the skies are strikingly clear.
The city experienced some of its worst days in history for pollution in November. But India has been under strict lockdown since March and experts say this closure of factories and airports has resulted in a dramatic reduction in smog.

What about testing key workers in rest of UK?

We've just heard Health Secretary Matt Hancock announce that all essential workers in England - and members of their households - are now eligible for coronavirus tests.
But what about other parts of the country?
Downing Street has clarified that it can only set the testing eligibility criteria for England and it's up to devolved administrations to decide what happens in the rest of the UK.
The Welsh government announced it was expanding testing to key workers, such as teachers and food delivery drivers, on Sunday.
Its online portal to book a slot at a testing site is expected to be available next week.
Meanwhile, Scotland is prioritising NHS staff but has yet to announce any expansion of testing to key workers.
Northern Ireland is expanding its testing programme to include frontline workers in the private sector who are delivering key medical, utility and food supplies.

UK applauds its key workers for a fifth time

For a fifth week in a row, people up and down the UK are applauding NHS staff and key workers.
Well-wishers have flocked to balconies, windows and doorsteps to make noise in appreciation for those on the frontline of the epidemic.

EU leaders agree huge rescue package

A plan for injecting billions of euros of emergency aid into Europe's struggling economies has been agreed by EU leaders.
At a video conference they agreed to set up a massive recovery fund, to be closely tied to the bloc's seven-year budget. The European Commission now has to work out the details.
They also confirmed that €540bn (£470bn) of financial support would be released through existing mechanisms, to ease the economic pain caused by coronavirus, from 1 June.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the future recovery fund would mobilise €1 trillion of investment.
There has been bitter argument over how to fund the much-needed aid. But Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said "great progress" had been made on Thursday.
Italy - the worst-affected country in Europe to date - has urged its EU partners, especially the richer countries of northern Europe, to show more solidarity.

South Africa to ease restrictions

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says some economic activity will be allowed to resume on 1 May, when the country will ease coronavirus restrictions.
However, he says the nation must avoid a rushed reopening of the economy which could trigger a spike in infections.

South Africa's 'cautious' easing of lockdown

More on South Africa's decision to ease some restrictions on 1 May (see our 20:17 post), after a five-week national lockdown.
In Thursday's televised address to the nation, President Ramaphosa said the country would begin a "gradual and phased recovery" through a "deliberate and cautious approach to the easing of current lockdown restrictions".
The president stressed that many restrictions would remain in place after 1 May:

• A ban on travelling between South Africa's provinces
  
• Borders to be kept shut
  
• No public gatherings except for funerals
  
• A ban on sports and cultural events
  

South Africa currently has 75 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths and nearly 4,000 infections.

UN agencies in joint shipping plea

Three UN bodies have made a joint appeal to governments to facilitate trade by ship during the pandemic.
The statement by the International Maritime Organization, the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization says that shipping and seafarers must be allowed to deliver vital goods.
It says restrictions on international traffic should be based on evidence and proportionate with the level of risk.
The statement says seafarers should have access to proper medical care, and calls for an easing of limits on the movement of doctors and ship inspectors.

Canada Post warns of delays amid 'Christmas season' volume

Stuck at home amid the virus outbreak, many Canadians are taking their shopping online. Canada Post says it is processing and delivering parcels at levels only experienced during the busiest weeks of the Christmas season.
On Monday, the national postal service delivered more than 1.8 million parcels to Canadians.
It is now warning of delays as the surge in demand collides with new safety measures meant to maintain social distancing within processing facilities.
Canada has now reported 2,220 coronavirus deaths. Confirmed cases have climbed to 42,560, with larger concentrations in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced a new $780m (£630m) strategy to fight the virus, with funds allocated to vaccine and treatment research, clinical trials and expanded testing.

UK care homes share concerns over testing availability

Lewis Goodall - Policy Editor, Newsnight
BBC Newsnight has spoken to care home managers who say that, despite government promises and assurances, testing facilities for their residents and staff are not available.
Today, Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock repeated the claim that, "we’ve already expanded the availability of testing in care homes including to asymptomatic residents and it’s a very important part of the testing programme".
But the manager of a care home with a resident who died from Covid-19 has been told in explicit terms by Public Health England, that they are not in a position to carry out testing on the five other patients who have developed symptoms.
Newsnight has also spoken to several workers in domiciliary care (those treating vulnerable people in their own homes) who say they are being offered very little Personal Protection Equipment at work.
For the full story, watch Newsnight at 22:45 BST on BBC Two.

Ousted US vaccine director 'to file whistleblower report'

Dr Rick Bright, the ousted head of a key US agency working on coronavirus vaccine efforts, will file a whistleblower's complaint, his lawyers say.
The complaint will show Dr Bright was sidelined solely "because he resisted efforts to provide unfettered access to potentially dangerous drugs, including chloroquine, a drug promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which is untested and possibly deadly," the lawyers said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
President Trump has often touted chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as possible treatments against Covid-19, though the World Health Organization and other experts have said there is no definitive evidence they work.
When asked about Dr Bright on Wednesday, President Trump said he'd never heard of him. On the claim he was driven out, the president said: "Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't."

What's happened in Europe today?

More than 110,000 coronavirus-related deaths have now been reported across Europe - here are the key developments in the past 24 hours:

• At a video-summit, EU leaders agreed a new €540bn (£470bn; $575bn) emergency fund to protect European workers, businesses and countries worst hit by the outbreak
  
• "Up to half" of deaths in Europe have been in care homes, the World Health Organization says
  
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel warns that "we'll have to live with this virus for a long time"
  
• The Czech Republic will end restrictions on free movement from Friday and allow groups of up to 10 people to meet in public, Health Minister Adam Vojtech says
  
• Italy reports 464 new deaths, but says the number of patients in intensive care has fallen
  
• In France, the death toll rises by 516 to 21,856 - but the number of intensive care patients also drops
  
• In Spain, a minister apologises to the country's children for confining them to their homes for weeks because of the outbreak
  

South Africa is tweaking lockdown, not ending it

Nomsa Maseko - BBC Africa, Johannesburg
The announcement that the sale of cigarettes will resume on 1 May has been welcomed by those who were angered by the prohibition since the lockdown began nearly a month ago. But many are still questioning the ban on alcohol sales which is still not allowed.
In essence, South Africa's lockdown has been extended indefinitely, with a few changes. The movement of people is still very much restricted - and it's now compulsory for people to wear masks in public areas. Some industries, particularly the manufacturing industry will benefit from the partial easing of the lockdown from next Friday. This is a very cautious approach which takes into consideration the need for the country’s economy to start working again.
President Ramaphosa took into consideration the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the country. Some restrictions will help to contain the virus and protect lives.

One in five New Yorkers may have had Covid-19

More than 21% of a sample of people in New York City tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies, according to preliminary test results announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday.
Of the approximately 1,300 residents tested for coronavirus antibodies, around one in five tested positive.
The findings are part of a statewide program that tested 3,000 residents over two days at grocery stores across New York. Of those sampled, 13.9% residents tested positive. An antibody test shows whether someone has already had the virus, not if they are currently infected.
"They had the virus, they developed the antibodies and they are now quote-unquote recovered," Cuomo said on Thursday.
"If the infection is 13.9% the death rate may be lower than some estimates," Cuomo added, but stressed that the findings were preliminary.

Mother dies of virus before meeting newborn son

Wogene Debele and her family

A Maryland mother was nine months pregnant with her third child when she contracted Covid-19. Wogene Debele gave birth to her baby boy three weeks ago, but was separated immediately from the newborn because of the virus.
Debele passed away this week from the infection.
Her death is a "great tragedy", said Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart. "This is a family that everyone in our community knew."
Stewart said that Debele's baby was now home with his father and siblings.
Friends of Debele have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help her family.
"Wogene was kind, joyful, and a source of strength to all who knew her," it says. "Please continue to keep this family in your prayers."

European Athletics Championships cancelled

The European Athletics Championships scheduled for Paris in August have been cancelled because of the pandemic.
The local organising committee and French athletics federation opted not to find a new date for the competition.

Stars and royals raise £27m on TV special

Prince William and Stephen Fry

More than £27.3m ($34m) was donated during the BBC's Big Night In charity telethon, which featured the stars of hit shows like Doctor Who, Little Britain and The Vicar of Dibley - as well as the Duke of Cambridge.
The money raised by the three-hour special will go towards vulnerable people around the UK whose lives have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The UK government has pledged to double the total.
After appearances by some of the UK's biggest names in comedy and music, the show concluded with the return of Little Britain after 10 years off screen.
Matt Lucas and David Walliams had to improvise with home-made costumes and wigs as they resurrected many of their most popular characters, such as Lou and Andy
Read the full story.

White House briefing coming up

President Donald Trump and the White House coronavirus task force are due to hold their daily press briefing within the next few minutes.
The news conference comes on the day it emerged another 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment last week.
That brings the total number of recorded jobless to over 26 million since the coronavirus pandemic locked down swathes of the country and ravaged its economy.
More than 856,000 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in the US and over 47,000 deaths, the most in the world, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Antiviral drug tests inconclusive

But the US company said in a statement that the study's results were "inconclusive" because it was terminated early due to "low enrolment".

Trump: 'We are very close to a vaccine'

Donald Trump says "we are very close to a vaccine", after noting vaccine trials taking place in the US, Germany, the United Kingdom and China.
"We have a lot of great, brilliant minds working on this," he says.
"Unfortunately we're not very close to testing because when testing starts it takes a period of time, but we'll get it done."
Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government's top infectious diseases expert, has previously said that a vaccine will likely take 12-18 months to be approved for widespread use. Most health experts also agree that it would take at least 12-18 months before a vaccine is ready.

Funeral livestream cancelled for man who disparaged lockdown

An Ohio family has cancelled plans to livestream the funeral of father-of-two John McDaniel, who died on 15 April after testing positive for Covid-19, after a deluge of backlash against his social media posts criticising stay-home orders.
In a statement, McDaniel's wife of more than 30 years, Lisa McDaniel, wrote that the livestream would be cancelled as "John's story, along with early assumptions that he stated on Twitter and Facebook had turned into national news".
"This news has opened flood gates for people to share their own misguided anger and unfounded assumptions about a man they don't know."
McDaniel's posts disparaged stay home mandates ordered by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and called the virus response "madness".
"As each day passes, we are all learning more about this 'invisible enemy,'" Lisa wrote. "We know if John was still here with us he would acknowledge the national crisis we are in, abide by the stay-at-home-order, and encourage family and friends to do the same."
In his obituary, McDaniel is described as an "outdoorsman", a loving father and husband, and an "ornery son-of-a-gun".

Mike Pence: Outbreak could be behind us by summer

Taking the stage after Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence says the data continues to show "promising signs of progress" in the US fight against coronavirus.
Major virus hotspots including the New York Metro Area, New Jersey, Connecticut, Detroit and New Orleans "all appear to be past their peak", Pence says.
"Our only conclusion is that we're getting there, America," he adds.
"If we continue these mitigation efforts in the days ahead... we do believe by early summer we could be in a much better place as a nation, with much of this coronavirus epidemic behind us."
He says 16 states have released formal reopening plans so far.

Pence: 4.93m tests conducted across US

Vice-President Mike Pence says that 4.93 million coronavirus tests have been completed across the US, adding that commercial labs surpassed 100,000 tests yesterday.
Pence says that he is "encouraged" by states' "phased approach" to reopening their economies.
"We're slowing the spread, we're protecting the most vulnerable, we're saving lives and every single day we are one day closer to opening up America again," Pence says.

US Congress passes $484bn relief package

Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives has voted 388-5 to pass a $484bn (£390bn) emergency aid bill meant to replenish depleted relief programs for small businesses.
The bill, passed by the Senate earlier this week, will also provide funding for hospitals and coronavirus testing. It will not provide money to state governments.
Lawmakers donned face masks and maintained social distancing as they assembled in the Capitol today. To vote, members were divided alphabetically into groups of roughly 60 people and were asked to stay in their offices until their group was called.

'How long until the tourists come back?'

Helier Cheung - BBC News, Washington DC
More than 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the past five weeks - over 15% of the US workforce.
One American who has lost her job recently is Rachel Sterner, who worked as a stage manager for the Broadway production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
She says: "I loved my job - it was my responsibility to maintain the artistic integrity of the show, and it's a challenging and beautiful show.
"Working in theatre means being laid off is not a foreign concept - but normally, if you lose a job, you can get on another project. This is different - there won't be work for a long time.
"Even if we do a show at half-capacity, who knows how long it'll be till tourists come back, and people have disposable income for the theatre?"
You can read more of the human stories behind the unemployment figures here.

Virus 'dies faster in direct sunlight'

William Bryan, the under secretary for science and technology at the US Department of Homeland Security, says the coronavirus may be killed faster under increased temperature, humidity and sunlight.
"We identified that heat and humidity is a weakness" of the virus' ability to spread, Bryan says, showing data suggesting that the virus could survive for 90 seconds under direct sunlight, and for 90 minutes without any solar contact.
The findings are an "emerging" result of their work, Bryan says.

Jon Sopel: Could we be flipping stay at home orders?

The BBC's Jon Sopel asks a question about the new guidance suggesting the virus is vulnerable to heat and humidity.
"At the moment the advice is stay at home, by the summer could we be flipping that, and saying you'll be much better off being outside?" Sopel asks.
"I would not go contrary to the guidance that has been issued right now," Bryan says. He adds: "If I'm having an event with my family, I'm doing it in the driveway or the backyard, not inside the house."
"In fact I'm thinking about moving outside to the rose garden," Trump jokes.

Trump denies he has stopped touting hydroxychloroquine

Trump is asked why he has stopped promoting hydroxychloroquine, a malaria and lupus medication, as a possible treatment for coronavirus.
“I haven’t at all... we’ll see what happens,” he says.
The president's public remarks hyping the drug have decreased substantially over the past week or so.
He says today he hasn’t seen a recent study that said coronavirus patients taking hydroxychloroquine had higher death rates.
That research followed 368 patients at US Veterans Health Administration medical centres.
The 97 patients who took hydroxychloroquine had a 27.8% death rate. The 158 patients who did not take the drug had an 11.4% death rate.

'EU solidarity exists'

Katya Adler - Europe Editor
Very aware of the negative headlines of late, depicting EU leader v EU leader; the rich and frugal North v the suffering, spendthrift South, there was a determination at Thursday’s EU summit to avoid the verbal fisticuffs.
There was no walkout by "Angry Italy". No fuming about Eurobonds by the Dutch. Instead EU leaders signed off, as expected, on a pre-agreed €500bn ($540bn; £435bn) emergency financial package and on guidelines for lifting Covid-19 restrictions.
Heated discussion about a recovery plan for European economies after the health crisis was left for another day - the buck passed to the European Commission which now has the unenviable task of conjuring up a proposal acceptable to divided EU opinion.
Today at least, EU leaders were keen to present a united front. Their underlying intended message: “Yes, we argue but EU solidarity exists. We muddle our way through in the end.”

Top US doctor: Heat or light "not a treatment"

Trump is asked about the new guidance suggesting the virus is vulnerable to heat and humidity, particularly given that countries with hot weather, like Singapore, have also been hit by the outbreak.
"I hope people enjoy the sun," Trump says. "And if it has an impact that's great.... maybe you can, maybe you can't. I'm not a doctor"
He then asks Dr Deborah Birx, a co-ordinator of the White House virus response whether heat can help kill the virus. "Deborah have you ever heard of that? The heat, and the light relative to certain viruses, yes, but to this virus?"
"Not as a treatment," Dr Birx says. "I mean, certainly, fever, is a good thing. When you have a fever it helps your body respond."
But she does not believe it works as a treatment, she repeats.

Trump: Boris Johnson is an incredible guy

The BBC's Jon Sopel asks Trump how British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was when he spoke to him this week.
"He called me a few days ago, I will tell you he sounded incredible. I was actually surprised… he was ready to go, I’m very surprised to tell you this, it’s like, the old Boris, tremendous energy, tremendous drive."
He adds: "Because he called me almost pretty close to when he got out of the hospital, I think he’s doing great, he was so sharp and energetic, pretty incredible, he’s an incredible guy, he’s a friend of ours and a friend of mine, he loves our country, he loves his country a lot… and they’re lucky to have him over there."

Trump 'wasn't happy' with Georgia governor

The briefing is now over but to recap, Trump launched an extraordinary attack on his ally, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, over his aggressive reopening plan for his state.
"I want the states to open, more than he does, much more than he does," Trump says of Kemp. "But I didn't like to see spas [reopening] at this early stage, nor did the doctors."
Kemp said hair salons, gyms, bowling alleys and nail salons would be allowed to reopen on Friday, with restaurants following suit on Monday.
"I didn't like to see a lot of things happening, and I wasn't happy with it, and I wasn't happy with Brian Kemp," Trump says.
"I could have done something about it if I wanted to, but I'm saying, 'Let the governors do it.'

Trump 'has a good you-know-what'

The US president also claimed knowledge in the fields of science and medicine during the news conference.
"I'm not a doctor but I'm a person who has a good you-know-what," he said at one point, apparently gesturing to his brain.
At another point: "I know a lot about economists and the answer is they have no idea. I think I have as good of an idea as anybody."

Can Captain Tom get to number one?

Captain Tom Moore, the 99-year-old British Army veteran who has raised £28.5m ($35m) for the NHS, could be number one in the UK music charts this weekend - but he's in a tight race with a Canadian pop star.
A version of You'll Never Walk Alone featuring the voice of Captain Tom was thought to be on course to be number one, but earlier on Thursday, The Weeknd's Blinding Lights overtook him.
However, in a late twist, The Weeknd has now thrown his weight behind Captain Tom.

  :tweet:  :Left Quotes: The Weeknd:
everyone in the UK please support @captaintommoore / @mrmichaelball single so this incredible 99 yr old war veteran, walking for the British National Health Service @NHSuk & now raised $35 Million can have a No 1 for his 100th birthday in the UK!We’re routing for you. XO!

Trump calls Biden 'sleepy guy in a basement'

Trump was also asked how the November presidential election could go ahead amid the coronavirus outbreak.
"I can't tell you what's going to happen in an election," Trump says.
"We have a sleepy guy in a basement of a house that the press is giving a free pass to, who doesn't want to do debates because of Covid," he says of former Vice-President Joe Biden, his likely Democratic challenger, whom he often calls "Sleepy Joe".
"I watched a couple of interviews, and I say 'Oh I look forward to this,'" Trump says. "But they're keeping him sheltered."
Biden cancelled all in-person campaign events beginning in mid-March as social-distancing measures were ordered throughout the US. He has continued to hold interviews and digital fundraisers from his home in Delaware, and launched a podcast last month.
In an interview today, Biden said he was "ready to debate" Trump. "Zoom or Skype or Slack or hangouts or in person, anytime, anywhere he wants."

No cure for partisanship amid pandemic

Anthony Zurcher - BBC North America reporter
The harsh political reality for the president is he faces a re-election contest in just over six months, and the longer the lockdown drags on, the less time the economy will have to recover before voters head to the ballot box.
Current polling suggests he is trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden nationally and in key battleground states, and while the race is likely to tighten and the president has abundant resources to run a robust campaign, Trump appears destined for an uphill fight.
The president also faces a flip-side risk of being seen as supporting re-opening too quickly and shouldering the blame if there is a subsequent spike in cases. That could explain why, just days after calling for states to begin reopening process, he criticised the Republican governor of Georgia for lifting restrictions on places like hair salons, bars and tattoo parlours, where social distancing guidelines would be difficult to follow.
It's a difficult line for any politician to walk, and in the days ahead the stakes will be at their highest.
Here's Anthony's full piece: Coronavirus pandemic exposes rather than heals America's divisions

Live coverage pauses

Thanks for being with us during another busy day as the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the main developments today:

• President Donald Trump attacked his ally, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, over his aggressive reopening plan for his state, saying: "I wasn't happy with it"
  
• At a video-summit, EU leaders agreed a new €540bn (£470bn; $575bn) emergency fund to protect European workers, businesses and countries worst hit by the outbreak
  

• The WHO revealed a "deeply concerning" estimate that half of European Covid-19 deaths have occurred in care homes
  
• In the UK, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there would be a huge contact tracing effort, hiring 18,000 people to track who has had the virus and who they might have spread it to
  
• China has pledged an additional $30m to the World Health Organization, one week after President Donald Trump suspended US funding of the body over its handling of coronavirus
  
• The first human trial in Europe of a coronavirus vaccine has begun in Oxford. Two volunteers were injected - the first of more than 800 people recruited for the study.
  

Today's live page was written by our journalists in Australia, Singapore, India, the UK and US: Anna Jones, Yvette Tan, Andreas Illmer, Krutika Pathi, Frances Mao, Kelly-Leigh Cooper, Alexandra Fouche, Rebecca Morton, Dulcie Lee, Saj Chowdhury, Michael Emons, Emlyn Begley, Marie Jackson, Rob Greenall, Lucy Webster, Paul Seddon, Yaroslav Lukov, Holly Hondereich, Ritu Prasad, Ian Youngs, Helier Cheung and Jude Sheerin.