by Summary for Thursday, 30th April
Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. We're writing to you from Singapore this morning and will be joined by our colleagues in London later today.
Some positive news first - US officials say there is "clear-cut" evidence that a drug can help people recover quicker from the virus. Remdesivir, which was originally developed as an Eloba treatment, is said to have cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days to 11 in trials across the world.
Remdesivir is not a vaccine and it can't cure patients outright. But it did cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days down to 11 in clinical trials at hospitals around the world.
If the effects were confirmed, the drug could ease pressure on hospitals and potentially save lives. It could also allow lockdowns to be lifted earlier.
Click here to read our full story on the drug trial.
But there are conflicting opinions. The good news from the US comes just days after a trial of the same drug in China, reported in the Lancet medical journal, showed it was ineffective.
While remdesivir cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days down to 11 in clinical trials, the impact on deaths is not as clear cut.
The mortality rate was 8% in people given remdesivir, and 11.6% in those given a placebo. But this result was not statistically significant, meaning scientists cannot tell if the difference is real.
It is also not clear who is benefiting. Is it allowing people who would have recovered anyway to do so more quickly? Or is it preventing people from needing treatment in intensive care? Did the drug work better in younger or older people? Or those with or without other diseases?
These will be important questions when the full details are eventually published, as a drug could have the twin benefit of saving lives and helping to lift lockdown.
Four imported cases were recorded on Thursday, all of which were found at airports, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 10,765.
This is the lowest daily increase in over two months, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At its peak, there were hundreds of new cases reported in South Korea each day as the country carried out aggressive testing measures.
He had already accused China of mishandling the outbreak and failing to warn the world early enough.
The president said there were different options in terms of consequences for Beijing. "I can do a lot," Trump said.
He said he thought Beijing wanted his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, to become president because of the trade war Trump waged against China.
Trump also told reporters he hopes to restart his trademark campaigning - and that "in the not too distant future we'll have some massive rallies and people will be sitting next to each other".
One of the most famous places in China, the Forbidden City, is set to reopen more than three months after it closed because of the virus.
The Palace Museum, which manages the Forbidden City, announced that it would partially open from 1 May with a daily limit of 5,000 visitors, according to a state media report.
At its peak, the palace - located in the capital Beijing - had up to 80,000 people coming each day, says AFP.
Visitors will have to wear masks, stand a metre away from each other and get their temperature taken, amongst other health measures.
They'll also have to make reservations online before coming - and not every part of the palace will be open. The indoor exhibition rooms and indoor service venues will remain closed until further notice.
The Forbidden City was China's former imperial palace between 1420 and 1912. This year marks the 600th anniversary of the palace.
This was how busy the palace got at its peak
Well, in Spain, people have been able to watch films from their balconies – on huge screens brought in by the local government.
The new balcony cinema moves to a different neighbourhood every evening.
Investors are betting that remdesivir, an anti-viral treatment from Gilead Sciences, could be critical in helping countries emerge from lockdowns.
In morning trade Japan's Nikkei 225 was up by 2.3% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 1.2% higher.
That came on the back of strong gains for US stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2.2% higher, the S&P 500 ended up by 2.7% and the Nasdaq gained 3.6%.
So why is he donating his plasma? It's not so doctors can clone a new Forrest Gump - but because it's possible is to infuse the severely ill with plasma (the liquid part of the blood) from people who have recovered from the virus.
As they have developed antibodies, those antibodies will be in the plasma they donate. Once it's given to a severely ill patient, doctors hope it could help them defeat the virus as well.
Read more about plasma trials here.
In a statement on its website, the forum said it had make the "difficult decision" to not go ahead.
It said it appreciated the "unwavering support from the Chinese government, members and partners of the forum since the outbreak".
The annual conference was initially scheduled for 24-27 March this year. It was then postponed, but now has been cancelled.
The Ruby Princess has been linked to one-tenth of Australia's 6,700 cases
For weeks now, the two main outbreaks in Australia were known to centre around a hospital in Tasmania and the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
(This was the boat which let thousands of passengers disembark in Sydney last month despite illness on board.)
But this morning, officials confirmed long-held suspicions that the clusters were in fact related. Australia's smallest state has recorded 12 deaths and 220 cases.
"Most likely, that ground zero for the outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital was the Ruby Princess,” said Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein.
“No passenger is to blame, and no healthcare worker is to blame.”
But critics are asking whether government fumbling can be blamed.
The small island closed its borders to the rest of Australia in March. But it allowed its own residents to return, and among them were cruise passengers who later became the state's first deaths.
They were treated at North West Regional Hospital - in a poorer, rural region - and within two weeks there were more than 100 other infected healthcare workers and patients.
On 12 April, officials were forced to shut down two hospitals, quarantine 5,000 locals and bring in military medics as cover.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) told the BBC it wants an investigation into how the virus got into the state and how it spread in the hospital.
Officials initially blamed the spread on a staff dinner party, which turned out to be a false rumour. Reports have since emerged of inadequate PPE and poor practices in the under-resourced hospitals.
AMA Tasmania branch president Prof John Burgess told the BBC: "How much did the underlying vulnerability of the the health system in that area - because it's a rural region - play into its preparedness to deal with the virus?"
Sick passengers from the cruise ship got off the vessel in Sydney before flying home to Tasmania
"This is not democratic, this is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom," Musk said in an earnings call of his company Tesla.
Musk is known for his often outspoken comments and his remarks are markedly different from fellow tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook - who expressed concerns about easing lockdown measures too early.
Facebook and Tesla are very differently affected by California's shelter-in-place orders.
While we can still use Facebook (and probably do so more than before the lockdown), Tesla was forced to suspend its production lines in mid-March.
In Albany, Georgia, decades of poverty and economic inequality are threatening an entire generation of African Americans in the pandemic.
With more than 1,000 confirmed Covid-19 infections, many countries have taken strong containment measures, such as border closures and lockdowns, the IMF wrote in a blog. It spoke of the "collapse of the tourism sector", which accounted for up to 90% of GDP and employment in some Caribbean nations.
Why is Japan not in lockdown? It's a question I've been asked numerous times by friends all over the world.
But it is perhaps the wrong question. Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and most of mainland China, have also never had full lockdowns.
For those trying to understand what's going on in Japan, the much more puzzling question is why there is so little testing for Covid-19.
The country is only testing people who are already quite sick. In fact, the guidelines for doctors say they should only recommend a test if the patient has pneumonia.
This is leading to some rather extraordinary stories from those trying to get tested.
Click here to read Rupert's full story.
As states introduced various levels of lockdowns, the world's largest economy sank at an annual rate of 4.8%, according to official figures released on Wednesday.
That's the first contraction since 2014, ending a record expansion.
And yet, the figures only hint at the full crisis, since many of the restrictions were not even put in place until March.
Click here to read our full story on this.
The victims are reported to be brothers who died in hospital in the southern city of Aden. The government said five infections had been discovered there.
More than five years of war have badly degraded Yemen’s health service, leaving it desperately ill-prepared to deal with the virus.
Other diseases including cholera, dengue and malaria are rife, and only half of hospitals are fully functional. Millions of people are reliant on food aid.
The UN has said the virus could be spreading unchecked, with aid agencies warning of a "nightmare scenario" after the first infection was confirmed earlier this month.
No one is certain whether the Tokyo Olympics will really go ahead next year, but athletes have to continue training regardless. And that's not easy under lockdown rules.
India's top breaststroke swimmer SP Likith has been stuck at his coach's farm since February and now swims in a tank that normally holds the water for crops and vegetables.
It's a 20m pool and a total of 15 athletes are using it to train.
"It is not boring, it is fun. The only difference is... the water is not clear at all, there are fish and turtles and we don't have lanes," Likith told news agency AFP.
Canberra in the ACT is the seat of government in Australia
Australia's smallest jurisdiction, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), has become the first to eliminate the virus, officials say.
The ACT includes Canberra, the nation's capital city, and has a population of 426,000 people. For comparison - over 5 million people live in Sydney.
The administrative region had recorded 106 cases and three deaths. However, amid national lockdown measures, it was able to contain the virus in just seven weeks.
Government officials said the last known patients recovered from the virus on Thursday, meaning there were no more known cases.
Other Australian jurisdictions are also on their way to reaching zero, with South Australia reporting no new infections for a seventh consecutive day.
This feels like a milestone - and as a journalist who has followed the country’s aggressive and successful fight against this virus, it felt great just to type the words “zero cases”.
In February, South Korea had one of the worst outbreaks in Asia outside mainland China.
I remember seeing exhausted doctors and nurses in the worst-hit city of Daegu telling me they would do everything they could to bring the infection rates under control, as ambulances queued around the hospital. The main buildings in the capital Seoul have been lit a brilliant blue in the evening just for them, and deservedly so.
Today, as local infections have fallen to zero (I like repeating it) thousands of South Koreans are enjoying the spring sunshine on what is a national holiday to celebrate Buddha’s birthday.
The parks are full of people laughing with friends and having picnics. The local airport is crowded with excited passengers flying to the southern island of Jeju to make the most of the long weekend - the busiest the airport has been in months.
Everyone we spoke to felt thankful that the country has stayed out of lockdown. They’ve been shocked by the impact Covid-19 has had on Europe and the US and told us they felt lucky to be able to enjoy time with friends and family.
But there is also real caution here - and fear of a second wave.
The Korean Centre for Disease Control has announced that it is inevitable that this pandemic will return to the country. They are urging people to keep to a daily routine of staying home if they feel ill, washing their hands, keeping some distance and not gathering in large groups.
South Koreans are taking a moment to enjoy this small victory - but they know that until a vaccine is found, this battle is not over.
Health officials in the island state in the Indian Ocean said the victim was an 83-year-old woman.
She died in hospital in the capital Male late on Wednesday. The Maldives has 280 confirmed infections.
A notice issued by the home ministry on Wednesday said people will need to be screened for symptoms at both source and destination, and be quarantined.
But the movement of people will be only possible through state government facilitation, which means people cannot attempt to cross borders on their own.
PM Narendra Modi announced the lockdown on 24 March with barely four hours' notice, prompting hundreds of thousands in cities to try to return to their villages.
When industries shut down overnight, many of them feared they would starve.
For days, they walked - sometimes hundreds of kilometres - to reach their villages because bus and train services were shut down. Several died trying to make the journey.
You can read the full story here
Millions have been stranded by the lockdown
Here's a look back at how South Korea went from being a hotspot to a success story:
Total cases are now at 10,765, and while some restrictions will be eased -officials are warning of a possible second wave.
Motorbikes and scooters are essential for many locals in Asian cities. And often it's a lot more than one person on that bike. So how do you practise social distancing in this situation?
No problem for Indian man Partha Saha. He got an old bike, cut it in half and simply made it a lot longer.
He told AFP he will use it to take his daughter to and from school, so she doesn't have to take the crowded bus.
"Necessity is the mother of invention!" said Kumar Deb, chief minister of Tripura state where Saha lives, while praising the pimped ride on Twitter.
"I congratulate Partha Saha... for making a unique motorcycle to create awareness during Covid-19 pandemic."
Interior Minister Botche Cande and two other ministers also have Covid-19.
The West African country has so far confirmed 205 coronavirus cases and one death.
Tensions between Australia and China are high as Australia echoes American calls for a global investigation into the virus’s origins.
It’s sparked a war of words, or "stoush", in Australian slang – which at times has veered into the alarming and absurd.
Let’s recap. Earlier this week, Beijing’s ambassador warned that Chinese consumers - upset by a political attack on their country - might boycott Australian beef, wine and travel products.
Given China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, these comments were viewed in Canberra as “economic coercion”.
Australia’s top diplomat called the ambassador to rebuke him, and then the next day found details of the private call leaked online by the embassy.
Despite China’s criticism, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stood firm, saying that an investigation is an “entirely reasonable” prospect in the national and global interest.
Some analysts have told the BBC the diplomatic stoush will blow over soon, with both nations too invested in their trade relationship to actually shake things up.
However, Australian business groups are concerned, and have questioned why Canberra is mounting this campaign now, when other Western allies - such as the UK and France - say it can wait.
The overall tally is now just under 160,000 - although around 75% of those have already recovered. There are only 34,672 active cases.
The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 has risen by 173 to 6,288.
Germany last week began easing some of its lockdown measures. It's not clear whether officials attribute the rise in cases to that easing - but polls show the majority of Germans are against a rushed lifting of the lockdown.
What's the latest from South Asia?
With cases going up in the region, here's the latest from South Asia:
Captain Tom Moore, who raised more than £29m for the NHS in the UK by walking laps of his garden, has been made an honorary colonel on his 100th birthday.
The Second World War veteran has received thousands of birthday cards to mark his special day, including one from the Queen (as is customary for centenarians in the UK).
He said it was "extraordinary" to be turning 100, especially with "this many well-wishers".
Capt Tom is due to spend most of his day self-isolating with his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her family at his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
He said he would also speak to other family members via the internet.
A number of tributes to Capt Tom include an RAF flypast, and being made an honorary England cricketer by former captain Michael Vaughan.
Read more here.
Mr Pompeo accused Cuba of profiting from the pandemic, the AFP news agency reports.
"We applaud leaders in Brazil and in Ecuador and Bolivia and other countries which have refused to turn a blind eye to these abuses by the Cuban regime," Mr Pompeo said.
"And [we] ask all countries to do the same, including places like South Africa and Qatar."
The team of Cuban medics arrived in the African nation on Sunday night. They include family physicians, epidemiologists, biotechnology experts and health-care technology engineers.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel reacted to Mr Pompeo by tweeting: "The United States lie deliberately when they attack Cuba's international medical cooperation with lies and slanders."
President Trump’s criticism of China has been consistent - and increasingly sharp - in recent weeks.
He’s questioned the accuracy of the death toll there, and even said he was looking into suggestions that the virus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan. But this is the harshest criticism of its kind so far.
By claiming that China’s delay in alerting the world to the spread of the virus was politically motivated - and designed to boost the election chances of his political rival Joe Biden at the expense of his own - Mr Trump is upping the ante in an increasingly bellicose war of words.
Earlier this week a senior Chinese official - Le Yucheng - questioned the president's handling of the crisis, and accused him of not acting quickly enough in order to prepare the American people for the spread of Covid-19.
For all that the president dismisses claims that the 2020 election will amount to a referendum on his handling of this crisis, its outcome may well rest on the pace of the economic recovery.
Expect the war of words between the world's two largest economies to continue.
But which countries have recorded the most deaths from the outbreak?
It's a complicated question, because different countries record their deaths in very different ways.
Take Belgium, where more than half of recorded deaths have been in care homes for the elderly and are based largely on suspected cases. This makes the country's data look much worse when compared to similar countries that don't log suspected cases in their official Covid-19 death tolls.
The UK's death toll on Wednesday surpassed both Spain and France, after official figures began including deaths in the community, such as in care homes, for the first time.
Even with these caveats in mind, the data collated by Johns Hopkins University in the US does paint an interesting picture. It lists the top ten countries for recorded deaths as:
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[*]The US with almost 61,000
[*]Italy with 27,682
[*]UK with 26,166 (The official UK government figure is 26,097)
[*]Spain with 24,275
[*]France with 24,121
[*]Belgium with 7,501
[*]Germany with 6,467
[*]Iran with 5,957
[*]Netherlands with 4,727
[*]China with 4,637
[/list]
It’s been more than a week since Virgin Australia went into voluntary administration.
You might remember that Australia’s second-biggest airline was already struggling with billions of dollars of debt before the cancellation of almost all its flights due to Covid-19 meant ticket revenue pretty much dried up.
Now administrators Deloitte have revealed 20 potential buyers are circling – with eight of them signing non-disclosure agreements (which suggests they’re serious contenders).
Interested parties have been given until mid-May to make an indicative bid, and Deloitte says it’s confident of a sale being concluded by the end of June.
It’s a nervous waiting game for the carrier’s 10,000 staff – most of whom have been put on leave. And it is widely expected that whoever does buy Virgin Australia will operate a slimmed down service focused on its more profitable routes - which will of course mean job cuts.
For now, the airline continues to operate during the voluntary administration process - with 64 return domestic services each week, some domestic charter flights and government-supported international flights to Hong Kong and Los Angeles.
There is a simple, but crucial number at the heart of understanding the threat posed by the coronavirus.
The basic reproduction number - or simply the R0 (pronounced R-nought) - is guiding governments around the world on actions they need to take to save lives. It also gives us clues on when lockdowns can be lifted.
The reproduction number is a way of rating a disease's ability to spread. Measles has one of the highest - 15 - as it can cause explosive outbreaks. The new coronavirus has this number down at around 3, but estimates vary.
And the goal of governments around the world has been to force the reproduction number down from around 3 to below 1.
If the number is lower than 1, then the disease will eventually peter out as not enough new people are being infected to sustain the outbreak.
Read more here.
“Like the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic is a child rights' crisis,” said Thunberg
“It will affect all children, now and in the long term, but vulnerable groups will be impacted the most. I’m asking everyone to step up and join me in support of Unicef's vital work to save children’s lives, to protect health and continue education.”
Danish anti-poverty organisation Human Act, which awarded Thunberg the original prize, has matched her donation.
Indian social media has been rife with misleading photos, videos and news around Covid-19. BBC's Reality Check has been looking at some of the more widely shared examples.
You can get the full facts here.
I suspect the daily coronavirus briefing led by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson later is going to be an anti-climactic occasion.
We are not going to get the nuts and bolts of a putative exit strategy. There is not going to be a paper and I doubt there will be policy options.
We seem to be heading towards a restatement of what he said on the steps of Downing Street on Monday but the one new area is the science underpinning policy decisions.
This relates to the R factor and seems to be the guiding star of lockdown policy. If it is below one everyone is happy, if it is above we are heading towards crisis and the National Health Service being overwhelmed.
Ministers are looking with mounting trepidation towards Germany where, after an easing of restrictions, it seems to be climbing again, leading to Angela Merkel mooting the possibility of renewed lockdown.
The numbers on testing still look adrift. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has not given up reaching 100,000 tests a day even though we won’t get the final figure for Thursday until Saturday.
If he does not hit the target I think he will argue that by raising the bar so high he has galvanised drug providers into getting their act together. But the numbers are less important than the delivery. There is a complexity in accessing tests and it is that which really needs to be ironed out.
Aviation is the most global of global industries, employing millions around the world. But with vast parts of its networks down, the number of daily flights has dropped by 80% since the start of the year. In some regions, nearly all passenger traffic has been suspended.
The industry is in survival mode, with airlines, airports and ground-handling firms all desperate to conserve their cash reserves, while their normal revenue streams have dried up.
Widespread job losses are expected, with British Airways' parent company IAG announcing on Tuesday that it is set to cut up to 12,000 positions from the airline's 42,000-strong workforce. IAG said it did not expect BA to see passenger demand return to 2019 levels for "several years".
Even so, attention is now gradually turning to the future, and how airlines around the world can hope to slowly return to something approaching normality.
Read more here.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock set the target earlier this month but latest figures show only 52,429 tests were carried out on Tuesday.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland was asked about the likelihood of reaching the target by the BBC a little earlier.
"Even if it isn't met, we are well on our way to ramping this up," he said. "One hundred thousand is an important milestone, yes, but frankly we need more."
He added: "Yes, 52,000 isn't 100,000, I know that... but we are straining every sinew to get there."
NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and National Health Service trusts in England, has dismissed the 100,000 target as a "red herring" which risks preventing the development of a "proper, next stage testing strategy".
Buckland said drive-in test centres, mobile units and home testing would "get us to the position we need to be in" but there was "much more work to be done".
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously suggested a target of 250,000 tests a day.
Pubs and many other businesses have been ordered to close since 23 March.
Responding to the chain's announcement, cabinet minister Robert Buckland urged companies to "work together" with the government.
He said many firms were "very anxious and straining at the leash to get back to normal" but stressed that "mixed messages help nobody".
The cabinet will meet shortly to discuss how the lockdown measures may eventually be lifted, before Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to reveal some details at the Downing Street briefing later.
Asked what people can expect, Buckland said: "I don't think you're going to hear specific detail. I think that would be premature, frankly."
Serena Willams, Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova are among the athletes who will go head to head on Mario Tennis Aces.
They will partner with celebrities and play as characters from the game on Nintendo Switch. Facebook Gaming will stream the event on 3 May.
E-sports have surged in popularity as Covid-19 forces the cancellation of live events, prompting players and leagues to turn to online gaming to keep fans engaged.
We've got a list of the celeb-athlete pairings in our full story.
"On behalf of the whole country, thank you and have a very special 100th birthday," he said.
Capt Tom spoke to the BBC earlier today about the response to his fundraising efforts and the huge amount of birthday wishes he has recieved.
"I'm absolutely delighted with all the people like you who have come to wish me a very happy birthday," he said. "It really is awesome the amount of people who have made those remarks."
"When you see all those [birthday] cards from children - if you're a weeping person - it would make you weep," he said. "But I can't promise to read them all!"
Volunteers have opened an estimated 140,000 birthday cards sent to Capt Tom from around the country.
And now it appears that the global demand for energy is set to plummet by record amounts due to the lockdowns being enforced around the world.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is forecasting a 6% drop in energy demand for the year, which would be the steepest fall in more than 70 years and a record amount in absolute terms.
The IEA said this would lead to a drop in carbon dioxide emissions of 8%, six times larger than the biggest fall in 2009 which followed the financial crash.
“Given the number of deaths and the economic trauma around the world, this historic decline in global emissions is absolutely nothing to cheer,” the organisation’s executive director Fatih Birol told Reuters news agency.
Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. We're writing to you from Singapore this morning and will be joined by our colleagues in London later today.
Some positive news first - US officials say there is "clear-cut" evidence that a drug can help people recover quicker from the virus. Remdesivir, which was originally developed as an Eloba treatment, is said to have cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days to 11 in trials across the world.
- In the US, the economy suffered its most severe contraction in more than a decade - sinking at an annual rate of 4.8%
- In the UK, deadline day is drawing near. The government had pledged to test 100,000 people per day by the end of April - it's currently on 52,000 a day
- And some 3,190,743 people around the world have now been infected by the virus, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University - with the global death toll standing at 227,368
US drug shows potential to ease Covid-19
Some good news from the scientific world: a drug has a "clear cut" effect on Covid-19, US health officials say.Remdesivir is not a vaccine and it can't cure patients outright. But it did cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days down to 11 in clinical trials at hospitals around the world.
If the effects were confirmed, the drug could ease pressure on hospitals and potentially save lives. It could also allow lockdowns to be lifted earlier.
Click here to read our full story on the drug trial.
But there are conflicting opinions. The good news from the US comes just days after a trial of the same drug in China, reported in the Lancet medical journal, showed it was ineffective.
What to make of the new drug?
James Gallagher - Health and science correspondent, BBC NewsWhile remdesivir cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days down to 11 in clinical trials, the impact on deaths is not as clear cut.
The mortality rate was 8% in people given remdesivir, and 11.6% in those given a placebo. But this result was not statistically significant, meaning scientists cannot tell if the difference is real.
It is also not clear who is benefiting. Is it allowing people who would have recovered anyway to do so more quickly? Or is it preventing people from needing treatment in intensive care? Did the drug work better in younger or older people? Or those with or without other diseases?
These will be important questions when the full details are eventually published, as a drug could have the twin benefit of saving lives and helping to lift lockdown.
Zero local cases in South Korea
It was once one of the biggest virus hotspots in the world, but South Korea has over the past 24 hours recorded zero locally transmitted cases.Four imported cases were recorded on Thursday, all of which were found at airports, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 10,765.
This is the lowest daily increase in over two months, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At its peak, there were hundreds of new cases reported in South Korea each day as the country carried out aggressive testing measures.
Trump: China botched pandemic so I lose election
US President Donald Trump thinks China's handling of the pandemic was proof that Beijing "will do anything they can to have me lose" the election in November, he told Reuters.He had already accused China of mishandling the outbreak and failing to warn the world early enough.
The president said there were different options in terms of consequences for Beijing. "I can do a lot," Trump said.
He said he thought Beijing wanted his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, to become president because of the trade war Trump waged against China.
Trump also told reporters he hopes to restart his trademark campaigning - and that "in the not too distant future we'll have some massive rallies and people will be sitting next to each other".
Forbidden City to reopen after three months
One of the most famous places in China, the Forbidden City, is set to reopen more than three months after it closed because of the virus.
The Palace Museum, which manages the Forbidden City, announced that it would partially open from 1 May with a daily limit of 5,000 visitors, according to a state media report.
At its peak, the palace - located in the capital Beijing - had up to 80,000 people coming each day, says AFP.
Visitors will have to wear masks, stand a metre away from each other and get their temperature taken, amongst other health measures.
They'll also have to make reservations online before coming - and not every part of the palace will be open. The indoor exhibition rooms and indoor service venues will remain closed until further notice.
The Forbidden City was China's former imperial palace between 1420 and 1912. This year marks the 600th anniversary of the palace.
This was how busy the palace got at its peak
Spain brings cinema to your balcony
Fancy a night at the movies? What, all cinemas are shut because of the lockdown you say?Well, in Spain, people have been able to watch films from their balconies – on huge screens brought in by the local government.
The new balcony cinema moves to a different neighbourhood every evening.
Stock markets boosted by coronavirus drug hopes
Shares in the US and Asia have risen on hopes that a drug could help battle the coronavirus pandemic.Investors are betting that remdesivir, an anti-viral treatment from Gilead Sciences, could be critical in helping countries emerge from lockdowns.
In morning trade Japan's Nikkei 225 was up by 2.3% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 1.2% higher.
That came on the back of strong gains for US stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2.2% higher, the S&P 500 ended up by 2.7% and the Nasdaq gained 3.6%.
Tom Hanks donates plasma after beating the virus
Tom Hanks was one of the first international celebrities to catch the virus and was in quarantine for weeks in March.So why is he donating his plasma? It's not so doctors can clone a new Forrest Gump - but because it's possible is to infuse the severely ill with plasma (the liquid part of the blood) from people who have recovered from the virus.
As they have developed antibodies, those antibodies will be in the plasma they donate. Once it's given to a severely ill patient, doctors hope it could help them defeat the virus as well.
Read more about plasma trials here.
China's 'Davos' cancelled
China has cancelled the 2020 Boao Forum for Asia - touted as the region's answer to Davos's World Economic Forum - due to the virus outbreak.In a statement on its website, the forum said it had make the "difficult decision" to not go ahead.
It said it appreciated the "unwavering support from the Chinese government, members and partners of the forum since the outbreak".
The annual conference was initially scheduled for 24-27 March this year. It was then postponed, but now has been cancelled.
Australia's hospital cluster linked to Ruby Princess
Frances Mao - Sydney
The Ruby Princess has been linked to one-tenth of Australia's 6,700 cases
For weeks now, the two main outbreaks in Australia were known to centre around a hospital in Tasmania and the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
(This was the boat which let thousands of passengers disembark in Sydney last month despite illness on board.)
But this morning, officials confirmed long-held suspicions that the clusters were in fact related. Australia's smallest state has recorded 12 deaths and 220 cases.
"Most likely, that ground zero for the outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital was the Ruby Princess,” said Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein.
“No passenger is to blame, and no healthcare worker is to blame.”
But critics are asking whether government fumbling can be blamed.
The small island closed its borders to the rest of Australia in March. But it allowed its own residents to return, and among them were cruise passengers who later became the state's first deaths.
They were treated at North West Regional Hospital - in a poorer, rural region - and within two weeks there were more than 100 other infected healthcare workers and patients.
On 12 April, officials were forced to shut down two hospitals, quarantine 5,000 locals and bring in military medics as cover.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) told the BBC it wants an investigation into how the virus got into the state and how it spread in the hospital.
Officials initially blamed the spread on a staff dinner party, which turned out to be a false rumour. Reports have since emerged of inadequate PPE and poor practices in the under-resourced hospitals.
AMA Tasmania branch president Prof John Burgess told the BBC: "How much did the underlying vulnerability of the the health system in that area - because it's a rural region - play into its preparedness to deal with the virus?"
Sick passengers from the cruise ship got off the vessel in Sydney before flying home to Tasmania
Elon Musk blasts 'fascist' lockdown rules
Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk has blasted California's lockdown, saying it was "fascist" to tell people they cannot leave their homes."This is not democratic, this is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom," Musk said in an earnings call of his company Tesla.
Musk is known for his often outspoken comments and his remarks are markedly different from fellow tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook - who expressed concerns about easing lockdown measures too early.
Facebook and Tesla are very differently affected by California's shelter-in-place orders.
While we can still use Facebook (and probably do so more than before the lockdown), Tesla was forced to suspend its production lines in mid-March.
An unlikely coronavirus hotspot in the US
As the coronavirus sweeps across the US, it has been infecting and killing black Americans at a disproportionate rate.In Albany, Georgia, decades of poverty and economic inequality are threatening an entire generation of African Americans in the pandemic.
Caribbean nations hit hard by 'tourism collapse'
A “sudden stop” in tourism is projected to cause a 6.2% economic contraction in 2020 in the Caribbean region - the deepest recession there in more than 50 years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.With more than 1,000 confirmed Covid-19 infections, many countries have taken strong containment measures, such as border closures and lockdowns, the IMF wrote in a blog. It spoke of the "collapse of the tourism sector", which accounted for up to 90% of GDP and employment in some Caribbean nations.
Why is there so little testing in Japan?
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes - BBC Japan correspondentWhy is Japan not in lockdown? It's a question I've been asked numerous times by friends all over the world.
But it is perhaps the wrong question. Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and most of mainland China, have also never had full lockdowns.
For those trying to understand what's going on in Japan, the much more puzzling question is why there is so little testing for Covid-19.
The country is only testing people who are already quite sick. In fact, the guidelines for doctors say they should only recommend a test if the patient has pneumonia.
This is leading to some rather extraordinary stories from those trying to get tested.
Click here to read Rupert's full story.
US economy shrinks at fastest rate since 2008
The US economy suffered its most severe contraction in more than a decade in the first quarter of 2020.As states introduced various levels of lockdowns, the world's largest economy sank at an annual rate of 4.8%, according to official figures released on Wednesday.
That's the first contraction since 2014, ending a record expansion.
And yet, the figures only hint at the full crisis, since many of the restrictions were not even put in place until March.
Click here to read our full story on this.
What's happening in India?
Good morning to our readers tuning in from India this morning, where the end of the second lockdown is inching closer by the day. Here are the latest developments:- The government has said there will be "considerable relaxations" in many districts when the lockdown ends on 3 May - without going into too much detail
- But one state has already decided to prolong its lockdown - the northern state of Punjab will be under lockdown for two more weeks with some relaxations in non-hotspot districts
- India now has just over 1,000 coronavirus deaths. The western state of Maharashtra saw 32 fatalities on Wednesday, its highest so far. The country has confirmed more than 31,000 cases
- The number of victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy - one of the world's worst industrial disasters - to die from Covid-19 has risen to 12. Many of those affected by the gas leak have other health conditions that make them more vulnerable
- Meanwhile, the government says there is some good news - the doubling rate for infections in the country has slowed further. It now takes 11.3 days for cases to double, up from 8 days
War-torn Yemen records first deaths
Yemen has recorded its first two coronavirus deaths.The victims are reported to be brothers who died in hospital in the southern city of Aden. The government said five infections had been discovered there.
More than five years of war have badly degraded Yemen’s health service, leaving it desperately ill-prepared to deal with the virus.
Other diseases including cholera, dengue and malaria are rife, and only half of hospitals are fully functional. Millions of people are reliant on food aid.
The UN has said the virus could be spreading unchecked, with aid agencies warning of a "nightmare scenario" after the first infection was confirmed earlier this month.
Swimming with the fishes
No one is certain whether the Tokyo Olympics will really go ahead next year, but athletes have to continue training regardless. And that's not easy under lockdown rules.
India's top breaststroke swimmer SP Likith has been stuck at his coach's farm since February and now swims in a tank that normally holds the water for crops and vegetables.
It's a 20m pool and a total of 15 athletes are using it to train.
"It is not boring, it is fun. The only difference is... the water is not clear at all, there are fish and turtles and we don't have lanes," Likith told news agency AFP.
Australian capital eliminates all virus cases
Canberra in the ACT is the seat of government in Australia
Australia's smallest jurisdiction, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), has become the first to eliminate the virus, officials say.
The ACT includes Canberra, the nation's capital city, and has a population of 426,000 people. For comparison - over 5 million people live in Sydney.
The administrative region had recorded 106 cases and three deaths. However, amid national lockdown measures, it was able to contain the virus in just seven weeks.
Government officials said the last known patients recovered from the virus on Thursday, meaning there were no more known cases.
Other Australian jurisdictions are also on their way to reaching zero, with South Australia reporting no new infections for a seventh consecutive day.
'A milestone' as South Korea records no local cases
Laura Bicker - BBC News, SeoulThis feels like a milestone - and as a journalist who has followed the country’s aggressive and successful fight against this virus, it felt great just to type the words “zero cases”.
In February, South Korea had one of the worst outbreaks in Asia outside mainland China.
I remember seeing exhausted doctors and nurses in the worst-hit city of Daegu telling me they would do everything they could to bring the infection rates under control, as ambulances queued around the hospital. The main buildings in the capital Seoul have been lit a brilliant blue in the evening just for them, and deservedly so.
Today, as local infections have fallen to zero (I like repeating it) thousands of South Koreans are enjoying the spring sunshine on what is a national holiday to celebrate Buddha’s birthday.
The parks are full of people laughing with friends and having picnics. The local airport is crowded with excited passengers flying to the southern island of Jeju to make the most of the long weekend - the busiest the airport has been in months.
Everyone we spoke to felt thankful that the country has stayed out of lockdown. They’ve been shocked by the impact Covid-19 has had on Europe and the US and told us they felt lucky to be able to enjoy time with friends and family.
But there is also real caution here - and fear of a second wave.
The Korean Centre for Disease Control has announced that it is inevitable that this pandemic will return to the country. They are urging people to keep to a daily routine of staying home if they feel ill, washing their hands, keeping some distance and not gathering in large groups.
South Koreans are taking a moment to enjoy this small victory - but they know that until a vaccine is found, this battle is not over.
Maldives records first death
The Maldives has announced the country's first coronavirus-related death.Health officials in the island state in the Indian Ocean said the victim was an 83-year-old woman.
She died in hospital in the capital Male late on Wednesday. The Maldives has 280 confirmed infections.
Stranded migrants in India can return home
India has said millions of people stranded by a nationwide lockdown can now return to their home states.A notice issued by the home ministry on Wednesday said people will need to be screened for symptoms at both source and destination, and be quarantined.
But the movement of people will be only possible through state government facilitation, which means people cannot attempt to cross borders on their own.
PM Narendra Modi announced the lockdown on 24 March with barely four hours' notice, prompting hundreds of thousands in cities to try to return to their villages.
When industries shut down overnight, many of them feared they would starve.
For days, they walked - sometimes hundreds of kilometres - to reach their villages because bus and train services were shut down. Several died trying to make the journey.
You can read the full story here
Millions have been stranded by the lockdown
South Korea's virus battle: A timeline
As you've seen, South Korea has reported zero local infections for the first time in 75 days (though there were four imported cases).Here's a look back at how South Korea went from being a hotspot to a success story:
- 20 January - the first confirmed case of Covid-19 is reported, a Chinese woman
- 4 February - South Korea begins denying entry to foreigners travelling from Hubei province in China - the epicentre of the outbreak
- 18 February - South Korea confirms its 31st case - a member of the Shincheonji religious organisation who continued to go to large church gatherings. As the country tests large numbers of church members, there are big spikes in case numbers
- 24 February - 15 countries impose travel restrictions to and from South Korea
- 29 February - the daily total peaks at 909 people infected
- 2 March - by this date more than 4,200 cases are confirmed with about 60% of them stemming from the church
- March - despite having one of the highest number of cases globally, the country is lauded for its aggressive approach to testing and contact tracing
- 15 April - amid the pandemic, South Korea holds an election like no other
- 22 April - as cases stabilise to single-digit daily infections, the government says it will start to lift restrictions
- 30 April - South Korea reports no new local infections for the first time since 15 February
Total cases are now at 10,765, and while some restrictions will be eased -officials are warning of a possible second wave.
Pimp my ride: Social distancing version
Motorbikes and scooters are essential for many locals in Asian cities. And often it's a lot more than one person on that bike. So how do you practise social distancing in this situation?
No problem for Indian man Partha Saha. He got an old bike, cut it in half and simply made it a lot longer.
He told AFP he will use it to take his daughter to and from school, so she doesn't have to take the crowded bus.
"Necessity is the mother of invention!" said Kumar Deb, chief minister of Tripura state where Saha lives, while praising the pimped ride on Twitter.
"I congratulate Partha Saha... for making a unique motorcycle to create awareness during Covid-19 pandemic."
Guinea Bissau PM tests positive for coronavirus
he health ministry in Guinea Bissau says the Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam has tested positive for coronavirus.Interior Minister Botche Cande and two other ministers also have Covid-19.
The West African country has so far confirmed 205 coronavirus cases and one death.
Australia-China 'stoush' rumbles on
Frances Mao - SydneyTensions between Australia and China are high as Australia echoes American calls for a global investigation into the virus’s origins.
It’s sparked a war of words, or "stoush", in Australian slang – which at times has veered into the alarming and absurd.
Let’s recap. Earlier this week, Beijing’s ambassador warned that Chinese consumers - upset by a political attack on their country - might boycott Australian beef, wine and travel products.
Given China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, these comments were viewed in Canberra as “economic coercion”.
Australia’s top diplomat called the ambassador to rebuke him, and then the next day found details of the private call leaked online by the embassy.
Despite China’s criticism, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stood firm, saying that an investigation is an “entirely reasonable” prospect in the national and global interest.
Some analysts have told the BBC the diplomatic stoush will blow over soon, with both nations too invested in their trade relationship to actually shake things up.
However, Australian business groups are concerned, and have questioned why Canberra is mounting this campaign now, when other Western allies - such as the UK and France - say it can wait.
Germany's daily cases keep rising
Germany has recorded 1,478 new cases for the past 24 hours, marking the fourth day that new infections have gone up.The overall tally is now just under 160,000 - although around 75% of those have already recovered. There are only 34,672 active cases.
The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 has risen by 173 to 6,288.
Germany last week began easing some of its lockdown measures. It's not clear whether officials attribute the rise in cases to that easing - but polls show the majority of Germans are against a rushed lifting of the lockdown.
What's the latest from South Asia?
With cases going up in the region, here's the latest from South Asia:
- Pakistan has said it will bring back more than 7,000 of its citizens stranded in various countries in the first week of May. Cases in the country crossed 15,000 on Wednesday when it recorded 355 deaths
- Meanwhile, Bangladesh has asked those abroad not to return "unless compelled". The foreign minister said citizens abroad will have access to a telemedicine service being set up in the country, which has registered just over 7,000 infections so far
- Nepal, which has 57 cases, extended its lockdown for the third time earlier this week, but violations are rising in Kathmandu Valley, officials say. Police have taken action against more than 4,000 people in the past three days for defying stay-at-home orders
- And in Sri Lanka, tourism has taken a major hit with a 70% drop in March, according to IANS news agency. On Wednesday, health officials expressed concern as cases exceeded 600
What's the latest in the UK?
If you're just joining us in the UK, good morning and welcome. Here are the latest headlines:- PM Boris Johnson - who has just recovered from Covid-19, and whose son was born yesterday - will chair a cabinet meeting today. He will then lead the daily coronavirus briefing for the first time since he returned to work earlier this week
- But the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said he was unlikely to give "chapter and verse" on when the country's lockdown restrictions would be lifted
- It comes as the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which is working on a range of options for easing the restrictions, prepares to meet later. The lockdown is due to be reviewed on 7 May
- Meanwhile, the total number of people who have died in the UK with coronavirus has passed 26,000. Official figures now include deaths in the community, such as in care homes
Captain Tom Moore made a colonel on 100th birthday
Captain Tom Moore, who raised more than £29m for the NHS in the UK by walking laps of his garden, has been made an honorary colonel on his 100th birthday.
The Second World War veteran has received thousands of birthday cards to mark his special day, including one from the Queen (as is customary for centenarians in the UK).
He said it was "extraordinary" to be turning 100, especially with "this many well-wishers".
Capt Tom is due to spend most of his day self-isolating with his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her family at his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
He said he would also speak to other family members via the internet.
A number of tributes to Capt Tom include an RAF flypast, and being made an honorary England cricketer by former captain Michael Vaughan.
Read more here.
Pompeo chides South Africa for Cuban doctors
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticised South Africa for accepting more than 200 Cuban medics to help battle the virus.Mr Pompeo accused Cuba of profiting from the pandemic, the AFP news agency reports.
"We applaud leaders in Brazil and in Ecuador and Bolivia and other countries which have refused to turn a blind eye to these abuses by the Cuban regime," Mr Pompeo said.
"And [we] ask all countries to do the same, including places like South Africa and Qatar."
The team of Cuban medics arrived in the African nation on Sunday night. They include family physicians, epidemiologists, biotechnology experts and health-care technology engineers.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel reacted to Mr Pompeo by tweeting: "The United States lie deliberately when they attack Cuba's international medical cooperation with lies and slanders."
Trump accuses China of playing politics
David Willis - LA correspondentPresident Trump’s criticism of China has been consistent - and increasingly sharp - in recent weeks.
He’s questioned the accuracy of the death toll there, and even said he was looking into suggestions that the virus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan. But this is the harshest criticism of its kind so far.
By claiming that China’s delay in alerting the world to the spread of the virus was politically motivated - and designed to boost the election chances of his political rival Joe Biden at the expense of his own - Mr Trump is upping the ante in an increasingly bellicose war of words.
Earlier this week a senior Chinese official - Le Yucheng - questioned the president's handling of the crisis, and accused him of not acting quickly enough in order to prepare the American people for the spread of Covid-19.
For all that the president dismisses claims that the 2020 election will amount to a referendum on his handling of this crisis, its outcome may well rest on the pace of the economic recovery.
Expect the war of words between the world's two largest economies to continue.
UK has world's third-highest death toll
It's worth remembering that the epicentre of this pandemic has shifted over time, from its origin in China to southern Europe and now the US.But which countries have recorded the most deaths from the outbreak?
It's a complicated question, because different countries record their deaths in very different ways.
Take Belgium, where more than half of recorded deaths have been in care homes for the elderly and are based largely on suspected cases. This makes the country's data look much worse when compared to similar countries that don't log suspected cases in their official Covid-19 death tolls.
The UK's death toll on Wednesday surpassed both Spain and France, after official figures began including deaths in the community, such as in care homes, for the first time.
Even with these caveats in mind, the data collated by Johns Hopkins University in the US does paint an interesting picture. It lists the top ten countries for recorded deaths as:
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[*]The US with almost 61,000
[*]Italy with 27,682
[*]UK with 26,166 (The official UK government figure is 26,097)
[*]Spain with 24,275
[*]France with 24,121
[*]Belgium with 7,501
[*]Germany with 6,467
[*]Iran with 5,957
[*]Netherlands with 4,727
[*]China with 4,637
[/list]
Potential buyers circle Virgin Australia
Simon Atkinson - BBC News, SydneyIt’s been more than a week since Virgin Australia went into voluntary administration.
You might remember that Australia’s second-biggest airline was already struggling with billions of dollars of debt before the cancellation of almost all its flights due to Covid-19 meant ticket revenue pretty much dried up.
Now administrators Deloitte have revealed 20 potential buyers are circling – with eight of them signing non-disclosure agreements (which suggests they’re serious contenders).
Interested parties have been given until mid-May to make an indicative bid, and Deloitte says it’s confident of a sale being concluded by the end of June.
It’s a nervous waiting game for the carrier’s 10,000 staff – most of whom have been put on leave. And it is widely expected that whoever does buy Virgin Australia will operate a slimmed down service focused on its more profitable routes - which will of course mean job cuts.
For now, the airline continues to operate during the voluntary administration process - with 64 return domestic services each week, some domestic charter flights and government-supported international flights to Hong Kong and Los Angeles.
R0: The crucial number guiding governments everywhere
James Gallagher - Health and science correspondent, BBC NewsThere is a simple, but crucial number at the heart of understanding the threat posed by the coronavirus.
The basic reproduction number - or simply the R0 (pronounced R-nought) - is guiding governments around the world on actions they need to take to save lives. It also gives us clues on when lockdowns can be lifted.
The reproduction number is a way of rating a disease's ability to spread. Measles has one of the highest - 15 - as it can cause explosive outbreaks. The new coronavirus has this number down at around 3, but estimates vary.
And the goal of governments around the world has been to force the reproduction number down from around 3 to below 1.
If the number is lower than 1, then the disease will eventually peter out as not enough new people are being infected to sustain the outbreak.
Read more here.
Thunberg donates to Unicef's children's fund
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has donated a $100,000 (£80,000) prize she won from a Danish foundation to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) for use against the pandemic.“Like the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic is a child rights' crisis,” said Thunberg
“It will affect all children, now and in the long term, but vulnerable groups will be impacted the most. I’m asking everyone to step up and join me in support of Unicef's vital work to save children’s lives, to protect health and continue education.”
Danish anti-poverty organisation Human Act, which awarded Thunberg the original prize, has matched her donation.
An 'Alpine flag show' and other misleading stories from India
Was a peak in the Alps really lit up with the flag of India to celebrate the country's fight against the virus? What about a video of a Muslim spitting being linked to the spread?Indian social media has been rife with misleading photos, videos and news around Covid-19. BBC's Reality Check has been looking at some of the more widely shared examples.
You can get the full facts here.
Analysis: Johnson's first briefing since illness likely to be anti-climactic
Norman Smith - Assistant political editorI suspect the daily coronavirus briefing led by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson later is going to be an anti-climactic occasion.
We are not going to get the nuts and bolts of a putative exit strategy. There is not going to be a paper and I doubt there will be policy options.
We seem to be heading towards a restatement of what he said on the steps of Downing Street on Monday but the one new area is the science underpinning policy decisions.
This relates to the R factor and seems to be the guiding star of lockdown policy. If it is below one everyone is happy, if it is above we are heading towards crisis and the National Health Service being overwhelmed.
Ministers are looking with mounting trepidation towards Germany where, after an easing of restrictions, it seems to be climbing again, leading to Angela Merkel mooting the possibility of renewed lockdown.
The numbers on testing still look adrift. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has not given up reaching 100,000 tests a day even though we won’t get the final figure for Thursday until Saturday.
If he does not hit the target I think he will argue that by raising the bar so high he has galvanised drug providers into getting their act together. But the numbers are less important than the delivery. There is a complexity in accessing tests and it is that which really needs to be ironed out.
How will airlines get flying again?
Theo Leggett - Business correspondent, BBC NewsAviation is the most global of global industries, employing millions around the world. But with vast parts of its networks down, the number of daily flights has dropped by 80% since the start of the year. In some regions, nearly all passenger traffic has been suspended.
The industry is in survival mode, with airlines, airports and ground-handling firms all desperate to conserve their cash reserves, while their normal revenue streams have dried up.
Widespread job losses are expected, with British Airways' parent company IAG announcing on Tuesday that it is set to cut up to 12,000 positions from the airline's 42,000-strong workforce. IAG said it did not expect BA to see passenger demand return to 2019 levels for "several years".
Even so, attention is now gradually turning to the future, and how airlines around the world can hope to slowly return to something approaching normality.
Read more here.
What's the latest in sport?
If you haven't had a chance to keep your eye on what is happening in the world of sport, here are some of the latest headlines:- Former England & Leeds defender Trevor Cherry has died, aged 72
- Tour de France organisers say the race could still go ahead despite an extension to rules on mass gatherings in France
- Coronavirus could affect international football for "two or three years"
- Premier League clubs meet on Friday to discuss a potential restart on 8 June
UK may miss 100,000 test target, minister suggests
The UK may not reach its target of conducting 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, a cabinet minister has suggested.Health Secretary Matt Hancock set the target earlier this month but latest figures show only 52,429 tests were carried out on Tuesday.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland was asked about the likelihood of reaching the target by the BBC a little earlier.
"Even if it isn't met, we are well on our way to ramping this up," he said. "One hundred thousand is an important milestone, yes, but frankly we need more."
He added: "Yes, 52,000 isn't 100,000, I know that... but we are straining every sinew to get there."
NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and National Health Service trusts in England, has dismissed the 100,000 target as a "red herring" which risks preventing the development of a "proper, next stage testing strategy".
Buckland said drive-in test centres, mobile units and home testing would "get us to the position we need to be in" but there was "much more work to be done".
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously suggested a target of 250,000 tests a day.
UK pub chain urged to 'work together' with government
Many British businesses have begun planning in case restrictions are eased, with pub chain Wetherspoons preparing to open its doors "in or around" June.Pubs and many other businesses have been ordered to close since 23 March.
Responding to the chain's announcement, cabinet minister Robert Buckland urged companies to "work together" with the government.
He said many firms were "very anxious and straining at the leash to get back to normal" but stressed that "mixed messages help nobody".
The cabinet will meet shortly to discuss how the lockdown measures may eventually be lifted, before Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to reveal some details at the Downing Street briefing later.
Asked what people can expect, Buckland said: "I don't think you're going to hear specific detail. I think that would be premature, frankly."
Just joining us?
If you're just joining us, we hope you're keeping safe and well. Here's a summary of the main news headlines from around the world:- South Korea - which at one point had more than 900 new cases a day - has reported no new local transmissions
- US President Donald Trump accuses China of reacting slowly to the virus to harm his re-election chances
- A UK minister says the government may not reach its target of 100,000 tests a day
- Trials of a drug, remdesivir, suggest it can help people recover from Covid-19 more quickly
- Tesla boss Elon Musk says lockdowns are "fascist" and accuses governments of "forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights"
- And British Second World War veteran Captain Tom Moore - who raised around £30m ($37m) for health charities - turns 100
Stars to compete in Mario Tennis tournament
With live sport fixtures on hold due to the pandemic, various tennis stars are planning to compete in a live-streamed tournament of a tennis video game.Serena Willams, Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova are among the athletes who will go head to head on Mario Tennis Aces.
They will partner with celebrities and play as characters from the game on Nintendo Switch. Facebook Gaming will stream the event on 3 May.
E-sports have surged in popularity as Covid-19 forces the cancellation of live events, prompting players and leagues to turn to online gaming to keep fans engaged.
We've got a list of the celeb-athlete pairings in our full story.
UK PM praises Capt Tom's 'heroic efforts'
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has praised the "heroic efforts" of Captain Tom Moore, the war veteran who raised more than £29m ($36m) for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) by walking laps of his garden."On behalf of the whole country, thank you and have a very special 100th birthday," he said.
Capt Tom spoke to the BBC earlier today about the response to his fundraising efforts and the huge amount of birthday wishes he has recieved.
"I'm absolutely delighted with all the people like you who have come to wish me a very happy birthday," he said. "It really is awesome the amount of people who have made those remarks."
"When you see all those [birthday] cards from children - if you're a weeping person - it would make you weep," he said. "But I can't promise to read them all!"
Volunteers have opened an estimated 140,000 birthday cards sent to Capt Tom from around the country.
Global energy demand 'to plunge by record amount'
From the effect on wildlife to pollution levels and air quality, a fair amount has been heard about the environmental impact this pandemic is having.And now it appears that the global demand for energy is set to plummet by record amounts due to the lockdowns being enforced around the world.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is forecasting a 6% drop in energy demand for the year, which would be the steepest fall in more than 70 years and a record amount in absolute terms.
The IEA said this would lead to a drop in carbon dioxide emissions of 8%, six times larger than the biggest fall in 2009 which followed the financial crash.
“Given the number of deaths and the economic trauma around the world, this historic decline in global emissions is absolutely nothing to cheer,” the organisation’s executive director Fatih Birol told Reuters news agency.
Reality Check
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