This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
- Global cases: More than 1,026,900
- Global deaths: At least 53,975
- US cases: At least 245,500
- US deaths: At least 6,058
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
7:30 am: UK health minister suggests nationwide coronavirus peak could be Easter Sunday
U.K. Health Minister Matt Hancock reportedly said the deadliest peak of Britain’s coronavirus outbreak could be on Easter Sunday.
In an interview with Sky News, Hancock said he “would defer to the scientists on exact predictions,” but the peak of the U.K. outbreak falling on April 12 was “one perfectly possible outcome.”
To date, the U.K. has reported more than 34,000 cases of the COVID-19 infection, with 2,926 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. —Sam Meredith
7:19 am: BMW CEO says company is working to safeguard liquidity
An employee inspects the body frame of a BMW X4 sports utility vehicle on the assembly plant in Greer, South Carolina.
Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images
BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said the carmaker is focusing on preserving the health of its balance sheet and workforce.
“No company can possibly get through something like this unscathed. Guaranteeing our liquidity needs to happen very quickly. The Management Board are currently meeting twice as often as normal, so we can make the necessary decisions,” Zipse said in a statement.
“We are preparing to ramp up production as soon as the time is right in full compliance with all the safety aspects, and with international coordination. It’s essential that we synchronize with the supplier network on this,” he added. —Reuters
7:10 am: Job losses in March could be the worst in a decade, and that’s just the beginning
March’s employment report could show the most monthly job losses in a decade, but it’s only a fraction of the real hit to the workforce that came when many states issued stay-at-home orders late in the month.
Economists expect a consensus decline of 100,000 nonfarm payrolls when data is released at 8:30 am ET, according to Refinitiv. But the survey for the report was done before many states began telling residents to stay home. For the final two weeks of the month, 10 million people sought unemployment benefits as businesses and schools closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. —Patti Domm
7:06 am: European business activity craters as Brussels races to find a ‘credible’ funding plan
The coronavirus pandemic is hitting European economies sharply, with the latest economic data showing massive falls in services activity across the region.
In Italy, the services industry dropped in March at the fastest rate since the IHS Markit survey began in 1998. In Germany, the services sector laid off staff at the steepest rate in about 23 years. In Spain, services activity contracted for the first time in six-and-a-half years.
The data released Friday showed the final Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index — which includes services and manufacturing — for the whole euro zone crashed to a record low of 29.7 in March, from 51.6 in February. This was the biggest monthly fall since the survey began. —Silvia Amaro
6:00 am: Spain’s daily death toll falls for the first time since March 26
Coffins containing the bodies of people who have died of coronavirus (COVID-19) are lined up in the long-term parking of the Collserola morgue before they either buried or incinerated, on April 02, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain.
David Ramos | Getty Images
The amount of people that have died from the coronavirus in Spain has seen its first daily fall since March 26. A total of 932 people died in the last 24 hours, down from 950 people the previous day, according to Reuters who cited the country’s health ministry. Spain’s death toll now stands at 10,935. —Matt Clinch
5:33 am: China’s central bank announces new stimulus measures
The People’s Bank of China said it was reducing the amount of cash that small and mid-sized banks need to hold in reserve. It will reportedly free up around 400 billion yuan ($56.38 billion) in liquidity and aid the country’s economy which has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. —Matt Clinch
4:50 am: Singapore shuts schools, closes most workplaces
People seated in a food center in Marina Bay Sands shopping mall according to safe distancing markers on March 30, 2020 in Singapore.
Ore Huiying | Getty Images
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced stricter social distancing measures in the city state, joining a chorus of countries globally that have done so to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The measures include closing most workplaces, except those offering “essential services” such as food establishments, hospitals and transport, Lee said. All schools will also be closed temporarily, he said. The prime minister also said his government is rethinking its advice that only those who are ill need to wear masks. —Yen Nee Lee
Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Spain’s services industry records ‘unprecedented’ decline, survey shows