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 1,490,790
- Global deaths: At least 88,982
- US cases: More than 432,438
- US deaths: At least 14,808
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
8:12 am: UK leader Boris Johnson ‘continues to improve’ after a third night in intensive care
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson “continues to improve,” his spokesman said, after spending a third night in intensive care with coronavirus.
Speaking to journalists, the spokesman also said Johnson had a good night and is “in good spirits.” The prime minister, who is currently at at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, has been receiving “standard oxygen treatment,” indicating that he is not on a ventilator.
Culture Minister Oliver Dowden earlier commented on Johnson’s condition, telling the BBC that Johnson is “stable, improving, sat up and engaged with medical staff,” adding: “I think things are getting better for him.” —Holly Ellyatt
8:06 am: Poland and Finland extend restrictions on public life
Poland and Finland each announced extensions of nationwide restrictions, stretching closures into May.
Polish borders will remain closed until May 3 and the government will extend a lockdown for schools and businesses, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.
Businesses will remain locked down until April 19 and limits for schools, as well as rail and air transport, will be extended for another two weeks, he said. Poles have also been told to cover their mouth and nose as of Thursday next week, at which point the government is also expected to publish a schedule of “coming back to a new economic reality.”
Finland’s government confirmed it was extending most of its restrictions by a month.
The extension until May 13 had been expected after a previous statement at the end of March that the government would extend its ban on public meetings of more than 10 people and the closure of public services such as schools for most students.
Restaurants, which were closed from April 4, also will remain shut until the end of May, excluding takeaway sales. However, the government is considering lifting restrictions on non-essential traffic to and from the Uusimaa region around Finland’s capital Helsinki. —Reuters with contribution from CNBC
8:04 am: IMF chief says pandemic will unleash worst recession since Great Depression
The pandemic sweeping the world will turn global economic growth “sharply negative” in 2020, triggering the worst fallout since the 1930s Great Depression, with only a partial recovery seen in 2021, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva painted a far bleaker picture of the social and economic impact of the new coronavirus than even a few weeks ago, noting governments had already undertaken fiscal stimulus measures of $8 trillion, but more would likely be needed.
She said the crisis would hit emerging markets and developing countries hardest of all, which would then need hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid. —Reuters
7:12 am: Former FDA chief: US won’t have capacity to produce COVID-19 therapeutic at scale
The U.S. might have an effective drug to treat the coronavirus by the fall, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said, however the U.S. won’t have the manufacturing capacity to produce enough to meet demand.
“We may have an effective drug in the fall,” he said. “But we’re not going to have the capacity to produce it at scale to give it to the millions of people who might be eligible for it, who might need it.” —Will Feuer
Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer and biotech company Illumina.
7:01 am: Bill Gates says US could open back up at end of May
Bill Gates thinks the U.S. could begin to re-open the economy at the end of May, he said in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick. Before a vaccine is available, he said, countries that have had considerable epidemics must figure out which activities should come back. He suggested that people could probably return to manufacturing and construction jobs, and hopefully education.
“I don’t think going to big, say, public sports-type events, that the economic benefit relative to the risks, that will work out until we’re back in normal times,” he said.
Gates pointed to businesses in China coming back to life and activity returning in South Korea, one of the first countries to face a surge of coronavirus cases. He also suggested the economy would not magically revert to the way it was before the pandemic, even once governments decide it’s safe to go back to work. —Matt Rosoff, Jordan Novet
6:15 am: Iran’s death toll rises by 117 to 4,110
Iran’s Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said the country’s death toll had risen by 117 to 4,110, according to Reuters. The total number of infections has reached 66,220, he said. —Holly Ellyatt
5:40 am: Spain’s daily deaths decrease; death toll surpasses 15,000
Spain’s number of daily coronavirus deaths slowed after two days of increases. Spain’s health ministry said 683 people died from the virus in 24 hours, taking the death toll to 15,238.
The total number of confirmed cases has now risen to 152,446 from 146,690. —Holly Ellyatt
4:50 am: UK leader Boris Johnson said to be ‘getting better’ as he spends a third night in intensive care
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a third night in intensive care in a London hospital having been admitted for persistent coronavirus symptoms, although his condition is said to be improving.
Culture Minister Oliver Dowden is the latest U.K. lawmaker to comment on Johnson’s condition, telling the BBC Thursday morning that the prime minister is “stable, improving, sat up and engaged with medical staff,” adding, “I think things are getting better for him.”
Johnson is receiving “excellent care” at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London where he is being treated, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said at the government’s daily press briefing Wednesday afternoon. —Holly Ellyatt
4:20 am: Russia’s cases rise above 10,000
A police officer at the Iberian Gate in a deserted Red Square during the pandemic of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Valery Sharifulin
Russia has reported a record one-day rise of 1,459 new coronavirus cases, making the total number of confirmed cases 10,131.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths rose by 13 to 76, the national coronavirus crisis response center said, adding that it had conducted 1 million tests. —Holly Ellyatt
Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Russia’s cases rise above 10,000; Italy could ease lockdown soon