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 2,169,000
- Global deaths: At least 146,071
- US cases: More than 671,400
- US deaths: At least 33,286
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
7:25 am: Procter & Gamble US sales jumped as consumers rushed to stock up amid the outbreak
Procter & Gamble reported that its fiscal third-quarter U.S. sales surged 10% as consumers stocked up on staples like toilet paper ahead of the coronavirus outbreak.
P&G reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $2.92 billion, or $1.12 per share, up from $2.75 million, or $1.04 per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the Charmin owner earned $1.17 per share.
Net sales rose 5% to $17.21 billion.
Wall Street anticipated earnings per share of $1.13 on revenue of $17.46 billion, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv. However, it’s difficult to compare reported earnings to analyst estimates for P&G’s quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hit global economies and makes earnings impact difficult to assess. —Amelia Lucas
7:13 am: Switzerland’s death toll reaches 1,059, confirmed infections surpass 27,000
Switzerland’s public health agency has recorded a further 42 fatalities as a result of the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, Reuters reported, taking the country’s death to 1,059 up from 1,017.
The number of people that have now tested positive nationwide increased to 27,078, it added, up from 26,732 on Thursday. —Sam Meredith
7:05 am: Google told to respect Europe’s privacy rules as it works on contact tracing app
Google has been pressured to closely follow Europe’s data privacy rules with the coronavirus tracing apps that it’s developing alongside Apple.
The two tech giants announced last week a partnership to develop tools that will help track the spread of the coronavirus via Bluetooth technology. The idea is to mitigate the number of new infections when lockdown measures are lifted over the coming months. However, the announcement has raised concerns that such technology could breach an individual’s privacy.
“Contact tracing apps can be useful to limit the spread of the coronavirus. But their development and interoperability need to fully respect our values and privacy,” Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said after a video meeting with Google and YouTube CEOs on Wednesday. —Silvia Amaro
7:01 am: UK expands testing criteria
A drive through farm shop has been opened at Tulley’s Farm where contactless payment is taken on the end of a pole to observe social distancing on April 03, 2020 in Turners Hill, England.
Mike Hewitt
Britain has expanded the number of people who are eligible to be tested for Covid-19 to include the police, fire service, judiciary, and others, health minister Matt Hancock said, in part of its efforts to widen its testing program.
The government has been criticized for all but abandoning testing in mid-March, but Hancock said it was part of the government’s strategy to have mass testing in the community, something that gets closer as Britain builds testing capacity.
“The challenge is that as the epidemic increased exponentially at that point in the middle of March. It meant that the incidence of the outbreak was broad and it meant that we weren’t able to test everybody with symptoms,” Hancock told a parliamentary committee. “I can today expand eligibility for testing to the police, the fire service, prison staff, critical local authority staff, the judiciary, and DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) staff who need it.” —Reuters
6 am: Spain’s total number of infections crosses 188,000
Spain’s health ministry said the total number of cases in the country had jumped to 188,068, up from 182,816 on Thursday.
Second only to the U.S. worldwide, Spain has recorded the highest number of Covid-19 infections in Europe.
Earlier on Friday, Spain’s social security minister said the government would try to support roughly 1 million of the poorest households with a monthly basic wage. Speaking to COPE radio station, the minister said the policy was designed to help people weather the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis. —Sam Meredith
4:55 am: Indonesia reports over 400 new cases, death toll climbs to 520
People wearing face masks attend Friday prayers at a mosque in Surabaya, Indonesia on March 20, 2020.
Juni Kriswanto | AFP | Getty Images
Indonesia’s health ministry confirmed an additional 407 coronavirus cases, taking the country’s total number of infections to 5,923.
To date, the Southeast Asian nation has recorded 520 deaths as a result of Covid-19. —Sam Meredith
4:25 am: Russia reports record daily jump in cases
A police officer with flu masks on the faces seen at a chekpoint on the road from Riga at the entrance to Moscow, Russia, April,15,2020.
Mikhail Svetlov
Russia reported 4,069 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours — a record rise in new infections, reported Reuters, citing the Interfax news agency.
That brings total cases in Russia to 32,007, according to the report. —Yen Nee Lee
4:20 am: China updates national tally for cases and deaths after Wuhan revision
China’s National Health Commission said that it has updated the death toll and total confirmed cases in the mainland after Wuhan city revised its tally.
China’s national death toll now stands at 4,632, up from the 3,342 that the NHC provided on Friday morning. Meanwhile, total confirmed cases have been revised from 82,367 to 82,692, the NHC said. —Yen Nee Lee