COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11.
There are more than 1.9 million confirmed cases of the virus worldwide, and more than 126,000 people have died from it, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Efforts to curb the outbreak have led to the global disruption of daily life and the economy, as schools and workplaces shutter in hopes of slowing transmission.
HuffPost reporters around the world are tracking the pandemic and the measures being taken to flatten the curve of transmission.
Read the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic below. (To see the latest updates, you may need to refresh the page. All times are Eastern. For earlier updates on the pandemic, go here.)
China Didn’t Warn Public Of Likely Pandemic For 6 Key Days — 4/15/2020, 7:30 a.m. ET
Top officials in Beijing were warned of a likely pandemic from a new coronavirus in January, but stayed silent for six days, the Associated Press reports. During that time, more than 3,000 people were likely infected, and the Chinese government lost crucial time in which they could have taken measures against the virus. China denies suppressing information in the early days of the outbreak. Read the full story here.
— Liza Hearon
Masks Made Mandatory Across India — 4/15/20, 4:50 a.m. ET
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued fresh guidelines Wednesday to enforce the extended national lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus, HuffPost India reports.
All kinds of public transport and opening of public places will remain prohibited till May 3. However, grocery stores, fruits and vegetable shops/carts, milk booths, and poultry, meat and fish shops will remain open during lockdown.
The government has made wearing of masks compulsory in public places across India. Spitting in public has been made a punishable offense and a strict ban enforced on the sale of liquor and tobacco.
India has nearly 11,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 9,756 patients currently under treatment and a death toll of 377, the health ministry said.
— Meryl Sebastian
Australia Pleads With Teachers To Return To Schools — 4/15/20, 3:40 a.m. ET
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has issued a direct plea to teachers, asking them to return to classrooms and be the “great heroes” of Australia. In a televised address to the nation, the prime minister said their place in society has “always been critical,” insisting teachers must join cleaners, supermarket staff and health workers on the frontline to fight COVID-19.
“I want teachers to know from me, both as a parent and as a prime minister, just how appreciated you are and how important the job is that you’re doing right now and how much you are needed,” he said.
Although many will adapt to remote learning, for the schools that will remain open, Morrison said the risk of COVID-19 spreading among school-age children is low and reminded Australia many disadvantaged families cannot take part in distance learning.
“Your students and their families are relying on you more than ever. The education of our children hangs in the balance,” Morrison said.
Read more on HuffPost Australia
— Carly Williams
Trump’s Name Will Appear On Stimulus Checks ― 4/14/20, 10:10 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump’s name will be printed on the economic stimulus checks that the Internal Revenue Service will distribute to individuals to help mitigate losses caused by the coronavirus, according to The Washington Post.
The addition ordered by the Treasury Department is reportedly expected to delay the delivery of paper checks by several days at a time Americans are losing their jobs at an exponential rate and are in immediate need of the money.
The phrase “President Donald J. Trump” will be printed in a memo line on the left side of the checks, below a line that says “Economic Impact Payment,” according to the Post. Americans are expected to receive these checks ― most will total $1,200 per individual ― after the IRS adjusts its printing technology for the addition.
This is the first time a president’s name will appear on a payment from the IRS. The checks are part of the federal government’s $2 trillion stimulus package to help boost the economy as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down most of the country.
― Sanjana Karanth
NYC Coronavirus Death Count Rises By More Than 3,700 With Addition Of Presumed Cases ― 4/14/20, 6:05 p.m. ET
Amid testing struggles, officials in New York City are no longer limiting the local death toll to confirmed cases of COVID-19, adding more than 3,700 victims to the official tally, The New York Times reported Tuesday. More than 10,000 people are now believed to have died of the virus in the nation’s largest city.
The patients added to NYC’s official coronavirus death toll on Tuesday were presumed to have had the virus because of their symptoms and medical histories. The city’s health department had been tracking such cases for weeks, and the tally was expected to increase sharply with the change in reporting guidelines, as reported by Gothamist last week.
The additions brought the country’s coronavirus death toll to more than 26,000. Due to the severe shortage of testing capacity, however, experts believe the true tally is far higher.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Tuesday morning that the “curve” ― the number of new hospitalizations due to the virus each day ― appears to be flattening out, hopefully heralding an eventual decline. But he emphasized that current social distancing measures would still be necessary in the weeks ahead.
― Sara Boboltz
California Releases Road Map For Modifying Social Distancing Orders ― 4/14/2020, 3:45 p.m. ET
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) released a list of six benchmarks the state must meet before it can begin relaxing strict social distancing mandates.
The state has successfully begun flattening its curve of coronavirus cases. But California is “not out of the woods yet,” Newsom warned at a Tuesday press conference.
The six indicators for modifying shelter-in-place orders are as follows, Newsom’s office said:
- The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed;
- The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19;
- The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges;
- The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand;
- The ability for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to support physical distancing; and
- The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary.
“The models have changed because of your behavior,” Newsom said of earlier projections that showed a higher rate of infection in California. “And that puts us in a position to be able to socialize again, to make public these private conversations we’ve been having about this next phase.”
But, he continued, “we do so soberly, because today we had a record number of deaths.”
In the past day, Newsom said, 71 people in the state have died from COVID-19.
— Lydia O’Connor
Death Toll At Virginia Nursing Home Hits 45 — 4/14/20, 3:25 p.m. ET
There have been at least 45 coronavirus-related deaths at the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, a nursing home in Richmond, Virginia, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
The center has surpassed the most recent death toll of 43 at the Life Care Center in suburban Seattle, the site of country’s first major outbreak. Roughly 4,000 deaths nationwide have been linked to outbreaks in nursing homes.
Many Canterbury staff members either quit or became sick soon after the care center’s first COVID-19 diagnosis, on March 18. What’s more, the facility lacks the space to keep people apart, and can’t afford to hire the staff it needs.
“A publicly funded nursing home is a virus’s dream,” Jim Wright, Canterbury’s medical director, told the AP. “It is the best place for a virus to be. People are close together. Their immune systems are compromised. It is just a tinderbox for that match.”
― Hayley Miller
Navajo Nation Reports More Cases Per Capita Than Most U.S. States — 4/14/20, 11:35 a.m. ET
The Navajo Nation has recorded more COVID-19 cases on its reservation than almost every U.S. state, behind only New York and New Jersey, records show.
Of the roughly 174,000 people who live on the Navajo Nation ― the largest American Indian reservation in the country ― 813 people are known to be infected and at least 28 people have died, officials reported Monday. That means 468 per 100,000 people on the Navajo Nation have tested positive for the virus.
By comparison, New York and New Jersey have recorded 998 cases and 727 cases per 100,000 people, respectively. The state with the third highest number of confirmed infections per capita is Louisiana, which has 451.
― Hayley Miller
Cuomo Threatens ‘Constitutional Challenge’ If Trump Orders States To Reopen Too Early — 4/14/20, 11:20 a.m. ET
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who leads the state at the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., threatened to sue Donald Trump if the president orders states to lift their stay-at-home orders too early and rushes to reopen the economy before the pandemic safely subsides.
“If he ordered me to reopen in a way that would endanger the public health of the people of my state, I wouldn’t do it,” Cuomo said Tuesday on CNN. “And we would have a constitutional challenge between the state and the federal government, and that would go into the courts. And that would be the worst possible thing he could do at this moment, would be to act dictatorial and to act in a partisan, divisive way.”
After widespread evidence that Trump and the federal government botched the U.S. response to the pandemic, governors like Cuomo have largely been at the forefront of those efforts, often in a collaborative way. That became more formalized Monday, when two groups of governors, in the Northeast and on the West Coast, announced joint task forces to develop a plan to reopen their states together.
Trump — who falsely declared his “authority is total” in a propagandistic press briefing Monday — responded to Cuomo in a tweet, accusing the governor of “begging for everything” and falsely claiming: “I got it all done for him, and everyone else.”
― Marina Fang
UK Unemployment Could Rise By 2 Million — 4/14/20, 8:10 a.m. ET
U.K. unemployment could increase by 2 million and GDP could fall by 35% in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has said.
In its analysis published Tuesday, the OBR said the lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson would likely “deliver large (but hopefully temporary) shock to the economy and public finances.”
Experts at the independent body that advises the government said the figures were based on an assumption there would be a three-month lockdown followed by another three-month period when restrictions were partially lifted. Public sector net borrowing is also forecast to reach 15% of GDP, making it the largest single-year deficit since the Second World War.
The U.K. coronavirus death toll in hospitals has reached 11,329.
— Ned Simons
UK ‘Missed Three Chances To Join EU Scheme To Bulk Buy PPE’ — 4/14/20, 5:25 a.m. ET
The U.K. missed three chances to be part of an EU scheme to bulk-buy personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers, which would have allowed them access to masks, gowns and gloves, the Guardian reports
The availability of PPE has been a major issue in the U.K. coronavirus outbreak.
European medical staff are reported to receive the first of £1.3 billion-worth ($1.6 billion) of PPE within days or a maximum of two weeks under the EU scheme involving 25 countries.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We will continue to work with European countries and others in order to make sure that we can increase the capacity within the NHS, and we will consider participating in future EU joint procurement schemes on the basis of public health requirements at the time.” Read more on HuffPost U.K.
— Kate Forrester
France Lockdown Extended As President Macron Promises ‘Better Days’ — 4/14/20, 4:15 a.m. ET
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday he was extending the lockdown until May 11 to curb the coronavirus outbreak, adding that progress had been made but the battle not yet won.
“I fully understand the effort I’m asking from you,” Macron told the nation in a televised address. “When will we be able to return to a normal life? I would love to be able to answer you. But to be frank, I have to humbly tell you we don’t have definitive answers,” he said.
“We’ll have better days, and we’ll return to happy days,” Macron said.
HuffPost France reports (in French) that schools and nurseries will slowly reopen on May 11, but cultural and sports establishments, including festivals, will remain closed until at least July.
International arrivals from non-European countries will remain prohibited until further notice.
— Francesca Syrett
India’s National Lockdown Extended Until May 3 — 4/14/20, 12.51 a.m. ET
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Tuesday that India’s national lockdown, the world’s strictest so far to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, has been extended to May 3. The 21-day national lockdown put in place last month to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus was to have ended on Tuesday.
The restrictions may be relaxed subject to conditions in some areas after April 20 after new assessments of the situation. Detailed guidelines on the lockdown will be issued on Wednesday.
The total number of reported cases in the country crossed 10,000 on Tuesday. — Sharanya Hrishikesh
Trump Turns His Coronavirus Briefing Into A Propaganda Campaign ― 4/13/20, 10:15 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump turned his daily White House coronavirus briefing on Monday into a full-fledged propaganda campaign, attempting to rewrite history on his pandemic response with a video meant to paint him in a positive light.
The president went on a tirade during the briefing, criticizing the news media for accurately reporting that he was slow to effectively respond to the growing pandemic despite being warned early on by several aides and health experts about the need for aggressive action.
The propaganda video showed several cable reels of reporters downplaying the virus’s risk in January, and then showed a timeline of the White House’s response to the pandemic. A CBS reporter asked Trump what he did to mitigate the spread in the month between announcing travel restrictions from China and announcing that pharmaceutical companies were beginning to develop a vaccine; Trump did not directly answer the question.
Trump has increasingly taken advantage of the briefing’s wide viewership at a time when he’s unable to hold reelection campaign rallies due to the pandemic. As the president increases the number of lies he tells every day, networks are beginning to cut away from the briefing to prevent the spread of sometimes dangerous misinformation.
― Sanjana Karanth
Democratic Governors Form Compacts To Coordinate Reopening — 4/13/20, 5:30 p.m. ET
Democratic governors in the Northeast and along the West Coast announced separate state compacts on Monday to coordinate the massive upcoming challenge of eventually reopening society.
The governors made the announcements just hours after President Donald Trump tweeted that he gets to decide when to “open up the states.” Trump also tweeted that he was working closely with governors.
The Northeastern coalition consists of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The West Coast coalition consists of California, Oregon and Washington state.
While the governors did not detail any specific plans on how to scale back stay-at-home orders or reopen businesses, they said they would coordinate those decisions while first considering residents’ health and safety.
“The house is still on fire,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told reporters. “We still have to put the fire out, but we do have to begin putting in the pieces of the puzzle that we know we’re going to need … to make sure this doesn’t reignite.”
― Sanjana Karanth
Lockdown Set To Continue Despite U.K. ‘Starting To Win This Struggle’ — 4/13/20, 12:40 p.m. ET
U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has suggested lockdown restrictions will not be relaxed imminently despite signs that the U.K. is “starting to win this struggle” with coronavirus.
The minister told the daily Downing Street press conference there were some “positive signs” from the latest data but that “we are still not past the peak” of the virus.
The country’s scientific advisory group is scheduled to meet this week to determine the next step on lockdown, but Raab signaled “we don’t expect to make any change to the measures in place at that point.”
— Graeme Demianyk
U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Oral Arguments Via Teleconference — 4/13/20, 10:10 a.m. ET
The U.S. Supreme Court will resume oral arguments in May by hearing them over teleconference, a court spokesperson announced.
For the first time, it will stream the live audio for reporters covering the cases. The court has long resisted providing live audio or video of its proceedings.
The Supreme Court building has been closed to the public since mid-March, and the justices have been conducting proceedings remotely. Oral arguments have been postponed through the end of April. All but three of the nine justices are over the age of 65, the age group the CDC considers at higher risk for contracting COVID-19.
Among the upcoming cases are a trio of cases involving whether President Donald Trump will have to release his tax returns and other key financial records.
— Marina Fang
U.K. Armed Forces Deployed To Help Ambulance Staff — 4/13/20, 5:15 a.m. ET
Nearly 200 members of the U.K. armed forces are being loaned to the National Health Service to support their work during the coronavirus pandemic.
Personnel from the Army, Royal Air Force and Navy will be sent to work at five ambulance trusts across the U.K. While their responsibilities will vary, their new duties will include driving ambulances and taking calls from the public.
The military has already helped to construct the first specialist COVID-19 NHS Nightingale hospital at the ExCel centre in London.
“Our armed forces always step forward at the appearance of threats to the country and its people,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said. “Across the United Kingdom, soldiers, sailors, airmen and women have got the backs of our NHS colleagues as they confront coronavirus.”
— Francesca Syrett
South Korea Will Reportedly Ship 600,000 Coronavirus Testing Kits To U.S. This Week — 4/13/2020, 4:28 a.m.
South Korea plans to send 600,000 COVID-19 testing kits to the U.S. on Tuesday, about three weeks after President Donald Trump beseeched the country for help, Reuters reported, citing a Seoul official.
During a phone call on March 25, Trump asked South Korean President Moon Jae-In to send coronavirus test kits to the U.S., South Korean news outlets reported last month.
Reuters said the first shipment of kits is scheduled to leave South Korea aboard a U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency cargo plane on Tuesday night.— Dominique Mosbergen
Spain Loosens Restrictions On Non-Essential Workers — 4/13/20, 4:15 a.m. ET
Some non-essential workers will be allowed to go back to work on Monday as Spain loosens its strict lockdown measures.
While authorities have strongly urged those who can work from home to continue to do so, construction workers and those in the manufacturing industry will be allowed to leave their homes and return to work.
The change comes as HuffPost Spain reported (in Spanish) its lowest daily growth in confirmed coronavirus infections in three weeks, with 4,167 cases reported on Sunday.
Spain’s total number of COVID-19 deaths is 16,972 and its number of confirmed cases ― more than 166,000 ― is second only to the United States.
— Francesca Syrett
Thousands Of Health Care Workers Sickened With COVID-19 In Southeast Michigan — 4/13/2020, 12:08 a.m. ET
Almost 3,000 people employed by health care firms in the Detroit area have contracted the novel coronavirus, BuzzFeed News reported on Sunday. A large portion of those infected were medical staff.
Health care workers in the region described the fear they experience on the job.
“I can honestly say the nervousness is apparent in many of us,” a nurse at Detroit’s Henry Ford Hospital who was sickened with COVID-19 told BuzzFeed. “Seeing each other getting sick just increases the anxiety that one of us might be next and bring it home to our family.”
— Dominique Mosbergen
OPEC, Oil Nations Agree To Nearly 10 Million Barrel Cut Amid Coronavirus ― 4/12/20, 6:22 p.m. ET
OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing nations on Sunday agreed to a production cut of almost 10 million barrels ― a tenth of global supply ― in hopes of boosting crashing oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The group of nations agreed to cut 9.7 million barrels a day beginning May 1, according to the countries’ energy ministers. Mexico was allowed to cut only 100,000 barrels a month, a sticking point in an accord initially reached Friday after a marathon video conference between nations. The deal was reached just hours before Asian markets reopen on Monday.
Efforts to reach an agreement on production cuts had failed in March, sending oil prices crashing. President Donald Trump, a longtime OPEC critic, tweeted on Sunday, “The big Oil Deal with OPEC Plus is done. This will save hundreds of thousands of energy jobs in the United States.”
― Sanjana Karanth
For earlier updates on the pandemic, go here.
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