Coronavirus latest: Nearly 250,000 infections in US
- Global death toll exceeds 52,500 as the number of infections passes 1 million
- Communist Party boss in Wuhan says risk of the virus resurgence in the city still high
- New York City tells residents to wear face masks
- Over two weeks, about 10 million people file for unemployment benefits in the United States
Updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)
01:54 China’s services sector struggled to get back on its feet in March after a brutal month of unprecedented shop closures and public lockdowns amid the coronavirus outbreak, a private survey showed on Friday.
Services companies cut jobs at the fastest pace on record as orders plunged for the second straight month and businesses scrambled to reduce their operating costs. Export orders also slumped again as more countries imposed their own tough virus containment measures.
While the Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rebounded to 43 in March from a record low of 26.5 in February, it still remained deep in contraction territory and was the second weakest reading since the survey began in late 2005. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.
01:25 The United Nations approved a resolution calling for “international cooperation” and “multilateralism” when facing the coronavirus pandemic. In its first resolution since the pandemic began, the UN General Assembly stressed “the need for full human respect for human rights.”
“There is no place for any form of discrimination, racism and xenophobia in the response to the pandemic.” The resolution was submitted by Switzerland, Indonesia Singapore, Norway, Liechtenstein and Ghana. It was adopted by 188 of the 193 states that make up the body.
Russia attempted to oppose the resolution with its own text — one supported by the Central African Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela — but it was ultimately unsuccessful.
01:10 US President Donald Trump has sharply criticized 3M Co in a tweet after earlier announcing he was invoking the Defense Production Act to get the company to produce face masks. “We hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their Masks. ‘P Act’ all the way. Big surprise to many in government as to what they were doing — will have a big price to pay!” Trump said on Twitter.
00:51 The United States recorded 1,169 deaths from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University’s case tracker. It is the highest one-day death toll recorded in any country since the pandemic began. The US now has 5,936 coronavirus deaths on record.
00:30 Residents of Wuhan, epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in China, should strengthen self-protection measures and avoid going out unless it is necessary, the city’s Communist Party chief said.
Wang Zhonglin was quoted as saying in a statement published by the Wuhan city government that the risk of a rebound in the city’s coronavirus epidemic remained high due to both internal and external risks and that it must continue to maintain prevention and control measures.
00:25 Walt Disney Co. plans to furlough non-essential US employees across the company from April 19 as the coronavirus outbreak continues to disrupt the media and theme park businesses. Disney committed to full pay and benefits for all employees through April 18 despite theme park closures, the halt of film and television production and the closing of movie theaters.
All impacted workers will remain Disney employees through the furlough period and will receive full healthcare benefits. The company did not say how many employees would be affected.
00:15 Here’s a recap of the global figures:
1,013,157 confirmed cases
52,983 deaths.
210,263 recovered worldwide
00:00 Catch up on yesterday’s news here: Coronavirus latest: Global coronavirus infections top 1 million
djv/sri (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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