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- Global cases: At least 118,381, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization
- Global deaths: At least 4,292, according to the latest figures from the WHO
- US cases: At least 1,279, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
All times below are in Beijing time.
8:05 am: Italy cases top 12,000
Italy’s health ministry said as of 6 p.m. local time on Mar. 11, there were a total of 12,462 cases, including 1,045 people who have recovered and 827 who have died. The country is in a complete lockdown at the moment, with most non-essential businesses, including bars and restaurants, closed. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte earlier this week told people to “stay at home.” Outside China, Italy is the worst-affected country. – Roy Choudhury
7:53 am: Australia announces fiscal stimulus measures
Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled a 17.6 billion Australian dollar ($11.4 billion) stimulus package to tackle the economic impact of the global pandemic by keeping people employed and helping small and medium-sized companies stay in business.
Morrison said up to 6.5 million individuals and 3.5 million businesses would be directly supported by the measures. That includes a one-off 750 Australian dollar payment to pensioners and other income support recipients as well as providing cash flow assistance to businesses. The government is setting aside 1 billion Australian dollars to support sectors, regions, and communities that have been disproportionately affected, including those that rely heavily on tourism, agriculture, and education.
“This plan is about keeping Australians in jobs. This plan is about keeping a business in business, particularly small and medium-sized businesses. This plan is about ensuring the Australian economy bounces back stronger on the other side of, and with that, the budget bounces back with it,” Morrison told reporters.
A day earlier, Morrison had announced a health package worth 2.4 billion Australian dollars to fight the virus. – Roy Choudhury
7:27 am: US travel industry could lose $24 billion as virus outbreak cripples tourism
The U.S. travel and tourism industry could lose at least $24 billion in foreign spending this year because of the rapidly spreading coronavirus, according to data produced by Tourism Economics and first seen by CNBC. That would be equivalent to about seven times more than the industry lost during the SARS outbreak in 2003, according to the data. The figures also imply 8.2 million lost visitors in one year, which would be even more than the 7.7 million international travelers lost in 2001 and 2002, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. – Hirsch
7:21 am: Trump to address the nation at 9 p.m. ET
A man wearing head covering with a protective visor sits in the arrival hall at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
All times below are in Eastern time.
5:22 pm: Italy expands shutdown to nearly all stores
Italy’s premier says all stores except pharmacies and grocery stores are being closed nationwide in response to the country’s coronavirus outbreak.
Premier Giuseppe Conte thanked the public for cooperating with the already unprecedented travel and social restrictions that took effect Tuesday.
But he said Wednesday night on Facebook Live that Italy must “go another step″ by closing all shops and businesses except for food stores, pharmacies and other shops selling ″essential″ items.
The tighter restrictions on daily life are the government’s latest effort to respond to the fast-moving crisis that took Italy’s number of cases from three to 12,462 in less than three weeks. – The Associated Press
