Coronavirus live updates: Spain’s daily death rate rises slightly; Singapore extends ‘circuit breaker’ measures until June 1

FAN Editor

This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.

  • Global cases: More than 2.4 million
  • Global deaths: More than 170,399
  • Most cases reported: United States (787,901), Spain (200,210), Italy (181,228), France (156,493), and Germany (147,065). 

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 2:38 p.m. Beijing time. 

All times below are in Beijing time.

5:40 pm: Singapore extends ‘circuit breaker’ measures until June 1

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that partial lockdown measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the country will be extended by four weeks to June 1.

Some of those measures, which the Singapore leader calls a “circuit breaker,” involve shutting schools and most workplaces temporarily. Those measures, which were implemented two weeks ago, were initially supposed to end on May 4. 

The announcement after the country’s Ministry of Health preliminarily confirmed another 1,111 cases of the coronavirus disease, taking its total number of cases to 9,125 since the outbreak. The government sometimes releases an update before confirming the cases later in the day. (See 4:10 pm update) — Yen Nee Lee

Municipal police officers are seen during a tribute to Ciudad Lineal pharmacy to thank their work to fight against coronavirus and the donation of gels and masks on April 20, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.

Europa Press News

5:20 pm: Spain’s daily death rate rises slightly

Spain’s daily death toll has risen slightly from Monday, with 430 additional deaths reported in the last 24 hours in the country, up from the 399 deaths reported yesterday.

On Tuesday, the Spanish health ministry said the total number of fatalities had risen to 21,282, up 430 from 20,852 the previous day. The total number of confirmed cases stands at 204,178. — Holly Ellyatt

4:30 pm: What Germany could teach us about lifting lockdowns

While much of western Europe has struggled to contain the coronavirus pandemic, Germany has appeared to navigate the outbreak relatively smoothly, with widespread testing and contact tracing that has helped keep its death rate far lower than its peers.

Perhaps, then, it’s time to look to Germany for how to lift the lockdown too.

On Monday, Germany started to tentatively lift its restrictions, with smaller retailers of under 800 square meters being allowed to reopen, as long as hygiene and social distancing measures could be maintained. Larger car dealerships, bike shops and book shops have also been allowed to open their doors. — Holly Ellyatt

4:10 pm: Singapore confirms 1,111 new cases in preliminary update

Singapore’s Ministry of Health said it has preliminarily confirmed another 1,111 cases of the coronavirus disease, taking its total number of cases to 9,125 since the outbreak.

The ministry said the vast majority of the new cases involved migrant workers living in dormitories. It added that more details will be shared in a press release later. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is set to address the nation at 5 p.m. local time later today.

That’s the second consecutive day that Singapore has reported cases of over 1,000 a day. The country now has the highest number of confirmed cases in Southeast Asia. — Yen Nee Lee

3:42 pm: Germany’s Bavaria state cancels Oktoberfest

The southern German state of Bavaria has cancelled Oktoberfest, the world’s largest folk festival attended by millions of people, reported Reuters.  

The festival had been scheduled to take place from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 this year, the report said.

Reuters reported that around six million party-goers gather in Munich every year for Oktoberfest, which makes more than 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) for the city. Festivities typically involve downing large quantities of beer in packed tents with long wooden tables and oompah bands, the report said. — Yen Nee Lee

3:20 pm: Thailand reports lowest daily increase in cases in over a month

Thailand reported 19 new cases of the coronavirus disease — the lowest daily increase in more than a month, reported Reuters, citing the country’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. 

The Southeast Asian country also reported one more death, according to the report.

In total, Thailand has reported 2,811 cases and 48 deaths since the outbreak. — Yen Nee Lee 

2:10 pm: Indonesia bans traditional mass travel to combat virus spread 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said he will ban a traditional annual exodus — referred to as “mudik” in the local language — at the end of the Muslim fasting month to stem the spread of the coronavirus, reported Reuters. 

Millions of Indonesians typically travel across the country back to their home villages and towns at the end of Ramadan, which concludes with large feasts and celebrations among relatives and friends. 

Allowing that tradition to go ahead could result in one million infections by July in Java, the country’s most populous island and home to capital city Jakarta, Reuters reported last week, citing a new model done by University of Indonesia’s public health faculty.

Indonesia has reported 6,760 cases of the coronavirus as of Monday, but some experts said that number could be much higher given the country’s limited testing capacity at the moment. The country’s death toll of 590 is Asia’s second highest after China. — Yen Nee Lee 

1:32 pm: Germany’s confirmed cases jump 1,785 to 143,457

Germany reported 1,785 new coronavirus cases and 194 additional deaths, according to the latest data by Robert Koch Institute, a federal government agency responsible for disease monitoring and prevention.

The country’s tally now stands at 143,457 cases and 4,598 deaths, the data showed. — Yen Nee Lee

1:20 pm: US testing capacity is ‘not at all’ adequate for re-opening the economy, says public health prof

The U.S.’ capacity to test for the coronavirus is “not at all” at an adequate level that allows easing of social-distancing measures, said Leana Wen, a public health professor at George Washington University.

“Most places here are only testing those who have symptoms and are very ill, for example, they’re in the hospital in the ICU. Even people who have mild symptoms are not able to access testing, much less patients with no symptoms at all which is what we need to get to if we are to actually find out what is the true prevalence of coronavirus in our communities,” she told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.”

“So we have a long way to go for testing,” she added, “every day that we waste in not getting those tests is a day we waste in not reopening the economy and potentially more lives that are cost as a result too.”

U.S. states have imposed lockdown measures of varying degrees to stem the coronavirus outbreak. But a number of protests have sprung up around the country over the past week to demand for those measures to be lifted. — Yen Nee Lee

12:40 am: Trump says he plans to suspend immigration over coronavirus

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a tweet on Monday night he plans to temporarily suspend immigration into the U.S. due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump said the suspension was due to an “attack from the Invisible Enemy” and the “need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens.”

A senior administration official told NBC News that the move “had been under consideration for a while.”

11:45 am: Hong Kong will extend social restrictions

Hong Kong will extend social restrictions targeted at containing the coronavirus outbreak for another 14 days from April 23, Reuters reported, citing the city’s leader Carrie Lam at a weekly press conference. This means they are now set to end on May 7.

It came even after Hong Kong reported zero new cases on Monday for the first time since early March.

People wearing face masks walk along a commercial street at Sham Shui Po amid the coronavirus outbreak on April 19, 2020 in Hong Kong, China.

Zhang Wei | China News Service | Getty Images

The Chinese special administrative region has recorded a total of 1,026 cases and four deaths so far, according to the Hong Kong government.

Among other measures, Hong Kong has banned public gatherings of more than four people since March 29. — Huileng Tan

11:30 am: Australia lost 780,000 jobs due to coronavirus

Australia saw jobs numbers decline by 6% between March 14 and April 4 when large segments of the economy were shut to contain the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.

That means the country could have lost 780,000 jobs by early April, according to Reuters calculations.

The largest impact of job losses was for those under 20 years old. This group saw jobs decrease by 9.9%, said Bjorn Jarvis, the bureau’s head of labor statistics.

The accommodation and food services sector saw the largest reduction in jobs at 25.6%, while arts and recreation services industry saw jobs decline by 18.7%, he added. — Huileng Tan

9:45 am: South Korea reports 9 new cases and 1 death

South Korea on Tuesday reported nine new cases of the coronavirus — the third straight day the country posted fewer than 15 cases of new infections.

That brought the country’s total infections to 10,683, said the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There was one death, bringing the country’s total death toll to 237.

On Sunday, South Korea reported eight new cases of the coronavirus — the first time in two months that the country reported single-digit figures.

South Korea is one of the hardest hit Asian countries in the pandemic, but has been praised for its efforts to reduce the spread of infection by mass testing its people and adopting strict measures to quarantine and track those who affected. — Huileng Tan

8:24 am: China reports 11 new cases and no deaths

China reported 11 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of April 20. There were no deaths for the sixth straight day, according to the country’s National Health Commission.

That brought China’s total number of confirmed cases to 82,758 and its cumulative death toll to 4,632.

Of the 11 new confirmed cases on Monday, the NHC attributed four to travelers from overseas.

It also said there were 37 asymptomatic cases, where people tested positive for the coronavirus but showed no symptoms. — Huileng Tan

All times below are in Eastern time.

7:08 pm: Disney is furloughing workers while other media giants aren’t

The entrance to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World is seen on the first day of closure as theme parks in the Orlando area suspend operations for two weeks in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Paul Hennessy | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images

On Monday, Disney began furloughing workers, temporarily stopping pay to as many as 100,000 workers, according to an estimate by the Financial Times.

Over the last few weeks Disney has laid out its plans to impose unpaid leave, first for some non-union employees, then in a subsequent deal with 43,000 union workers. The media giant will pay 100% of health insurance costs for workers currently covered for up to 12 months. While the majority of those furloughs are at the theme parks, they also extend to all of Disney’s other divisions, including the movie studio and TV division. Disney’s also asked its senior executives to accept a pay cut, with no set end.

Disney won’t comment on the number of furloughs.

Disney’s extensive furloughs stand in sharp contrast to the other two media giantsComcast, which owns NBCUniversal, and AT&T, which owns WarnerMedia – which haven’t yet announced any furloughs or layoffs.

These are the three largest media conglomerates, in a category above all the others: Disney’s market cap is $185 billion, Comcast’s is $169 billion, and AT&T’s is $222 billion. They do face some similar challenges: all three have movie studios that are suffering from the closure of theaters and all are seeing their ad revenue plummet as live sports has been halted. And all three are working to get ahead of the cord-cutting trend and have new services designed to own that direct-to-consumer relationship.

But the finances of these companies are incredibly different. Parks and Resorts is Disney’s largest division, responsible for 35% of its revenue in 2019. That division includes not only theme parks and resorts, but also a cruise line. In contrast, Comcast derived only 5.4% of its revenue from parks such as Universal Studios, and AT&T doesn’t own any parks. —Julia Boorstin

6:58 pm: Mark Cuban on Shake Shack initially taking small business loan: ‘You’re going to kill your brand’

6:41 pm: The plunge in oil prices is the last thing Boeing and Airbus need right now

Grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked in an aerial photo at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, July 1, 2019.

Lindsey Wasson | Reuters

The coronavirus pandemic, the threat of airline bankruptcies and a global recession. Now a historic oil glut and price crash are adding to the woes of Boeing and Airbus.

The duopoly that dominates most of the world’s aircraft production spent more than a decade racking up record orders for planes they boasted could save millions in fuel. 

“One thing that kept the industry aloft during the great financial meltdown [in 2008] is fuel prices actually rose,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at vice president at Teal Group, referring to record oil prices that year.

Rising oil prices can help boost sales of more fuel-efficient aircraft, the opposite of sales trends for larger personal vehicles like SUVs.

The Airbus A320neo and the Boeing 737 Max, each manufacturer’s best-selling narrow-body airplanes were developed after the Great Recession when fuel prices were again rising and airlines were on the hunt for models that would help them cut fuel costs.

But manufacturers have lost that selling point, adding to a slate of challenges that are expected to last at least into 2021, if not later, and a sharp turnaround from earlier this year when airlines couldn’t get new single-aisle airplanes fast enough. —Leslie Josephs

Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: Georgia governor says some businesses can reopen, California town to test every resident

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