This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
- Global cases: More than 2,259,317
- Global deaths: At least 154,694
- US cases: More than 706,779
- US deaths: At least 37,079
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
9:41 am: Spain is set to finish soccer season without fans in stadiums
Dominique Faget | AFP | Getty Images
Soccer matches and other sports events in Spain will take place in empty venues at least until the end of the summer, the mayor of Madrid said. José Luis Martínez-Almeida told the Onda Cero radio station that the coronavirus pandemic likely “won’t be under control” by then for events with big crowds to resume normally.
“In the spring and summer there won’t be any events with crowds in Spain, and possibly not in the fall either,” Martínez-Almeida said. “Because obviously the situation will not be fully under control. We will have to change our habits and behaviors even after being allowed to go back on to the streets.”
Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries with more than 190,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, behind only the U.S. More than 20,000 have died in the European nation.
The Spanish league is not expecting to resume at least until the end of May. President Javier Tebas has said he expects to play the first few games in empty stadiums and that the league is also working on other scenarios, including playing without fans through the fall.
“Soccer matches without fans in the summer is a possibility, as long as health and safety conditions are observed,” Martínez-Almeida said. —Associated Press
9:26 am: Here’s what life after shelter-in-place may look like in the US
The U.S. and the rest of the world are closely watching as Chinese and South Korean citizens attempt to return to normal life, and trying to surmise what the recovery may tell them about their own futures.
Watch the video below to learn more. —Magdalena Petrova
9:15 am: The stock market is rising on hope for a pharma solution to the virus
Though big-ticket spending and small-business loans provide short-term relief, investors say a coronavirus remedy is the No.1 go-ahead signal they’re waiting for to jump back to the market in force.
The race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine thus far includes major drugmakers Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna.
That bullishness about a pharma solution was on full display this week, when a report stated that a Chicago hospital using Gilead’s remdesivir in a trial appeared to ease Covid-19 symptoms in the majority of patients treated with the drug.
“As long as you don’t have a strong treatment or vaccine, you’re under the cloud of second-wave risk and people being more cautious about how they interact,” said one market strategist. —Thomas Franck
9:10 am: Confirmed US cases continue to climb
8:53 am: New York City businesses are staying open by pitching into relief efforts and going virtual
Across New York City, businesses hardly resemble their pre-pandemic operations. Fashion designers are sewing face masks instead of garments, restaurants have transformed into grocery stores, and distilleries are making alcohol that’s too strong to drink.
Business owners have been pinpointing the places demand has shifted during the Covid-19 crisis and figuring out ways to move their businesses along with it.
For many New Yorkers, it’s a feeling that calls back to 9/11, when the entire city was thrust into a new reality and neighbors worked to figure out how to help one another. This time, New Yorkers are rebuilding from a safe distance apart and often over the internet. —Lauren Feiner
8:25 am: Nations debate easing lockdown as economic hardship grows
People walk past a red-and-white police warning tape in Plainpalais place in Geneva on April 16, 2020, during the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus, Covid-19.
Fabrice Coffrini | AFP via Getty Images
Facing rising unemployment and with many of their citizens struggling to make ends meet, governments around the world are wrestling with when and how to ease the restrictions designed to control the coronavirus pandemic. Mandatory lockdowns to stop the spread of the new virus, which has so far infected more than 2.2 million people and for which there is no vaccine, have brought widespread hardship.
In a joint statement, a group of 13 countries including Canada, Brazil, Italy, and Germany called for global co-operation to lessen the economic impact of the pandemic.
“It is vital that we work together to save lives and livelihoods,” they said.
The group, which also includes Britain, France Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, South Korea, Singapore, and Turkey, said it was committed to “work with all countries to co-ordinate on public health, travel, trade, economic and financial measures in order to minimize disruptions and recover stronger.” —Associated Press
8:15 am: Swiss death toll reaches 1,111, with infections rising to 27,404
The Swiss death toll from the new coronavirus has reached 1,111 people, the country’s public health agency said, rising from 1,059 a day earlier.
The number of people showing positive tests for the disease increased to 27,404, the agency said, up from 27,078. —Reuters
8:00 am: Netherlands cases cross 31,000, with 142 new deaths
The Netherlands has reported an additional 1,140 new coronavirus cases, health authorities said on Saturday, bringing the total number of Covid-19 infections up to 31,589.
Dutch health officials also recorded 142 new deaths as a result of the coronavirus, Reuters reported. — Sam Meredith
7:20 am: Spain’s death toll tops 20,000
Spain’s coronavirus death toll has climbed to 20,043, the country’s health ministry said on Saturday, according to multiple media reports, up from 19,478 on Friday.
Second only to the U.S. worldwide, Spain has recorded the most number of coronavirus cases in Europe. — Sam Meredith
A woman wearing a sanitary mask as a preventive measure, leaving the train during the first day of work for non-essential sectors. Barcelona faces its 31st day of house confinement due to the contagion of Covid-19.
Paco Freire | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images
6:35 am: Nigerian president’s chief of staff dies after contracting Covid-19, spokesman says
The chief of staff to Nigeria’s president, Abba Kyari, has died after contracting the coronavirus, the government’s official spokesperson confirmed via Twitter on Saturday.
Kyari, who was reportedly in his 70s, had been receiving treatment for Covid-19 but died on Friday, presidency spokesperson Garba Shehu said.
To date, the West African country has recorded 493 cases of the coronavirus, with 17 deaths nationwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. — Sam Meredith
5:40 am: Iran records an additional 73 deaths
Iran has confirmed 73 further fatalities as a result of the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, Reuters reported Saturday, citing a health ministry official.
To date, the Islamic Republic has recorded 80,868 infections of Covid-19. — Sam Meredith
A man wears a respiratory mask after deaths and new confirmed cases revealed from the coronavirus in Qom, Iran on February 25, 2020.
Stringer | Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
