Coronavirus live updates: US infections top 700,000, Gucci to reopen one of its Italian sites

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.

Experiencing intense flashbacks, nightmares, irritability, anger, and fear? In the face of a traumatic event like the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s common to feel this way. While many people associate post-traumatic stress disorder with something like war, it’s a chronic psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, such as a serious accident, terrorist attack or a physical assault.

After the SARS outbreak in 2003, both healthcare workers and people who were self-quarantined exhibited symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

The Covid-19 pandemic could have a similar effect, according to experts. Even if you aren’t clinically diagnosed with PTSD, you may have a strong emotional reaction to the trauma of Covid-19 that can last long after an incident. —Cory Stieg

The Covid-19 pandemic is barely four months old, but civil liberties groups are already alarmed by how some governments are responding.

At the start of the crisis, Chinese authorities used software to sort citizens into color-coded categories — red, yellow, green — corresponding to their level of risk for having the virus. Those in the green group had the most freedom of movement. Yellow and red meant that citizens could find themselves barred from entry to eateries and shopping malls. 

This is the kind of “big data” that experts have not encountered before in prior pandemics, and it presents new challenges as well as opportunities. Here are some of the ways new public health intervention tools could jeopardize an individual’s rights. —Christina Farr

Kering’s fashion powerhouse Gucci plans to reopen prototype activities at one of its main Italian sites next week after reaching a deal with unions on health and safety measures for workers, it said. Most businesses and production sites have been shut across Italy under a lockdown imposed by the government in March due to the coronavirus emergency.

Tough restrictions on movement and the closure of many economic activities will remain in place until at least May 3, but there is not yet any clear plan over to what extent, or how gradually, they will then be relaxed.

Gucci, one of the world’s biggest luxury labels by sales, said in a statement a small group of workers will resume making prototypes for leather goods and shoe designs at its ArtLab site near Florence from April 20.

A spokesman said around 10% of the site’s 1,000-strong workforce will go back to work at this stage. —Reuters

As springtime holidays and events come and go, many are finding ways to celebrate virtually, reaching friends, family, and community members through video conferencing and social media.

Here’s how several people across the U.S. are adapting their traditions and celebrations to life during a pandemic. —Addie Joseph

More than 1.6 million small businesses received forgivable loans through the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program. Independent financial advisors also applied for the program, hoping to shore up their payroll as revenue from assets under management takes a hit.

Though the PPP program is now out of funding, Congress may refill the pot. Continue gathering your necessary documents and get to know your community bank, just in case.

Here are three lessons from advisors who applied for the funding so you’re prepared when the opportunity for funding strikes. —Darla Mercado

As commercial traffic increases, U.S. officials worry about political conflict in deep space.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, tracking and protecting our nation’s satellites from accidental crash or purposeful meddling is critical.

Right now four GSSAP satellites are in orbit, with two more scheduled to launch this year. They’re part of an increasingly intense stare at the space beyond low-Earth orbit: from geosynchronous orbit, or GEO, out to the Moon. —Sarah Scoles, special to CNBC.com

Britain is considering a new bailout mechanism to help firms affected by the coronavirus, Sky News reported, saying that individual loans to companies could be bundled together into securities. Finance minister Rishi Sunak has already set out a range of different schemes to help companies through a national lockdown which has effectively shuttered large parts of the world’s fifth-largest economy.

Sunak was now considering an additional program to help provide loans to companies in sectors seen as making a material contribution to the economy such as aviation, retail, and hospitality, Sky News reported citing a document circulated to City of London institutions by the finance ministry.

Asked about the report, the finance ministry said: “We’re always open to ways to improve the package but no decisions have been taken.” —Reuters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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