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- Global cases: More than 782,300
- Global deaths: At least 37,582
- Top 5 countries: United States (161,807), Italy (101,739), Spain (87,956), China (82,198), and Germany (66,885)
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 7:42 a.m. Beijing time.
All times below are in Beijing time.
9:26 am: China says manufacturing activity expanded in March, defying expectations of a contraction
China said the official Purchasing Manager’s Index for March was 52.0, beating expectations for an economy hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the official PMI to come in at 45 for the month of March, from a record low of 35.7 a month earlier.
China’s manufacturing activity slowed dramatically earlier this year as the government instituted large-scale lockdowns and quarantines to contain the spread of COVID-19. — Huileng Tan
9:23 am: Amazon fires warehouse worker who led Staten Island strike for more coronavirus protection
Amazon confirmed to CNBC that it fired Chris Smalls, a warehouse worker who organized a strike at its Staten Island facility on Monday.
The company said it fired Smalls after he “received multiple warnings for violating social distancing guidelines.”
Smalls and other employees walked out to call attention to the lack of protective measures for workers. They’re also urging Amazon to close the facility after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus. Organizers put the number of strikers around 50, while Amazon said it was less than 15.
“Amazon would rather fire workers than face up to its total failure to do what it should to keep us, our families, and our communities safe,” Smalls said in a statement. “I am outraged and disappointed, but I’m not shocked. As usual, Amazon would rather sweep a problem under the rug than act to keep workers and working communities safe.” — Annie Palmer
8:53 am: Los Angeles halts evictions for people and businesses who can’t pay rent due to COVID-19
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a halt on eviction in the city for people and businesses who can’t pay rent due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the state of California. Landlords are also barred from raising the rent on rent-stabilized apartments, Garcetti said.
“If you cannot pay the rent as a result of this emergency, you cannot be evicted,” Garcetti said. Residential tenants have 12 months and commercial tenants will have 3 months to pay after the emergency ends.
“The money owed by tenants won’t magically disappear, tenants still need to pay the rent if they can,” Garcetti said. — Kif Leswing
8:40 am: ‘Act quickly, act decisively, act robustly’ to stop coronavirus outbreaks, WHO special envoy says
David Nabarro, a special envoy on COVID-19 to the World Health Organization, told CNBC that countries need to act fast and stop the coronavirus outbreak before it grows into an exponential problem.
“This set of outbreaks that are making up the pandemic increase in scale exponentially; they double in size every few days, like every three days,” Nabarro told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “Trying to get in ahead of an exponential problem is much easier if you’re dealing with it early on.”
Countries are being forced to make difficult decisions at the moment to try and halt virus from spreading within their borders: They want to slow down the rate of infection to a level where their respective health-care systems can handle the strain. But, to do that, they are being forced to undertake strict lockdown measures that would undoubtedly have a severe impact on their economies.
“Act quickly, act decisively, act robustly, so that you’re not caught having to deal with a much bigger, bigger problem two weeks later,” Nabarro added. — Saheli Roy Choudhury
8:21 am: China says it had 48 new cases of infection
China’s National Health Commission said there were 48 new cases of infection reported on the mainland, all of which were attributed to travelers who returned from abroad. It added that one person died from the virus in Hubei province, where the outbreak was first reported. China says more than 76,000 cases have recovered from the disease and at least 3,305 died. — Saheli Roy Choudhury
7:19 am: US cases surpass 160,000
The total number of reported cases of coronavirus infection in the United States was at least 161,807, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. Among them, at least 2,978 have died and just over 5,500 people have recovered in the country, the data revealed.
Global cases continued their upward trend, standing at least 782,319 reported instances of infection worldwide, according to JHU. The data also showed the worldwide death toll stood at more than 37,500 as countries continued to implement stricter social distancing measures in an effort to slow the virus’ spread. — Saheli Roy Choudhury
7:10 am: Italy has more than 100,000 cases but says new infections have slowed
In one of the worst-hit countries in the global pandemic, Italy’s health ministry reported that as of 6 p.m. local time on March 30, there were at least 101,739 total cases of infection among its 60 million citizens. But the ministry said the rate of new cases declined; though Reuters reported that could also be due to fewer COVID-19 tests being conducted.
At least 11,591 people died and about 14,620 have recovered from the illness.
A woman prays during the Sunday Holy Mass celebrated by priests from the roof of the church San Gabriele dell’Addolorata in Rome on March 29, 2020, amid the spread of the COVID-19 (new coronavirus) pandemic.
Tiziana Fabi | AFP | Getty Images
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told El Pais newspaper that Italy was “in the most acute phase” of the outbreak and that it was reasonable to believe that the peak was near. But, concerns remain about another surge in the number of cases in the coming days. For its part, Italy is set to extend its nationwide lockdown measures at least until the Easter season, Reuters reported. — Saheli Roy Choudhury
All times below are in Eastern time.
6:41 pm: Department of Defense watchdog appointed inspector general for $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package
The Defense Department’s internal watchdog will serve as newly named chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a body created to oversee the roughly $2 trillion stimulus deal that President Donald Trump signed into law last week in response to the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus outbreak.
Glenn Fine, the acting inspector general of the Department of Defense, was appointed by another committee of IGs assigned by the new law to name a chair.
Fine will oversee a board of fellow inspectors general, all responsible for monitoring their respective departments. They include the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, Labor, as well as the Treasury, the Small Business Administration and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. — Lauren Hirsch
6:35 pm: Airbnb extends coronavirus cancellation window to May 31, sets aside $250 million to pay hosts for missed stays
Airbnb announced it will allow guests to receive full refunds for any trips starting on or before May 31 that were booked prior to March 14, as the company continues to struggle through the coronavirus’ impact on the travel industry. The company will also set aside $250 million to pay hosts for the missed bookings.
Airbnb announced the decision in a letter sent to hosts in an effort to rebuild Airbnb’s relationship with its partners. Previously, the company had said that it would allow guests to cancel and receive full refunds for trips between March 14 and April 14.
That decision overrode many hosts’ existing cancellation policies that ensured they still received partial payments for those bookings. Many hosts harshly criticized Airbnb for that decision, and several told CNBC that they would be moving their properties onto other websites and into the long-term rental market. — Sal Rodriguez
