Coronavirus: Live updates

CNN says Covid-19 has infected more than 2.7 million people and killed at least 190,000 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 49,000 people have died in the US. 

A $480 billion package to help small businesses and hospitals and to expand testing was approved by The House. The package comes as 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment last week bringing the total to 26.5 million unemployed.

Read the full story on CNN 

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Defiant pachinko show limits of Japan’s shutdown request

Japan Times says there are still lines outside Tokyo’s parlours, showing the limits of the country’s ability to enforce social distancing, just as the country heads into a series of holidays that could be key to its attempts to control the spread of coronavirus.

Pachinko – a Y20.7 trillion industry, has come under scrutiny since prime minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures on April 7. As virus cases continued to climb in the country, topping 12,000 the emergency was extended nationwide.

Read the full story on Japan Times

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Virus tests now available to millions of workers

BBC News says up to 10 million key workers and their households can now book a coronavirus test online or through their employer. The move allows all essential workers in England to register for tests on the government’s website if they or a family member have virus symptoms. 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the expanded testing programme was “part of getting Britain back on her feet.” But the government remains short of its target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month.

Read the full story on BBC News

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Emails reveal Doctor’s plea for PPE before Covid-19 death

The Guardian says an NHS doctor who died of Covid-19 had pleaded in vain for his hospital to provide protective equipment in the days before he caught the virus, emails shared with the Guardian by his family show. 

Dr Peter Tun, from Reading, died on 13 April. Three weeks before his death, he warned Royal Berkshire hospital that unless they supplied the vital kit he and his colleagues needed to avoid becoming infected, “it will be too little and too late.”

Read the full story on The Guardian 

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Saudi G20 presidency calls for increased contributions to Covid-19 global fight

Arab News says the Saudi presidency of the Group of 20 major economies on Thursday called for more urgent donations to fund the emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic and to develop needed vaccines. 

In a press statement, the G20 presidency urged countries, international organisations, the private sector, philanthropic institutions, and individuals to contribute and close the funding gap.

Read the full story on Arab News

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Ramadam starts amid unprecedented lockdown restrictions including Mecca and Medina mosques closings

France24 says Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest shrines, has announced that the holy fasting month of Ramadan will start Friday, as Muslims worldwide face unprecedented restrictions to counter coronavirus. 

“Based on the sighting of the new month’s moon … it has been decided that Friday is the start of the month of Ramadan,” the royal court said Thursday in a statement cited by the SPA news agency.

Read the full story on France24