Coronavirus Live Updates: Read The Latest About The COVID-19 Outbreak

COVID-19 , the disease caused by the coronavirus , was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11.

The virus has killed more than 34,000 people worldwide and continues to spread at a rapid pace. Efforts to curb the outbreak have led to the global disruption of daily life and the economy, as schools and workplaces shutter in hopes of slowing transmission.

HuffPost reporters around the world are tracking the pandemic and the measures being taken to flatten the curve  of transmission.

Read the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic below. (To see the latest updates, you may need to refresh the page. All times are Eastern. For earlier updates on the pandemic, go here .)

Surgeon General Asks CDC To Consider Mask Use — 4/1/20, 8:10 a.m. ET

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Wednesday that he has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to consider whether people should wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He said this request follows new data on asymptomatic spread of COVID-19, which he did not specify.

“But if you choose to wear a face covering, this can’t come at the expense of social distancing,” Adams said on Twitter. He added that masks for the general public do not need to be N95, which are tight-fitting and medical grade.

Advising people to wear masks would be a reversal of his earlier plea to the public back in February to stop buying masks. He had insisted, again in a Twitter post, that masks are “NOT effective in preventing the general public from catching” the virus and that their purchase was limiting resources that health care providers needed. 

— Nina Golgowski

Spain Becomes Third Country To Record 100,000 Infections  — 4/1/20, 7:45 a.m. ET

There are signs the infection rate is beginning to stabilize in Spain, even as the country becomes the third nation behind the U.S. and Italy to record more than 100,000 cases.

The daily death toll in Spain, which is two-and-a-half weeks into a national lockdown, rose to 9,053 from 8,189 on Tuesday, a new record, though the increase was lower in percentage terms than during the previous days. Total infections hit 102,136.

But the 24-hour increase of 7,719 was 1,500 fewer than the increase from the previous day, offering hope that the infection rate is slowing. However, HuffPost Spain reports  (in Spanish) that ICUs are at risk of being overrun in up to six of the country’s autonomous regions.

— James Martin

‘Restrictions Until April 13’: Italy’s Lockdown Extended — 4/1/20, 6:15 a.m. ET

HuffPost Italy reported  that the country will extend its lockdown until at least April 13.

“Our goal is to reduce the number of positive cases, reduce deaths and prevent our national health system from being hit by a further tsunami,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said Wednesday.

After days of steep rises in cases, data this week has suggested the pace of growth in the number of total cases in Italy is slowing, with new infections coming in at 4,053 on Tuesday. Deaths have remained largely steady at over 800 a day. Italy was the first Western country to introduce quarantine measures and is nearing a month since being placed under lockdown.

— James Martin

Doctor’s Grim Warning For Australia’s Indigenous Communities — 4/1/20, 5:40 a.m. ET

Doctors in Australia are pleading with the government for coronavirus assistance in Indigenous communities, including basic masks and isolation facilities, in order to avoid hundreds of deaths. Indigenous Australians are extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 due to underlying health issues, such as diabetes, rheumatic heart disease and kidney disease, while Indigenous people over 50 have been advised to stay home “to the maximum extent practical.” The same advice was issued for people in the wider community with chronic illnesses over 60.

The Aboriginal community of Yarrabah is not only dealing with the shock of a government-enforced lockdown but is also grappling with the potential reality of what will happen if the virus reaches the town, just 45 minutes from the North Queensland city of Cairns. “If we don’t get to this, for a community like Yarrabah, that could be deaths in hundreds, and we need to avoid that at all costs,” Yarrabah Senior Medical Officer Dr. Jason King told HuffPost Australia. At least 4,860 cases have been confirmed in Australia and 21 people have died. Read more

— Carly Williams

UN Chief Says COVID-19 Is Biggest Challenge Humanity Has Faced Since WWII — 4/01/20, 5:30 a.m.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is the “greatest test” and challenge the world has faced since World War II, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday.

The pandemic is “attacking societies at their core,” Guterres said, adding that the world’s leading economies need to take “coordinated, decisive, inclusive and innovative policy action” to tackle the crisis — and to offer support for the “poorest and most vulnerable people and countries.” 

— Dominique Mosbergen

The UK Wants To Avoid Echoing The U.S. — 4/1/20, 5:15 a.m. ET

Ministers in Britain are wary of echoing Donald Trump ’s line on ‘the cure’ to coronavirus being worse than the disease, HuffPost UK reports .

Michael Gove, the cabinet office minister, struck a suitably somber tone as he announced yesterday the latest awful death toll of the coronavirus in the U.K. had increased by 381 in 24 hours to 1,789. “Every death is the loss of a loved one,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are grieving.”

HuffPost UK Political Editor Paul Waugh writes that Donald Trump’s whole presidency could now rest on whether the voters think he forgot about health care: “As one insider put it to me today, anyone who has seen this virus up close will never agree that its ‘cure’ can be worse than the disease.”

Waugh continues: “Although Trump too has talked glibly about getting things back to normal “by Easter,” he is facing one statistic that even he may find impossible to ignore: in a few days, the number of Americans killed by coronavirus will exceed those killed in Iraq. Indeed, the total who may perish could exceed 100,000, his own advisers have estimated. You’d have to hope that in election year, that would be enough to force him to put health first.”

— James Martin

White House Predicts Up To 240,000 Coronavirus Deaths In U.S. — 3/10/20, 8:14 p.m. ET

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Americans should brace for a “rough two-week period” as White House projections indicate COVID-19 could claim from 100,000 to 240,000 lives in the U.S. even if we continue to uphold the current social distancing guidelines.

“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead,” Trump said.

But Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, said there may be fewer fatalities if more people commit to serious social distancing. “We really believe we can do a lot better than that,” she said of the projections.

— Lydia O’Connor

Even With $25 Million In Stimulus Funding, Kennedy Center Says It Must Furlough Staff — 3/31/20, 4:20 p.m. ET

The Kennedy Center in Washington says it is furloughing about 60% of its full-time administrative staff until at least May 10 “in order to stretch the Center’s finances as long as possible.”

The performing arts center, which houses the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera and serves as a major arts and education venue for the D.C. area, received $25 million in the congressional stimulus package last week. But the center says even with that and an existing $10 million line of credit, it is projected to “run out of cash as early as July,” due to lost revenue.

Furloughed staff will still receive health insurance during that time. The center is closed until at least May 10 and has canceled all performances and events for the foreseeable future.

— Marina Fang

CNN’s Chris Cuomo Diagnosed With Coronavirus 3/31/20, 3:56 p.m. ET

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus . 

On Tuesday, the network sent out a memo to employees indicating that Cuomo is “feeling well” and will still anchor his nightly show, “Cuomo Prime Time,” from home.

Cuomo, the brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, confirmed the diagnosis with a note on Twitter:

Just last week, Cuomo was seen at CNN’s offices in New York City. He is the third reported case at the network’s workspace. Read more.

Jenna Amatulli

New York Gov. Scolds FEMA, Federal Government Again Over Medical Supplies 3/31/20, 2:35 p.m. ET

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pointedly criticized the federal government Tuesday over its inability to provide a sufficient number of ventilators and medical supplies to New Yorkers fighting COVID-19.

In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Cuomo rebuked the federal government — namely, the Federal Emergency Management Agency — for failing to coordinate a purchasing system that would allow states to buy supplies without having to compete against each other.

“Look at the bizarre situation we find ourselves in,” Cuomo said, adding, “we’re all trying to buy the same commodity. Literally, the same exact item.”

Cuomo decried the current process, in which states haphazardly bid against one another and are even occasionally outbid by FEMA itself as the agency coordinates the Trump administration’s belated response to COVID-19 .

“The federal government — FEMA — should have been the purchasing agent,” Cuomo said. “Buy everything, then allocate it by need to the states.”

“Why would you create a situation where the 50 states are competing with each other?” he asked.

Later in the conference, Cuomo said avoiding that issue should have been common knowledge.

“Did you really have to learn that 50 states shouldn’t compete against 50 states, and then FEMA shouldn’t come in late and compete with 50 states?” Cuomo asked. “It’s not like you had to go to Harvard Kennedy School to learn this.”

Ja’han Jones

Walmart To Take Workers’ Temperatures — 3/31/20, 9:32 a.m. ET

U.S. retail giant Walmart says it will begin taking employees’ temperatures as part of a series of new health and safety measures, as retail and delivery workers around the country have protested companies’ handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As the COVID-19 situation has evolved, we’ve decided to begin taking the temperatures of our associates as they report to work in stores, clubs and facilities, as well as asking them some basic health screening questions,” Walmart’s CEO said in a statement. “We are in the process of sending infrared thermometers to all locations, which could take up to three weeks.”

Walmart says any worker with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher should go home “until they are fever-free for at least three days.” The company says it will pay workers for showing up that day, and has previously said it would provide emergency paid leave for employees who test positive for COVID-19 or are mandated to self-quarantine.

The retailer, which also owns wholesale chain Sam’s Club, will also provide masks and gloves “as supplies permit — for associates who want to wear them.”

Workers at a number of retail and delivery companies, including Amazon , Instacart and Whole Foods, have protested working conditions , including by going on strike . Companies have struggled to balance managing the surge in orders with protecting the health and safety of workers. At Walmart, employees have said the emergency paid leave policy is insufficient because it does not include, for instance, immunocompromised employees, or anyone who feels sick and hasn’t been able to get tested.

— Marina Fang

Metropolitan Museum Of Art Extends Pay For Workers — 3/31/20, 8:10 a.m. ET

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is extending pay for its staff until May 2 and giving time-and-a-half hazard pay to workers considered essential, like security and custodial staff, according to The New York Times .

“We realize that this announcement of a four-week extension of full salary support does not provide enduring comfort, but at the moment it is the best we can do in a rapidly evolving situation,” the Met’s president, Daniel Weiss, said in a statement.

The museum has previously said it is projected to lose $100 million because of its shutdown and may need to use part of its $3.6 billion endowment fund.

Without a large endowment or major donors, smaller museums and other small arts organizations across the country are facing even more dire straits. Last week’s $2.2 trillion congressional stimulus package included some funding for the National Endowment for the Arts , which provides grants to local and regional arts organizations. The bill also included provisions for small businesses that agree to not lay off their workers. But the bill will likely not be enough to keep them afloat. As one economist told HuffPost, the economic shutdown caused by the pandemic is likely “an extinction-level event” for small businesses .

— Marina Fang

Leading Indian Hospital In Crisis As Doctors Quarantined  — 3/31/20, 7:40 a.m. ET

Nine doctors at a leading hospital in India have been placed in quarantine after a patient who hid his medical history came in contact with over 30 doctors and other medical staff, before testing positive for coronavirus.

The Government Medical College, the biggest hospital in the city of Nagpur, Maharashtra, has been one of two hospitals in the region to treat COVID-19 patients. Maharashtra, India’s richest state, has reported 230 cases of coronavirus, the highest in the country. Nagpur alone has 16 cases.

HuffPost India reports that there are fears that a rise in the number of cases—as experienced by other countries that are ahead of India in terms of the disease’s trajectory—could soon overwhelm the hospital’s staff, especially if more people need to be quarantined. The hospital admitted 70 suspected coronavirus patients just on Monday alone.

Doctors, nurses and other medical staff employed by India’s overburdened public healthcare system have faced shortages of personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves.

— James Martin

Spain Health System On The Brink As Daily Death Toll Climbs  — 3/31/20, 7:10 a.m. ET

Spain is struggling to avoid the collapse of its health system, with hospitals in at least half of its 17 regions at or very near their ICU bed limits, and medical workers making up 14% of its 88,000 reported infections.

The country registered 849 fatalities related to coronavirus overnight the highest number in 24 hours since the epidemic started, although the increase in percentage terms was slightly lower than in the previous days. The death toll rose to 8,189 on Tuesday from 7,340 on Monday, while the number of cases rose to 94,417 on Tuesday from 85,195 on Monday.

However, HuffPost Spain reports (in Spanish) that the situation in the country’s intensive care units is at a critical point, with ICUs at risk of saturation in up to six of the country’s autonomous regions.

— James Martin

Macy’s, Kohl’s And Gap To Furlough Majority Of Workers — 03/31/20, 12:08 a.m. ET

Macy’s, Kohl’s and The Gap announced Monday that they will stop paying a majority of their employees amid collapsing sales caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Almost 300,000 people across the three companies will be furloughed . The workers will, however, continue to collect health benefits, The Associated Press reported.

— Dominique Mosbergen

New Jersey National Guardsman Is First U.S. Service Member To Die Of COVID-19 03/30/2020, 11:30 p.m. ET

A New Jersey National Guardsman is the first U.S. service member to die of COVID-19, the Pentagon said Monday night.

The Guardsman, identified as Army Capt. Douglas Linn Hickok, served as a physician assistant in the Army Medical Command, NPR reported . Hickok, who was reportedly not on active duty when he fell sick, died Saturday.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy expressed his sorrow at the news of Hickok’s death. “Our thoughts are with his wife, children, and their family,” Murphy tweeted .

— Dominique Mosbergen

Illinois Gov. Announces Field Hospital In Nation’s Largest Convention Center — 3/30/20, 7:38 p.m. ET

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago will be turned into a field hospital with 3,000 beds, 500 of which are expected to be ready for use by the end of this week. The Illinois National Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are expected to have the entire alternate care facility up and running by the end of April, according to Pritzker.

The facility will be dedicated to non-acute COVID-19 patients, whom the governor said are “people whose condition could benefit from the care of medical professionals but who are likely not to need a formal ICU.”

McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America , with four buildings making up a combined total of 2.6 million square feet, and 1.2 million square feet all on one level. Illinois has 5,057 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Monday, more than 460 of which came in the last 24 hours. The state’s death toll from the virus is at 73, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health . 

— Sanjana Karanth

Instacart Workers Go On Strike For Better Protections Amid Coronavirus — 3/30/20, 7:20 p.m. ET

Grocery shoppers and drivers working for Instacart went on strike nationwide to demand better protections — including hazard pay and expanded paid sick leave — as the coronavirus continues to spread across the country.

Strike organizers insisted they will not go back to work  until the grocery delivery company provides them with protective equipment such as hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, hazard pay of $5 per order, and expanded paid sick leave to cover those with health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus so they can afford to stay home.

“They send their CEO in San Francisco home, but they’re doing nothing for the backbone of their company. Without shoppers, they’re nothing,” Sarah Polito, a 28-year-old part-time shopper for Instacart and strike organizer in Newark, New York, told HuffPost. She is one of more than 200,000 “full-service” shoppers who are not employees of Instacart, but contractors with limited benefits. Read more .

— Sarah Ruiz-Grossman

California Seeking To Hire Former And In-Training Health Care Workers — 3/30/20, 3:24 p.m. ET

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced a new initiative Monday to temporarily expand the state’s pool of health care workers as COVID-19 cases surge. 

Qualified individuals may sign up for a job placement on a new website: HealthCorps.ca.gov . The program will place “individuals that may have retired in the last five years may be in the process of getting licensed or re licensed people that are in nursing schools or medical schools that are nearing the completion of those efforts,” Newsom said.

The move will allow for this flexibility in staffing through June 30. Beyond nurses and doctors, the search will extend to nearly every part of the health care system. Other roles Newsom listed include mental health experts, EMTs, pharmacists, phlebotomists, experts in respiratory care, technicians and medical administrators.

“We are going out now to deeply find the kind of talent that is necessary beyond the scope of practice changes and beyond the regulatory changes to make sure that we have the adequate workforce,” Newsom said.

California is also seeking more ventilators. It currently has 4,252 ventilators, Newsom said, but officials want to amass 10,000.

— Lydia O’Connor

Virginia Issues ‘Stay-At-Home’ Order Until June 10 — 3/30/20, 3:03 p.m. ET

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is now the latest U.S. governor to issue a statewide “stay-at-home” order. It is in effect until June 10 “unless amended or rescinded,” the latest date of any such order nationwide. Several states have extended their orders to either April 15 or April 30, with officials saying they will reevaluate every two weeks or so.

More than half of all U.S. states now have some kind of order closing nonessential businesses and restricting nonessential travel to try to stop the spread of the virus. At least a dozen others have orders in effect for certain counties.

— Marina Fang

Pennsylvania Extends ‘Stay-At-Home’ Order, Closes Schools Indefinitely — 3/30/20, 2:33 p.m. ET

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) is prolonging the state’s “stay-at-home” order until at least April 30, and the state’s schools will remain closed “until further notice.” The order, which bans nonessential businesses, work and travel, has not been statewide, but officials have been adding counties every few days, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the state continues to increase. On Monday, Wolf placed four more counties under the stay-at-home order, bringing the total number of counties to 26.

— Marina Fang

Arizona Schools To Remain Closed For Rest Of Academic Year — 3/30/20, 11:35 a.m. ET

Arizona schools have been ordered to remain closed through the end of the academic year, Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and the state’s superintendent of public instruction, Kathy Hoffman, announced Monday.

“Today’s announcement is intended to give parents and educators as much certainty as possible so they can plan and make decisions,” Ducey and Hoffman said in a joint statement. “While this isn’t the outcome any of us wanted, we are grateful for the partnership of schools around the state, who have stepped up to offer virtual and take-home learning opportunities for our students.”

Several other states, including Virginia and New Mexico, have already closed schools for the remainder of the school year. Kansas became the first state to do so on March 17.

Hayley Miller

Hungary’s Strongman Prime Minister To Rule By Decree — 3/30/20, 11:30 a.m. ET

Opposition parties have described a bill that would give Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the right to rule by decree during the coronavirus pandemic as the beginning of a “dictatorship.” The legislation extending a state of emergency, which has no expiration date, has triggered criticism from opposition parties, human rights groups and the Council of Europe, Europe’s main human rights forum.

The powers give Orbán the right to close Parliament, change or suspend existing laws and block elections, while those who publish “fake news” face up to five years in jail, HuffPost Italy reported . Orbán has gradually increased his power during his decade in office, bringing him into conflict with the European Union and human rights organizations. Hungary declared a state of emergency on March 11 in response to the spread of coronavirus, which has so far infected 447 people in Hungary and led to 15 deaths.

— James Martin

Maryland Governor Issues Stay-At-Home Order 3/30/20 11:25 a.m. ET

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Monday issued a statewide stay-at-home order, joining dozens of other governors who have issued similar executive orders in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

“No Maryland resident should be leaving their home unless it’s for an essential job or an essential reason, such as obtaining food or medicine, seeking urgent medical attention or for other necessary purposes,” Hogan said during a press conference. “In two weeks’ time, the D.C., Maryland and Virginia areas could look like the New York and tri-state area.”

U.S. Naval Ships Dock In LA, NYC To Treat Non-Coronavirus Patients — 3/30/20, 10:15 a.m. ET

The USNS Comfort, equipped with 1,000 hospital beds and 12 operating rooms, arrived in New York City on Monday to treat non-coronavirus patients in need of urgent care, helping to ease the burden on local hospitals inundated with COVID-19 patients.

Three days earlier, the USNS Mercy docked in Los Angeles to provide relief for hospitals on the West Coast. The ship is also equipped with 1,000 hospital beds and will treat non-coronavirus patients. The Navy announced Monday that the floating hospital was officially “open for business.”

— Hayley Miller

Trump Says New York Has ‘More Than Enough Supplies’ Following Cuomo’s Ventilators Request 3/30/20, 10 a.m. ET

President Donald Trump said he believes New York, the state with the largest number of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 by far, should be “fine” and has “more than enough supplies” to handle the outbreak. His statement came just days after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said his state needed 30,000 ventilators based on projections.

“New York is really in trouble, but I think it’s going to end up being fine,” Trump said during a nearly hour-long phone interview with “Fox & Friends.” “We’re giving them a lot of things that they never thought they’d be getting.”

The president complained that the federal government shipped 4,000 ventilators to New York but the state hasn’t used them. Cuomo has said repeatedly that New York is creating a stockpile of ventilators based on what could be needed during the potential apex of the outbreak expected to occur in the next few weeks.

“We’re planning for that worst-case scenario, which the models predict,” Cuomo said during a news conference Saturday.

Hayley Miller

Netanyahu To Self-Quarantine After Aide Tests Positive — 3/30/20 8:33 a.m. ET

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will quarantine himself after an aide tested positive for COVID-19, his office said Monday.

The 70-year-old took a test for the coronavirus and plans to remain isolated until either the results come back negative or he is cleared by medical doctors. Advisers that he had been in contact with are also voluntarily quarantining themselves, his office said.

— Nina Golgowski

2020 Olympics Will Now Be Held An Entire Year Later — 3/30/20, 8:10 a.m. ET

The 2020 Olympic Games are now set to take place an entire year later, with the opening ceremony scheduled for July 23, 2021, and the closing ceremony on August 8, organizers in Tokyo announced.

Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced he and the International Olympic Committee agreed to postpone the games “to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021.” Read more here . 

— Marina Fang

Spain Emergency Chief Tests Positive As Infection Rate Slows — 3/30/20, 6:55 a.m. ET