Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to key eventsSkip to navigation

Dubai enters lockdown to tackle virus – as it happened

This article is more than 3 years old

New York sees 3,000 deaths in 30 days; China remembers those who died fighting virus; Trump rejects advice to wear masks. Follow the latest updates

 Updated 
Sat 4 Apr 2020 19.37 EDTFirst published on Fri 3 Apr 2020 20.23 EDT
Sirens and horns ring out as China pauses to remember coronavirus victims – video

Live feed

Key events

Final summary

I’ll be handing over to my colleagues in Australia shortly, but here’s a closing summary of the key coronavirus developments from the last few hours before I go.

  • Dubai has entered a two week lockdown which will see just one resident per household allowed to leave...
  • Trump has warned that the next two weeks will be the “toughest” in the US’s efforts to tackle coronavirus, and said he would be deploying thousands of military personnel to states to support them.
  • New York’s death toll has exceeded 3,000, almost a quarter of the US total.
  • Two prison officers in London have become the first prison staff to die from coronavirus in the UK.
  • Malawi’s president and ministers will take a 10% salary cut and redirect funds to support the country in fighting coronavirus.
  • A senior health official in Iran has warned that the Iranian capital could see a resurgence of coronavirus cases, after residents in Tehran flouted restrictions.
  • Tunisia’s parliament have given the government new powers to tackle coronavirus, including the ability to make decrees and seek finance without the approval of the parliament.

Thank you all for your information, fact checks and many kind words over the past few hours - all are very much appreciated.

Thanks for joining me, stay safe.

Share
Updated at 

The Municipality of Livorno in Italy has begun printing stamped and numbered food vouchers which can be obtained by submitting a self-certification. The scheme, which began on Saturday, enables those in need to claim 200-400 euros in vouchers for their shopping.

A young boy shows 4 food vouchers worth 50 Euros each printed by the Municipality of Livorno on April 4, 2020. Photograph: Laura Lezza/Getty Images

Bermuda has entered two weeks of lockdown, which will see people given slots to shop according to their surnames, Bermuda’s daily newspaper the Royal Gazette is reporting.

Visits to grocery shops and gas stations will be organised alphabetically, with people with surnames from A to K shopping on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and those with names from L to Z on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Sundays will be reserved for elderly people.

Shoppers will need identification to prove they are attending the correct slot, and police may enforce the rules.

The shopping rules will come into play on Monday, but the lockdown began on Saturday. It is now illegal in the country to enter a home which is not your own, or allow someone else into yours.

A further 53 people have tested positive in North Macedonia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases to 483, media outlet MIA is reporting, citing a government press release.

The current death toll is 17.

Share
Updated at 

Here’s a wonderful photograph of neighbours in the UK social distance dancing together to keep fit during the pandemic.

The residents of Springbourne in Frodsham, Cheshire, take part in their daily social distance dancing and fitness event, led by resident Janet Woodcock during the pandemic lockdown on April 04, 2020 in Frodsham, England. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth is set to call on Britons to show the same resolve as their forebears and approach the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic with good humour, in a rare address to the nation on Sunday.

She will thank frontline healthcare workers and recognise the pain suffered by families. The address will be her fifth in 68 years on the throne.

“I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any,” the 93-year-old monarch will say, according to extracts released by Buckingham Palace.

“That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country.”

Read more here:

Share
Updated at 

Ecuador has begun storing the bodies of those who have died from coronavirus in giant refrigerated containers, after hundreds of deaths in the city of Guayaquil, the epicentre of the country’s outbreaks, have filled up morgues and hospitals.

The government has installed three containers, the largest about 12 meters (40 ft) long, at public hospitals to preserve bodies until graves were prepared, according to Guayaquil’s mayor, Cynthia Viteri.

Ecuador’s death toll is currently at 318, one of the highest tolls in Latin America. President Lenin Moreno warned this week that the real figure was higher, as authorities were collecting more than 100 bodies a day, many from relatives’ homes, as a strict quarantine prevented them from being buried.

Trump's virus briefing

Notes are seen as US President Donald Trump speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, at the White House on April 4, 2020. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Here is a brief summary of what Donald Trump said at his press briefing:

  • He has spoken to New York governor Andrew Cuomo and is working to get additional resources to the state to help with the coronavirus outbreak. “We have given the governor of New York more than anyone has been given in a long time”, and said Cuomo hasn’t been “gracious”. “I know he’s grateful he just can’t find the words to say it,” Trump added.
  • The next two weeks will be the toughest and Americans must expect “a lot of death”.
  • Thousands of soldiers and military personnel will be sent to support states. We’re going to be adding a tremendous amount of military to help,” Trump said in a daily briefing with reporters.He added that 1,000 military personnel are being sent to New York City, including military doctors and nurses.
  • He’s reiterated a familiar line about his intention to open up the US as soon as possible, saying that the “cure must not be worse than the problem.
  • 29 million doses of anti-malarial drugs will be put into a strategic national stockpile for coronavirus patients.
Share
Updated at 

Donald Trump is currently giving a press briefing on coronavirus. You can watch it live here, and I’ll post a summary afterwards.

First prison officers in UK die from virus

The two prisoner officers from Pentonville prison in London who have passed away after suffering from coronavirus symptoms (see 21.13) are the first prison officers to die from the virus in the UK, the Prison Officers’ Association has told the Guardian.

Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the POA, told the Guardian that 7,900 prison staff, including officers, support grade staff and governors, were self isolating, and a further 15 had confirmed cases of coronavirus.

He also said that 90 prisoners had been confirmed as suffering from Covid-19, with another 1,200 prisoners self-isolating.

Share
Updated at 

Most viewed

Most viewed