Johnson last met Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on March 11 and she remains in good health, Buckingham Palace said in a statement in response to the news.

The news came at the end of a six-day period in which the world diagnosed as many new Covid-19 cases as had been confirmed in the previous 80 days.

Malaysia braces for third wave of infections, doctors make their own face masks

Malaysia recently extended until April 14 a national lockdown intended to curb the spread of the virus, but Indonesia’s response has been less coordinated, with different regions issuing their own regulations and packed commuter trains still ferrying workers in and out of the capital, Jakarta.

The Indonesian government has received criticism for the way officials initially played down the severity of the Covid-19 disease that is caused by the virus, describing it as mild and self-limited.

He has been trying for days to determine how to contain the economic fallout of the guidelines issued by his administration as well as local leaders to slow the tide of infections

“I think we can start by opening up certain parts of the country: you know, the farm belt, certain parts of the Midwest, other places,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I think we can open up sections, quadrants, and then just keep them going until the whole country is opened up.”

Here are the developments:

US surpasses China for total infections

The total number of people worldwide infected with the new coronavirus has exceeded 500,000, according to the Johns Hopkins tally, with more than 22,000 deaths.

At least 1,178 people have died of Covid-19 in the US, according to Johns Hopkins, including 100 in the past day in virus hotbed New York state.

US could see 2,300 deaths a day, even with social distancing, study says

While fatalities remain higher elsewhere, experts say new infection numbers show that many more Americans will die – and the true number of cases could be much higher than the official figure due to shortages of test kits.

The official count for the number of US coronavirus cases comes from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which has lagged behind outside tallies. On Thursday evening the CDC listed 68,440 cases and 994 deaths.

The head of the World Health Organisation has warned leaders that “without aggressive action in all countries, millions could die”.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a video message to the leaders of the world’s top powers, said “only time will tell” what the full economic, political and social fallout will be.

China and US ‘unite to fight’ virus

The two countries have clashed in recent weeks over the virus, but Xi told President Donald Trump that China “wishes to continue sharing all information and experience with the US,” said state broadcaster CCTV.

Earlier this month a foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing also suggested in a tweet that the US military brought the virus to Wuhan.

Xi said Sino-US relations were at a “critical juncture”, CCTV said, adding that cooperation was mutually beneficial and “the only right choice”.

“I hope that the US will take substantive actions to improve Sino-US relations, and both sides can work together to strengthen cooperation in fighting the epidemic,” he said.

Spain reports 769 deaths in one day

The death toll in Spain soared past 4,800 on Friday after 769 people died in 24 hours, in what was a record one-day figure for fatalities in the country, the government said.

Spain has the world’s second-highest death toll after Italy, and has so far suffered 4,858 deaths, while the number of cases jumped to 64,059.

Although the figures showed a daily increase of nearly 8,000 new infections, the uptick comes as Spain moves to dramatically increase its rate of testing, ordering millions of new kits from around the world.

Despite the increase, the rate of new infections appears to be slowing, registering a 14 per cent increase compared with 18 per cent on Thursday.

Even so, the number of deaths over a 24-hour period was far higher than Italy, which counted 662 deaths in its last update on Thursday night.

Italy has so far suffered 8,165 deaths as a result of the epidemic with 80,539 people infected.

G20 leaders pledge US$5 trillion injection

“We are injecting over US$5 trillion into the global economy as part of targeted fiscal policy, economic measures, and guarantee schemes to counteract the social, economic and financial impacts of the pandemic,” according to a statement released after the conclusion of a virtual meeting led by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, which holds the presidency of the G20 this year, called for an “extraordinary virtual summit” to discuss implications of the health crisis on people and economies.

The group's finance ministers and central bank governors will coordinate and work closely with international organisations to develop and deliver “appropriate international financial assistance”, the statement added.

Xi Jinping urges ‘cooperation’ to fight coronavirus and stave off global recession

The leaders also plan to expand manufacturing capacity to meet the increasing needs for medical supplies amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

“We are at war with a virus – and not winning it,” United Nations secretary general Antonio Gutteres told the meeting. “This war needs a wartime plan to fight it.”

The plan should aim to suppress transmission of Covid-19 as quickly as possible, minimise the social and economic impact and prepare the recovery stage to build “a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable economy”.

The G20 vowed to maintain the flow of goods and services across borders, resolve disruptions to global supply chains and facilitate international trade.

Singapore enforces social distancing, introduces distance learning

Under updates to its powerful infectious diseases law, anyone who intentionally sits less than 1 metre away from another person in a public place or on a fixed seat demarcated as not to be occupied, or who stands in a queue less than a metre away from another, will be guilty of an offence.

Offenders can be fined up to S$10,000 (US$6,990), jailed for up to six months, or both. The rules, in place until April 30, can be applied to individuals and businesses.

The news was followed later by an announcement from the education ministry that starting from April, schools will start conducting one day of home-based learning for students per week.

Singapore’s new social distancing laws send needed signal, experts say

“The recent spike in imported cases signals a new phase in our nation’s fight against Covid-19. To support further safe distancing, schools will progressively transit to a blended learning model, starting with one day of home-based learning a week,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added schools will remain open for students whose parents are not able to secure alternative childcare arrangements.

Hundreds of thousands of students in Singapore returned to class on Monday after a week of school holidays, despite growing calls for schools to be closed.

Singapore is one of the few jurisdictions in the region that has yet to suspend schools, unlike Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung had earlier cited scientific evidence, saying that the pneumonia-like Covid-19 illness does not affect the young as much as adults.

Authorities in the city state, however, have said that suspending schools and closing workplaces are among the next steps to be taken should the situation worsen. Singapore has confirmed 683 cases so far, of which 172 have recovered and two died.

Global condom shortage looms amid virus lockdowns

A global shortage of condoms is looming, the world’s biggest producer said, after a coronavirus lockdown forced it to shut down production.

Malaysia’s Karex makes one in every five condoms globally. It has not produced a single condom from its three Malaysian factories in the past 10 days because of the lockdown imposed by the government to halt the spread of the virus.

That’s already a shortfall of 100 million condoms, normally marketed internationally by brands such as Durex, supplied to state health care systems such as Britain’s NHS or distributed by aid programmes such as the UN Population Fund.

“We are going to see a global shortage of condoms everywhere, which is going to be scary,” Karex Chief Executive Goh Miah Kiat said this week.

“My concern is that for a lot of humanitarian programmes deep down in Africa, the shortage will not just be two weeks or a month. That shortage can run into months.”

The other major condom-producing countries are China, where the coronavirus led to widespread factory shutdowns, and India and Thailand, which are seeing infections spiking only now.

Goh said Karex was in the process of appealing to the government for an exemption to operate under specific conditions. Malaysia is approving other essential goods producers to operate with half of their workforce.

“The good thing is that the demand for condoms is still very strong because like it or not, it’s still an essential to have,” Goh said. “Given that at this point in time people are probably not planning to have children. It’s not the time, with so much uncertainty.”

China to ban most foreign arrivals

With several exceptions, including transit visas and foreigners arriving via Hong Kong and Macau with short-term entry permits, entry visas issued to foreigners will be suspended as an “interim measure”, according to a statement late on Thursday by the country’s foreign ministry.

“In view of the rapid spread of the new coronavirus epidemic worldwide, China has decided to temporarily suspend entry of foreigners with currently valid visas and residence permits in China,” the ministry said.

“This is an interim measure that China has to take in order to respond to the current epidemic situation, with reference to the practice of many countries,” it added. “The Chinese side will adjust the above measures according to the epidemic situation through separate announcements.”

Pakistan aid workers lack basic kit

Pakistan’s biggest charity, famous for its emergency services for the poor, is kitting staff out in rain coats and rubber boots in the battle against the coronavirus as it can’t get hold of proper personal protective equipment, the organisation says.

Pakistan has reported the highest number of coronavirus infections in South Asia, with 1,179 cases and nine deaths, but health experts say there is a lack of public awareness about the virus and the cash-strapped government is ill-prepared to tackle it.

The Edhi Foundation has for decades stepped in to help when government services fail communities and it runs the country’s largest ambulance service.

Now it has had to train dozens of staff on how to handle suspected coronavirus patients. But providing them with proper protection is a problem given a nationwide shortage of the equipment.

“We’ve compromised on certain things and use alternatives,” Facial Edhi, head of the Edhi Foundation, said at his office in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, on Thursday.

“Full aprons are in short supply in the market.”

He said he was confident the raincoats would work just as well.

South Korea pleads with residents to stay indoors

Authorities in South Korea pleaded with residents on Friday to stay indoors and avoid large gatherings as new coronavirus cases hovered close to 100 per day.

South Korea reported 91 new infections on Friday, taking the national tally to 9,332, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. The country has reported similar daily numbers for the past two weeks, down from a high of over 900 in late February.

The government has sought to convince a restless public that several more weeks of social distancing and self-isolation may be needed to allow health authorities to tamp down the smaller but still steady stream of new cases.

“As the weather is getting nicer, I know many of you may have plans to go outside,” said Yoon Tae-ho, director general for public health policy at the health ministry. “But social distancing cannot be successful when it’s only an individual, it needs to be the whole community.”

Coronavirus: California officials alarmed by rate of infection

Italy reports 662 new deaths, with uptick in new cases

Italy is reporting an uptick in new novel coronavirus infections, after four consecutive days in which new cases had decreased.

The country now has 62,013 active cases, a daily increase of 4,492, the Italian Civil Protection Agency said in its bulletin.

On Wednesday the daily variation was 3,491, on Tuesday 3,612, on Monday 3,780, on Sunday 3,957, and on Saturday a record 4,821.

There are also 662 new fatalities, bringing the total death toll to 8,165, while overall infections, including deaths and recoveries, have risen to 80,539, a daily increase of 8.3 per cent.

Recoveries are up by around 11 per cent to 10,361, while the number of intensive care patients – a closely watched figure given the shortage of hospital beds – has risen by 3.5 per cent, to 3,612.

Russia closes all restaurants nationwide

Russia is temporarily closing restaurants nationwide for a nine-day period starting on Saturday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Restaurants will still be able to provide delivery services during that time, according to the decree by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, published on his website on Friday.

Russia has reported more than 800 cases of coronavirus, predominantly in Moscow, which has seen at least two virus-related deaths. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has warned that the actual number of cases is probably “significantly more”.

The country has already prohibited regular international flights, and imposed strict quarantine measures for anyone entering the country and anyone who could have been exposed to someone infected with the virus – though has not yet opted to impose lockdown measures like those seen elsewhere.

First casualty in Kenya

Kenya has recorded its first coronavirus death as a rapid rise in confirmed cases puts Africa’s fragile health systems to the test.

Kenyan Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said a 66-year-old Kenyan man died on Thursday afternoon despite treatment in an intensive care unit.

Kagwe said the man, who arrived into the country on March 13 from South Africa via Swaziland, was a diabetic. Also on Thursday, three women aged between 30 and 61 tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, taking the country’s total to 31.

Kenya is the second country in East Africa and the 15th on the continent to confirm a coronavirus-related death. Algeria has the highest death toll in Africa with 25 fatalities, while Egypt has reported 24 and Morocco 11.

About a week ago, the continent of 54 countries had reported fewer than 300 cases. But by Friday Africa had 3,221 confirmed cases and 87 deaths. WHO regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said on Thursday that the situation in Africa was “evolving very quickly in terms of geographic spread and the increasing number of cases”.

Australian military to enforce quarantine

The Australian military will help enforce the quarantine of travellers returning to the country, with the prime minister unveiling strict new measures and door-to-door checks on Friday to rein in the spread of Covid-19.

With some two-thirds of Australia’s 3,000 Covid-19 cases still linked to overseas travel, Scott Morrison said 14-day home quarantines would now be actively policed with the help of the military.

Thousands of citizens and residents are still arriving in Australia every day and there have been instances of return travellers repeatedly breaking a promise to stay at home.

Morrison said all returnees arriving after midnight Saturday would now be kept in hotels in the city of arrival for the duration of their quarantine.

Those already on Australian soil and under orders to self-quarantine for two weeks will face active checks, he said.

Quarantine measures will be getting “a lot tougher and a lot stricter,” Morrison said, adding the Australian Defence Force would “assist in the compliance with these arrangements.”

Afghanistan to release 10,000 prisoners

Afghanistan will release at least 10,000 prisoners over the age of 55 in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, officials said on Thursday.

“The president has issued a decree that several thousand prisoners will be released soon due to coronavirus,” an official in President Ashraf Ghani’s office said.

Those released will not include members of Islamist militant groups the Taliban or Islamic State, and the process will be completed within 10 days, said two government officials.

Afghanistan has reported 91 cases of coronavirus and three deaths. The country’s western Herat province has recorded at least 54 of the 75 total cases reported in the last week.

International aid groups in recent weeks have raised concerns about the possibility of the coronavirus spreading in prisons across Afghanistan.

Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Kyodo and dpa