Volunteers dressed in protective suits, masks, gloves and goggles carrying blood and throat mucous samples to test for COVID-19 on March 27, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images
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- Global cases: More than 1,011,000.
- Global deaths: At least 52,800.
- Top 5 countries: United States (242,182), Italy (115,242), Spain (112,065), Germany (84,788), and China (82,432).
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 7:46 a.m. Beijing time.
All times below are in Beijing time.
8:49 am: The White House is watching these next coronavirus ‘hot spots’
Some 35% of all coronavirus tests administered in New York and New Jersey have been positive, indicating a serious outbreak in both states, White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Deborah Birx said Thursday.
As states ramp up testing, U.S. officials are keeping a close watch on which areas of the country might follow New York — where 38% of the country’s more than 242,100 cases are concentrated.
Birx said Louisiana concerns U.S. health officials as 26% of all tests come back positive. Michigan, Connecticut, Indiana, Georgia and Illinois all test positive about 15% of the time. — Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Dawn Kopecki
8:40 am: NYC Mayor de Blasio urges New Yorkers to cover face with scarves or bandanas while outside
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told New Yorkers to cover their faces when they go outside, even if it’s a homemade mask, reversing previous guidance advising only those who are sick to wear face masks.
“We’re advising New Yorkers to wear a face covering when you go outside and near other people,” de Blasio said at a press conference Thursday. “It can be a scarf, it can be something you create at home it can be a bandana.”
De Blasio cautioned residents against wearing surgical masks or other medical-grade masks, worrying that it would make the shortage for personal protective equipment in hospitals even worse. — Noah Higgins-Dunn, Kevin Breuninger
7:46 am: Germany overtakes China in reported number of cases
The number of infections in Germany rose to 84,788, making it the fourth worst-affected country behind the U.S., Italy and Spain. Germany has overtaken China’s reported 82,432 cases.
At least 1,100 people have died in Germany but around 22,440 people have recovered from the disease, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Still, a greater percentage of people in the country have recovered compared to the U.S., Italy and Spain.
China on Thursday denied that it hid the true number of its people who have been infected and killed by the virus outbreak. The country’s reported numbers have been under scrutiny, with some suggesting that the situation was more dire than Beijing was letting on. China described the accusations of concealment as a “despicable attempt to put political interests above human life.” — Saheli Roy Choudhury, Kevin Breuninger
7:30 am: More than 52,800 people worldwide have now died from COVID-19
The death toll from the fast-spreading coronavirus rose and at least 52,863 people have lost their lives to the disease, according to the latest numbers from Johns Hopkins University.
Italy accounted for the largest number of fatalities, with 13,915 dead. In Spain, 10,348 have died while France reported 5,398 deceased.
The total number of infection cases around the world crossed 1 million overnight as the virus outbreak rapidly spread to Europe and the United States in March and is beginning to take a foothold among African countries. JHU data showed there were at least 1,011,490 reported instances of infection. — Saheli Roy Choudhury
All times below are in Eastern time.
6:48 pm: Job losses in March could be the worst in a decade, and that’s just the beginning
March’s employment report could show the most monthly job losses in a decade, but it’s only a fraction of the real hit to the workforce that came when many states issued stay-at-home orders late in the month.
Economists expect a consensus decline of 100,000 nonfarm payrolls, according to Refinitiv. But the survey for the report was done before many states began telling residents to stay home. For the final two weeks of the month, 10 million people sought unemployment benefits as businesses and schools closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
A sad and tired healthcare worker is seen by the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York, United States on April 1, 2020.
Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
“The main message is the labor market conditions started to slip in March, but obviously with the last two initial claims reports we’ve seen, we know April will be a disaster for labor markets,” said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Barclays. “We still have two more weeks, and we’re probably looking at an unemployment rate of more than 10% in April.”
“The suddenness with which it all slipped off a cliff in two weeks is shocking,” Gapen said. “We now have stay-at-home orders in states that account for 82% of GDP.” — Patti Domm
6:24 pm: Paper stimulus checks could be delayed by up to 5 months
If you’re counting the days until you receive your stimulus money from the government, hold tight: It could take up to five months.
A House Ways and Means Committee memo obtained by NBC News outlined a potential timeline for how soon the money could go out.
For individuals who receive the funds via direct deposit, that money will start moving to them as soon as the week of April 13, according to the memo.
But for Americans who get paper checks by mail, the wait could be a lot longer – up to five months. — Lorie Konish
Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: Trump says new mask guidelines will be out soon, global cases top 1 million