- Singapore reported 728 new cases as of noon on April 16, yet another daily record high this week and drastically higher than the previous high of 447 reported for Wednesday.
- China's first-quarter GDP data, set to be released Friday morning, will be closely watched as economists assess the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
- Reported cases of coronavirus infection worldwide stood at more than 2.15 million and at least 144,243 people have died, data from Johns Hopkins University showed.
This is CNBC's live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
- Global cases: More than 2.15 million
- Global deaths: At least 144,243
- Most cases reported: United States (671,331), Spain (184,948), Italy (168,941), France (147,091), and Germany (137,698).
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 12:10 p.m. Beijing time.
All times below are in Beijing time.
2:37 pm: Chinese driverless car firm launches autonomous deliveries in California as lockdown continues
Chinese driverless car start-up Pony.ai has launched a delivery service in Irvine, California using its autonomous vehicles as people remain stuck at home due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Last year, the company launched a robo-taxi service in Irvine in partnership with Hyundai using the South Korean automaker's cars equipped with Pony.ai technology. That driverless taxi service was suspended after a "shelter-in-place" order was issued northern California in March.
Pony.ai has repurposed its fleet of 10 vehicles for deliveries. It has teamed up with e-commerce site Yamibuy for the initiative. — Arjun Kharpal
1:52 pm: Global economy may not fully recover from the virus crisis by 2021, says IMF chief economist
Global economic activity, which has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, may not fully recover even by the end of 2021, said Gita Gopinath, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.
The fund this week downgraded its economic forecast. It now expects the global economy to shrink by 3% this year before growing 5.8% next year — a rebound that Gopinath described as a "partial recovery."
"So even by the end of 2021, we're expecting level of economic activity to be below what we had projected before the virus," she told CNBC "Squawk Box Asia." — Yen Nee Lee
12:11 pm: Brazilian president fired his health minister after they clashed over how to fight the coronavirus outbreak
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro fired his health minister after they clashed over how to fight the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported.
Bolsonaro also called for states to end stay-at-home orders and said those measures were hurting the economy, according to the news wire.
The leader previously played down the threat of the pandemic, describing the virus as "a little flu," and criticized state governors for imposing restrictions that were supported by the outgoing health minister as well as other experts, Reuters said.
Brazil has more than 30,600 reported cases and at least 1,947 people have succumbed to the disease. — Saheli Roy Choudhury
12:04 pm: Global cases more than 2.15 million, death toll over 144,000
Reported cases of coronavirus infection worldwide stood at more than 2.15 million and at least 144,243 people have died, data from Johns Hopkins University showed.
The United States had the most number of reported cases at over 671,000.
Infections in Spain, Italy, France, and Germany trickled up, with each country reporting more than 135,000 cases, according to Hopkins.
Total cases in the United Kingdom reached 104,147 infections and more than 13,700 people have died, the university's data showed. — Saheli Roy Choudhury
11:44 am: New Zealand says it will decide on extending or easing current lockdown measures next week
Senior government ministers in the New Zealand cabinet will meet on Monday to discuss and decide if the country's current restriction levels will be extended, or eased, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said at a press conference.
New Zealand is currently at alert level 4, which means residents are required to stay indoors unless they're providing essential services; all nonessential businesses and public gathering places, including bars and restaurants, are closed and social gatherings are not permitted.
The country reported eight new confirmed and suspected cases of Covid-19 on Friday and two additional deaths. Speaking about the new deaths, Robertson said, "This also serves as a somber reminder that we need to continue to stay home to save lives and to break the chain of transmission."
"We must make sure that we're following the rules and guidance for level 4," he added.
There have been 1,409 cases in total and 11 people have died in the country. — Saheli Roy Choudhury
10:10 am: China says its economy shrank by 6.8% in the first quarter as the country battled coronavirus
China reported that its first quarter GDP contracted by 6.8% in 2020 from a year ago as the world's second largest economy took a huge hit from the coronavirus outbreak, data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed.
A woman wears a medical mask during a snowfall in Beijing, China, February 2, 2020.Artyom Ivanov | Tass | Getty Images
The contraction in the first quarter would also be the first decline since at least 1992, when official quarterly GDP records started, according to Reuters. The world's second largest economy came to standstill earlier this year as Beijing implemented large-scale shutdowns and quarantines to limit human contact in order to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
In the first quarter, retail sales in China fell 19% from a year ago while industrial production fell 8.4% in the same period, data from the bureau showed. — Huileng Tan, Evelyn Cheng
9:30 am: Mainland China reports 26 new cases, no new deaths
China's National Health Commission (NHC) said there were 26 new confirmed cases as of April 16, of which 15 were attributed to travelers coming from overseas. That brings the country's total to 82,367 cases, the NHC said.
No new deaths were reported, and the total number of fatalities remained at 3,342, according to the NHC.
Separately, there were 66 new asymptomatic cases, where people tested positive for the virus but did not show any symptoms. That brings its number of asymptomatic cases currently under medical observation to 1,038, the NHC said. — Weizhen Tan
9:05 am: Australia could keep coronavirus restrictions for another year, its prime minister says
Australia could keep imposing restrictions to curb the virus spread for another year, its Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, according to a Reuters report.
He said that some social distancing measures, such as requiring people to stand at least 1.5 meters apart, could be in place for several months more.
"Social distancing is something we should get very used to," Morrison told radio station 3AW, according to the report. "It could be a year, but I'm not speculating about that."
However, he pushed for the reopening of schools, citing medical advice that children are a low risk of transmission, said the report. — Weizhen Tan
8:35 am: Investors wait for China's GDP data
China's first-quarter GDP data, set to be released Friday morning, will be closely watched as economists assess the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Efforts to contain the virus have hit China's key manufacturing sectors and other parts of the economy badly.
A Reuters poll showed China's economy is forecast to have shrunk 6.5% in the first quarter from a year ago. That would reverse a 6% expansion in the previous quarter and mark the first decline since at least 1992, according to Reuters. — Weizhen Tan
8:10 am: Singapore reports another record for daily new cases
Singapore reported 728 new cases as of noon on April 16, yet another daily record high this week and drastically higher than the previous high of 447 reported for Wednesday. This week, the Southeast Asian country has reported a spike in the number of infections after managing to keep numbers low earlier in the outbreak.
Most of the new cases were foreign workers who are housed in dormitories, at which several infection clusters have been found. The men, typically from other Asian countries, work mostly in the construction sector.
The number of fatalities overall in the city-state remained at 10, with the total number of cases now at 4,427. — Weizhen Tan
All times below are in Eastern time.
6:58 pm: Dr. Deborah Birx outlines the White House's plan to reopen the US economy
VIDEO10:3610:36Dr. Deborah Birx details phases for reopening US economyPolitics
6:22 pm: Dow futures rip 700 points higher amid report Gilead drug showing effectiveness treating coronavirus
U.S. stock futures surged on Thursday night after a report said a Gilead Sciences drug was showing effectiveness in treating the coronavirus. The move pointed to a jump for the stock market on Friday.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 700 points, or about 3%. S&P 500 futures gained 2.8% while Nasdaq 100 futures were up by 1.8%. —Fred Imbert
5:14 pm: Gilead stock surges after report says drug trial shows encouraging early results
Gilead Sciences shares surged by more than 10% in after-hours trading after an industry publication said Covid-19 patients being treated with the company's antiviral drug Remdesivir appear to have "rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms."
STAT News said a doctor running a Chicago-based hospital conducting a closely watched trial on the drug found that most of its patients had been discharged in less than a week.
There are no proven therapies to treat Covid-19, which has infected more than 2 million worldwide as of Thursday night, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Some health authorities in the U.S. and China have been using Remdesivir, which was tested as a possible treatment for the Ebola outbreak, in hopes that the drug can reduce the duration of the virus in patients. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
4:58 pm: Trump issues guidelines to open up parts of US where coronavirus cases are in decline, testing ramped up
President Donald Trump unveiled broad new federal guidelines Thursday that lay out conditions for parts of the U.S. to start relaxing some of the strict social distancing measures imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 18-page plan for "Opening Up America Again" identifies the circumstances necessary for areas of the country to allow employees to start returning to work – but the decision to lift restrictions will ultimately be made by state governors.
The plan lays out three "phases" aimed at guiding parts of the country to move incrementally toward loosening restrictions on businesses and individuals. — Kayla Tausche, Kevin Breuninger
Click here to read the new federal guidelines.
Read CNBC's coverage from the U.S. overnight: US coronavirus cases top 667,000 as Dr. Birx outlines phases to reopen US economy
Source: cnbc.com
