Image source, AFP

New York state remains the worst-hit part of the US and in the past day has suffered its biggest death toll so far with 779 deaths linked to the virus.

The number of confirmed cases in the state alone approached 150,000 on Wednesday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered flags flown at half-mast across the state, to respect the dead.

"Every number is a face," he said. "This virus attacked the vulnerable and attacked the weak and it's our job as a society to protect the vulnerable."

The governor said a drop in new hospitalisations and other data suggested the state was "bending the curve" and gaining some control over the infection rate but warned the death rate would continue to be high for the coming days.

Image source, Getty Images

US jobless figures could be about to hit a new record. On Thursday morning, the Department of Labor will release its latest data on unemployment claims.

JPMorgan Chase analysts expect the statistics to show that as many as seven million people applied for benefits in the week to 4 April. That would surpass the previous week’s record of 6.6 million, which was double the one from the week before.

In yet more grim economic news, nearly one third of US residential tenants (31%) did not manage to pay their rent in the first week of April, according to data from the National Multifamily Housing Council on Wednesday.

Image source, Reuters

Bangladesh has imposed a lockdown at the Cox's Bazar refugee camp which houses more than a million Rohingya who have fled from Myanmar.

The top government administrator in Cox's Bazar, said foreigners have been banned from frequent visits to the camps unless absolutely necessary.

He explained that with the help of the WHO, they were currently setting up isolation wards and makeshift hospitals at the camps.

Authorities are also training community health workers, distributing soap and trying to raise awareness on how to prevent the virus from taking hold.

There's fear that an outbreak in the camps would be almost impossible to contain as the refugees live in cramped spaces and very poor conditions.

Laura Bicker
BBC News

South Korea has reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in seven weeks.

Only 39 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed over the past 24 hours - 23 of which were related to overseas arrivals.

Of this number, only 4 were confirmed to have come from Daegu, the city which was once at the heart of the country's outbreak.

South Korea has used an aggressive tracing and testing strategy to curb the pandemic.

No part of the country was ever placed in lockdown. Health officials are urging people to maintain social distancing measures until 19 April in the hope of reducing the number of cases even further.

The total number of cases across the country now stands at 10,423, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Image source, Getty Images

Crude oil posted initial gains in Asia on Thursday.

It comes as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies will meet online to hammer out proposed massive cuts in production to counter a slump in demand caused by coronavirus lockdowns.

Global benchmark Brent oil rose 2.5%, to $33.65 in early Asian trade after gains overnight on hopes for a deal to cut as much as 10m to 15m barrels a day, or 10% to 15% of global output.An Opec+ (Opec plus other producers led by Russia) meeting in early March failed to agree on oil production cuts, causing a split that sent prices crashing.Saudi Arabia and Russia then moved to boost production in order to retain market share amid the falling global demand.Key Opec member Saudi Arabia pushed hard for deep cuts in March, while Russia complained that US shale producers who didn't curb output would unfairly benefit. The standoff saw US President Donald Trump seek to broker a deal as the world's largest producer and a top importer as well.

If you're worried, here's a basic guide on how to tell if you might have coronavirus.

Katy Watson
South America correspondent

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has once again called on Brazil to get back to work, going against advice by his own Health Ministry – and most of the rest of the world – to stop work and remain indoors.

Speaking on national television, he said his goal was to save lives in what he called a war against coronavirus.

He no longer referred to the virus as a little flu, but continued to distance himself from the drastic measures being taken by local governments such as school and business closures, making the point that the consequences of treatment cannot be more damaging than the disease itself.

Unemployment he said, also leads to poverty, hunger, misery and even death.

He went on to praise the use of hydroxychloroquine, a drug that has not yet been proven as an effective treatment of coronavirus.

Mr Bolsonaro added that he hoped Brazil would come out of this stronger and more unified but the message from the top is still confusing – should people stay indoors or get back to work?

One thing is clear though – he doesn’t want to take any responsibility for what will be a massive economic hit to the country.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP

For those of you reading in Asia, here are the developments we are watching:

• in Japan, Tokyo has seen its biggest daily jump since the beginning of the outbreak, and the spike comes just after the capital and other large cities declare a state of emergency
• South Korea has reported its fewest daily cases since late February. The 39 positive tests in the past day are down from 53 the previous day. At the peak of its crisis, South Korea had 909 new cases on 29 February
• Singapore has seen its highest daily increase with 142 new cases
• Thailand says it will automatically extend visas for all foreigners. Many of them currently can not leave the country and authorities want to prevent long queues at immigration centres
• in East Timor, the prime minister has withdrawn his resignation so he can oversee the fight against the pandemic. He had announced his resignation earlier this year after failing to pass the annual budget.

The US recorded nearly 2,000 coronavirus deaths for a second day in a row, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

It was the highest one-day toll on record with 1,973 deaths - the day before had seen a death toll of 1,939 deaths, according to news agency AFP.

The US now has 14,695 deaths and 431,838 confirmed virus cases making it the worst affected country globally.

Image source, EPA

As we've mentioned there's been a dramatic development in the story of the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

It has been linked to 15 deaths since it docked in Sydney on 19 March. With more than 600 confirmed cases, it is Australia's largest single source of infections.

Police have begun a criminal investigation into how 2,700 passengers were allowed to disembark. This morning, they confirmed the ship's black box had been seized.

"Ships have a black box very similar to that of international planes and that and other evidence has been seized for further investigation," said New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller.

The investigation will look into "discrepancies" in information provided by ship's operator, Carnival Australia. There are questions, too, over how much blame should fall on state and federal authorities.

More than 1,000 crew members remain aboard - 200 have flu-like symptoms, and 18 have tested positive for the virus.

Image source, NSW POLICE

Image source, Reuters

Brazil has confirmed the first case of the virus among the indigenous Yanomami. The ethnic group living in remote parts of the rainforest are known for already being vulnerable to foreign diseases.

"We have to be triply cautious with (indigenous) communities, especially the ones that have very little contact with the outside world," Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said.

The patient is a 15-year-old boy and he's being treated in the intensive care unit at a hospital, officials said.

The country has now confirmed at least seven coronavirus cases among the indigenous population, according to local media. Brazil is home to an estimated 800,000 indigenous people from more than 300 ethnic groups. The first virus case was among the Kokama a week ago.

Overall, Brazil has more than 14,000 confirmed cases and almost 700 deaths.

Two deaths from China's Hubei province, where the virus epicentre of Wuhan is located, were reported on Wednesday, said the country's National Health Commission.

It comes a day after Wuhan lifted a lockdown that has been in place for almost three months.

63 new confirmed cases - 61 of which were imported - and 56 asymptomatic cases were also reported.

There are now 81,865 confirmed cases across China.

Image source, Getty Images

Andreas Illmer
Singapore

Singapore has long been somewhat of "poster boy" for keeping the virus in check.

Numbers were low and so were the daily increases. On Wednesday though, the city state registered its highest daily increase since the outbreak began.

There were 142 new positive tests - many in foreign worker dormitories - bringing the total to more than 1,600. Six people have died so far.

The latest numbers confirm an upward trend, and the government's response has got tougher.

In a move labelled a "circuit breaker", all non-essential businesses were closed from Tuesday. Then just yesterday, all social get-togethers were banned.

I've been working from home for weeks now. Just down from my balcony is a playground, and it's always busy with kids every morning.

Today, it's cordoned off and the little park is quiet - except for the chirping of birds in the trees.

Frances Mao
Sydney

Image source, NSW POLICE

Good morning from Sydney, where the focus once again is on the Ruby Princess cruise ship - the source of one-tenth of the 6,000 cases in Australia.

• Police boarded the vessel, currently south of Sydney, last night and seized its black box as part of an investigation into whether the ship's operator failed its duty of care to passengers. About 2,700 people were allowed to freely disembark last month. Since then, 15 passengers have died
• Lawmakers yesterday passed a mammoth A$130b (£65bn; $80bn) wage subsidy package – the biggest financial lifeline in the nation’s history

• Ahead of a four-day Easter long weekend, officials are urging people to stick to the rules, stay home and avoid travelling to holiday spots
• But a government minister in New South Wales, the worst-hit state, has been found doing just that after retreating from his Sydney home to a holiday house on the coast

Welcome back to our rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. We'll be bringing you all the latest developments throughout today, but first, here are some of the headlines:

• US President Donald Trump has not backed down on his criticism of the WHO. In a press briefing, he said they had to "get [their] priorities right". He had previously accused the organisation of being "China-centric" and said they "really blew" their pandemic response
• But the head of the WHO dismissed his comments, saying "we are close to every nation, we are colour blind". He also called for an end to the "politicisation" of Covid-19
• Over in Australia, police are investigating why a cruise ship allowed sick passengers to disembark in downtown Sydney. Officers entered the Ruby Princess and seized the cruise's black box
• In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care but is "improving"