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Foreign workers are seen outside their dormitory room at Cochrane Lodge I, which was declared as an isolation area on April 16, 2020 in Singapore. Singapore government reported a record of 447 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases on April 15, 404 of which are cases linked to the foreign worker dormitories, bringing the country’s total to 3699.
Suhaimi Abdullah | Getty Images
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 2.3 million
- Global deaths: At least 159,500
- Most cases reported: United States (732,197), Spain (191,726), Italy (175,925), France (149,149), and Germany (143,342).
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 9:14 a.m. Beijing time.
All times below are in Beijing time.
9:33 am: South Korea reports first single digit increase in new cases for the first time in 2 months
South Korea reported 8 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed. It was the first single digit daily increase for the first time in two months, according to Reuters. That brings the total number of reported cases in the country to 10,661.There were 2 additional deaths reported, bringing the total fatalities in the country to 234. — Joanna Tan
9:11 am: Singapore reports a record high of 942 cases
Singapore added another 942 new coronavirus cases as of noon on April 18, bringing the total number of cases in the city-state to 5,992. It was the highest number of cases recorded in a single day for the Southeast Asian nation.
Of those infected, 4,162 were from dormitories housing foreign workers, data from the Ministry of Health showed. The men are typically from other Asian nations and most of them work in the construction sector. The country has reported 11 deaths related to Covid-19.
Since April 7, Singapore has been under new “circuit breaker” measures aimed at cutting down transmissions. Those measures include shutting down of schools and restriction of movements except for essential and urgent matters including buying food and groceries, seeking urgent medical help and exercising at safe distances. — Joanna Tan
All times below are in Eastern time.
5:52 pm: Trump says Texas and Vermont will start reopening Monday
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Texas and Vermont will allow certain businesses to reopen on Monday while still observing coronavirus-related precautions and Montana will begin lifting restrictions on Friday.
“We continue to see a number of positive signs that the virus has passed its peak,” Trump told reporters at a daily briefing.
Some state governors have warned, however, that they will not act prematurely to reopen their economies until there is more testing.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Friday that some retailers will be able to resume “to go” services, or pickup and delivery, and that restrictions on elective surgeries would be eased. State parks will reopen on Monday for visitors wearing face masks, with social distancing required, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont announced that in certain low-contact professional services industries, firms could bring two people each back to work, starting Monday. Property management and construction firms can also operate with two-person crews, per the governor’s order, according to the VT Digger.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Friday that his state will begin to open up next week but did not provide details. —Associated Press and Tucker Higgins
3:40 pm: Israel set to relax some lockdown restrictions
Israel will gradually ease its coronavirus lockdown from Sunday by letting some businesses reopen and relaxing curbs on movement after a slowdown in infection rates, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Authorities have steadily tightened a partial lockdown imposed on March 14, shuttering offices, closing schools and ordering people to stay mostly at home.
The measures have battered Israel’s economy, forced many businesses to close and sent unemployment above 25%.
But in televised remarks, Netanyahu said Israel had “succeeded in (its) mission so far” in combating the pandemic and argued that the restrictions had “proven themselves in a slowdown” in infection rates.
Israel has reported at least 164 deaths and nearly 13,300 cases of COVID-19, as of Saturday evening. However, infection rates have generally declined over the past two weeks, according to Israeli health ministry data. —Reuters
2:55 pm: Lady Gaga’s One World: Together At Home is underway
Singer songwriter Lady Gaga partnered up with the World Health Organization and Global Citizen to organize a star-studded six-hour live concert to raise money for fighting coronavirus. The event started streaming on YouTube at 2 p.m. ET and a curated selection will be broadcast on all NBC networks, ABC, ViacomCBS Networks, The CW and iHeartMedia channels starting at 8 p.m. ET. Late night show personalities Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and Jimmey Kimmel will host the broadcast.
Performers such as Billie Eilish, Lizzo, John Legend and Taylor Swift are slated to appear. The proceeds will support WHO and frontline health care workers. —Elisabeth Butler Cordova
Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: Global coronavirus cases top 2.3 million as pandemic forces businesses to shift plans
