Rolling updates on the latest developments and headlines from around the world on the Covid-19 pandemic.
By Gina Lee and Peter Nurse
(11:03 PM ET) Japan set to approve remdesivir
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan looks to approve Gilead Sciences' (NASDAQ:GILD) antiviral drug remdesivir to fight COVID-19 on Thursday.
(11:01 PM ET) Philippines economy reports contraction
The Philippines reported its first economic contraction since 1998.
Gross domestic product fell 0.2% in the first quarter year-on-year, with 2018 as the new base year.
(10:15 PM ET) China mulls giving GDP target a miss
China is considering the option of not setting a target for economic growth for 2020 due to COVID-19's economic impact. It could use a description of the goal for gross domestic product growth as a substitute and will announce a decision during the National People’s Congress later in the month.
(10:11 PM ET) Trump does about-take on COVID-19 taskforce
U.S. President Donald Trump said overnight that the COVID-19 taskforce will continue “indefinitely”, a day after the White House suggested that it would be wound down.
(10:07 PM ET) WHO could investigate COVID-19 origin as Pompeo admits “no certainty” over U.S. Wuhan lab claims
The World Health Organization could send a mission to China to find the zoologic source of COVID-19. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed Sunday’s claims that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab but acknowledged there was no certainty.
(10 PM ET) Johnson says UK could loosen lockdown next week
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said overnight that the weeks-long lockdown could be eased as early as next week, adding that he would not take measures that risked a surge in new cases.
(9:50 PM ET) Italy sees most deaths, new cases in days after loosening lockdown
Italy reported the highest number of new cases in four days on Wednesday, with 1,444 cases recorded over the 24-hour period compared with 1,075 cases the day before. Fatalities also rose from 236 on Tuesday to 369 on Wednesday.
Italy loosened some of its strict lockdown measures on Monday and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte continues to battle tensions within his coalition over a new stimulus package to kickstart the paralysed economy.
Johns Hopkins University data said that Italy had a total of 214,457 cases and 29,684 deaths as of May 7.
(9:47 AM ET) Brazil’s daily new cases and deaths reach a record high
Brazil said that there were 10,503 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in the country over the last 24 hours. This is a record high, and well above the previous record of 7,288 cases on April 30 according to health ministry data. Deaths also rose by 615, also a new high compared with the 600 recorded on Tuesday.
The numbers prompted Brazil’s health minister to warn of potential strict lockdowns in the badly affected areas.
Johns Hopkins University data said that Brazil had a total of 126,611 cases and 8,588 deaths as of May 7.
