Coronavirus live updates: Singapore reports 931 new cases, global numbers above 2.9 million

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 2.9 million
• Global deaths: At least 206,265
• Most cases reported: United States (963,379), Spain (226,629), Italy (197,675), France (162,220), and Germany (157,495). 

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of 7:09 a.m. Beijing time. 

All times below are in Beijing time.

Thailand on Monday reported nine new cases of the coronavirus and one death, Reuters reported citing Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

It was the first time there were no new local transmissions reported in Bangkok since the outbreak in January, Taweesin added.

The Southeast Asian country has so far reported a total of 2,931 cases and 52 fatalities.

Within Asia, the Japanese and Singaporean economies could struggle the most in the coronavirus pandemic, an economist from Moody’s Analytics said on Monday.

Both economies were already weak before the outbreak worsened over the past month — and stricter lockdown measures imposed to contain the virus spread will likely exacerbate their respective economic troubles, said Steve Cochrane, the firm’s chief Asia Pacific economist.

Latest official data in Japan showed the economy shrinking by 6.3% year over year in the three months to December, while preliminary estimates in Singapore indicated that the economy contracted by 2.2% in the quarter that ended in March. — Yen Nee Lee

Germany reported 1,018 new cases of the the coronavirus on Monday, taking the total number of infected people to 155,193, according to the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.

There were 110 deaths, taking the toll to 5,750, the institute added.

Last Monday, Germany allowed smaller retailers of under 800 square meters to re-open, as long as they abided by social distancing and hygiene measures. Larger businesses, such as car dealerships, bike and book shops were also allowed to re-open. — Huileng Tan

A group of 50 Indian Revenue Service officers has recommended taxing the super rich as part of the government’s efforts to deal with the economic crisis brought about by the global pandemic.

They recommended raising the highest tax rate to 40% for people earning above 10 million rupees ($131,083.10) in a year or a wealth tax for those with a net worth of 50 million rupees or more. The recommendations were made in a paper that was sent to the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

The Income Tax Department later said on Twitter that the central board never asked those officers to prepare such a report and that the contents of the paper did not “reflect the official views of CBDT/MInistry of Finance in any manner.”

India is currently in an extended period of lockdown till May 3. — Saheli Roy Choudhury

Japan’s Osaka Prefecture will name and shame more pachinko parlor gambling outlets that are defying lockdown requests aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reported. 

Three out of six locations identified on Friday subsequently closed, the news agency said. Pachinko parlors are arcade-style outlets where players can win money depending on the games’ outcome.

“A lot of places have closed down after we named the six last week. We are now conducting a survey of pachinko parlours and will announce the results accordingly,” a spokesman for Osaka Prefecture said, according to Reuters. — Saheli Roy Choudhury

China’s National Health Commission said there were 3 new cases of infection, two of which were attributed to travelers from overseas. No new deaths were registered, the same as yesterday. There were 25 asymptomatic cases.

Cumulative confirmed cases in mainland China totaled 82,830 and 4,633 people have died. Beijing city added a new death but it wasn’t clear when the person had died. 

On April 17, the cumulative death toll rose substantially after an investigation in the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak was first reported, added 1,290 deaths. — Evelyn Cheng, Saheli Roy Choudhury

Australia’s health ministry said as of 6 a.m. local time on April 27, there were 10 new cases from the day before, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 6,713. More than 5,500 people are said to have recovered from Covid-19 while 83 have died. 

New Zealand’s daily reported cases have remained relatively low, with four new confirmed cases and five probable cases reported on April 26. The combined total of confirmed and probable cases in New Zealand is 1,470, according to its health ministry. 

New Zealand is set to ease its restriction level from alert 4 to alert 3 starting Tuesday, which would allow most businesses to start to open but they must take health measures to keep their workers safe. — Saheli Roy Choudhury

Tesla managers asked dozens of employees to return to work on April 29 to resume production at the company’s Fremont, California car plant, according to internal correspondence shared with CNBC.

The plant was supposed to suspend vehicle production March 19 to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But the company resisted, and kept producing cars through the end of March 23. 

Local health orders limit the carmaker to “minimum basic operations” until end-of-day May 3 at least, according to Sgt. Ray Kelly, a public information officer with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. — Lora Kolodny

Italy was the first Western nation to be slammed by the virus outbreak and its reported number of fatalities lags behind only the United States in the global death toll, the Associated Press reported.

Its first case was reported on Feb. 21 when global health officials still thought the virus was containable, the news agency added. 

There is evidence that demographics and health-care deficiencies collided with political and business interests to expose the 10 million people in the northern Italian region of Lombardy in ways not seen anywhere else — particularly the most vulnerable in nursing homes, according to the AP. — Saheli Roy Choudhury

Singapore reported 931 new cases of Covid-19 as of noon local time on Sunday.

Most of the new cases were linked to infection clusters in dormitories that house foreign workers, who are typically men from other Asian countries, carrying out labor-intensive jobs to support their families back home.

Health ministry data showed more than 11,400 workers residing in these dormitories tested positive for the infection so far. 

The city-state now has at least 13,624 confirmed cases to-date. Most of the patients are said to be in isolation facilities while just over 1,300 people are still hospitalized, and 12 people have died so far. — Saheli Roy Choudhury

Total number of coronavirus cases globally was more than 2.96 million and at least 206,265 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The virus outbreak was first reported in China’s Hubei province late last year and has since spread rapidly around the world.

The United States has the most number of reported infections, with more than 963,300 cases in the country and over 54,800 deaths, Hopkins data showed. 

Spain reported more than 226,600 cases; Italy, France, and Germany reported at least 157,000 cases each. In the United Kingdom, cases climbed to over 154,000, according to Hopkins — more than 20,700 people there have died. — Saheli Roy Choudhury

All times below are in Eastern time.

Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday that while the coronavirus trends give her “great hope” for slow reopenings over the next few months, many of the social distancing measures that have upended American life will be a constant fixture through the summer.

And, while President Donald Trump and many governors press to re-open the economy, Birx said the U.S. needs a “breakthrough” on coronavirus testing to help screen Americans and get a more accurate picture of the virus’ spread.

Birx said the task force intends to continue working with states to scale up testing for those sick with the virus. “At the same time,” she added, “we have to realize that we have to have a breakthrough innovation in testing” for those who have already had the virus but had either mild or no symptoms. — NBC News

New York will eventually re-open in phases once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says state and regional hospitalization rates have been in decline for 14 days, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday.

Phase one of the reopening will involve construction and manufacturing. In phase two, businesses will need to design plans for re-opening, including having personal protective equipment and imposing social distancing.

“We’re going to reopen in phases … look at the regional analysis, make a determination and then monitor whatever you do,” Cuomo said at a press briefing.

Cuomo said a re-opening plan must not attract visitors from other regions or states. — Emma Newburger

Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: Dr. Birx says US needs a ‘breakthrough’ on testing to aid re-opening