As Covid-19 spreads around the world, it can be daunting keeping up with the information. For RNZ, our responsibility is to give you verified, up to the minute, trustworthy information to help you make decisions about your lives and your health. We'll also be asking questions of officials and decision makers about how they're responding to the virus. Our aim is to keep you informed.
Total confirmed cases of Covid-19 around the world jumped to more than 1,270,000, with nearly 70,400 deaths, according to a Reuters tally on Tuesday morning, NZ time.
An employee of the laboratory of the gene and cell technology prepares a specimen at Kazan Federal University in Kazan, Russia. Staff members of the university began developing a vaccine against coronavirus based on published data on the structure of the virus genome. Photo: AFP
Europe
* Residents in Lombardy, Italy's worst-hit region, scrambled for scarce protective face masks and makeshift alternatives after authorities ordered anyone moving outside to cover up.
* The rate of deaths in Spain slowed for the fourth day on Monday as the government contemplated a gradual easing of a lockdown in the nation with the second highest death toll.
* Switzerland said it was too early to ease measures that restrict the spread of the new coronavirus, as neighbouring Austria sketched out plans to start loosening a national lockdown.
* Norway's health minister said the country's epidemic was under control, pointing to low transmission rates.
* The Czech Republic reported its slowest daily percentage rise in confirmed cases as the country entered a fourth week of restrictions.
* Ireland's prime minister re-registered as a medical practitioner and will work one shift a week to help out during the crisis.
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to ICU after suffering persistent symptoms.
- If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP - don't show up at a medical centre
* Scotland's chief medical officer resigned after she broke her own advice to stay at home by visiting her second home on two successive weekends.
* Military forces across Europe have scaled back operations and imposed stricter rules on personnel to try to stem the spread among staff who often live and work in close quarters.
* Pope Francis has started an emergency fund to help virus-hit areas in developing countries, the Vatican said on Monday.
Americas
* US officials on Monday girded the country for a "peak death week" as the accelerating American death toll closed the gap with Italy and Spain, the countries with the most fatalities to date.
* The White House trade adviser said members of the coronavirus task force clashed over the weekend about the efficacy of a malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, for use against the disease.
* Accused of "piracy", the United States has denied diverting a shipment of face masks bound for Germany.
* Mexico's president unveiled an economic plan vowing to help the poor and create jobs, but his promise of fiscal discipline sparked criticism that the measures fell far short of what was needed.
* Guatemala asked the United States to limit its deportations of immigrants to 25 persons per plane, after two deported migrants were hospitalised in recent weeks after testing positive.
* Haiti and Barbados reported their first deaths.
See all RNZ coverage of Covid-19
Asia and the Pacific
* China said it will work to further prevent cases imported through its land borders, as its number of asymptomatic cases surged.
* Japan is to impose a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures as early as Tuesday, while the government prepares a $US990 billion stimulus package.
* Migrant workers living in vast Singapore dormitories cut off from the outside world due to the outbreak fear these are fast becoming a hotbed for infection.
* India hopes to be testing 20,000 people daily by the end of the week, twice the current rate, while a statistical oddity in its testing data has sparked questions.
* Indonesia announced its biggest daily increase in cases and a medical association said 24 doctors had now died.
Middle East and Africa
* About 20 million jobs are at risk in Africa as the continent's economies are projected to shrink this year.
* Kenya's president ordered a halt to all movement in affected areas, including the capital Nairobi.
* Ivory Coast police clashed with protesters who had begun dismantling a half-built coronavirus testing centre, afraid that people using the facility would spread the epidemic.
* Iran will never ask the United States for coronavirus help, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday, adding that Washington should lift its "illegal" sanctions.
* Syria is dragging its feet on releasing prisoners under an amnesty declared by President Bashar al-Assad, raising fears of mass infections, rights groups said on Monday.
* More than 20,000 Pakistani workers stuck in the United Arab Emirates are seeking to return home, as the Gulf Arab state tightens restrictions.
* Ethiopia reported its first death and South Sudan its first case.
Economic fallout
* World stock markets jumped on Monday, encouraged by a slowdown in coronavirus-related deaths and new cases, though a delay in talks between Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut supply sent oil tumbling again.
* White House advisers have been considering a coronavirus-related U.S. Treasury bond, Trump's economic adviser told CNBC on Monday.
* The IMF cited limited but encouraging signs of recovery in China, but said it could not rule out a resurgence in China and elsewhere.
* Nigeria has requested a total of $US6.9 billion from the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank, the finance minister said on Monday.
* Uganda's central bank cut its main interest rate to 8 percent.
* Taiwan's central bank pledged to double the amount of money earmarked to support small and medium-sized companies if needed.
* Singapore unveiled $US3.55 billion in additional economic spending such as wage support, waiver of levies and one-off payments.
* Britain's car sector cut its 2020 sales forecast by 23 percent to 1.73 million vehicles.
- Reuters
Read more about the Covid-19 coronavirus:
- See all RNZ Covid-19 news
- A timeline: How the coronavirus started, spread and stalled life in New Zealand
- Covid-19 symptoms: What they are and how they make you feel
- Touching your Face: Why do we do it and how to stop
- Scientific hand-washing advice to avoid infection
- Coronavirus: A glossary of terms
- The Coronavirus Podcast
