Spain overtakes China as second worst-hit country by Covid-19 – as it happened

That’s it from this blog for today. We’ve launched a new one at the link below, where I’ll be taking you through the most important new developments in this unprecedented crisis:

Here’s a summary of the latest news:

• The global number of cases passed 460,000. The number of people known to have been infected with the virus increases to at least 466,955, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. In addition, 21,162 people have died and 113,770 people have recovered since the outbreak began.
• The UK’s death toll reached 465. In England, 414 people have died, while 22 people died in Scotland and the same number in Wales. Seven more lives were lost in Northern Ireland.
• Almost 1,500 more UK cases were identified. The country’s Department of Health and Social Care said that, as of 9am on Wednesday (GMT), 9,529 people have tested positive; an increase of 1,452 on the same time on Tuesday.
• France recorded at least 231 more deaths. The director general of the country’s health service, Jérôme Salomon, said there are now 25,233 confirmed cases, while 1,331 people have died, meaning the known death rate rose by 231 in 24 hours. But those were hospital deaths only and did not include those in retirement homes or outside hospitals.
• Greece reported 78 new cases. The country’s health authorities reported a rise in the death toll, saying 22 people – the vast majority men – have succumbed to the virus. The health ministry announced that the total number of confirmed cases had risen to 821.
• The economic hit that results from the pandemic is likely to be worse than the 2008 crisis, the WTO said. Its director general, Roberto Azevêdo, said concrete forecasts were not yet available but its in-house economists expect “a very sharp decline in trade”.
• The US authorities prepared to bring home tens of thousands of people more than they had expected. As many as 50,000 Americans may need their government’s help in getting home, the US State Department said.

You can read a summary of the earlier events here.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday failed in his bid to be bailed after he argued that he was at risk of catching coronavirus in the British prison where he is being held, AFP reports.

View image in fullscreen

“As matters stand today, this global pandemic does not as of itself provide grounds for Mr Assange’s release,” said judge Vanessa Baraitser at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Assange is currently in the high security Belmarsh prison in south London as he fights an extradition request by the United States to stand trial there on espionage charges.

Baraitser pointed out that the 48-year-old, who followed proceedings via videolink, had already violated a bail order when he fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012.

At that time, Swedish authorities were attempting to extradite him over sexual assault claims that were later dropped.

Assange’s lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, said there was currently no Covid-19 case at Belmarsh but 100 prison officers were off work and there was a “very real risk - and the risk could be fatal”.

You can get in touch with me directly throughout the day with tips, news, questions or jokes on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Hi, this is Helen Sullivan with you now, taking over from my colleague Kevin Rawlinson.

In the US, Alexandra Villarrea reports for the Guardian that during a press conference Wednesday afternoon, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for allegedly standing in the way of real aid to New York.

View image in fullscreen

De Blasio said:

It should have been one of the easiest no-brainers in the world for the U.S. Senate to include real money for New York City and New York state in this stimulus bill, and yet it didn’t happen. And we know why — because Mitch McConnell wouldn’t let it happen. I don’t understand how anybody — any public servant — could live with themselves if they deprived the cities in the middle of the biggest crisis since the great depression — deprived us, deprived our state — of the money we need.”

De Blasio took issue with the fact that New York City only got $1 billion out of the $150 billion pool of funds provided for the entire country in the Senate’s stimulus bill when New York City alone accounts for almost two-thirds of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S.

To deal with crowd density, de Blasio said he would be removing hoops at 80 of New York City’s 1,700 basketball courts because people weren’t properly social-distancing.

He also said that he’s working to release any inmates who can be directly acted on, who don’t pose a threat to the community. By tonight, he said he will have released 200 inmates.

The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) says that, as of 9am on Wednesday (all times GMT), 9,529 people have tested positive; an increase of 1,452 since its last update, which was as at 9am on Tuesday.

A little clarification: the DHSC tweet puts the UK death toll at 463, while we reported it earlier to be 465.

As the tweet says, the figures do not cover a full 24-hour period and are as of 9am on Wednesday, while our earlier report is based on the very latest releases from the health authorities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Queen has been pictured at Windsor Castle as she held her weekly audience with the UK’s prime minister by telephone.

It comes on the same day Clarence House announced the Prince of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus. Buckingham Palace has said the Queen, 93, who is staying at Windsor Castle with the Duke of Edinburgh, 98, remains in good health and is following all appropriate advice.

View image in fullscreen

The Finnish government is setting up a three-week blockade of the Uusimaa region around Helsinki to prevent people from travelling and spreading the virus to other parts of the country, it has said.

The decision came after the Finnish health authority worsened its forecast for the outbreak, estimating that between 11,000 and 15,500 people would be hospitalised and that between 3,600 and 5,000 of them would require intensive care in the following months.

Authorities have counted three deaths and 880 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Finland; most of them in the capital region.

A third of the world’s population is under lockdown as countries tighten measures to stop the spread of Covid-19. We’ve take a look at some of the strategies – from drones to armed forces, exercises to fines – that governments are using to police their citizens:

3:09

As many as 50,000 Americans may need their government’s help in getting home, the US State Department says; a huge increase on its previous estimate of only about 13,500.

Ian Brownlee, the head of the department’s repatriation task force, said it had brought back more than 9,000 people from 28 countries, while another 9,000 are set to return on 66 flights over the next nine days. But the scale of the problem is straining resources.

In as much as this is a truly unprecedented event, the State Department’s capacity to do this is being strained. We’re talking to the Department of Defense as to whether they can potentially help us out in lining up aircraft.

The UK government has asked the vacuum cleaner company, Dyson, to design and manufacture 10,000 ventilators to help deal with the outbreak in the coming weeks, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. The company’s founder, James Dyson, says in the email:

We have received an initial order of 10,000 units from the UK Government which we will supply on an open-book basis .We are also looking at ways of making it available internationally.

Dyson said he received a call from the British prime minister Boris Johnson 10 days ago and has since refocused resources at Dyson to design and build an entirely new ventilator, The CoVent.

Reuters had reported earlier that British industry expected the government to give the go-ahead for an emergency ventilator production plan on Wednesday.

25 Mar 202017.27 EDT

Sarah Boseley

New research suggests that “off label” repurposing of drugs such as hydroxychloroquine could lead to “drug-induced sudden cardiac death”.

A paper by the nonprofit medical organisation the Mayo Clinic found that chloroquine and Kaletra, an HIV drug also being used against coronavirus, can cause the heart muscle to take longer than normal to recharge between beats.