Rolling updates on the latest developments and headlines from around the world on the Covid-19 pandemic.
By Gina Lee, Peter Nurse and Kim Khan
3:05 PM ET: White House Staff to Weak Masks
The White House has directed staff to wear masks in the building, except when they are at their desks, Bloomberg reported, citing a senior administration official.
1:30 PM ET: Twitter to Label Misleading Virus Information
Twitter will add labels and warning messages on some tweets with disputed or misleading information about Covid-19, the company said, as part of a new approach to misinformation that will eventually extend to other topics.
12:35 PM ET: Several Regions in New York Could Start Reopening This Weekend
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that he expected several regions in the state outside of New York City would be able to begin a phased reopening as soon as this weekend after his stay-at-home order expires on May 15.
11:57 AM ET: WHO Head Touts 'Slow, Steady' End to Lockdowns
The head of the World Health Organization said that the "slow, steady lifting of lockdowns" was key, as a jump in new coronavirus cases in South Korea and Germany raised global concerns about a second wave of infections.
11:45 AM ET: Mosques to Reopen in Iran
All mosques in Iran will reopen on Tuesday, a further step in the government’s plans to ease restrictions which aimed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, the official IRIB news agency reported.
11:30 AM ET: Disney CEO ‘Encouraged’ by Shanghai Opening
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC the company is “encouraged by what we see in Shanghai,” its first park to reopen. Guests observed social distancing, Chapek said, but he did not give a timeline for opening other parks.
9:30 AM ET: Merkel Says Germany Must Observe Basic Rules
German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that people needed to continue keeping their distance from one another and covering their mouths and noses even as Germany eases some of the restrictions it had imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
09:17 AM ET: Thai tourists set to hit lowest level in 14 years
The number of foreign tourists in Thailand may plunge by almost two-thirds to 14 million this year, the lowest level in 14 years, as the coronavirus pandemic hits global travel, estimates from the Tourism Authority of Thailand showed on Monday.
The TAT now predicts only 14 million to 16 million foreign visitors this year, sharply down from 33.8 million projected in March. Last year's foreign arrivals were a record 39.8 million.
Tourism is crucial to Thailand as spending from foreign tourists amounted to 1.93 trillion baht ($59.98 billion), or 11% of GDP last year.
09:13 AM ET: Qatar Airways sees slow recovery in travel from pandemic
Global travel demand will take years to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and many business travellers may never return to the skies, the head of Qatar Airways said on Monday.
Qatar Airways expects to fill between 50% and 60% of seats on flights over the coming weeks as it reopens more routes and increases the frequency of flights.
But Akbar al-Baker said he would be "very surprised" if travel demand recovered to pre-pandemic levels before 2023/2024.
06:29 AM ET: Over 80% of U.S. small businesses expect longer impact of pandemic - survey
Eighty-one percent of small U.S. companies surveyed by Veem, a global payments network, expect the new coronavirus pandemic to affect their business over the next 12-16 months, and nearly 90% are bracing for an economic slowdown, the company said Monday.
04:23 AM ET: Italian industrial falls 28.4% in March, steepest fall on record
Italian industrial output plummeted 28.4% in March from the previous month, more than expected and the steepest drop on record, as a lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic shuttered most businesses.
National statistics bureau ISTAT, which issued the data on Monday, said it was the steepest fall in industrial production since the current series began in 1990.
04:12 AM ET: Passengers on KLM flights instructed to wear face masks
Passengers on all flights of KLM, the Dutch subsidiary of Air France KLM (OTC:AFLYY), must wear face masks during travel starting on Monday, the airline said in a statement.
Like most major carriers, KLM has grounded almost all its airplanes due to the coronavirus pandemic, but is still operating a small number of flights.
"Wearing facial protection during boarding and on board is mandatory for KLM passengers. Passengers must ensure that they carry the required facial protection with them," KLM said. Passengers without adequate facial protection may be refused boarding at the gate, it added.
04:04 AM ET: France could reverse lockdown relaxation on outbreak resurgence - Minister
France could reverse the relaxation of its nationwide lockdown if there was a resurgence of the new coronavirus outbreak, Health Minister Olivier Veran warned on Monday.
"If the virus were to resume its wild race, we would again take lockdown measures," Veran told BFM television.
03:01 AM ET: UK economy will not be back to work until July at very earliest - Minister
Non-essential retailers would not go back to work in the U.K. until June at the earliest, while other sectors will not go back to work until July at the earliest, U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Monday.
"There's the other changes for things like non essential retail and people going back to school, particularly primary school, which won't start until the earliest on the first of June, subject to conditions," Raab said.
"Starting from the 4th of July at the very earliest, those other sectors where they are inherently more difficult because people are mixing together and it's difficult to maintain the social distancing, we wouldn't be able to say ... that we would start them at least until the 4th of July."
02:23 AM ET: Avianca airline files for bankruptcy
Latin America's second-largest airline Avianca filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, after failing to meet bond payment deadline.
If it fails to come out of bankruptcy, the Bogota-based airline would be one of the first major carriers worldwide to go under as a result of the global health crisis.
01:39 AM ET: Malaysia's economy set to contract in 1Q for first time in more than a decade - poll
Malaysia's economy is expected to have contracted for the first time in more than a decade in the first quarter as the coronavirus crisis shattered private consumption and external demand.
The median forecast from a poll of 12 economists was for gross domestic product to decline 1.5% in January-March from a year earlier, the first contraction since the third quarter of 2009 during the global financial crisis.
01:12 AM ET: France emerges from lockdown
Millions of French people are set to cautiously emerge from one of Europe's strictest lockdowns on Monday.
France, whose official death toll is the world's fifth highest, had enforced an eight-week lockdown, since March 17, to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, with residents only allowed out for essential shopping, work and a bit of exercise.
Shops and hair salons can now reopen, while people can venture out without a government-mandated form, except for trips of more than 100 km (62 miles), which are only allowed for professional reasons, funerals or caring for the sick.
01:04 AM ET: China's passenger car retail sales fell 5.6% in April
China's passenger car retail sales in April fell 5.6% from a year earlier to 1.43 million, the China Passenger Car Association said on Monday, as the country gradually recovers from the coronavirus.
The association said during an online briefing that the overall passenger car sales trend is showing a quick recovery from the virus-induced low.
00:56 AM ET: South Korean trade hit hard in early May
South Korean exports and imports suffered a precipitous decline in the first 10 days of May, underlining a bleak outlook for Asia's fourth largest economy and international trade as the coronavirus crisis slammed global demand.
Exports contracted 46.3% year-on-year in the period, while imports fell an equally dizzying 37.2%, data from the Korea Customs Service showed on Monday.
10:26 PM ET: Number of global cases exceeds 4 million
Data from Johns Hopkins University said that there were 4,101,060 global cases as of May 11.
10:22 PM ET: South Korea warns of second wave nightclub outbreak
South Korea reported 37 cases on May 10, its highest number of new cases since March, as it warned of a second wave of cases from nightclubs in the Itaewon area.
The country shut down all night clubs, bars and discos on Saturday to curb the outbreak, less than a week after it loosened restrictions as cases fell.
10:19 PM ET: China reports 17 new cases, orders Shulan under lockdown
China reported 17 new coronavirus cases for May 10, of which 10 were local cases.
Shulan, in Jilin province and bordering North Korea, is now under lockdown after an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
10:12 PM ET: Japan plans second budget to combat virus’ economic impact
Japan will launch a second budget, including aid for companies struggling to pay rent and more subsidies for those hit by slowing sales.
The country will also remove 34 prefectures from the state of emergency designation on May 14, with no new cases reported in the prefectures. But the designation will not be lifted yet for Tokyo and Osaka.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings (T:4901) alongside Denka Co and Kaneka Corporation will be subject to strict foreign investment controls. The trio are involved in the development of anti-flu drug Avigan, now being tested as a COVID-19 treatment and thus deemed critical to national security.
10:07 PM ET: U.K. releases tentative reopening plan
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out the “first careful steps” to a “conditional plan” loosening the U.K.’s lockdown and kickstarting the economy with more people returning to work.
Although not immediately ending the lockdown, restrictions on movement will be loosened from Wednesday, with unlimited outdoor leisure time and drives to parks and beaches to be permitted. Primary schools could reopen for some children on June 1, with the hospitality industry and other public places slated to open in July.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.