India in 3-week lockdown
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has ordered the country’s 1.3 billion people to stay at home for three weeks to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. The Guardian says that India has so far only reported 469 infections and 10 deaths, but that more than 1.8 million people are being monitored for various reasons. CNN says experts have warned that India is not testing enough people, and Bloomberg has called Modi’s decision an “unprecedented gamble”. The BBC reported of panic buying after Modi made his announcement. India Today has live updates from the country
Trump wants economy up and running again
US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday he hoped the country could largely get back to normal by Easter Sunday and has warned that “you're gonna have suicides by the thousands” if the US goes “into a massive recession or depression”. His comments came in a Fox News virtual town hall. Michael Goodwin in the New York Post welcomes the president’s “Easter resurrection” of the economy, but Bloomberg warns it sets up a clash with state governors and Vox has 6 reasons to be wary of Trump’s judgement. Reuters explains why the president actually has quite limited power to order citizens back to work. And The Guardian reports that the US administration has asked countries in European and Asia for assistance in getting testing kits and medical equipment.
Commission admits Luxembourg aid scheme
European Commission vice president in charge of competition, Margrethe Vestager, announced on Tuesday that Luxembourg's €300 million scheme to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak is in line with EU rules. In a press release, Vestager said the measures were approved under the EC’s new State aid Temporary Framework. More to follow in Delano’s noon briefing.
One-day bull market
Despite an historic rebound on Wall Street thanks to the anticipated US stimulus package to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were in decline again overnight, CNBC reports. Tuesday’s bounceback of over 11% had been the Dow’s biggest one-day percentage gain since 1933, but CNBC’s Jim Kramer called it a “one-day bull market.”
UK opens field hospital and appeals for volunteers
The ExCeL Centre in East London, which is used for expos and conferences, is to be converted into a temporary field hospital with an eventual capacity for 4,000 patients, the BBC and ITV report. The UK on Tuesday experienced its biggest daily spike in deaths from coronavirus with 89, taking the total of fatalities to 424, Sky News and The Guardian report. Meanwhile, a University of Oxford model suggests that as much as half of the UK’s population may have already been infected, according to the FT. In the government’s daily briefing on Tuesday, health secretary Matt Hancock appealed for 250,000 volunteers to help the National Health Service, The Guardian and CNBC report.
EU falls short on unified economic strategy
Finance ministers have failed to fully agree on an EU-wide strategy to tackle the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis. Although The Wall Street Journal says there was broad support for invoking the European Stability Mechanism and even allowing member states to borrow as much as 2% of annual economic output, differences remain. Politico says that ministers from northern member states, including the Netherlands and Germany, resisted the idea of new credit lines from the bailout fund, and there was also no consensus on creating special EU “corona bonds”.
Balkan talks green-lighted
EU ministers on Tuesday formally approved starting membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania. Euronews cites leaders in the two countries hailing the news as an historic achievement and a symbol of true strength. France24 says enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi told a press conference that “credibility has been delivered.”
Italian priest dies after donating respirator
The BBC, CBS and Daily Mail are among those reporting the story of 72-year old Italian priest Giuseppe Berardelli, who died after he gave his respirator to a younger coronavirus patient.
Asterix creator Albert Uderzo dies
French comic book artist Albert Uderzo, who created the Asterix series with writer René Goscinny, has died at the age of 92. The death was unrelated to coronavirus. The Herald Scotland and The Washington Post pay tribute and The Guardian has a nice picture report of Uderzo at work.
Memes galore
If laughter is the best medicine, then the internet is having a field day trying to cure those suffering the effects of the coronavirus lockdown. Media ranging from Forbes and Vice to Urban Matter, Alabama News have been posting collections of their favourite memes.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts