The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has exceeded 300,000, while the death toll passed 8,100.
New York state's coronavirus death toll has risen at a devastating pace to reach 3,565, up from 2,935 the previous day, the largest 24-hour jump recorded there.
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In Italy, the death toll rose to 15,362, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that Madrid would extend the coronavirus lockdown until April 25, as the death toll soared to 11,744.
Globally, the death toll surged past 60,000 on Saturday, according to the data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU), amid over 1.1 million cases.
Here are the latest updates:
Saturday, April 4
09:25 GMT - Confirmed coronavirus cases in US top 300,000: Johns Hopkins
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the US has topped 300,000 and there have been more than 8,100 deaths, according to data collected by the JHU.
The Baltimore-based university, which has been keeping a running tally of global coronavirus numbers, said there are at least 300,915 confirmed cases in the US and 8,162 deaths.
09:10 GMT - Can the coronavirus curve be flattened?
The US currently has the highest number of infections and Italy has the greatest number of deaths. Yet some countries appear to be succeeding at "flattening the curve".
The number of new cases each day appears to be falling in places such as Taiwan, Canada, South Korea, and Iceland. They have all shown that the rate of infections can be slowed.
So how have some countries managed to control the rate of infections and deaths? And can others - including Italy and Spain - bring theirs down?
19:45 GMT - Albania's 29 new cases mark a highest daily surge
Albania reported 29 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest daily number in a single day, as 2.8 million Albanians started a third 40-hour lockdown to break the contagion's chain.
The country now has a total of 333 cases and 18 deaths related to COVID-19.
Albania has a total of 333 cases and 18 deaths related to COVID-19 [Anadolu]19:20 GMT - Malawi's top politicians to take a salary cut
Malawi's president and cabinet will take a 10 percent salary cut and redirect the money towards the fight against coronavirus, President Peter Mutharika said.
In a national address on state television, Mutharika announced several measures aimed at cushioning small and medium businesses, including tax breaks, reduction in fuel allowances and an increase in risk allowances for health workers.
19:00 GMT - Tunisia government has given special powers to handle coronavirus
Tunisia's parliament ceded some powers to the North African country's government for two months to help it handle the coronavirus crisis and the expected economic fallout.
The decision, backed by all political parties, will allow Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh's government to issue decrees, sign purchase agreements and seek finance without consulting parliament.
Tunisia has 495 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 18 deaths. It has imposed a national lockdown until April 19 to slow its spread.
18:10 GMT - Turkey coronavirus death toll passes 500
Turkey confirmed that 76 more people died from the coronavirus in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 501.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases surged to 23,934, according to the data Health Minister Fahrettin Koca shared on Twitter.
So far, a total of 786 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, while 1,311 patients are currently under intensive care units, Koca said.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Turkey is 23,934 [Chris McGrath/Getty Images] 18:02 GMT - UN: COVID-19 outbreak in Libya could be 'catastrophic'
An outbreak of the coronavirus in Libya could be "truly catastrophic" for the internally displaced people and close to 700,000 refugees and migrants in the war-torn country, the United Nations' agencies and experts have warned.
"The conditions are dire. Hundreds of people are locked in crowded hangars with no access to proper sanitation facilities. Many of them have been detained for months or even years. Worry is all they know," Amira Rajab Elhemali, national field operations assistant for the International Organization for Migration, told Al Jazeera.
Read more here.
17:38 GMT - Ukrainian doctors fly to Italy to help combat coronavirus
Ukraine, which expects a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the coming weeks, has sent a team of doctors to Italy to assist Italian medics and to gain field experience.
A team of 20 medical staff, including general surgeons, neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses, will be deployed to the region of Marche in central Italy for two weeks, Italian ambassador to Ukraine, Davide La Cecilia, told the Reuters news agency.
"The national health service in our country is very stressed. So we badly need medical personnel and are very happy that Ukraine is sending this humanitarian aid," said La Cecilia at Kyiv's airport, before the medical mission's departure.
17:05 GMT - Italy death toll passes 15,000
The death toll from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 681 to 15,362, a somewhat lower rise than those seen in recent days, while the number of patients in intensive care fell for the first time, the Civil Protection Agency said.
The total number of confirmed cases rose to 124,632 from 119,827 reported on Friday, an increase of 4,805, slightly higher than the numbers over recent days which have encouraged hopes that the spread of the disease has reached a plateau.
Of those originally infected nationwide, 20,996 were declared recovered on Saturday, compared with 19,758 a day earlier.
There were 3,994 people in intensive care, down from a previous 4,068, the first time the total had fallen since the outbreak in northern Italy on February 21.
16:56 GMT - Qatar reports 250 new coronavirus cases
Qatar announced 250 new infections of coronavirus, with 1,213 active cases in total.
The Ministry of Public Health said 16 more people have recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of people recovered in the country to 109.
16:11 GMT - New York announces record single-day death toll
New York state's coronavirus death toll rose at a devastating pace to 3,565, up from 2,935 the previous day, the largest 24-hour jump recorded there.
The state has now recorded 113,704 positive cases - including 63,306 in New York City, where 2,624 have died - just 6,000 short of hard-hit Italy's total number of cases.
In his daily briefing on Saturday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said infections could peak in the state anywhere from four to 14 days.
In his daily briefing on Saturday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said infections could peak in the state anywhere from four to 14 days.
15:57 GMT - Nigeria to set up $1.39bn fund to fight coronavirus
Nigeria plans to create a 500 billion naira ($1.39bn) coronavirus fund to strengthen its healthcare infrastructure to tackle the virus, the government said.
Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed, House of Representatives speaker Femi Gbajabiamila and Senate President Ahmad Lawan agreed in a meeting that the crisis intervention fund would pull in cash as loans from various special government accounts and get the rest from grants and loans from multilateral institutions, a statement said.
"This crisis intervention fund is to be utilized to upgrade healthcare facilities," Ahmed said in the statement.
Nigeria has so far reported 210 coronavirus cases [Sunday Alamba/AP]15:40 GMT - EU approves support packages for Greece, Poland, and Portugal
The European Commission has approved a series of multi-billion-euro state support packages for Greece, Poland, and Portugal to help soften the economic impact of the coronavirus through grants and loan guarantees.
The Commission, which enforces EU anti-trust regulation, loosened its rules last month to allow EU governments to support businesses and banks after factories began to fall quiet and Europeans were ordered to stay home to stop the virus spreading.
In a series of statements, the Commission approved a 13 billion euros ($14bn) state aid program for the Portuguese economy, a 22 billion euros ($24bn) plan of state guarantees for Poland and 2 billion euros ($2.2bn) scheme for Greece.
The schemes were judged not to distort EU competition.
15:30 GMT - UAE extends coronavirus curfew
The United Arab Emirates has extended a de facto overnight curfew indefinitely to disinfect public areas to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
The UAE's disinfection drive, which consists of spraying streets, parks, and public transport facilities, runs from 8pm (16:00 GMT) to 6am (02:00 GMT) and people must stay at home during those hours, state-run news agency WAM said.
The curfew came in on March 26 and was extended last week until April 5.
15:05 GMT - UK death toll rises to 4,313
The UK's death toll from the coronavirus rose by 20 percent to 4,313 at 16:00 GMT on April 3, the health ministry said.
As of 08:00 GMT on April 4, a total of 183,190 people were tested, of which 41,903 were positive cases, the health ministry said.
14:47 GMT - Egypt postpones launch of megaprojects to 2021
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi postponed the launch of megaprojects, including the Grand Egyptian Museum and moving civil servants to a planned new capital city to 2021 from 2020, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the presidency said.
The new museum was due to open later this year, while the first group of civil servants was to be transferred to the government district in the new administrative capital in June.
El-Sisi's government has said it wants to start running Egypt from the new city, 45km (28 miles) east of Cairo, as soon as the middle of 2020.
The $58bn project has struggled to raise funds and faced other challenges after some investors pulled out.
14:15 GMT - Nigerian artisan produces sinks from metal drums
Bamigbose Adams, a Nigerian artisan, uses metal drums to produce portable sinks, aiming to help people with sanitation.
Manually produced sinks are mostly used by small businesses, such as stores and restaurants, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
14:00 GMT - Singapore reports 75 new cases
Singapore confirmed 75 more cases of the coronavirus, authorities said, marking the city-state’s biggest daily jump.
Singapore has reported a total of 1,189 infections to date.
13:40 GMT - Portugal's cases surpass 10,000 mark
Confirmed coronavirus cases in Portugal pushed past the 10,000 marks as Health Minister Marta Temido urged citizens to step up their fight against the outbreak as there was still "no light at the end of the tunnel".
Portugal has confirmed 10,524 coronavirus cases and 266 deaths, with health authorities expecting the outbreak to plateau at the end of May.
The EU member state extended its state of emergency by another 15 days on Thursday and tightened measures to restrict movements, especially during the normally busy Easter holiday period.
12:55 GMT - Saudi authorities put many Jeddah neighborhoods on lockdown
Saudi authorities have announced a lockdown and a partial curfew in seven neighborhoods of the Red Sea city of Jeddah, starting on Saturday, as part of measures to contain the new coronavirus outbreak, the interior ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said residents in those neighborhoods could only go out for grocery shopping and medical care, between 6am (03:00 GMT) and 3pm (12:00 GMT). Entering and exiting the neighborhoods will be restricted, it added.
12:45 GMT - Doctor's Note: Why will it take so long for a COVID-19 vaccine?
Long-term success in surviving and containing the coronavirus pandemic will rely, in part, on the development of a vaccine against the virus.
There is now a global race to do this, with many different pharmaceutical and research institutes vying to be the first to create it. On March 20, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated there are 44 COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
But scientists say it will take 12 to 18 months for a vaccine to be developed, approved and ready. Dr. Sara Kayat explains why.
12:25 GMT - Germany reports 6,082 more cases
Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases have risen by 6,082 in the past 24 hours, a slight decrease from the day before, according to data from the government's Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
The reported reduction in new daily cases, which were down from 6,174 new cases a day earlier, could be a sign that the rate of infection is beginning to level off, but the government cautioned it was far too early to identify a trend.
Germany now has 85,778 cases, up from 79,696 infections on Friday, with the highest level of infections in Bavaria, according to the RKI statistics. Deaths have increased to 1,158, the RKI said, from 1,017 deaths as of Friday.
12:05 GMT - Spain to extend the state of emergency until April 26
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Saturday the extension of the country's lockdown until April 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
"The cabinet on Tuesday will again ask for authorization from parliament to extend for a second time the state of alert until Saturday, April 25 at midnight," Sanchez said in a televised speech.
11:55 GMT - Switzerland death toll rises to 540
Switzerland's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 540, the country's public health agency has said, rising from 484 on Friday.
The number of people testing positive for infections also increased to 20,278 from 19,303 from the previous day, it said.
11:40 GMT - Spanish hotel owner turns resort over to refugees
In a complex of holiday bungalows to the east of Madrid, Venezuelan refugees and homeless people have replaced the tourists, business meetings and wedding parties that usually fill the premises.
The owner of the La Ciguena resort has turned the facility over to some of Madrid's most vulnerable families after he had to close the hotel because of the coronavirus outbreak sweeping through Spain.
"Since we've arrived, they've attended to our every need," Stephanie Paez, an eight-month pregnant Venezuelan refugee accompanied by her partner and mother, told Reuters.
The resort is housing 12 families with children, about 65 people, most of them Venezuelan refugees.
11:20 GMT - China's Guangxi region tightens border controls
China's southwestern Guangxi region, which has borders with Vietnam, has suspended cross-border passenger transportation and restricted the exit of citizens from the country amid concerns of an increase in imported coronavirus cases.
It has closed most ports except for a few being used for freight transportation, the Guangxi health commission said in a statement.
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