Coronavirus live news: UN warns of 'biblical' famine as White House prepares immigration halt

10.22pm EDT22:22

David Smith

Trump announces 60-day ban on immigrants seeking permanent status in US

Donald Trump has announced a 60-day ban on immigrants seeking to live and work in America permanently, and said he could extend it depending on the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The US president framed the executive order, which he expects to sign on Wednesday, as an effort to protect American workers from foreign competition. He said it would apply only to those seeking green cards and not temporary workers, but he did not explain how those whose applications are currently being processed would be affected.

"By pausing immigration, we will help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs as America reopens – so important," Trump told reporters at Tuesday's coronavirus taskforce briefing. "It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labour flown in from abroad. We must first take care of the American worker."

The "pause" would be in effect for 60 days, he added, after which the need for an extension or alternation would be reviewed "based on economic conditions at the time". Under questioning, he confirmed that he might then decide to add a further 30 days or more.

10.05pm EDT22:05

Podcast: How the 5G conspiracy theories took hold

The Guardian's media editor, Jim Waterson, looks at why conspiracy theories linking 5G technology to coronavirus have taken hold in the UK, with dozens of phone masts vandalised across the country over the past few weeks:

9.54pm EDT21:54

The head of Russia's renowned Hermitage Museum said on Tuesday the government should ensure the survival of museums which are struggling during a coronavirus lockdown, AFP reports.

Since the introduction of a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people in mid-March, museums across Russia have gradually closed their doors to the public. President Vladimir Putin then declared April a non-working month, encouraging Russians to stay home to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Russia's State Hermitage Museum. Photograph: Alexander Demianchuk/TASS

Hermitage chief Mikhail Piotrovsky said the museum had already lost half of its annual budget and was now in talks with the government in the hope to secure financial aid.

"The state must ensure the survival of culture," Piotrovsky said during an online news conference. The museum earned 2.5 billion rubles ($32 million) in 2018.

Piotrovsky said that once the lockdown is over the museum would need about a month to prepare for a re-opening.

The museum was founded in 1764 under Empress Catherine the Great and features more than three million works of art and world culture artefacts. Nearly five million people visited the Hermitage last year.

9.48pm EDT21:48

A Navy hospital ship deployed to New York City to help fight the coronavirus outbreak is no longer needed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday, expressing confidence that stresses on the hospital system are easing.

Tthe Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort passes under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on its way to docking in New York in March. Photograph: Bebeto Matthews/AP

Cuomo told MSNBC after meeting with President Donald Trump that the USNS Comfort was helpful, but could now be sent elsewhere after being docked for weeks off of Manhattan.

"It did give us comfort, but we don't need it anymore," Cuomo said. "So if they need to deploy that somewhere else, they should take it."

Trump said at his Tuesday briefing that he asked Cuomo if we could bring the Comfort back to its base in Virginia so that we could have it in other locations. Trump said they would bring the ship back soon.

The Navy ship arrived 30 March as state and city officials scrambled to add hospital beds to prepare for a potentially catastrophic surge in Covid-19 cases.

But hospitalization levels appeared to have peaked recently amid strict stay-at home restrictions. Total statewide hospitalizations have slowly dropped to about 16,000, more than 2,000 below a week ago.

The Comfort has treated 178 patients, with 56 on board Tuesday.

9.27pm EDT21:27

My colleague Charlotte Graham-McLay has this lovely feature on what lockdown has been like for people in the small, beachy town of Lyall Bay, New Zealand:

9.11pm EDT21:11

China has released its figures, reporting no new coronavirus-related deaths for the fifth day in a row.

There were 7 new domestic cases, 23 imported cases and 42 asymptomatic cases, the People's Daily reports:

Updated at 9.13pm EDT

8.55pm EDT20:55

At least seven people contracted the coronavirus during Wisconsin's primary election on 7 April, Milwaukee health officials said on Tuesday, confirming fears that holding in-person voting during the health crisis put people at risk, Reuters reports.

The seven cases include six voters and one poll worker in Milwaukee, the state's largest city, where nearly 200 voting locations were pared back to five and there were hours-long lines to cast ballots, the office of Milwaukee Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik confirmed.

The number of election-related infections could grow as the 14-day incubation period ends on Wednesday, health officials said.

Voters wait in line outside Riverside University High School to cast ballots during the presidential primary election in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 7 April, 2020. Photograph: Daniel Acker/Reuters

As of Tuesday afternoon, Milwaukee had 1,697 confirmed cases of Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, and 92 deaths related to the virus. Wisconsin had 4,620 confirmed cases and 242 deaths overall, according to city and state data.

Democratic Governor Tony Evers, who declared a state of emergency on March 12, tried to delay the 7 April election or move all voting to mail-in ballots. But courts sided with the Republican-controlled state legislature to hold in-person voting.

8.41pm EDT20:41

US CDC chief warns of 'even more difficult' wave of coronavirus next winter

Joanna Walters

A leading US public health official warned on Tuesday that a new wave of coronavirus hitting the US next winter could be "even more difficult" for America to deal with than the current outbreak.

And in a double blow for the prospect of ending the coronavirus pandemic, a US trial of the controversial treatment Donald Trump has referred to as "like a miracle" has produced poor results.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) federal agency, warned that a wave of coronavirus next winter would coincide with the normal influenza season.

"There's a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through," he said, in an interview with the Washington Post.

"We're going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time," he said.

Updated at 9.22pm EDT

8.23pm EDT20:23

South African president unveils $26bn virus relief plan

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced a $26bn relief package to support the economy and the vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic, AFP reports.

In a special address to the nation, Ramaphosa announced "a massive social and economic support package of R500bn ($26.3 billion), which amounts to about 10% of our GDP."

"The impact of the coronavirus requires an extraordinary coronavirus budget...the scale of this emergency programme is historical," he said.

A soldier of South African National Defence Force carries a baby in his arm in Johannesburg, South Africa, 20 April, 2020. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

Ramaphosa said South Africa was now entering the second phase of its Covid-19 response, aimed at stabilising the economy, addressing the decline in supply and demand and protecting jobs.

The president said around $2.6bn would go to the most vulnerable through grants, and 250,000 food parcels would be distributed among citizens in need over the next two weeks.

Nearly 30% of South Africans were unemployed before the virus struck.

8.19pm EDT20:19

US state sues China's leaders over virus

The US state of Missouri on Tuesday sued China's leadership over coronavirus, seeking damages over what it described as deliberate deception and insufficient action to stop the pandemic, AFP reports.

The first-of-a-kind state lawsuit comes amid calls in Congress to punish China and a campaign by President Donald Trump to focus on Beijing's role, amid criticism of his own handling of the crisis.

Three men armed with semi-automatic rifles in Jefferson City, Missouri participate in a protest against Covid-19 stay at home orders, Missouri, St. Louis, 21 Apr 2020. Photograph: James Cooper/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Missouri, led by Trump's Republican Party, filed a lawsuit in a federal court seeking an unspecified amount in damages and an injunction on continuing actions by China that are alleged to include hoarding of protective equipment.

The lawsuit's chances of success are far from certain as US law, under the principle of sovereign immunity, generally forbids court action against foreign governments.

Missouri addressed the issue by suing the ruling Communist Party, arguing that it is not formally an organ of the Chinese state.

Under its conservative leadership, Missouri has imposed fewer Covid-19 restrictions than most US states, including allowing businesses to remain open as long as they limit the number of people present and ensure space between them.

8.06pm EDT20:06

A summary of US news from the last few hours now:

Donald Trump announced that he would soon sign an executive order restricting immigration for 60 days. Temporary visa holders would be exempt, he said at the daily coronavirus briefing — but the policy would apply to those seeking green cards.

The Senate passed a nearly $500 billion coronavirus relief bill by unanimous consent. The bill, which provides funding for small businesses, hospitals and testing, will now advance to the House.

Attorney general William Barr said the justice department may eventually join lawsuits against stay-at-home orders. "We're looking carefully at a number of these rules that are being put into place," Barr said. "And if we think one goes too far, we initially try to jawbone the governors into rolling them back or adjusting them. And if they're not and people bring lawsuits, we file statement of interest and side with the plaintiffs."

The number of coronavirus cases in the US has surpassed 820,000. The US has confirmed 823,786 cases of the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Nearly 44,845 Americans have died of the virus.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo met with Trump at the White House. The meeting came as the Democratic governor has repeatedly called on the federal government to play a more active role in helping states expand testing capacity.

Updated at 8.07pm EDT

7.56pm EDT19:56

Coronavirus pandemic 'will cause famine of biblical proportions'

Fiona Harvey

The world is facing widespread famine "of biblical proportions" because of the coronavirus pandemic, the chief of the UN's food relief agency has warned, with a short time to act before hundreds of millions starve.

More than 30 countries in the developing world could experience widespread famine, and in 10 of those countries there are already more than 1 million people on the brink of starvation, said David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme.

"We are not talking about people going to bed hungry," he told the Guardian in an interview. "We are talking about extreme conditions, emergency status – people literally marching to the brink of starvation. If we don't get food to people, people will die."

7.51pm EDT19:51

Summary

Hello and welcome to today's live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan. You can get in touch directly on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

US President Donald Trump has announced some of the details of his immigration ban. He will sign the executive order putting the ban in place on Wednesday, he said at the White House press briefing, and it will be in place for 60 days, after which he will review whether an extension is needed.

Meanwhile, the UN has warned that 265 million people could starve in a widespread famine caused by the coronavirus. "We are looking at widespread famines of biblical proportions," David Beasley, chief of the UN's food relief agency told the Guardian.

Global deaths pass 175,000. At least 176,926 people have lost their lives in the coronavirus pandemic so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 2.5 million cases worldwide.

US President Donald Trump lays out some terms of the US immigration ban. At the White House press briefing Trump said the ban, which he will sign on Wednesday, will be in effect for 60 days, after which he will reevaluate the need. The ban will not affect temporary immigration, he said.

The UN has warned that 265 million people could starve in a widespread famine caused by the coronavirus. "We are looking at widespread famines of biblical proportions," David Beasley, chief of the UN's food relief agency told the Guardian.

World Health Organization says evidence that coronavirus came from bats. The WHO said all available evidence suggested the coronavirus originated in bats in China late last year and was not manipulated or constructed in a laboratory. Trump said last week the US was trying to determine whether the virus emanated from a lab in Wuhan in central China.

Italy to announce plan to ease lockdown this week as confirmed cases fall by 20. The country's prime minister said the government would unveil plans for the gradual reopening from lockdown before the end of this week. Italy recorded its first significant fall in infections on Tuesday.

A team from the University of Oxford will begin trialling a vaccine on people from Thursday.

The UK's choice to stay out of a EU ventilator scheme was "political decision" said Sir Simon McDonald, the Foreign Office permanent under-secretary, challenging previous claims that the UK did not take part due to missed emails.

The UK government's PPE claims came under scrutiny from the leader of the opposition Labour party, Sir Keir Starmer, who claimed there is an "increasing gap" between government claims on PPE and reality.

Mexico's government said the country had entered the "most serious stage" of its outbreak. The country's deputy health minister, Hugo López-Gatell, said: "We are in the phase of rapid spread where a large number of infections and hospitalisations are accumulated."

The Pamplona bull run is cancelled. The annual event, where hundreds of daredevils play a risky and controversial game of catch-me-if-you-can with half-tonne fighting bulls, was supposed to take place in Spain in July.

Singapore extends lockdown after second-wave rise in cases. Singapore, which has been lauded for its initial response to the outbreak, has seen a surge in cases, reporting a record 1,426 new coronavirus cases on Monday, mostly among foreign workers. The city state's prime minister announced a lockdown would be extended by four weeks until 1 June.

Denmark's ban on gatherings of more than 500 will be in place until September. The country's government has announced it will not allow gatherings of more than 500 people until at least 1 September.

Oktoberfest is cancelled. Bavaria's leaders have cancelled Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer festival, due to fears that it could become a breeding ground for the coronavirus.

Updated at 7.58pm EDT