France's deadliest day, German toll reaches 583: COVID-19 bulletin

• France has reported its worst daily death toll, 418, from COVID-19 . The country has become the fourth to cross the 3,000 fatalities threshold after Italy, Spain and China.

• Italy looks certain to remain under lockdown for at least two more weeks , according to officials, with the number of new coronavirus cases yet to show a decisive decline. Nearly 11,000 people have died, the world's highest death toll.

• A further 128 people have died from COVID-19 in Germany, bringing the total to 583 , according to the Robert Koch Institute. Its president Lothar Wieler reiterated his optimism about flattening the infection curve.

• The UK government has announced a $92.4 million initiative to fly home Britons who are stranded abroad .

• Sales of groceries in the UK in March beat all previous records as shoppers stocked up for a long period at home. According to consumer analysts Nielsen more than 79 million extra trips were made in the four weeks to 21 March - 42 million of them in just four days, according to rival analysts Kantar.

• British Airways is suspending all flights from London's Gatwick airport , the UK's second busiest. Paris-Orly, the second-busiest in France, has also announced it is to close over reduced passenger numbers.

• Sweden's GDP has shrunk by four percent this year - the biggest fall since the banking crisis in 2009 - as the economy slumps due to the coronavirus outbreak.

• Denmark , which has reported 77 coronavirus-related deaths, may gradually lift a lockdown after Easter if the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths remain stable.

• Spain's foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez has proposed increasing the European Union's budget to tackle coronavirus.

• Cardinal Angelo De Donatis , Pope Francis's vicar for the diocese of Rome, has become the highest-ranking Catholic official to test positive for COVID-19 . He has been admitted to a hospital in the Italian capital.

British Airways have grounded all flights from Gatwick Airport, the UK's second-busiest. /Andy Buchanan/AFP

ACROSS EUROPE

By Ross Cullen in Paris

French president Emmanuel Macron will visit a mask-making factory on Tuesday as the country focuses on getting specialist medical equipment to overburdened hospitals - especially in the regions of the Grand Est and Ile-de-France, which includes Paris. As more patients are brought into intensive care units, there is a squeeze on the number of beds available.

Millions more face masks were flown in overnight from China as part of the 'air bridge' bringing Chinese medical supplies to France. But as cargo flights continue, one passenger airport is closing. Paris-Orly is the second-busiest in France and is going to close on Tuesday until further notice due to the collapse in passenger numbers.

By Andrew Wilson in Oxford

It's becoming clearer that there is an issue with testing, both in the UK and worldwide. A shortage of key chemicals is hampering efforts to expand testing for COVID-19 and forcing officials to work on finding alternative components.

The number of tests carried out on Sunday fell to just over 8,000 even though the government is aiming for 10,000 a day. By comparison Germany is looking to expand its testing from 500,000 a week to 200,000 a day.

Britain is preparing for its biggest peacetime repatriation operation, with plans to bring home up to 300,000 people left stranded abroad by the coronavirus lockdown. The government has allocated $92.4 million to charter hundreds of aircraft.

Deaths in the UK will continue to rise, according to the government's chief scientific advisor, but latest figures suggest the numbers are no longer accelerating. Sir Patrick Vallance says the current control measures may be starting to have a positive effect.

By Toni Waterman in Brussels

Two new coronavirus fighting laws are set to hit the EU books on Tuesday. One allows member states to tap into $3.29 billion in unused funds to help support healthcare systems, labor markets and small and medium sized businesses. This is part of the $40.6 billion Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative.

The other new law amends the EU's Solidarity Fund, which is designed to help member states respond to natural disasters. This has now been amended to include public health emergencies. Both acts come into force on Wednesday.

In Belgium, meanwhile, some hospitals are on the verge of maxing out their intensive care beds as the number of people requiring around-the-clock specialized care increases. More than 50 percent of Belgium's intensive care beds are now occupied, but in some areas, the rate is much higher.

The Belgian government is looking to issue bonds to raise the funds needed to cover emergency spending measures to cushion the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. No exact sum was given, but it will "run into billions", said the director of the Belgian Debt Agency.

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Source(s): Reuters