The Republic of Korea (ROK) reported 146 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Saturday (March 28) local time, raising the total number of infections to 9,478. 

The pandemic claimed 969 lives on Friday (March 27), a new single-day record high in fatalities registered here since the outbreak hit Italy's northern regions on Feb. 21. The cumulative number of coronavirus cases in Italy reached 86,498 on Friday, exceeding the total figure registered in China, according to data by the Civil Protection Department coordinating the national emergency response. 

The Group of 20 (G20) major economies on Thursday (March 26) pledged to present a "united front" against the common threat posed by COVID-19, while vowing to inject over US$5 trillion to boost the global economy. G20 leaders made the pledges in a joint statement released after Saudi Arabia convened an extraordinary summit by video-link to coordinate multilateral response to the pandemic. 

The European Union pledged on Thursday (March 26) close cooperation in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, vowing to address issues ranging from medical supplies to internal market. 

The nationwide tally grew over 10,000 cases in less than five hours. The United States reported 82,404 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 6 p.m. US Eastern Time on Thursday (2200 GMT, March 26), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. 

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Asia-Pacific region kept increasing on Thursday (March 26) as Thailand reported 111 new cases of the virus in a single day. 

NDO – A recent comment by Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra - “We are driving through the mist and we don’t know what the next phase looks like” - might cause confusion but it accurately reflects the reality of economies in the Eurozone. Recognising the imminent risk, the only monetary union in the world has yet to agree on measures to respond to the “economic shock” caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. 

Calling it "a second window of opportunity", the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday ( March 25) urged countries to use this critical window now to suppress and stop transmission of COVID-19. 

The Chinese mainland reported 67 new imported cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Wednesday (March 25), bringing the total number of imported cases to 541, according to the National Health Commission Thursday (March 26). 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) to help launch a stimulus package in the trillions of dollars to keep businesses, workers and households afloat in face of the coronavirus. By the end of this year, the cost of this pandemic is likely to be measured in the trillions of dollars, Guterres told G20 leaders in a letter dated March 23. 

French Director General of Health Jerome Salomon on Tuesday (March 24) announced that 1,100 people diagnosed with the COVID-19 have died, an increase of 240 in one day, as the country entered the second week of a nationwide lockdown. 

NDO – The world economy is witnessing severe damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Facing the risk of economic recession and projected negative growth, many countries have launched bailout packages as a “life buoy” for the economy. 

The Saudi Arabian G20 Presidency will host the virtual G20 Summit on response to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 26, the G20 Saudi secretariat said on March 24.