Spain goes past China as coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic death toll in country reaches 3,434

• Spain goes past China as coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic death toll in country reaches 3,434

Spain goes past China as coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic death toll in country reaches 3,434

New Delhi : India's 1.3 billion people have joined the global lockdown triggered by the outbreak as the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern at the acceleration of the pandemic in the United States.

In Europe, Spain recorded more than 700 deaths over the past 24 hours, surpassing China in the total death toll, making the country now second to only Italy.The White House and Senate leaders of both parties have struck an agreement on a sweeping $2 trillion measure to aid workers, businesses and a healthcare system strained by the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak.

Over 109,000 of the 424,000 people diagnosed with the disease have recovered, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. More than 18,900 people have died from COVID-19.

Spain goes past China as coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic death toll in country reaches 3,434

 Here are the latest updates:

Wednesday, March 25

11:42 GMT - Mali confirms first two cases
Mali confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus, the government said in a statement.

The two patients are Malian nationals, a 49 year-old woman from Bamako and a 62 year-old man living in Kayes. They arrived in the country from France on March 12 and 16, respectively.

The government said the two patients were being taken care of by the country's health authorities.

11:40 GMT - Saudi Arabia tightens imposed curfew

Saudi Arabia is tightening a partial nationwide curfew to contain the spread of the coronavirus, barring entry or exit from Riyadh, Mecca and Medina.

The orders, approved by King Salman will also ban movement between all provinces starting on Wednesday, state news agency SPA reported.

Four hours were added in the three cities to the 21-day curfew that began on Monday. The curfew will now start at 3pm instead of 7pm as of Thursday, SPA said.

11:30 GMT - Brazil's Bolsonaro wants commerce re-opened

Spain goes past China as coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic death toll in country reaches 3,434

Spain goes past China as coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic death toll in country reaches 3,434

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said that state-level shutdowns in Brazil were likely to cripple the economy and raise unemployment, urging on Twitter that they be reversed.

The president was criticised for making that argument in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday night in which he minimised the likely impact of the "little flu" in Brazil.11:00 GMT - Spain surpasses China in deaths, now second to only Italy
Spain surpassed China in the number of coronavirus deaths, now second to only Italy.

Spain recorded 738 more deaths over the past 24 hours, the largest death toll increase since the outbreak hit the country, the health ministry reported.

The number of reported deaths from the virus rose to 3,434 from 2,696 on Tuesday, the ministry said. The number of cases rose to 47,610 from 39,673 on Tuesday.