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Economies in Europe have been plunged into recession and more than 30 million Americans are out of work, while pandemic-induced lockdowns could also see a record drop in carbon emissions.
This story is being updated regularly throughout Friday. You can also stay informed with the latest episode of the Coronacast podcast.
Today's top stories
More than 30 million Americans unemployed
More than 3.8 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the US economy slid further into a crisis that is becoming the most devastating since the 1930s.
Roughly 30.3 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the six weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors and slash their workforces.
That is more people than live in the New York and Chicago metropolitan areas combined, and it's by far the worst string of layoffs on record. It adds up to more than one in six American workers.
With more employers cutting payrolls to save money, economists have forecast that the unemployment rate for April could go as high as 20 per cent. That would be the highest rate since it reached 25 per cent during the Great Depression.
This week, the Government estimated that the economy shrank at a 4.8 per cent annual rate in the first three months of this year, the sharpest quarterly drop since the 2008 financial crisis. Yet the picture is likely to grow far worse.
The economy is expected to contract in the April-June quarter by as much as 40 per cent at an annual rate. No previous quarter has been anywhere near as weak since the Government began keeping such records after World War II.
As businesses across the country have shut down and laid off tens of millions of workers, the economy has sunk into a near-paralysis in just a few weeks. Factories, hotels, restaurants, department stores, movie theatres and many small businesses are shuttered, while home sales are falling.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the cost could continue be massive, with state and local governments potentially needing trillions of dollars.
"We're not going to be able to cover all of it but to the extent that we can keep the states and localities sustainable, that's our goal," Ms Pelosi said.
Asked if state and local aid will be the largest part of upcoming relief legislation, she said: "I've talked about almost a trillion dollars right there, I would hope so. But we do have other issues that we want to deal with."
France and Italy fall into recession
Figures from France and Italy showed both countries fell into recession, defined as two quarters of economic contraction.
France suffered its sharpest economic contraction since records began in 1949 in the first quarter, as the coronavirus lockdown from mid-March left shops shuttered and consumers hunkered down at home, data showed on Thursday.
The French economy shrank 5.8 per cent from the previous three months. The slump was the deepest on a quarterly basis since World War II.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte acknowledged that the economy faced an unprecedented slump and confirmed the latest Treasury forecast for a contraction of 15 per cent in the first half of the year.
Data released on Thursday showed the Italian economy shrank by 4.7 per cent in the first quarter from the previous three months thanks to the lockdown.
Mr Conte said a new stimulus package to support the economy, due to be presented in a few days, would include 15 billion euros [$25 billion] for companies and 25 billion euros [$41 billion] directly for payroll workers and the self-employed.
Russian PM tests positive for coronavirus
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says he has tested positive for coronavirus and has told President Vladimir Putin he will self-isolate.
In Russia, the Prime Minister oversees the economy and answers to the President. Mr Mishustin, 54 was appointed to the role in January.
It was not immediately clear when Mr Putin last met with Mr Mishustin in person.
The Prime Minister's case is one of more than 106,000 in Russia, which has recorded just over 1,000 deaths.
#Brazil
'So what?' Bolsonaro says as Brazil's deaths surge past China's
Brazil's official death toll has surpassed China's, with the country now recording more than 5,500 deaths and almost 80,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. China officially has 4,637 deaths.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, when asked about the increasing death rate on Tuesday night [local time], said: "So what?"
"I'm sorry, but what do you want me to do?"
The steady increases have sparked fears that Latin America's biggest economy could soon become the world's next coronavirus hotspot.
A longtime critic of stay-at-home measures, Mr Bolsonaro has said the economic cost outweighs the dangers of what he has called a "little flu". He has advocated isolating older people and letting younger people work.
"I'm sorry, some people will die, they will die, that's life," he said in March. "You can't stop a car factory because of traffic deaths."
Food delivery used as a cover to sell drugs
Criminals are using food delivery services as a cover to transport drugs and other illegal goods during the coronavirus crisis, which has seen countries around the world go into lockdown, Interpol said on Thursday.
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Interpol said it had received reports from police in Ireland, Malaysia, Spain and Britain identifying delivery drivers transporting drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, ketamine and ecstasy.
The Spanish National Police identified and arrested seven people dressed as food delivery drivers who were caught delivering cocaine and marijuana by bicycle, motorcycle and car, with some of the drugs concealed inside home delivery backpacks.
In Ireland, police recovered 8 kilograms of cocaine as well as two handguns hidden in pizza boxes.
Interpol said delivery riders may be complicit or unwitting links in drug transportation and that, in some cases brought to its attention, suspects were sometimes falsely disguised as food delivery drivers.
Pandemic could see record decline in carbon emissions: report
The International Energy Agency says reduced energy use caused by the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a record annual decline in carbon emissions.
The IEA said CO2 emissions could fall by almost 8 per cent this year — the largest decrease ever recorded.
The agency said the lockdowns imposed because of the pandemic could cause global energy demand to fall by 6 per cent this year — equivalent to removing the entire demand of India.
"Resulting from premature deaths and economic trauma around the world, the historic decline in global emissions is absolutely nothing to cheer," said IEA executive director Dr Fatih Birol.
"And if the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis is anything to go by, we are likely to soon see a sharp rebound in emissions as economic conditions improve. But governments can learn from that experience by putting clean energy technologies — renewables, efficiency, batteries, hydrogen and carbon capture — at the heart of their plans for economic recovery."
Rocker 'fights back tears' over star-studded cover
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"It's times like these you learn to live again," iconic lyrics from US rockers the Foo Fighters and a host of stars singing them has brought an emotional response from the band's frontman Dave Grohl.
The BBC reports their staff received an email from Grohl saying he was "beyond humbled" that Times Like These was covered for charity during the pandemic.
The former Nirvana drummer said it was an "incredible honour" to see the project voiced by musicians including Dua Lipa, Biffy Clyro and Yungblud, among others, all singing in from isolation for BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief.
"When my manager first called and explained the project to me, I literally had to fight back tears — that's how flattered I was that the BBC would consider one of my songs for such an important cause," Grohl said.
Captain Tom showered with honours as he turns 100
British World War II veteran Captain Tom Moore, who has raised millions for the country's National Health Service (NHS), celebrated his 100th birthday on Thursday.
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For his milestone century, he was promoted to the rank of honorary Colonel, given an RAF flyover and made an honorary member of the England cricket team.
He was also thanked by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and sent more than 140,000 cards, according to the BBC.
Captain Moore walked 100 laps around his garden this month to raise money for the NHS to aid its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. His initial target was 1,000 pounds.
He has raised over 31 million pounds [almost $60 million] and won the hearts and the admiration of a nation hit hard by the outbreak.
ABC/wires