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That wraps up our live blog for today. Thanks for joining, and see you back here tomorrow for all the latest. Have a good night.
9 billion euro bailout announced for Air France and KLM
The French and Dutch governments have announced a bailout deal of at least 9 billion euros to rescue Air France and KLM, whose planes have been largely grounded by the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdowns.
The partner airlines had been in negotiations for weeks with their respective governments, as carriers worldwide are collapsing or seeking government help.
The past several weeks of travel restrictions have upended the entire industry, and Air France and KLM said earlier this month that they expect their joint traffic to be down more than 90% in the coming months.
Air France will get 3 billion euros in direct loans from the French state and a 4-billion-euro bank loan guaranteed by the state, the airline said in a statement.
Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra announced the government will provide 2-4 billion euros ($2.16-4.32 billion) to help flag carrier KLM survive. Hoekstra said the money would likely be in the form of guarantees and loans to the carrier.
Experts "extremely worried" about Trump's detergent comments
A panel of experts has answered Euronews' questions about the coronavirus response around the world. Asked about Trump's "sarcastic" comments about using UV light or detergent to treat the virus, one told us she was "extremely worried about this statement".
"We need to be clear that under no circumstance disinfectant products should be administered into the body, through ingestion or injection or any other route," said Dr Muge Cevik, a clinical lecturer in infectious diseases and medical virology at the University of St Andrews School of Medicine.
"Disinfectant and detergents should only be used as intended, only externally to clean surfaces and hands. These are really toxic substances and can be corrosive when ingested. It can burn the respiratory tract and the digestive tract."
"So I think this kind of rapid and unregulated spread of misleading or false information is very dangerous. This can cause direct harm, almost 300 people have been killed in Iran by ingesting methanol or bleach. And this false information generates confusion and obscures the delivery of key messages and can cause public reluctance to adopt well-founded practices like social distancing and hand hygiene".
Spain: 'more people recovering than catching' coronavirus
More on the latest figures from Spain (see earlier blog entry).
The daily death toll of 367 was the lowest in over a month, since March 22. Health chiefs say the number of people being cured of COVID-19 was 3,105 in the past 24 hours -- higher than the 2,796 newly confirmed cases.
"It's the first day that we can give a number of people who've recovered that's higher than that for newly confirmed cases," said Fernando Simón, director of the Coordination Centre for Health Emergencies.
The total number of cases in Spain stands at 219,764 as of Friday, including 32,295 health workers.
Trump noted Thursday that researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on the virus and wondered aloud if they could be injected into people, saying the virus “does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”
But speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Friday, Trump insisted his comments were misconstrued. “I was asking the question sarcastically to reporters like you, just to see what would happen,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments on disinfectants at Thursday’s briefing came after William Bryan, who leads the Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, spoke about how researchers are testing the effect of disinfectants on virus-laden saliva and respiratory fluids on surfaces. (AP)
UK transport secretary against closing airports
More on the UK government daily briefing from an hour or so ago, from AP.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that any decision to introduce coronavirus scanning at the country's airports would depend on scientific advice.
But he went on to point out that the number of people coming into the UK at the moment had been drastically reduced by the pandemic, and that most of the people who had arrived had been Britons returning home after being caught up in the virus crisis abroad.
Shapps rejected suggestions to close the airports all together, pointing out that countries that had done so, like the US, "have not necessarily weathered the storm of the coronavirus any better".
Pan-European Hackathon: hi-tech drive to find COVID-19 solutions
An entrepreneur from Lithuania is developing an app to connect volunteers with elderly people in need during coronavirus lockdown.
High tech solutions like this often require more minds to succeed. That is why Andrius Milinavičius will take part in the EU versus the virus hackathon, which takes place from 24-26 April.
Hot off the press... our weekly European round-up from Brussels.
Violence in Paris suburbs, the EU debate over solidarity between countries over COVID-19, vaccine research, a defiant response from Hungary to criticism over the rule of law, and... some rooftop tennis.
Euronews' Brussels bureau looks back at key developments across the continent this week.
Brexit talks: UK will not extend transition - minister
Grant Shapps was asked about progress in the post-Brexit talks on future UK-EU ties, on the day the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier lambasted the British government for dragging its feet.
The transport minister told the daily briefing the UK's position was that it would not extend the transition period which expires at the end of the year. The country had voted to leave the EU, and last December's general election result showed people voted for no more delays, and "that remains the case".
A decision on extending the transition must be made by the end of June, under the terms of the divorce treaty. Many critics have called for talks to be prolonged given the enormity of the coronavirus pandemic -- saying that no accord on new trade and other arrangements would be calamitous.
Shapps was asked about the road haulage sector, among the latest to express concerns. The minister said he recognised it was in the front line, and was in close contact.
In case you'd forgotten all about Brexit and need a reminder, here again is our friendly up-to-date guide:
The UK's exit from the EU came more than three and a half years after the 2016 Brexit referendum. But major challenges lie ahead in determining the future relationship.
Sweden's coronavirus strategy: Right or wrong?
Lots of concern in Sweden over its relaxed approach to lockdowns -- on the day the number of cases and deaths have risen again. Latest figures show 2,152 people have died as of today, and the number of confirmed cases is up by more than 800 to 17,567.
Here's our piece weighing up the lockdown pros and cons from a couple of days ago:
Stockholm has stuck to its guns on the country's divisive coronavirus strategy despite the rest of Europe choosing to lock down.
UK announces transport agreement with France and Ireland
Today's briefing comes from British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. He began by announcing a trilateral agreement with France and Ireland to safeguard the flow of goods by keeping freight routes open.
He followed up saying a new Transport Support Unit is being created. Spare resources in the transport sector, including thousands of public service vehicles, will be made available to join in the battle against coronavirus.
More good news -- there are now no British holidaymakers left stranded on cruise ships anywhere in the world, Shapps added.
He then handed over to Dr Jenny Harries, England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer.
UK government’s coronavirus testing website closes applications on day it is launched
The UK government has set out ambitious plans for a system of “test, track and trace” as it tries to get a handle on the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
What is the UK government's testing plan for coronavirus, and how is it going so far?
Italian towns are being disinfected with truck-mounted snow cannons
Italian authorities are using snow cannons to disinfect entire towns in the Alps region of Italy ahead of the relaxation of lockdown measures. Read more:
The cannons are usually used for covering the ski slopes in snow.
Coming up: UK government daily briefing
Stay here with our live updates, we'll be bringing you the British government's daily coronavirus briefing at 1800 CET (1700 UK time).
World Immunization Week: WHO highlights other diseases
The World Health Organization is urging countries to keep up other immunization programmes,as coronavirus vaccine trials begin in the UK and get the go-ahead in Germany.
There are warnings of a resurgence of cases of diseases such as measles and polio, putting millions of children at risk, unless successful vaccination programmes are continued despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
As coronavirus vaccine trials begin in the UK and get the green light in Germany, the World Health Organization warns other diseases must not be neglected.
US coronavirus deaths top 50,000 - Johns Hopkins University
The United States has recorded 50,031 deaths from coronavirus, according to a tally from the Johns Hopkins University on Friday. It's by far the worst toll in the world.
The country has now counted more than 870,000 confirmed cases. Between Wednesday and Thursday evenings, the US recorded 3,176 deaths, one of the worst daily totals. (AFP)
EU leaders look to Commission to come up with pandemic recovery plan
After EU leaders approved a massive aid package worth half a trillion euros to help pandemic-afflicted countries now, the Commission is also tasked with formulating a longer-term recovery plan.
While EU leaders asked the Commission to come up with a plan on the long-term recovery, they've signed off on a previously agreed 540 billion euro package to deal with the short term consequences of the economic downturn and insist it’s functioning by June 1st.
UK daily hospital deaths rise by 684
The latest UK COVID-19 figures show the number of deaths in hospital rose by 684 over 24 hours, to a total of 19,506.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care says 28,532 tests were carried out on Wednesday. The target for the end of the month has been 100,000 a day.
Watch live: WHO launches global collaboration for COVID-19 health tech
The World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a global collaboration between health actors, private sector partners and other stakeholders are launching to accelerate the development, production and equitable global access to new COVID-19 essential health technologies.
Watch the live from 15:00 CET by clicking on the player above
Polish schools and nurseries to stay closed until 24 May due to coronavirus
Poland's schools and nurseries will remain closed until 24 May due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Polish Education ministry announced on Friday.
Only written exams for the high school diploma, or "matura", will be held starting on 8 June, the ministry said.
"Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the matura will only contain the written exam," Educatoin minister Dariusz Piontkowski said.
Exams for the end of the primary school course will be held from 16 to 18 June, he added.
It is mandatory to wear a face mask in public places in Poland.
Poland has reported 10,759 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 463 deaths.
Live: Your questions on coronavirus, answered
Science is moving at breakneck speed during the coronavirus pandemic.
So, what's the latest medical information?
Euronews is putting your COVID-19 questions to a panel of experts.
Watch the live by clicking on the player above
Iran says it has passed the worst of the pandemic, reports 93 new deaths
Iran said on Friday the country has passed the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, with all Iranian states having left the "code red" stage.
The Health ministry reported 93 new deaths in one day. The total number of people who have died due to the virus in Iran has reached 5,574.
There are 88,194 confirmed cases in the country, 1,168 of which were reported in the last 24 hours.
"None of our provinces is in the 'code red' stage anymore", Kianouche Jahanpour, the Health ministry's spokesperson, said.
"But the measures must still be applied and the situation is still far from normal."
There has been "no tangible progress" in Brexit talks between the European Union and the United Kingdom, the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday during a press briefing.
Watch live: Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier speaks after second round of negotiations with the UK
The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier is giving an update on the latest post-Brexit talks with the UK, at the end of the second round of talks on the future relationship.
Discussions resumed this week by videoconference after a six-week standstill amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Watch the news conference with Michel Barnier in the video player above.
In Germany today, youth groups are staging a long-planned global climate demonstration online because of restrictions on public protests during the coronavirus pandemic.
The student group Fridays for Future, whose past rallies have drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets worldwide, is using a live-stream to call on world leaders to act against global warming.
Morocco introduces a nightly curfew to combat coronavirus during Ramadan
Morocco will introduce a nightly curfew during Ramadan to combat the coronavirus pandemic, authorities announced on Friday.
The curfew will start on Saturday, which marks the first day of Ramadan in Morocco.
From then onwards, it will be "forbidden for citizens to be outside their home or in the streets" between 7PM and AM local time, the Moroccan Interior minister said in a press release.
Spain reports lowest daily death toll in a month
Spain reported on Friday its lowest daily coronavirus death toll in a month, with 367 deaths in one day.
Italy's gradual easing of lockdown measures will happen in 4 steps - local media
Italy's gradual easing of lockdown measures will happen in 4 steps, local media reported on Friday.
The Italian government has yet to announce the measures, but the country's main newspaper Il Corriere della Sera reported a detailed plan in its Friday issue.
"Four Mondays will rythm the reopening" of the country, according to the newspaper, with the first happening as soon as 27 April.
All depends on the "curve of contagions", the newspaper reported: if it doesn't increase in the next days, "factories of agricultural machines" could reopen on Monday, it said.
Following this timeline, assuming contagion keeps falling, "on 4 May the construction sites and the textile and fashion industry" will reopen, followed on 11 May by "retail shops and other businesses", and on 18 May by "bars, restaurants and hairdressers".
Other newspapers have reported a similar timeline, but have instead identified the first Monday as one in "the second half of May".
Strict hygiene and social distancing measures will be applied whatever the date for the reopenings.
In shops smaller than 40 square meters, clients can only enter one by one. In bigger ones, it will be calculated based on the total surface area.
Italy has been under a strict lockdown since 9 March.
Polish farmers face drought as well as pandemic
Polish farmers are worrying about their crops as they face one of the worst droughts in the country, on top of the coronavirus pandemic which has prevented the hiring of seasonal workers from Ukraine.
"It's a great panic, we have no idea what will happen to us," Adrianna Bukowska-Lazarska, whose strawberry crops in the Czerwinsk region, about 50km from Warsaw, usually produce 300 tons per year.
Poland's Agriculture minister has warned that the drought may reduce food production. Without creating food shortages, this could lead to price hikes.
Polish president Andrzej Duda has called citizens to save water as much as possible.
"We haven't seen such low levels of water since we measure them, so since 100 years," Grzegorz Walijewski, spokesperson for the country's Meteorology and Water Management Institute, said.
"It has never been this serious," he added.
"Our resources as similar to Egypt", the Polish auditor general warned last June, in a report entitled: "Poland, Europe's desert".
JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP
France's Macron consults with chefs and hotel owners to discuss food and tourism sectors after coronavirus
The French president Emmanuel Macron is meeting on Friday morning representatives from France's restaurant, hotel and tourism sectors to discuss the future of the industry after the coronavirus pandemic.
The meeting is being held by video conference and started shortly after 10 am.
Five famous French chefs have also been invited to the discussion: chefs Philippe Etchebest, Alain Ducasse, Guy Savoy, Hélène Darroze and Michel Sarran.
The sector, one of the hardest-hit by the pandemic, is close to bankrupcy, and most businesses won't be allowed to reopen on 11 May, the date set by Macron to start easing lockdown meaures.
Macron and the representatives will discuss the aid plan for the sector which employs one million workers.
Policies under consideration include cancelling the sector's taxes for 2020 and the rents for a six-months period, as well as extending furlough measures for employees.
British PM Boris Johnson in 'very good health', says Health minister Matt Hancock
The British prime minister Boris Johnson, who is recovering from COVID-19, is in "very good health", the Health minister Matt Hancock said on Friday.
Speaking to Sky News TV channel, Hancock said: "I spoke to him on Thursday. He is in very good health and he is recovering."
"I am sure he will be back [at Downing Street] as soon as his doctors recommend that he does so;" Hancock added. "The decision has yet to be taken, but he is in contact with the cabinet and answers phone calls."
Boris Johnson spent a week in St Thomas' hospital in London, including several days in intensive care, earlier this month after contracting COVID-19.
He is recovering in Chequers, the country estate of British prime ministers.
A single French care home has reported 15 coronavirus deaths out of 124 residents
A single French home in Vernon, Normandy, has reported the deaths of 15 residents due to coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, the Eure-Seine hospital in Evreux, which treated the patients, has said in a press release on Friday.
The Vernon care home has capacity for 124 residents. Since the start of the pandemic, 38 residents out of the 107 who were tested were found positive with COVID-19.
"This is a care home situation that we are following very closely," the director of the regional Health agency for Normandy Christine Gardel has said.
India must be self-reliant against virus, PM Modi says
India's prime minister Narendra Modi says the country's 1.3 billion people are bravely fighting the coronavirus epidemic with limited resources and the lesson they have learned so far is that the country has to be self-sufficient for meeting its needs.
Addressing the country's village council heads through video conferencing on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the country can't afford to look outward to meet a crisis of this dimension in future.
Self-reliance is the biggest lesson taught by the epidemic, Modi said. India has so far reported 22,358 positive novel coronavirus cases and 718 deaths.
India has been importing critical medical supplies, including protective gears, masks and ventilators from China.
Alluding to low casualties as compared to other countries, Modi said that the country's efforts to win the battle against the pandemic through a strict lockdown imposed on April 25 and social distancing is being appreciated by other countries.
India's lockdown is due to end on May 3.
A dog in fancy dress sits with its owner with a sign paying tribute to NHS staff during a national "clap for carers" to show thanks for the work of Britain's National Health Service (NHS) workers and frontline medical staff around the country as they battle with the novel coronavirus pandemic, at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London on April 23, 2020.
Niklas HALLE'N / AFP
African authorities warn of scarce medical equipment and lack of ventilators
As Africa braces for a surge in coronavirus cases, its countries are dangerously behind in the global race for scarce medical equipment.
Ten nations have no ventilators at all.
Outbid by richer countries, and not receiving medical gear from top aid donor the United States, African officials scramble for solutions as virus cases climb past 25,000.
Even in the best scenario, the United Nations says 74 million test kits and 30,000 ventilators will be needed by the continent's 1.3 billion people this year. Very few are in hand.
"We are competing with the developed world,'' John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told AP.
"The very future of the continent will depend on how this matter is handled."
Germany prepares for COVID-19 second wave
Germany is already getting ready to deal with a potential second wave of COVID-19 infections.
In Berlin, a hospital is under construction to welcome up to 1,000 patients in case of a second wave - an option the authorities are taking very seriously. The military is helping building the hospital, AFP reported.
There is a "fundamental danger" that infections start rising again "if the restrictive measures are stopped too early", Lars Schaade, the deputy director of the health agency Robert Koch Institu, has said.
"Germany is prepared to a possible second wave," Gerald Gass, the president of the German society of hospitals DKG, has said.
"We will keep 20% of our intensive care unit beds available and hope to develop an additional 20% of a second wave arrives and infections start again," he added.
Coronavirus economic fallout could heap more misery onto Greece, warns Yanis Varoufakis
"I very much fear that Greece will have the largest number of people who go hungry as a result of the economic dimension of this pandemic," Yanis Varoufakis tells Euronews.
US Congress approves new $483 billion coronavirus aid plan
The US Congress approved on Thursday a new $483 billion aid plan to support the economy and hospitals in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funds will also help developing coronavirus testing.
US president Trump has said he supports the plan and is expected to promulgate it soon.
El Salvador's parliament evacuated after COVID-19 suspicion
The legislative Assembly of El Salvador suddenly ended its session on Thursday night after a suspected case of COVID-19 was announced in the building. The suspected patient was quickly evacuated.
"El Salvador's inter-disciplinary team for disease control has detected a serious suspicion of COVID-19 in the blue room of the Assembly," the Salvadorian president Nayib Bukele said in a tweet.
"We recommend that the session closes now and that all MPs and staff self-isolate while we confirm or dismiss the suspected cases and the people they were in contact with."
The president's message was published after a left-wing MP, Yanci Urbina, suffered a heavy cough as she was speaking in the plenary session.
MPs immediately started to evacuated the building. Almost half of the 84 MPs decided to leave the room, which forced the president of the Assembly to suspend the session until Friday morning.
El Salvador has reported 250 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 8 deaths. A lockdown has been introduced on 21 March.
US president Trump wrongly suggests "injecting disinfectant in the body" could fight coronavirus
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
US president Donald Trump wrongly suggested that disinfectant injected in the body could help fighting the virus during a daily coronavirus briefing on Thursday.
During the White House briefing, William Bryan of the Department of Homeland Security said at a White House briefing Thursday that there are "emerging results'' from new research that suggest solar light has a powerful effect in killing the virus on surfaces and in the air.
He said scientists have seen a similar effect from higher temperatures and humidity.
"The virus is dying at a much more rapid pace just from exposure to higher temperatures and just from exposure to humidity,'' Bryan said, stressing however that the emerging results of the light and heat studies do not replace social distancing recommendations.
"I'm here to present ideas, because we want ideas to get rid of this thing. And if heat is good, and if sunlight is good, that's a great thing as far as I'm concerned,' president Trump said.
Trump noted that the researchers were also looking at the effects of disinfectants on the virus and wondered aloud if they could be injected into people, saying the virus "does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.''
Bryan said there was no consideration of that.
A girl looks at a mural by artist Rachel List paying tribute to NHS staff battling the COVID-19 outbreak painting on a wall in Pontefract, northern England, on April 23, 2020.
Oli SCARFF / AFP
Brazil's death toll passes 3,000
Brazil's health ministry reported on Friday a total death toll of 3,313 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with 407 new deaths in one day.
The country's number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has reached 49,492, the ministry said.
The death and infection rates keep rising in Brazil, as president Jair Bolsonaro has expressed impatience over the various restrictions and lockdown measures decided by Brazilian State governors because of their impact on the country's economy.
Sao Paulo is the country's hardest hit state, with a third of the coronavirus cases. Its lockdown will be gradually eased from 11 May. The state of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais (south east) are preparing similar measures while the federal district of Brasilia and the Santa Catarian state in the south have already reopened some sectors of economic activity.
US death toll jumps to 3,176 in one day
The US reported one of its highest daily death toll in the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, with 3,176 people who died of the virus in 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This marked a sharp increase from Thursday's reported death toll of 1,738. The country also reported 26,971 new cases of coronavirus.
The US is the world's hardest-hit country in this crisis.
EU agrees massive aid package of immediate support for member states
On Thursday evening, the European Union agreed an aid package of more than half a trillion euros to provide immediate support for member states, whose economies have been ravaged by the outbreak.
“We endorsed the agreements on three important safety nets for workers, businesses and sovereigns, amounting to 540 billion euros,” said President of the European Council Charles Michel.
“We call for the package to be operational by 1 June 2020. We also agreed to work toward a recovery fund which is needed and urgent.”
A longer term recovery plan has also been discussed, but the EU is struggling to come to an agreement over debt distribution, with northern European countries, like the Netherlands and Germany, reluctant to share too much debt out of fear of having to foot the bill for others.
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