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Coronavirus: Tech firm Bloom Energy fixes broken US ventilators

A Californian company that usually makes green-energy fuel cells is due to deliver 170 repaired ventilators to Los Angeles later on Monday after transforming its manufacturing process.
An engineer at Bloom Energy downloaded the service manual and taught himself how to dismantle and rebuild them in a day, the Los Angeles Times reported. They had been in storage since the H5N1 bird flu outbreak of the mid-2000s. Bloom says it is now working to find other stockpiles of disused machines. On Saturday, as California Governor Gavin Newsom visited the manufacturing plant, he said: “We got a car and a truck and had [them] brought here to this facility at 08:00 this morning.

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Coronavirus: Trump extends US guidelines beyond Easter

President Donald Trump has said federal coronavirus guidelines such as social distancing will be extended across the US until at least 30 April.
He had previously suggested that they could be relaxed as early as Easter, which falls in mid-April.
"The highest point of the death rate is likely to hit in two weeks," Mr Trump said. He appeared to be referring to peak infection rates that experts fear could overwhelm hospitals. White House medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci had earlier warned that the virus could kill up to 200,000 Americans. Dr Fauci said that it was "entirely conceivable" that millions of Americans could eventually be infected.

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'Extraordinary' recovery: 101-year-old Italian man with COVID-19 was released from the hospital

A medical worker wearing a protective mask and suit treats novel coronavirus patients in Italy.
A 101-year-old Italian man has recovered from COVID-19 and his city's deputy mayor said the story provides "hope for the future," CNN reported. Gloria Lisi told reporters the man, identified as Mr. P., had an "extraordinary" recovery. "Mr. P. made it. The family brought him home yesterday evening," CNN reported Lisi saying. "To teach us that even at 101 years the future is not written."

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Food wholesalers offer online orders to sell stock

Food wholesalers are making online home deliveries in response to Covid-19 measures.
As bars, restaurants and hotels shut due to government restrictions, the wholesalers that usually provide them with food and drink, have seen a huge drop in business. But with stock to shift, they are determined to find new customers. Members of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors have seen a 70% decline in trade over the past two weeks, “Food distributors have seen their market disappear overnight,” says chief executive James Bielby. “Companies have bought in stock, and the vast majority of it is going to waste as they can’t sell it, and in a lot of cases they haven’t been paid.

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Coronavirus: More than 900 deaths in a day in Italy

Italy has recorded 969 new coronavirus deaths, its highest daily figure in the outbreak so far.
It means 9,134 people have now died from the virus in the country. Earlier World Health Organization chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a "chronic global shortage" of protective equipment was one of the "most urgent threats" to the ability to save lives. Italy is the worst-affected in Europe. Almost everything has been closed and people told to stay at home. Earlier on Friday, authorities warned that restrictions were likely to be extended beyond 3 April.

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Coronavirus: Zoom is in everyone's living room - how safe is it?

Zoom, the video-conferencing app that has seen a huge rise in downloads since quarantines were imposed around the world, is now being used by millions for work and social gatherings.
This week Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted a picture of himself chairing a Cabinet meeting via the app. This led to questions about how secure it was for government meetings. Zoom has angrily defended its security record, saying it would answer any questions the government had. It was closely followed by reports that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was suspending use of the app, something it strenuously denied.

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Coronavirus: Deaths rise sharply in Spain while infection rate stabilises

Spain has seen a sharp rise in the number of deaths caused by coronavirus but the rate of new infections is stabilising, officials say.
Confirmed cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, rose to 64,059, a 14% increase compared with 18% a day earlier and 20% on Wednesday. In 24 hours, 769 people died, a daily record, taking the total to 4,858. Nursing home residents are particularly affected. Spain is Europe's second-worst-hit country after Italy. The Spanish government has extended the state of emergency until at least 12 April. People's movement are severely restricted and most shops and businesses closed. The latest figures raised hopes that the measures were beginning to take effect. Health emergency chief Fernando Simón said they showed a "clear stabilisation" and that it seemed they were "approaching the long-awaited peak".

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Coronavirus: Tracking app aims for one million downloads

An app that tracks the symptoms of Covid-19 in the UK has become one of the most popular downloads.
Its creators aim to deliver insights into why some people get the disease more severely than others.
They also hope to create a map showing where outbreaks are happening and help distinguish cases from those of the common cold. It is one of many such new apps. Experts have warned people to be cautious about which they download. At present, Covid Symptom Tracker is the third most popular app in Apple's UK store and second in Google Play's new releases chart for the country. Its developers are targeting one million downloads in 24 hours.

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Coronavirus delays Russian vote on Putin staying in power

Russian President Vladimir Putin has postponed a vote on constitutional change that would allow him to stay in power, because of coronavirus concerns.
He said the public vote - previously due to be held on 22 April - would be delayed until a "later date". The proposed changes include scrapping a ban on allowing Mr Putin to run for office again. The changes have already been approved by parliament and Russia's constitutional court. They would give Mr Putin - who is serving his fourth presidential term and has dominated Russian politics for two decades - the right to serve two more consecutive terms.

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Coronavirus: Wuhan to ease lockdown as world battles pandemic

The lockdown in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the global coronavirus outbreak began, will be partially lifted on 8 April, officials say.
Travel restrictions in the rest of Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, will be lifted from midnight on Tuesday - for residents who are healthy. A single new case of the virus was reported in Wuhan on Tuesday following almost a week of no reported new cases. Countries around the world have gone into lockdown or imposed severe curbs. The UK is getting to grips with sweeping new measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus, including a ban on public gatherings of more than two people and the immediate closure of shops selling non-essential goods.