Singapore bans entry and transit of visitors Singapore has just declared a raft of restrictions and bans on entrants. According to the Straits Times, Singapore will ban all short term visitors from entering or transiting, from 11.59pm Monday. The only foreigners allowed to return to Singapore will be work pass holders and their dependents, and only if they work in an essential services sector like healthcare or transport. This is a big expansion on the previous measures which allowed people(apart from a small number of countries) to go to Singapore as long as they underwent 14 days of mandatory quarantine. It follows news on Saturday of the first two deaths in Singapore from Covid-19 - a 75-year-old Singaporean woman and a 64-year-old Indonesian man. News America is reporting the number of Covid-19 diagnoses in the Caribbean has surpassed 400. According to the report the Dominican Republic has the highest number of people confirmed to have Covid-19, with 40 new cases reported on Saturday, bringing the total to 112. Trinidad and Tobago reported 40 new cases on Saturday, having only previously had nine. There were 10 new deaths reported across the region on Sunday. One person has died on Guadaloupe, where 56 vases have been confirmed, and one person has died on Martinique where the total number of cases is 37. It reports the only places without any cases are Belize, Grenada, Turks & Caicos, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands. Unlike many news organisations, we chose a different approach: to keep the Guardian’s independent journalism open to everyone around the world. In these extraordinary times, we believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. Thanks to your support, we’re able to stay free of a paywall, our journalism available for all. No matter how unsettled the future feels, the Guardian will remain with you, delivering quality, measured, authoritative reporting. We hope to help all of us make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Make a contribution - The Guardian Amazon is raising overtime pay for associates working in its US warehouses as the world’s largest online retailer tries to meet the rapidly growing demand for online shopping from consumers stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak. CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, said in a message posted on the company website on Saturday: “My own time and thinking is now wholly focused on Covid-19 and on how Amazon can best play its role.” Hourly workers at Amazon’s US warehouses will receive double pay after 40 hours for overtime, up from the 1.5-times rate, from March 15 through May 9, the rate increase announcement said. This is the second time the e-commerce giant announced an increase in pay for its workers in a week. On Monday, Amazon hiked the minimum hourly rate for associates to $17 from $15 and announced plans to hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the United States as the virus outbreak boosts online orders. Amazon has offered unlimited unpaid time off to encourage employees to stay home if they do not feel well. It has also staggered workers’ shifts and prohibited employees from sitting next to each other in the lunchroom to limit contact. At least 38 people have tested positive for coronavirus in New York City jails, including at the notorious Rikers Island jail complex, the board that oversees the city’s jail system said Saturday. In the past six days the Board of Correction learned that at least 12 Department of Correction employees, five Correctional Health Services employees, and 21 inmates have tested positive for the virus. In a letter to criminal justice leaders, the board’s interim chairwoman Jacqueline Sherman wrote that at least 58 other people were currently being monitored in contagious disease and quarantine units. It is likely these people have been in hundreds of housing areas and common areas over recent weeks and have been in close contact with many other people in custody and staff, Sherman warned, predicting a sharp rise in the number of infections. New York has consistently downplayed the number of infections, The Associated Press has found in conversations with current and former inmates. More than 2.2 million people are incarcerated in the United States more than anywhere in the world and there are growing fears that an outbreak could spread rapidly through a vast network of federal and state prisons, county jails and detention centres. With limited capacity nationally to test for COVID-19, men and women inside worry that they are last in line when showing flu-like symptoms, meaning that some may be infected without knowing it. The first positive tests from inside prisons and jails started tricking out just over a week ago, with less than two dozen officers and staff infected in other facilities from California and Michigan to Pennsylvania. South Australia has followed Tasmania and the Northern Territory in effectively closing its state borders, enforcing any new arrival to undergo 14 days of quarantine. South Australia, like the Northern Territory and Queensland (which closed its NT border earlier this week) has a number of remote Indigenous communities. These communities are extremely vulnerable and any outbreak would be devastating. New cases in South Korea, Mexico, Philippines South Korea reported 98 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing national infections to 8,897, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The daily increase showed a continued downward trend in new cases, despite a slight jump on Saturday. Mexican health authorities said on Saturday that there are 251 confirmed coronavirus cases in Mexico, 48 more cases than a day earlier. The Philippines’ health ministry has confirmed 73 new cases, bringing the country’s total to 380. India announces curfew India launched a 14-hour long curfew on Sunday to limit the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic in the country, where 315 people have so far been found to have contracted the disease. The prime minister, Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation last week urged citizens to stay indoors from 7am to 9pm Delhi time - a move that he said would be a crucial test for a country to assess its abilities to fight the pandemic. “Let us all be a part of this curfew, which will add tremendous strength to the fight against the Covid-19 menace,” Modi tweeted minutes before the curfew commenced. “The steps we take now will help in the times to come,’ he said in the tweet. First Covid-19 death in the Pacific Guam has reported the death of an 68-year-old woman from the Covid-19 illness, Radio New Zealand has reported. According to Dr Mike Cruz, who is leading Guam’s virus response, the woman had “multiple co-morbidities”, including end-stage renal disease. She was the relative of a person who returned to Guam with Covid-19. “Five of the first 14 confirmed cases had recent travel, most of which is linked to the Philippines,” Dr Cruz said on Sunday. “There is strong evidence that Covid-19 cases has spread throughout our community and has affected residents in the northern, central and southern villages,” he added. There are 15 confirmed cases in Guam, where the government has declared a major disaster. It has more cases than any other Pacific Island nation, and the woman’s death is the first in the region. From Reuters: North Korea on Saturday welcomed what it said was a letter from US president Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying it was a sign of “the special and very firm personal relations” between the two leaders despite recent frictions. A senior Trump administration official confirmed Trump sent the letter and said it was “consistent with his efforts to engage global leaders during the ongoing pandemic”. The president looks forward to continued communications with chairman Kim, the official said. North Korea state media KCNA said Kim had received a letter from Trump in which the US president said he was impressed by the North Korean leader’s efforts to defend his people from the coronavirus. Trump “expressed his intent to render cooperation in the anti-epidemic work, saying that he was impressed by the efforts made by the Chairman to defend his people from the serious threat of the epidemic,” KCNA reported in a statement carried by Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong. The report came after North Korea’s missile test on Saturday, which prompted South Korea to urge an immediate halt of “inappropriate action” in the face of the global pandemic. China confirms new domestic case For the first time in four days China has reported a new domestic case of the virus. The case is one of 46 new confirmed diagnoses in mainland China, which is the fourth straight day of an increase. A record 14 were in the financial hub of Shanghai, and 13 were reported in the capital Beijing, a decline from 21 the previous day. As in other Asian nations which had appeared to get their outbreaks under control, China is now fearful of a second wave brought in by people coming into the country. Hawaii to enforce quarantine for arrivals In the Pacific island state of Hawaii, governor David Ige has just announced a mandatory 14 day quarantine period for any new arrival. It is the first US state to enact such measures. The process is much the same as that in other places - on arrival at the airport passengers must declare where they intend to self-isolate for 14 days, and go straight there. They can only leave for medical emergencies or to seek medical care. The order carries a penalty of up to $5,000 or a year in prison for any breaches. Back at the press conference with Australia’s PM: There is an extraordinary story in Australia this weekend, where almost 2,700 people were allowed to disembark a cruiseship in Sydney despite several people on board testing positive. Some of those passengers have since travelled on to other places in Australia. Neither the NSW state government or the federal immigration authorities want to take responsibility for the potentially disastrous oversight. Morrison says he isn’t going to get into commentary on it. “On every occasion things will not go exactly as we might like it,” he says. “People are working under extreme stress, often with limited information and we are going to support those people to make the best decisions they can and the states and territories standing shoulder to shoulder with each other and the Commonwealth.” Ruby Princess logged 158 cases of illness before passengers disembarked without coronavirus testing Read more Morrison is asked about the possibility of repatriation flights for Australians overseas who are trying to follow the advice to return from overseas but really can’t get home. He says people stuck on cruise ships and in Peru are the most extreme examples, and says everyone should contact the department of foreign affairs and trade. “This is one of the many challenges we’re working on but at this stage I’m not going to advance the possibility of any [repatriation flights].” From my colleague Uki Goñi in Argentina: Argentina could declare a state of siege to enforce the mandatory nationwide lockdown that started Friday, said Security Minister Sabina Frederic, amid concerns about the social effect of the spread of the coronavirus here. “It’s an extreme measure that we’re trying to avoid,” said the minister. The number of coronavirus cases leapt to 225 Saturday, an increase of 67 cases, more than double the previous highest leap. Four deaths have been reported since the first case was detected on March 5. Not all Argentinians are obeying the enforced quarantine, however. Authorities reported 3200 arrests for violating it since it went into effect Friday. Political leaders are worried that the stoppage imposed on many sectors of the economy could lead to supermarket lootings in some poverty-stricken districts in the Greater Buenos Aires area, in a country where over a third of the population lives below the poverty line. “It’s inevitable thinking that looting might occur,” Buenos Aires province security minister Sergio Berni told the press. “That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, but we have to be prepared.” The large number of arrests includes two German tourists, aged 28 and 35, who escaped isolation from a hotel in the central city of Córdoba Tuesday. They were caught Saturday at Ezeiza international airport trying to board a plane to neighbouring Brazil. They are being held pending expulsion back to Germany. There was nonetheless some good news for Argentinians, with the announcement that all consumer bank debt, including the payment of credit card debt, has been postponed by government order. “The deadline for all debt with financial entities that fall due between March 20 and March 31, 2020, have been postponed until April 1,” the Central Bank announced. Australia bans all non-essential domestic travel The Australian government is banning all non-essential domestic travel as it unveils a A$66bn stimulus program to deal with the virus impact. It has warned of more draconian measures to come. The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has also flagged localised lockdowns after seeing people defy warnings and fill beaches yesterday. What happened at Bondi Beach yesterday was not OK. And served as a message to federal and state leaders that too many Australians are not taking these issues seriously enough. So the measures that we will be considering tonight means that state premiers and chief ministers may have to take far more Draconian measures to enforce social distancing particularly in areas of outbreaks than might otherwise be the case. You can get more details on this over at the Australian-focused live blog. Incredibly, people across multiple countries are still ignoring warnings to stay home. We’ve seen the pictures of Australia’s Bondi Beach, and we heard earlier from a UK dentist in Skegness, in Lincolnshire, warning of a “disaster waiting to happen” as thousands of people flocked to his seaside town in spite of official guidance to stay at home. “I view these actions as massively, massively socially irresponsible. I personally think that those involved should be ashamed of themselves,” said Dr Mitchell Clark. Clark joined the local police and crime commissioner in urging for local businesses to shutter their shops and for caravan parks to be closed. It appears similar things are happening in Scotland. Claudio Nardini, a takeaway shop operator at Largs on the west coast, has pleaded with people to stay home. We decided to remain open to provide a takeaway service for what I thought would be a few people grabbing the opportunity to appreciate a walk along Largs prom. Staying open a few more days also allows us to wind things down in and business sense meaning less waste and staff completing their planned shifts. I can’t believe how busy the prom was. Crowds of people walking hand in hand, hugging, grandmothers holding babies, teenagers sharing drinks, elderly people galore mingling with others of all ages. Wow! Just Wow! Now, I have strong links to two other countries in Europe and have witnessed this virus develop by talking regularly to family in both Italy and Spain. This nonchalant attitude was rife in both those countries only a couple of weeks ago. ... Everyone at work today was overcome with a strange feeling of guilt, almost as if we were contributing to this madness. For this reason we have decided to completely close this evening until this whole thing blows over. An announcement not long ago pointed out it’s spreading faster here than it did at this stage in both Italy or Spain. Please please please stay at home if you can, I couldn’t bear seeing what is happening to my relatives happen here too. Welcome to our continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. This is Helen Davidson here to take you through the next few hours of developments. Here’s what’s happened recently: UK military planners drafted in to help feed vulnerable. Key military officials are to help ensure food and medicines reach vulnerable people isolated at home during the coronavirus crisis, as part of a nationwide campaign to protect more than a million people most at risk of being hospitalised. Italian PM orders businesses to close all operations. Italy’s government announced the closure of all “non-essential production activities” across the country, after the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose by 793 to 4,825 on Saturday. “Grocery stores and pharmacies will remain open,” said the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte. “But all the rest of the non-essential production activities, including plants and offices, will close down.” Former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz dies of Covid-19.The former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz has died of coronavirus aged 76, La Liga announced on Saturday. Sanz, Real’s president from 1995 to 2000, had been admitted to hospital with a fever and tested positive for the virus. Rihanna pledges $5m to curb coronavirus. Rihanna has become the latest celebrity to join the effort to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The singer’s Clara Lionel Foundation announced on Saturday that it has donated $5million to a number of organisations responding to the outbreak. Bolivian presidential elections postponed amid coronavirus outbreak. Bolivia’s interim government announced on Saturday it would postpone presidential elections originally slated for May 3 and institute a mandatory countrywide quarantine for 14 days as coronavirus spread across the Andean nation. The country’s electoral authority said in a statement it would “suspend the elections calendar” for 14 days to match the quarantine, but did not set a new date for the vote. Britons stranded in Peru could be flown home early next week.Hundreds of Britons stranded in Peru due to the coronavirus pandemic could be flown home early next week, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has said. More than 400 British and Irish citizens are believed to be in the Andean nation and have been unable to leave following a 15-day government lockdown imposed since Monday. First coronavirus cases in Gaza Strip. The first two cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the densely-populated Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said.