An update from Panama now, where Patrick Greenfield and Erin McCormick report that the covid-19 stricken Zaandam cruise liner and its sister ship will start crossing the Panama canal tonight, the Guardian understands. The number of people with flu-like-symptoms on a Covid-19 stricken cruise ship off the coast of Panama has risen by almost a third in two days, from 138 to 179. The Central American country earlier reversed a decision to stop the vessels from crossing. Passengers and crew have been told to close their curtains, close all portholes and stay off verandahs while both vessels cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean. Both the Zaandam and the Rotterdam will then head to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. FacebookTwitter 12m ago 01:12 Bosses speed up automation as virus keeps workers home Almost half of company bosses in 45 countries are speeding up plans to automate their businesses as workers are forced to stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak. Some 41% of respondents in a survey by the auditing firm EY said they were investing in accelerating automation as businesses prepared for a post-crisis world. The news comes just days after figures showing that 3.3 million people have filed for unemployment in the US. That is by far the highest number ever recorded, and a jump from less than 300,000 the week before. In the UK, 477,000 people applied for universal credit in just nine days. “The human cost is the most tragic aspect of this crisis, not only in terms of the lives lost, but also the number of livelihoods at risk,” said Steve Krouskos at EY. In more good-uses-of-time-spent-in-self isolation news: In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all 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 Staying with the US for now, here is a summary of the latest developments: Trump declares he will be extending the virus guidelines to 30 April. The president said the “peak and death rate is likely to hit in two weeks” during the daily coronavirus task force briefing. “Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won,” Trump said. “That would be the greatest loss of all.” Fauci warns coronavirus could kill as many as 200,000 Americans. Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading US government infectious disease expert, offered a grim prediction on the Covid-19 death toll on Sunday morning, but cautioned the figure is a ‘moving target’ that could easily be wrong. Pelosi accuses Trump of costing US lives with coronavirus denials and delays. The top Democrat in Congress delivered a devastating critique of Donald Trump, accusing the president directly of costing American lives through his constant denials and delays in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Andrew Cuomo says he expects ‘rolling apex’ of cases in New York. “The number of cases are still going up, so you’re still going up towards an apex,” the New York governor said. “But the rate of the doubling is slow, which is good news.” Donald Trump in ‘near tie’ with Joe Biden, new poll finds. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll puts former vice-president ahead by 49% to 47% among registered voters. In New York city, where mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier that he had asked the federal government to deliver 400 more ventilators to city hospitals by Wednesday and warned that without reinforcements the city will run out of masks, gowns and other hospital supplies in a week, a 68-bed field hospital is being built in Manhattan’s Central Park. Samaritan’s Purse, a charity run by Christian evangelical preacher Franklin Graham, built a similar temporary facility in Italy to help deal with the crisis there. He said the New York City version could be up and running Tuesday. Dozens of prisoners broke furniture and torched buildings during a riot in a Thai jail on Sunday sparked by fears of a coronavirus outbreak in the facility, AFP reports. During the violence some convicts escaped from the Buriram prison where more than 2,000 are held, the justice ministry said. Seven have been arrested. Local media showed footage of black smoke billowing from the prison’s multiple blocks in the country’s northeast, and a Corrections Department official said drones were deployed to investigate what weapons the prisoners were using. Six prisoners were injured in the melee by broken glass, according to Narat Sawetana, director general of the Corrections Department. More than 1,500 prisoners had to be evacuated before the rioting could be stopped. Thailand has recorded 1,388 cases of the coronavirus, including seven deaths. At least two prisoners in the country have caught the highly contagious virus. In a bid to prevent outbreaks in jails, authorities have banned visitors and are quarantining new inmates for 14 days. Similar panic over the coronavirus sparked a prison riot in the Colombian capital of Bogota last Sunday that killed 23 inmates. The coronavirus pandemic could cause UK economic output to plunge by an unprecedented 15% in the second quarter of the year and unemploymentto more than double, according to dire forecasts. The deepest recession since the financial crisis is now all but unavoidable, according to analysts at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), after businesses shut up shop and consumer spending fell dramatically as a result of lockdown restrictions. The centre said it expected the economy to have shrunk marginally in the first three months of the year by 0.5%, followed by the steepest economic contraction since comparable records began more than 20 years ago. The predicted slump would dwarf the 2.2% contraction in the fourth quarter of 2008 as the banking crash took hold, marking by far the worst three-month period since at least 1997. A message posted on Prine’s Twitter page Sunday said the Angel from Montgomery singer has been hospitalized since Thursday and his condition worsened on Saturday. “This is hard news for us to share,” Prine’s family said. “But so many of you have loved and supported John over the years, we wanted to let you know, and give you the chance to send on more of that love and support now. And know that we love you, and that John loves you.” Prine’s wife and manager, Fiona Whelan Prine, this month said she had tested positive for the coronavirus. She said the couple were quarantined and isolated from each other. The 73-year-old Prine has twice fought cancer. Most recently, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013 and had part of a lung removed. The number of people with flu-like-symptoms on a Covid-19 stricken cruise ship off the coast of Panama has risen by almost a third in two days, from 138 to 179. Holland America Line, who runs the Zaandam cruise liner, confirmed that nobody else had died on board after four elderly passengers passed away earlier this week. The cause of death has so far not been stated. On the Zaandam 69 guests and 110 crew are ill with flu like symptoms. On Friday, 53 guests and 85 crew were sick on the cruise liner, where two people have so far tested positive for covid-19. The Zaandam and its sister ship the Rotterdam are preparing to pass through the Panama canal after the Central American country reversed a decision to stop the vessels from crossing. Hundreds of asymptomatic passengers were moved to the Rotterdam over the weekend. None have presented with flu-like symptoms so far. On Sunday evening, it was still unclear whether the two boats would be allowed to dock in Fort Lauderdale after local authorities raised concerns about the health risks the crew and passengers pose to the local population. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis has called for President Trump to intervene in the situation and has suggested the vessels should be redirected to nearby Navy bases. Hundreds of worshipers attend Louisiana church service Hundreds of worshippers attended services at a Louisiana church on Sunday, flouting a ban on large gatherings, angering neighbours and seemingly turning a deaf ear to their governor, who once again warned that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed with new cases of the coronavirus, AP reports. An estimated 500 people of all ages filed inside the mustard-yellow and beige Life Tabernacle church in Central, a city of nearly 29,000 outside Baton Rouge. Assistant ministers and worshippers who stood outside the front doors and in the parking lot of Life Tabernacle told news reporters to leave, saying cameras would not be allowed on the property and they had been told not to talk to the news media. Hello and welcome to today’s live coronavirus pandemic coverage with me, Helen Sullivan. I’ll be taking you through the unprecedented lockdowns, economic measures and more unusual effects of the crisis for the next few hours. You can reach out me with news, tips or questions on Twitter @helenrsullivan. The lockdown in the UK to try to slow the spread of coronavirus could go on for six months and the country may not return to its normal way of life until the autumn, a key government doctor has said. US warned coronavirus could kill as many as 200,000. Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading US government infectious disease expert said the coronavirus toll could be between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans. The coronavirus pandemic has killed over 33,000 people. The total number of confirmed cases is currently at 716,101, according to Johns Hopkins. Trump extended social distancing guidelines to 30 April, saying. “Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won.” Italy has said it will extend its month-long lockdown as the number of deaths in the country increased by 756 to reach 10,779. There are now 97,689 confirmed cases in Italy. The death toll in the country’s worst affected region, Lombardy, has slowed. Moscow, Russia has announced a citywide lockdown beginning tomorrow, confining residents of the city of nearly 12 million people to their homes to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions are some of the most severe in the Russian capital’s history. Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a lockdown in Lagos and the capital city of Abuja, AFP reports. Nigeria has recorded 97 confirmed coronavirus cases and one death. Up to 1,000 British nationals stranded in Peru were being repatriated on Sunday night by the foreign office. The finance minister of Germany’s Hesse state, Thomas Schäfer, has killed himself after apparently becoming “deeply worried” about how to deal with the economic impact of coronavirus. The Syrian health ministry has announced the country’s first coronavirus death, as the total number of cases comes to nine. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will run out of critical medical supplies, including ventilators, by next Sunday, 5 April. In a tweet, he said: “We’re at war and ventilators are our ammunition.” The UK death toll has increased by 209 in the last 24 hours, lower that Saturday’s record rise of 260, bringing the total number of deaths in the UK to 1,228. Mexico has asked its 130 million citizens to stay at home for a month. The country’s president has previously been criticised for not doing enough to deal with the crisis.