Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says that he will declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and six other prefectures as early as Tuesday to bolster measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak, but that there will be no hard lockdowns.

António Guterres

Summit Group has contributed Tk 3 crore to the Prime Minister's Relief and Welfare Fund to fight the coronavirus pandemic.  Principal Secretary to the PM Dr Ahmad Kaikaus received the cheque on behalf of her office. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thanked the organisations and individuals who donated to her relief and welfare fund l, said a Summit press release. Meanwhile,  Summit Group had presented five thermal scanners for identifying people with high temperature at Dhaka airport and Prime Minister’s Office. Summit is also supporting SEID Trust based in Kamrangirchar, Dhaka to provide support to poor  and disable children who are more vulnerable than the general population.  

British Minister of State (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) Lord Ahmed of Wimbledon on Saturday offered financial assistance to Bangladesh under the umbrella of the World Health Organization (WHO) to contain the novel coronavirus.

Hospitals are gearing up to test if a century-old treatment used to fight off flu and measles outbreaks in the days before vaccines, and tried more recently against SARS and Ebola, just might work for COVID-19, too: using blood donated from patients who've recovered.

The hunt for ventilators and other medical supplies consumed the U.S. and Europe on Monday, as new coronavirus infections soared and political paralysis stalled efforts for a quick aid package from Congress. Asian markets and U.S. futures both sank as more governments tightened restrictions to fight the pandemic.

Bangladesh will contribute US$ 1.5 million  to the Saarc Emergency Fund proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fight coronavirus (COVID-19) in the region.   There are commitments from other countries too, an official told UNB confirming Bangladesh's contribution.   On March 15, Modi said the emergency fund could be based on voluntary contributions from all of them and India can start with an initial offer of US$10 million for this fund.   Nepal will contribute US$1 million, Afghanistan US$ 1 million, Maldives US$ 200000 and Bhutan will contribute US$ 100000, said the official.   The aim of the fund is to help any of Saarc nations meet the cost of emergent actions to combat this pandemic.   Foreign Secretaries of the Saarc countries will finalize concept and operational rules.   Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Modi proposed a strong strategy by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) member countries to fight the coronavirus threat in South Asian region.   Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina welcomed Modi’s proposal and had constructive dialogue with her Indian counterpart and other heads of state and government and discussed way forward at this testing time for the region and the world.

New York City will close the nation's largest public school system on Monday, sending over 1.1 million children home in hopes of curbing the spread of coronavirus, the city's mayor announced Sunday, calling it a "very troubling moment" as he suggested ominously that more restrictions were inevitable.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic counselor to French President Emmanuel Macron, held a phone conversation Friday on cooperation to fight novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP).