Fifty crew members aboard France's sole aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, while Zoom's security practices have come under the spotlight after uninvited men crash an all-girl class in Singapore.

New Zealand has confirmed its second COVID-19 fatality and Canada has warned it may end up with 22,000 deaths.

In Australia, three more deaths have been confirmed, bringing the total to 54, NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin has resigned after being fined for being at his holiday home, and a new $5,000 fine for spitting on health workers has come into effect.

This story is being updated regularly. You can also stay informed with the latest episode of the Coronacast podcast.

Friday's key stories:

Fifty COVID-19 cases reported aboard French Navy's aircraft carrier

There have been dozens of confirmed cases on the French Navy's aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. ( Reuters: Stefanos Kouratzis )

Fifty crew members aboard France's sole aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, putting parts of the ship into lockdown.

Three sailors had been evacuated by air to a military hospital in Toulon, southern France, the home port of the carrier, a ministry statement said.

A team equipped to carry out tests for coronavirus infection boarded the vessel just after the armed forces ministry had reported signs of COVID-19 symptoms among 40 crew members.

"The results of 66 tests showed 50 cases of COVID-19 aboard the Charles de Gaulle. There is no deterioration of the sailors' medical condition at this stage," the ministry said.

The aircraft carrier, which is equipped with its own intensive care facilities, has 1,760 personnel on board.

The nuclear-powered carrier, which had most recently been taking part in exercises with northern European navies in the Baltic Sea, is continuing its journey to Toulon, where it is due to dock in the coming days.

"While awaiting the early return of the aircraft carrier in Toulon … extra measures aimed at protecting the crew and containing the spread of the virus have been put in place," the ministry added, adding that all crew members must now wear face masks.

Singapore teachers told to stop using Zoom after students exposed to obscene images

Singapore's education ministry has told its teachers to stop using videoconferencing app Zoom after a number of "very serious incidents".

In one incident, strange men joined a virtual geography class with teenage girls and displayed obscene images on screens. They also made lewd comments during the class, according to local media reports.

"These are very serious incidents. MOE [Ministry of Education] is currently investigating … breaches and will lodge a police report if warranted," said Aaron Loh of the ministry's educational technology division, without detailing the incidents.

"As a precautionary measure, our teachers will suspend their use of Zoom until these security issues are ironed out."

Zoom has been plagued with safety and privacy concerns about its conferencing app, which has seen a huge surge in usage as offices and schools around the world shut to try curb coronavirus infections.

A practice known as "Zoombombing" has emerged where uninvited guests are either passed the URL link to a Zoom room or guess the ID number and join. Until recently, Zoom's virtual rooms were not password-protected by default, instead secured by an ID number.

In Australia, comedian Hamish Blake has been dropping into virtual Zoom meetings unannounced and posting clips of his encounters on Instagram.

NSW Minister caught at holiday home resigns

Don Harwin was photographed at his Central Coast holiday home. ( AAP: Steven Saphore )

NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin has resigned after receiving a police fine on Thursday for breaching coronavirus lockdown rules.

The Minister was days earlier photographed at his Central Coast holiday home.

Although Mr Harwin said he went to live at his second home before the new rules came into effect, police still fined him.

"Today I have offered my resignation to the Premier as a Minister in her government," Mr Harwin said in a statement.

"There is nothing more important than the work of the Government in fighting the coronavirus crisis.

"I will not allow my circumstances to be a distraction from that work and I very much regret that my residential arrangements have become an issue during this time.

"At all times I have sought to act in accordance with public health orders and I sought advice that my living arrangements complied with those orders.

"I remain confident that I have acted in accordance with those orders."

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was appropriate Mr Harwin resigned as a minister.

In a statement, she said her Government was asking the community to make great sacrifices and while Mr Harwin assured her he did not break the rules, the police had fined him.

Belarus bolsters grandstands with mannequins as spectators stay away

About 30 of the mannequins adorned the grandstand during a match between FC Dynamo Brest and FC Shakhter Soligorsk. ( AP: Alexey Komelkov/Dynamo Brest )

The defending soccer league champions in Belarus have taken unusual steps to boost the attendance of home crowds at matches, which are still being played despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Mannequins have started appearing at matches for Dynamo Brest with the faces of "virtual fans" who bought ticket online.

At least 30 of the mannequins appeared at the Belarusian Cup semifinal match this week, with many real fans staying away after deciding the stadium was too risky.

The virtual fans did not have a strict adherence to team colours, instead wearing a motley array of old jerseys from many different teams.

With few games to watch elsewhere, some foreign fans have started watching games from Belarus instead. Dynamo Brest general secretary Vladimir Machulsky told AP he wants them to feel at home.

"It's our creative idea. In this way, a virtual spectator who is following the match broadcast on television can see himself in the stands," Machulsky said.

"We're not trying to imitate a full stand. We understand the fans who have refused to come to the games. We decided to take a creative approach to the situation."

The "virtual tickets" seem to be a profitable sideline for Dynamo Brest. They are on sale for about $42, more than five times the cost of the most expensive normal ticket.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has made keeping sports arenas open part of his unconventional approach to the coronavirus.

He has said there is no need to close workplaces and public events, and even played in an amateur hockey game in front of fans on March 28.

Belarus has 1,486 cases of coronavirus in the country and 16 deaths.

EU ministers seal $862 billion eurozone rescue plan

After weeks of bruising discussions, European Union finance ministers have agreed to a 500 billion euro ($862 billion) support package for the bloc.

Germany and France ended opposition from the Netherlands over attaching economic conditions to emergency credit for governments weathering the impacts of the pandemic, and after assurances for Italy that the bloc would show solidarity.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said it was the most important economic plan in Europe's history.

Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned the EU's very existence would be under threat if it could not come together to combat the pandemic.

For weeks, EU member states have struggled to present a united front in the face of the pandemic, squabbling over money, medical equipment and drugs, border restrictions and trade curbs, amid fraught talks laying bare bitter divisions.

The deal is intended to provide a safety net for governments, companies and people against the deep recession the pandemic is expected to cause this year.

"The feeling in Germany is that everyone has done enough posturing for their domestic audiences by now. It's time to come together," one senior EU official in Brussels told Reuters.

The package would bring the EU's total fiscal response to the epidemic to 3.2 trillion euros ($5.5 trillion), the biggest in the world.

It includes access to cheap credit from the eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), more guarantees for the European Investment Bank to step up lending to companies, and a scheme to subsidise wages so that firms can cut working hours, not jobs.

Australians warned to stay at home this Easter as death toll rises

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 24 seconds 1 m 24 s Scott Morrison urges Australians to stay at home in his Easter message

Yesterday, Australia recorded its lowest rise in infections in almost a month, with just 96 new cases.

But leaders across the country are warning that progress could be reversed if people don't stay at home over Easter.

Police are out in force, slapping fines on anyone found to be breaching the rules on physical distancing and non-essential travel. In Tasmania, the Premier warned there would be "eyes in the sky".

That includes NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin, who has now been fined $1,000 for going to his beach house.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia's rate of new infections was only dropping because people had been observing physical-distancing rules.

"It's important because we cannot undo the tremendous progress we have made together in recent times. So this Easter we are staying at home. Don't travel. Don't go away," he said.

Three more deaths from COVID-19 have been confirmed today, one in Victoria, one in New South Wales and one in Tasmania, taking the national toll to 54.

Nurse allegedly spat on in Brisbane, $5,000 fine comes into effect in NSW

A man who allegedly spat at a Brisbane nurse has been charged with serious assault of a public officer.

Police said the incident happened at the Royal Brisbane Hospital's fever clinic on Wednesday.

In New South Wales, police will be able to issue $5,000 on-the-spot fines from today for spitting or coughing on emergency service workers or employees going about their duties in a hospital or pharmacy.

"If you had said some time ago, when this crisis started, that people would go out and cough and spit on emergency service workers and people working in pharmacies and hospitals, I would have thought that was remote," NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys said.

"But we already have seen this sort of activity."

The change under the Public Health Regulation 2012 was signed yesterday after an "urgent" request from NSW Health and representatives from unions for healthcare services and police.

New York's highest daily toll comes as US peak projected for Easter Sunday

New York has now recorded more than 7,000 deaths from COVID-19. ( Reuters: Brendan Mcdermid )

The number of deaths in the state of New York has risen by 799, a record high for a third straight day.

Meanwhile, New York City increased burial operations on Hart Island, an island where unknown and homeless people are buried, as it deals with dwindling morgue space.

But New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said social distancing was working, and the latest death count reflected the loss of people who became sick earlier in the outbreak.

The number of patients newly admitted to hospital in the state dropped for a second day, to 200.

Mr Cuomo said that was "the lowest number we've had since this nightmare started".

New York has now recorded more than 7,000 deaths from COVID-19, or nearly half of the total across the country.

A University of Washington model often cited by US and state officials projects that COVID-19 will claim 60,415 American lives by August 4, with the peak coming on Easter Sunday.

More than 450,000 people in the United States have tested positive for the virus so far.

War-ravaged Yemen confirms first coronavirus case

Yemen has been a warzone for five years. ( Reuters: Khaled Abdullah )

If you've been viewing the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker map, you may have noticed way down at the very bottom of the list of affected countries "Yemen: 1".

The virus has been officially confirmed inside the war-torn country where an outbreak could devastate its already broken healthcare system.

Yemen's Supreme National Emergency Committee said on Twitter that the patient was stable and receiving medical attention.

Reuters reported that the sufferer was a Yemeni working in the small commercial port of Ash Shihr.

If the virus spreads in Yemen, the impact would be "catastrophic", as the health status of at least half the population is "very degraded" and the country does not have enough supplies or facilities, its UN humanitarian coordinator, Lise Grande, told Reuters.

Authorities have ordered the closure of the port for a week for decontamination and all workers there must self-isolate for two weeks, Reuters reported.

The news came after a nationwide ceasefire in the five-year-old conflict began on Thursday, prompted by the virus pandemic.

Second coronavirus-related death confirmed in New Zealand

New Zealand's Ministry of Health has confirmed the country's second death linked to COVID-19.

A woman in her 90s, who had recently tested positive, died at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch yesterday.

"Because of the current Alert Level 4, no family members were able to visit the woman in hospital in recent days and were not able to be present when she passed away," the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

"Hospital staff were able to provide her with comfort and support and we thank them for that."

New Zealand's first death from the disease, involving a woman in her 70s with underlying health conditions, was on March 29.

Cabinet will meet on April 20 to decide whether the country's lockdown, which has been in place since March 25, should be extended.

Boris Johnson moved out of intensive care as Britain applauds the NHS

Health workers cheer their health service at a London hospital. ( Reuters: Kevin Coombs )

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is now out of intensive care, where he was being treated for COVID-19.

The spokesman said Mr Johnson was "in good spirits", but he remained in hospital and would continue to be closely monitored.

The news came as Britain recorded a slightly lower daily death toll from the virus, with 881 people losing their lives. The day prior, the figure was 938.

However, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been standing in for Mr Johnson, said the UK had not reached the peak of its coronavirus crisis and it was too early too lift its lockdown.

UK officials have suggested restrictions could be tightened if people flock to parks and outdoor spaces over what is forecast to be a warm, sunny Easter weekend.

Mr Raab led a nationwide show of appreciation for health service workers, with people across Britain giving a round of applause — many from their front doors and windows — for the National Health Service as part of the #ClapForCarers campaign.

According to a Johns Hopkins University database, the UK has recorded 65,863 cases of coronavirus and 7,992 deaths.

Cambodia passes new coronavirus measure to control communications

Cambodia, which officially has 119 cases of COVID-19 and no deaths, has passed a new law that makes it illegal for people to distribute information that could generate "public fear or unrest" during a state of emergency.

The new powers allow the Government to monitor communications, control traditional media and social media during times of emergency.

The Government defended the new law by saying it was just following other democracies (Cambodia's ruling party controls every lower house seat of Parliament and all but four Senate seats).

"The purpose of making this law for Cambodia is not unique, as there is this law already in many other democratic countries," Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin said.

"The law is intended to protect public order, security, people's interests, lives, health, property and the environment."

Human rights groups say an emergency would give sweeping powers to Prime Minister Hun Sen, who Western countries have long condemned for crackdowns on opponents, civil rights groups and the media.

Cambodia has so far closed restaurants, bars and casinos and limited entry visas for foreigners, but no state of emergency has been declared.

Hun Sen has said he might need emergency powers to help stem the outbreak.

NRL may have to reconsider its planned return next month

The NRL is planning to restart the season on May 28. ( AAP: Craig Golding )

The Federal Government says it won't relax coronavirus social restrictions to allow the nation's sporting codes to start playing again unless medical advice says it is safe to do so.

The NRL yesterday said it wanted to restart its competition at the end of May, but Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told Sky News he expected the NRL would have to change its plans again if social restrictions remained in force.

"I'm sure that the NRL would not want to breach plans, I think that they would not want to breach legal requirements," he said.

"I suspect that they are making assumptions on where Australia would be at that point in time, and that's fair enough for them. I mean, of course, they've got to plan."

Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said while most NRL players were young, fit and unlikely to be affected too badly by the virus, there were concerns for the support teams around the players.

"There's other people around the teams. [Coach] Wayne Bennett is in his 70s, he would be in a vulnerable group. Ricky Stuart with the mighty Raiders, he would potentially be in a vulnerable group," Professor Kelly said.

"So thinking about the team — not just the players but the support around them — is important."

He said he encouraged sports codes to plan for a future where social restrictions would be lifted, but cast doubt on a May kick-off.

"Whether May is the time will remain to be seen and definitely they'll need to get some permission to do that [restart the season]," he said.

The NRL, along with other major sporting codes such as the AFL, suspended its season as tough rules to stop the spread of coronavirus came into force.

Canadians warned their lives won't be normal until there's a vaccine

Canadian officials say there could be up to 22,000 deaths in the country. ( Reuters: Blair Gable )

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has warned the country will not return to normal until a vaccine is developed, saying that could be "a very long way off".

The warning came after Canada lost a record 1 million jobs in March and unemployment soared to 7.8 per cent — with Canadian Government data suggesting the real jobless rate was closer to 25 per cent.

Local governments across Canada have ordered non-essential businesses shut to combat the spread.

Health officials in the country say the death toll is set to soar from more than 500 currently, with the two most likely scenarios showing between 11,000 and 22,000 deaths by the end of the pandemic.

"While some of the numbers released today may seem stark, Canada's modelling demonstrates that the country still has an opportunity to control the epidemic," Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said.

Canadian officials say if all goes well, the first wave of the outbreak could end by July or August, but that there would be subsequent smaller waves.

Malaysian glove maker, condom giant join coronavirus fight

Top Glove manufactures one in five of the world's medical gloves. ( Supplied: Top Glove/Anas Zakwan )

Top Glove, the world's biggest maker of medical gloves, plans to start producing face masks to meet rising demand from the coronavirus outbreak.

The Malaysian company, which makes one out of every five medical gloves in the world, will have a facility ready in two months with a production capacity of 110 million masks a year.

"The masks … will also be available for sale to our existing healthcare customers, in order to help the market cope with the surge in demand on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic," executive chairman Lim Wee Chai said.

Top Glove's move comes as Malaysian companies modify production to meet a shortage of protective and testing equipment in the country, which has the largest number of reported infections in South-East Asia with 4,228 cases.

Another Malaysian company, Karex, the world's top condom maker, said it had converted two of its lubricant lines to make hand sanitisers after requests from medical customers.

"It's not a very large quantity to begin with but we found we were able to begin production within a month following medical trials as we are a certified medical product manufacturer," chief executive Goh Miah Kiat said.

Unprecedented demand for medical and testing materials has made it harder for countries to source essential equipment.

Australians pool their cash to arrange charter flights out of India

Brendon Hempel (left) runs a private charter company and got permission to help Australians out of India. ( Supplied: Brendon Hempel )



Tired of waiting for a rescue from Canberra, a group of Australian travellers and aviation specialists have come together to organise charter flights for a rescue mission out of India.

India has entered the third week of a nationwide lockdown that prohibits interstate and international travel, as the country continues to try to curb its rapidly increasing number of coronavirus cases.

About 1,300 Australians stuck in the country put their name to an email calling on Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne to help get them home.

Brendon Hempel, a pilot of 25 years and managing director of an aircraft leasing company, decided to help.

"People were tired of waiting for a solution to arrive, and we were able to back this operation privately," he said.

The first flight is scheduled to leave on Saturday from Delhi to Melbourne, via Denpasar.

16.8m Americans lose their jobs, Wall Street has best week since 1974

Economists in the United States expect job losses could hit 20 million in April. ( David Grunfeld/The Advocate via AP )

The United States has reached a grim milestone: roughly one in 10 workers has lost their job in the past three weeks.

Another 6.6 million people sought unemployment benefits last week, taking the total number of applicants to 16.8 million since the pandemic hit.

It's the largest and fastest string of job losses in records dating back to 1948, and economists in the United States expect job losses could hit 20 million in April.

With more than 95 per cent of Americans under "stay-at-home" or "shelter-in-place" orders, businesses have shut down across the country.

Nevertheless, Wall Street closed out its best week in 45 years, with the S&P 500 surging by 12 per cent.

The US Federal Reserve has launched its latest effort to support the economy through the crisis, announcing programs to provide up to $US2.3 trillion ($3.63 trillion) in loans to households, local governments and businesses.

More than 12,000 dead in France, some positive signs in Italy and Spain

The death toll in France has risen by 1,341 to 12,210 people, the fourth highest tally in the world after Italy, the United States and Spain.

That figure includes people who died in care homes over the last two days.

More encouragingly, the number of people in intensive care has fallen — albeit slightly — for the first time since the outbreak began.

In Italy and Spain, which together have about 33,000 deaths, new infections, hospitalisations and deaths have been levelling off.

But Spain's Prime Minister warned that nationwide confinement would likely last until May.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world has surpassed 1.5 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

IMF says worst recession since Great Depression is coming

The IMF has given its bleakest prediction yet of the economic damage wrought by COVID-19. ( Courtesy: State Library of New South Wales )

The International Monetary Fund says the pandemic sweeping the world will turn global economic growth "sharply negative" in 2020, with only a partial recovery seen in 2021.

Even though governments have already undertaken fiscal stimulus measures of $US8 trillion ($12.6 trillion), the IMF said it was likely that more would be needed.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the crisis would hit emerging markets and developing countries hardest.

"We anticipate the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression," she said.

Ms Georgieva said if the pandemic faded in the second half of the year, the IMF would expect a partial recovery in 2021, but she also warned the situation could actually get worse.

"I stress there is tremendous uncertainty about the outlook. It could get worse depending on many variable factors, including the duration of the pandemic," she said.

The IMF will release its detailed World Economic Outlook forecasts on Tuesday.

Easter church services to be live streamed

A Good Friday service will be broadcast on ABC TV. ( ABC News: Mark Leonardi )

Australian churches will be live streaming — and, in some cases, televising — their Easter services so the faithful can still experience them despite the bans on physical attendance.

A Good Friday service from St John's Cathedral in Brisbane will be broadcast on ABC TV at 4:00pm.

St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney will live stream an Easter Vigil Mass at 6:30pm on Saturday, while its Easter Sunday Mass at 10:30am will also be broadcast on Channel Seven.

As well, synagogues that will be streaming Passover services include the Great Synagogue in Sydney, Temple Beth Israel in Melbourne, ACT Jewish Centre in Canberra, and Temple David in Perth.

Across the globe, Pope Francis will celebrate Easter Mass in a nearly-empty St Peter's Basilica instead of the huge square outside, while in England, the Archbishop of Canterbury will deliver his Easter sermon by video.

UN Secretary-General warns pandemic is the organisation's 'gravest test'

Antonio Guterres said the UN faced the "fight of a generation". ( Reuters: Denis Balibouse, file )

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has warned the Security Council that the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a rise in "social unrest and violence".

He said the United Nations faced its "gravest test" since the organisation was founded 75 years ago.

"This is the fight of a generation — and the raison d'etre of the United Nations itself," he said.

The Security Council, which had been silent so far on COVID-19, issued its first brief press statement after a closed meeting.

It expressed "support for all efforts of the secretary-general concerning the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to conflict-affected countries and recalled the need for unity and solidarity with all those affected".

Aussie ambassador evacuated from Indonesia

It's understood Ambassador Gary Quinlan is regarded as a high risk for acute illness. ( Reuters: Mike Segar, file photo )

Australia's ambassador to Indonesia is being evacuated based on medical advice, as the spread of coronavirus in the country continues to surge.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has assessed that the risk of coronavirus in Indonesia is now too high for diplomats regarded as most vulnerable.

It's understood Ambassador Gary Quinlan is regarded as a high risk for acute illness if he were to catch the virus.

He's being relocated back home temporarily but will continue as ambassador from Canberra.

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Australia's consul in Bali has already returned for similar reasons.

The ABC has also learnt that an Australian man has died in Jakarta with symptoms of COVID-19, although he was not tested for the disease.

At least one other Australian is known to have been severely ill.

There have been 280 confirmed deaths in Indonesia, with 3,293 cases. But a low rate of testing means the true number of deaths and cases is likely to be far higher.

The number of cases in Indonesia is expected to peak around May.

Iran's leader says create sense of Ramadan at home

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iranians would be "deprived" of public events during Ramadan. ( AP: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader )

Iran's Supreme Leader has called on Iranians to create the sense of Ramadan in their homes, since public gatherings are banned as the country tries to contain one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks.

Schools and universities remain closed in the Islamic Republic and a ban on cultural, religious and sports gatherings has been imposed.

Ramadan begins at sundown on April 23 and lasts for 30 days.

"Because of being deprived of public prayings, speeches and so on during Ramadan, we should create the same senses in our homes," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech.

His remarks came as Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur announced that Iran's coronavirus death toll has risen by 117 to 4,110.

There are now 66,220 coronavirus cases, he said, noting that 32,309 people have recovered.

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