A medical worker in protective gear tends to a patient on March 24, 2020 at an intensive care unit for coronavirus COVID-19 cases at the Casal Palocco hospital near Rome, Italy. (Photo: AFP)

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the global number of reported cases of COVID-19 rose to 416,686, with 18,589 confirmed deaths as of 4:34 am (BJT) on Thursday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday urged countries to use the second window of opportunity created by those countries and regions under unprecedented "lockdown" measures to suppress and stop transmission of COVID-19.

Current status (data as of 11 am BJT, March 26):

China's national health agency reports on Thursday 67 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, all imported. A total of 401 patients on the Chinese mainland were discharged from the hospital Wednesday. The health commission of Hubei said Thursday the province and its capital Wuhan registered no  increase in new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. 

The number of deaths caused by the novel coronavirus rose to 1,031 in the United States on Wednesday, with 68,572 confirmed cases nationwide, according to a tracker run by the Johns Hopkins University. The US Senate passed the nation's largest-ever rescue package late Wednesday, a $2 trillion lifeline to suffering Americans amid the outbreak.

South Korea reported 104 more cases of COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Thursday local time, raising the total number of infections to 9,241.

Canadian lawmakers Wednesday morning approved a more than Can$100 billion aid package to help individuals and businesses through the pandemic, allowing for a new emergency fund that will dispense Can$2,000 per month for four months to Canadian workers who find themselves without an income due to the new coronavirus.