As the day unfolded: Global COVID-19 cases surpass 2.7 million, US deaths near 50,000 as Australia's death toll stands at 79

Tennis Australia took out insurance to protect itself from the enormous financial hit a pandemic would inflict on its marquee event – January's Australian Open grand slam tournament – but the policy expires in July.

As world sport continues to grapple with the drastic and sudden impact of coronavirus in 2020, tennis and its various governing bodies and stakeholders are having to reshape the calendar and prepare for contingencies that include playing the game without spectators.

Already Wimbledon has been cancelled for the first time since 1945, the French Open has been rescheduled for late September, and the US Open is persisting with plans to stage its tournament as normal in August in New York, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in the States.

Wimbledon organisers bowed to the inevitable earlier this month by cancelling the grass-court tournament for the first time since the Second World War.

Its losses, however, were mitigated after it was confirmed that the All England Club had taken out insurance that would protect it from global pandemics.

Read the full story here.

Spanish health authorities are reporting that, for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak there, more people are being diagnosed as cured than those falling sick.

On Friday, there were 2796 new infections confirmed while 3105 overcame the infection.

"With all the effort that we have done, the evolution of the epidemic is obviously beginning to be where it should be," said Fernando Simon, the ministry's health emergency centre coordinator.

Spain has recorded 367 new deaths of patients with the coronavirus, to a total of 22,524, as the government mulls the way out of a strict confinement that has extended for more than 40 days.

AP

Professor Raina MacIntyre, one of the world's leading emerging infectious diseases experts has barely budged from the bedroom of her Wahroonga home since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Australia.

The globally-renowned epidemiologist's clear-yet-cautious tone has made her a familiar face and voice on most things coronavirus related on television and radio: all calmly delivered from her bedroom, where she continues her research almost around the clock. Occasionally, she sleeps there too.

Each day she rises between 4 and 5 am, takes her three dogs - a Doberman, a bull arab and a greyhound shepherd cross - for a quick walk, then is back at her desk with strong coffee and hundreds of emails. She spent this past Tuesday, her 56th birthday, giving an online lecture from home on what she calls the herd immunity "myth" and why she does not see it as an exit strategy from this global health crisis.

She hasn't been to her office on the Kensington campus of the University of NSW – where she is head of the Biosecurity Program at the Kirby Institute – since early March. Nor has she been to the supermarket.

So when it comes to having lunch via zoom in our respective homes, the food options are limited. She'd prefer to cook than have takeaway brought to the house so it's either reheating a Coles frozen dinner or leftovers from Easter Sunday. We both opt for leftovers.

Read the full story here

Lysol and Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser has stated that "under no circumstance" should its disinfectant products be administered into the human body, through injection, ingestion or any other route.

The company issued the advice on Friday morning, after being asked whether internal administration of disinfectants "may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus", amid recent speculation and social media activity.

On Thursday US President Donald Trump had expressed interest in research presented by Bill Bryan, an undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security on whether exposure to humidity or heat kills the virus at a faster pace. Trump had also mentioned the potential use of disinfectant for the coronavirus.

"As with all products, our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in line with usage guidelines," Reckitt said in its statement on Friday.

A series of loopholes and issues arising out of the Morrison government's $130 billion JobKeeper response to the coronavirus pandemic have been shut down or overhauled in the face of growing concern within the small business community and Coalition.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg late on Friday afternoon announced a string of changes to the program which the government has put in place to keep workers linked to their employers.

While broadly welcomed by the business community, with more than 400,000 formally enrolling in the scheme this week, there have been a series of complaints about its structure and operation.a series of problems have emerged.

They include pressures on small businesses to find a month's worth of wage payments upfront, much higher wages for almost 1.7 million part-time workers, rules governing charities and even the structure of firms.

Read the full story here