Coronavirus live updates: Spain’s cases tick past Italy’s, more US jobs data ahead

This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. 

• Global cases: More than 1,026,900
• Global deaths: At least 53,975
• US cases: At least 245,500
• US deaths: At least 6,058

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Italian luxury shoemaker Sergio Rossi has died aged 85 after being hospitalised with the coronavirus, the mayor of the designer’s home town said.

Italy has recorded more deaths from coronavirus than any other country in the world, with 13,915 fatalities as of Thursday. The elderly have been particularly hard hit. Rossi died on Thursday in the small town of Cesena in central Italy.

“He was among the founders of the high-end women’s footwear district in the area of Forlì and Cesena in the mid-20th century,” said Luciana Garbuglia, mayor of San Mauro Pascoli, where Rossi was born in 1935 and where he founded his brand.

French luxury fashion group Kering took over the brand in 1999. It then passed into the hands of the Italian private equity fund Investindustrial in 2015, when Rossi had already retired. —Reuters

As of 6 a.m. ET, Spain had reported 117,710 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University, surpassing the total count of cases in Italy, the original epicenter of Europe’s outbreak. According to Hopkins, Italy had reported 115,242 cases as of 6 a.m. That makes Spain second in the world for COVID-19 cases, behind only the U.S. Spain typically reports daily new cases several hours ahead of Italy, and the numbers will likely change throughout the day. —Will Feuer

U.K. Health Minister Matt Hancock reportedly said the deadliest peak of Britain’s coronavirus outbreak could be on Easter Sunday. 

In an interview with Sky News, Hancock said he “would defer to the scientists on exact predictions,” but the peak of the U.K. outbreak falling on April 12 was “one perfectly possible outcome.” 

To date, the U.K. has reported more than 34,000 cases of the COVID-19 infection, with 2,926 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. —Sam Meredith

BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said the carmaker is focusing on preserving the health of its balance sheet and workforce.

“No company can possibly get through something like this unscathed. Guaranteeing our liquidity needs to happen very quickly. The Management Board are currently meeting twice as often as normal, so we can make the necessary decisions,” Zipse said in a statement.

“We are preparing to ramp up production as soon as the time is right in full compliance with all the safety aspects, and with international coordination. It’s essential that we synchronize with the supplier network on this,” he added. —Reuters

March’s employment report could show the most monthly job losses in a decade, but it’s only a fraction of the real hit to the workforce that came when many states issued stay-at-home orders late in the month.

Economists expect a consensus decline of 100,000 nonfarm payrolls when data is released at 8:30 am ET, according to Refinitiv. But the survey for the report was done before many states began telling residents to stay home. For the final two weeks of the month, 10 million people sought unemployment benefits as businesses and schools closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. —Patti Domm

The coronavirus pandemic is hitting European economies sharply, with the latest economic data showing massive falls in services activity across the region.

In Italy, the services industry dropped in March at the fastest rate since the IHS Markit survey began in 1998. In Germany, the services sector laid off staff at the steepest rate in about 23 years. In Spain, services activity contracted for the first time in six-and-a-half years.

The data released Friday showed the final Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index — which includes services and manufacturing — for the whole euro zone crashed to a record low of 29.7 in March, from 51.6 in February. This was the biggest monthly fall since the survey began. —Silvia Amaro

The amount of people that have died from the coronavirus in Spain has seen its first daily fall since March 26. A total of 932 people died in the last 24 hours, down from 950 people the previous day, according to Reuters who cited the country’s health ministry. Spain’s death toll now stands at 10,935. —Matt Clinch

The People’s Bank of China said it was reducing the amount of cash that small and mid-sized banks need to hold in reserve. It will reportedly free up around 400 billion yuan ($56.38 billion) in liquidity and aid the country’s economy which has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. —Matt Clinch

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced stricter social distancing measures in the city state, joining a chorus of countries globally that have done so to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The measures include closing most workplaces, except those offering “essential services” such as food establishments, hospitals and transport, Lee said. All schools will also be closed temporarily, he said. The prime minister also said his government is rethinking its advice that only those who are ill need to wear masks. —Yen Nee Lee

Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Spain’s services industry records ‘unprecedented’ decline, survey shows