The Conference Board said Tuesday that its confidence index tumbled to a reading of 86.9, the lowest level in nearly six years and down from 118.8 in March.

The number of Americans who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic could be even bleaker than official government data suggests.

Jobless claims for the week ended April 25 came in at the lowest level in a month but bring the rolling six-week total to 30.3 million as part of the worst employment crisis in U.S. history

In the week ahead, the April jobs report is expected to show the highest unemployment since 1939.

Private payrolls hemorrhaged more than 20 million jobs in April as companies sliced workers amid a shutdown that took most of the U.S. economy offline, according to a report Wednesday from ADP.

Cramer warned that the U.S. economy may be too weak to handle another trade spat with China and discouraged Trump from imposing new tariffs.

"We're investing in future capacities so that we're better equipped to meet the demand in future surges," Clorox CEO Benno Dorer said.

While some jobs won't be coming back after the lockdown, most, at least for now, will.

CNBC's Dominic Chu looks ahead to what are likely to be next week's top business and financial stories.

Exxon Mobil reported a loss in the first quarter as oil prices dropped to historic lows.

The Covid-19 outbreak cut deeply into GM's performance, costing the largest U.S. automaker $1.4 billion before taxes during the first three months.

Stocks are breaking out to new all-time highs, but one trader is betting that more volatility is right around the corner.

One options trader is betting on a solid gold rally for the yellow metal into late spring.

"This situation makes me sick, because (it) is totally avoidable," Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, said.

About 4 million workers could have filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing total claims above 30 million in just six weeks.

The number of continuing jobless claims rose to a greater-than-expected 22.6 million last week, signaling April job losses over 20 million.

April's jobs report will be horrific, and with the worst job losses ever, it should provide a critical look into the economy's collapse.

Millions of small businesses will close permanently if disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic persists, according to a new survey from Main Street America.

While institutional investors have pulled more than $3 billion from the Camas, Washington-based firm in the wake of Ken Fisher's comments, retail clients have had a more muted reaction. Here's why individual investors may be slow to divest.

As Congress considers ideas in the coming weeks seeking to help America recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Insured Retirement Institute has proposed a five-point plan to help American retirement savers enhance their ability to save for retirement today and ways to strengthen their financial security for tomorrow.

Etsy CEO Josh Silverman discussed the e-retailer's sales swings from March to April and how the company has responded to the coronavirus pandemic.

Unpublished report claims water from contaminated reservoir leaves 3 million in Zimbabwe’s capital at risk of disease

Water being pumped to millions of residents in Zimbabwe’s capital city came from reservoirs contaminated by dangerous toxins, according to a report seen by the Guardian.

A study conducted by South African company Nanotech Water Solutions concluded that the health of 3 million Harare residents may be endangered by the provision of water containing toxins that can cause liver and central nervous system diseases.

Related: Zimbabwe on verge of 'manmade starvation', warns UN envoy

Pay-monthly service sees huge surge in players and gaming time due to Coronavirus lockdown

Microsoft has announced that its Xbox Game Pass subscription service has passed 10 million members. The initiative, which adopts a similar model to Netflix and other streaming platforms, gives subscribers unlimited access to more than 100 Xbox and PC games for a monthly fee.

Commenting on the figure, Xbox chief Phil Spencer said that use of Game Pass, as well as the company’s online multiplayer gaming service Xbox Live, had increased substantially in recent weeks due to Covid-19. “Since March, Xbox Game Pass members have added over 23 million friends on Xbox Live, which is a 70% growth in friendship rate,” he said. “Game Pass members are also playing twice as much and engaging in more multiplayer gaming, which has increased by 130%.”

We saw record engagement in gaming this quarter:
• Xbox Live has nearly 90 million monthly active users
• Xbox Game Pass has more than 10 million subscribers
• Project xCloud has 100s of thousands of active users in preview across 7 countries, with more coming

CNBC's Steve Liesman breaks down the April jobs report, which came in at 20.5 million nonfarm payrolls lost in the month. This is the most historic job loss within a single month.

We urgently need a fairer tax system so that rich people like me help solve the fallout from coronavirus, not just profit from it

• Gary Stevenson is an economist and former interest rate trader

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

I made my first million the year Greece went under. I was 24 years old at the time.

I’d attended a presentation given by one of Citibank’s senior economists, in which he explained that government debts of the world’s major economies had grown to dangerous levels, and were continuing to grow. He warned that markets could stop lending to some of these governments, forcing a devastating round of austerity on to already battered economies.

If we repeat 2008, buying a house with one’s own wages will be a thing of the past

Related: Don't expect a snapback for the UK economy after lockdown is lifted | Larry Elliott

Two weeks of coronavirus shutdown were enough to hit Air France-KLM with an 815 million-euro ($880 million) first-quarter operating loss, the airline group said on Thursday - predicting demand could take "several years" to recover.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons sells 11.77 million units in 1st 11 days for "best start ever"

Women and children are experiencing unprecedented levels of abuse and violence at home as stress and anxiety continue to mount due to the pandemic.

About 8,000 job centre staff have been redeployed to process claims for financial help, minister tells MPs.

More than a quarter of India's population or 337 million people would use a smartphone in 2018 -- a 16 per cent growth which is the highest rate of any country in the world -- market research company eMarketer said on Thursday.

Since its last forecast, eMarketer increased its estimate for the smartphone audience in India by more than 31 million people.

This uptick is thanks to the growth in smartphone usage in urban areas, where affordable smartphones are becoming widely available, the research firm said in a statement.

"India still faces technological challenges that are holding back mass smartphone adoption. "Mobile Internet speeds are among the slowest in the world, around two-thirds of the population still lives in rural areas and feature phones are by no means obsolete," said Chris Bendtsen, Senior Forecasting Analyst, eMarketer.

Advertisers can still be optimistic about the future.

"Smartphones are getting cheaper, mobile data prices have fallen and urbanisation continues. Over the next four years, as speeds and rural reach improve, eMarketer expects the smartphone audience to reach close to half a billion users," Bendtsen noted.

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The International Olympic Committee will face "several hundred million dollars" of added costs because of the postponement of the Tokyo Games, the body's president said. Thomas Bach spoke in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt on Sunday. Estimates in Japan put the overall cost of the postponement at USD 2 billion-USD 6 billion. Except for the IOC portion, all added costs will be borne by the Japanese side according to an agreement signed in 2013 when Tokyo was awarded the Olympics. Bach said it was "impossible to say for now" the extent of the added costs for the IOC caused by the coronavirus pandemic. "We agreed with the prime minister that Japan will continue to cover the costs it would have done under the terms of the existing agreement for 2020, and the IOC will continue to be responsible for its share of the costs," Bach said.

"For us, the IOC, it is already clear that we shall be faced with several hundred million dollars of additional costs." Before the postponement, Japanese organizers put the official cost of the games at USD 12.6 billion. However, a government audit report in 2019 said the costs were at least twice that. All but USD 5.6 billion of it is in taxpayer money. Tokyo said the 2020 Games would cost about USD 7.3 billion when it won the bid seven years ago. On Friday, the CEO of the Tokyo organizing committee said the pandemic left some doubts about the games going ahead next year. "I don't think anyone would be able to say if it is going to be possible to get it under control by next July or not," Toshiro Muto said, speaking through an interpreter.

"We certainly are not in a position to give you a clear answer." Bach was asked about the possibility of another postponement. He did not answer directly, but said later in the interview that Japanese organizers and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe "made it very clear to me that Japan could not manage a postponement beyond next summer at the latest." Bach was also asked if the pandemic provided an opportunity for some athletes to violate the doping rules with no threat of testing. Bach countered that the delay could allow new testing methods to be developed. He also said tests made before the Olympics would be saved for 10 years for retesting.

"No one should feel confident that they don't get caught," he said. Bach was asked about Russia's status for the Olympics in 2021. Last year, Russia was hit with a four-year ban from international sports ¿ including the Olympics ¿ because of a doping scandal. However, many Russian athletes were expected to be allowed to compete if they could show they were clean. "The Russia question is currently under consideration by the CAS, the independent international Court of Arbitration for Sport, so it wouldn't be right for me to comment on it," Bach said. Bach said he had not decided if he will run for re-election next year. He also pointed out that the IOC had insurance that covered a cancellation, but not a postponement. The election will take place in 2021, and Bach is required to notify of his intentions six months before the vote. He was first elected in 2013 and is widely expected to seek another term. "There's still plenty of time," he said.

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The postponement to 2021 of the Olympic Games in Tokyo because of the coronavirus pandemic will cost the International Olympic Committee (IOC) "several hundred million dollars", its president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday. "We already know that we have to shoulder several hundred million US dollars of postponement costs," the German wrote in a letter to the Olympic movement, warning that, while the IOC would honour its financial obligations to Tokyo, it would probably have to make cuts. "We also need to look into and review all the services that we provide for these postponed Games," he said.

"The IOC will continue to be responsible for its share of the operational burden and its share of the costs for these postponed Games." The IOC, which has approximately $1 billion (926 million euros) in reserves, took the historic decision to postpone the Games, scheduled to open on July 24, until July 23 to August 8, 2021. If the coronavirus pandemic is not brought under control within a year, the Games cannot be postponed again and will be cancelled, the head of the organising committee (COJO) Yoshiro Mori warned on Tuesday.

A task force, which brings together the IOC and various partners, including COJO, "has established the priorities and management strategies to make these postponed Olympic Games feasible and successful", Bach said. These include creating "a safe environment with regard to health for all participants". "At this moment, nobody knows what the realities of the post-coronavirus world will look like," he said. "What is clear, however, is that probably none of us will be able to sustain every single initiative or event that we were planning before this crisis hit." He added that the IOC should also view the crisis as an opportunity.

"We can fairly assume that, in the post-coronavirus society, public health will play a much more important role. Sport and physical activity make a great contribution to health," he wrote. Bach also said the Olympic movement should consider its relationship with esports in light of social distancing.

"Whilst maintaining our principles by respecting the red line, with regard to the Olympic values, we encourage all our stakeholders even more urgently to 'consider how to govern electronic and virtual forms of their sport and explore opportunities with game publishers'," he said.

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As coronavirus pandemic deepens, over 117 million children in 37 countries are expected to miss out on receiving live-saving measles vaccine, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Measles immunisation campaigns in 24 countries have already been delayed and more will be postponed, the World Health Organization and the UN children's fund UNICEF said. "Together, more than 117 million children in 37 countries, many of whom live in regions with ongoing measles outbreaks, could be impacted by the suspension of scheduled immunisation activities," Measles and Rubella Initiative (M&RI) said in a statement.

New WHO guidelines endorsed by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation aim to help countries to sustain immunisation activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The @MeaslesRubella Initiative supports recommendations to: temporarily pause preventive immunisation campaigns where there's no active outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease continue routine immunisation services, while ensuring the safety of communities and health workers," the statement added.

Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. Before the introduction of measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, major epidemics occurred approximately every 2-3 years and measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year globally. More than 140,000 people died from measles in 2018 - mostly children under the age of 5, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.

The coronavirus has affected 210 countries and territories around the world. There have been 1,391,468 positive cases of COVID-19 globally and 591,751 people have died due to the deadly infection so far.

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Hollywood actor Johnny Depp has stepped into social media by joining Instagram to share a special message for fans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The "Pirates Of The Caribbean" star made his debut on the platform on April 16 by sharing a photograph of himself sitting on an old wooden bench in what seems like a cave, surrounded by candles and lights.

"Hello everyone... filming something for you now... gimme a minute," he captioned the image.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Johnny Depp (@johnnydepp) onApr 16, 2020 at 7:12am PDT

Depp gained 600,000 followers just three hours after creating the account, reports aceshowbiz.com.

A representative for the official account of his band The Hollywood Vampires and member Joe Perry both left comments featuring similar emojis on the comment section.

Moments later, the actor came back on the photo-sharing website and posted a piece he'd been filming.

A video message, which started like: "Hi everyone, hello to whomever might be out there in ether-land receiving this transmission. This is my first experience within the world of social media. I've never done anything like this before. I don't think I've ever really felt any particular reason to, until now."

"Yeah, now is the time to open up a dialogue as the threat of this invisible enemy has already caused immeasurable tragedies and enormous damage to people's lives. People are ill and without care, people are getting sick, fighting for breath and dying at frighteningly high rates."

Depp went on to reference those who have lost their jobs and others living on the streets "with no shelter or option of self-isolating at all".

"So I feel we need to try and help each other through these hard times, these trying times, for those we love, for our community, for ourselves, for the world and for the future."

He concluded his first Instagram message by thanking fans for "your kindness, your unwavering support and your strength over these years. I am touched beyond words."

The actor then shared his version of musician John Lennon's "Isolation" saying that "there's more to come" and noting that he hoped fans would "enjoy our version."

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It's impossible for someone's childhood to have existed without Tom and Jerry and Popeye. It's also difficult to imagine that someone might have grown up without reading the immensely enjoyable comic- Tom Terrific. The one thing that unites all three of them is Gene Deitch, the director of these historic cartoon characters! He passed away on April 16 at the age of 95.

It wouldn't be wrong to describe him as the man that accidentally created history. He was trained to become a pilot but destiny pushed him towards the field of creativity and cartoons. And as he began to get excited and enamoured by the world of animation, he gave birth to some characters that not only defined our childhoods but somehow became an integral and important part of them- Tom and Jerry and Popeye! 

He also went on to create another fantastic and funny comic book- Tom Terrific. But his work goes beyond and so does his contribution to the field of cartoons and animation. In 1960, he was awarded the Oscar for the animated short film, Munro, and the Winsor McCay Award for his contribution to the field of animation in 2004.

He's survived by three children from his first wife and all of them are in the same field as their father. They have rightly inherited his genes and genius, but to face the truth, it's hard to imagine any piece of work that can even come close to the history that Tom and Jerry and Popeye created. It's impossible for the childhood of today to be the same as the childhood of the people back then, and it's impossible to have another Gene Deitch. Rest In Peace!

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Popstar Beyonce Knowles has pledged $6 million to fund mental health support during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Beyonce's BeyGOOD has partnered with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's #startsmall to provide USD 6 million to fund the mental health and personal wellness services, reports variety.com.

The 38-year-old singer shared the update on her website. "Beyonce's BeyGOOD recognises the immense mental and personal health burdens being placed on essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic," read the organisation's official statement, adding: "In our major cities, African-Americans comprise a disproportionate number of workers in these indispensable occupations, and they will need mental health support and personal wellness care, including testing and medical services, food supplies and food deliveries, both during and after the crisis."

The mental health initiative includes a key national partnership with UCLA. BeyGOOD has also partnered with the National Alliance in Mental Illness, which provides local support in Houston, New York, New Orleans and Detroit. BeyGOOD is also supporting United Memorial Center, Bread of Life, Matthew 25 and other organisations to help provide basic necessities, including food, water, cleaning supplies, medicines and face masks.

Earlier this month, Beyonce highlighted the deadly impact of the coronavirus pandemic on African American communities during her stint inA "One World: Together at Home" virtual concert, saying the virus is killing black people at an alarmingly high rate in the US.

The 38-year-old singer highlighted the plight of African-American community, saying: "Black Americans belong to these parts of the workforce that don't have the luxury of working from home. And African-American communities at large have been severely affected. Those with pre-existing conditions are at higher risk."

"This virus is killing black people at an alarmingly high rate in America," added the Grammy Award-winning artist.

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A fund for tennis players hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic has been created, the sport's governing bodies announce, adding that they had contributed more than $6 million (5.3 million euros). In a joint statement, the ATP and WTA tours, the International Tennis Federation and the four Grand Slam tournaments -- the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open -- said the Player Relief Programme will support those "who are facing unprecedented challenges due to the global impact of COVID-19".

With the tennis season suspended until at least July 13, some "800 ATP/WTA singles and doubles players" are in need of financial support, the statement continued, with eligibility for the fund determined by a player's ranking and previous prize money earnings. The fund can also be donated to via initiatives including auctions, player donations and virtual tennis games, added the governing bodies, who last month announced talks about creating the programme.

The virus has caused havoc to the calendar, with Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II and the French Open postponed until the end of September. The United States Tennis Association will decide in mid-June whether or not the US Open will take place in New York. However despite the financial difficulties facing hundreds of players, the idea of a relief fund was dismissed by world number three Dominic Thiem, who said last month he would not give lower-ranked players his money.
"Quite honestly I have to say that no tennis player will be fighting to survive, even those who are much lower-ranked," Thiem said, speaking of a separate fund idea revealed by Novak Djokovic.

"None of them are going to starve ... I would rather give money to people or organisations that really need it."

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Cash-rich China on Thursday announced an additional USD 30 million grant to the World Health Organization to support its global fight against the deadly coronavirus, days after Beijing expressed "serious concern" over President Donald Trump's decision to freeze US' funding for the UN health agency over its handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang made the announcement at a media briefing here. The grant will be in addition to the USD 20 million provided by China, the world's second largest economy, earlier to the WHO.

"China has decided to donate another USD 30 million in cash to the WHO in addition to the USD 20 million cash donation to support the global fight against COVID-19 to help strengthen developing countries health systems," Geng said. He clarified that the additional USD 30 million funding was "aimed to COVID-19 response and supporting the health systems of developing countries".

"This is a different thing from the membership dues paid by China," he said. China hinted at stepping up its monetary contribution to the UN health agency on April 15. Beijing's response came a day after Trump announced to put a "very powerful" hold on US' funding to the WHO, accusing the UN agency of being "very China-centric" and criticising it for having "missed the call" in its response to the coronavirus pandemic. The US is the largest donor to the Geneva-based WHO.

Trump also criticised the organisation's relationship with China. "American taxpayers provide between USD 400m and USD 500 million per year to the WHO; in contrast China contributes roughly USD 40 million a year, even less. As the organisation's leading sponsor, the United States has a duty to insist on full accountability," he said. While announcing the new funding, Geng without referring to Trump's criticism, expressed China's full backing for the WHO and its Director General Dr General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whom Trump has termed as pro-China.

"Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the WHO and its Chief Dr Tedros have been actively fulfilling their duties in upholding scientific, objective and an impartial stance. It played an important role in helping the relevant countries strengthen their pandemic response and promote international cooperation," Geng said.
"As the global fight against COVID-19 is at a crucial stage supporting the WHO is defending the ideals and principles of multilateralism and upholding the status and authority of the UN," he said.

Terming the virus the "common enemy of all", Geng said solidarity was the only weapon to defeat it. "Our donation is made out of support and trust of Chinese government and people for the WHO," Geng said, adding that "this is also our way of contributing to global public health and global efforts against the pandemic" Earlier while responding to Trump's announcement to freeze US' funding for the WHO, another Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian had said: "China expresses serious concern over the US announcement to halt its funding to WHO".

He said China will always support the Geneva-based WHO in playing an important role in international public health and global anti-epidemic response. Asked if China will step-up funding to the WHO to replace the US contributions, Zhao had said, "China has provided USD 20 million to the WHO (to fight COVID-19) and we will study the relevant matter", indicating that Beijing was considering to increase its contribution to the global health body.

Both China and the WHO faced serious criticism over lack of transparency especially about the discovery of the coronavirus in December last year and its silent spread in Wuhan until Beijing imposed a lockdown in the city on January 23. By that time, over five million people from Wuhan were reported to have left for holiday destinations at home and abroad to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which many allege resulted in the spreading of the deadly virus worldwide.

China has denied the allegations of any cover-up, saying it was the first country to report the COVID-19 to the WHO.

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Many Americans in India who had signed up for airlifts back to the US are now deciding to stay back and "ride it out" during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the State Department's top consular official. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ian Brownlee said on Tuesday that many who had enlisted for repatriation from India were not responding to offers of seats on the planes arranged by the department to take them home.

The number of recorded COVID-19 cases in the US reached 1 million on Tuesday, with 58,348 deaths, while India had only 31,368 officially recorded cases with 1,008 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Brownlee said: "Two weeks ago, we had a list of folks and we were pretty sure if we called (the) folks they'd show up at the airport and say, 'Yes, please.' We're now getting to the point on that list, we're having to make multiple calls for individual seats because people are deciding 'No,' they'd just as soon ride it out where they are."

Last week he said that 4,000 Americans had been brought back to the US and 6,000 were waiting for airlifts. India has cancelled passenger flights and rail transportation during the strict lockdown imposed on March 25.

Brownlee had spoken earlier of the massive logistics effort required to bring Americans from around the vast country to Mumbai and New Delhi, the departure points for the chartered flights.

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Millions of people were allowed to return to work in Italy Monday as Europe's longest lockdown started to ease, while countries from Iceland to India took a patchwork of steps to loosen Coronavirus restrictions. Businesses including hairdressers in Greece and restaurants in Lebanon were opening their doors under new conditions.

With pressure growing in many countries for more measures to restart the economy, politicians also were trying to boost funding for research into a vaccine for COVID-19. There are hopes that one could be available in months, but warnings that it could take much longer.

Italy, the first European country to be hit by the pandemic and a nation with one of the world's highest death tolls, started stirring after its two-month shutdown. In all, 4.4 million Italians were able to return to work, and restrictions on movement eased. Traffic in downtown Rome picked up, construction sites and manufacturing operations resumed, and flower vendors returned to the Campo dei Fiori market for the first time since March 11.

As infection rates have fallen in large parts of Europe, tentative efforts to restart public life are gathering pace. But Europeans' new-found freedoms are limited as officials are wary of setting off a second wave of infections.

In Italy, mourners were able to attend funerals - but services were limited to 15 people and there was still no word on when Masses would resume. Restaurants scrubbed their floors in preparation for take-out service, but sit-down service is several weeks away.

Italians still have to carry certifications explaining why they are out. The list of acceptable reasons has now been expanded to include visits to family and lovers, but just who falls into that category is still unclear.

Russia braces for quick surge in cases

Russian officials on Monday reported a steady rise in the number of the COVID-19 infections, fueling concerns that the hospitals could be overwhelmed. The task force dealing with the outbreak reported 10,581 new cases on Monday, taking the total to 1,45,268, including 1,356 deaths. Officials have voiced fears that the holidays could cause a surge in contagion.

Spain sees lowest daily death toll

For a second day in a row, Spanish health officials are reporting 164 new deaths from COVID-19, the lowest daily death toll in six weeks, to a total of 25,428. The figures came as a respite for a country that has spent seven weeks under a strict lockdown and that on Monday entered the first stage of its four-phase lockdown rollback.

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India is projected to record the highest number of births in the 9 months since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March, with more than 20 million babies expected to be born in the country between March and December, according to top UN body. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that pregnant mothers and babies born during the pandemic across the world were threatened by strained health systems and disruptions in services. An estimated 116 million babies will be born under the shadow of COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF said on Wednesday, ahead of Mother's Day, observed on May 10.

These babies are projected to be born up to 40 weeks after COVID-19 was recognised as a pandemic on March 11. The highest numbers of births in the 9 months since the pandemic was declared are expected to occur in India, where 20.1 million babies are projected to be born between March 11 and December 16. Other countries with the expected highest numbers of births during this period are China (13.5 million), Nigeria (6.4 million), Pakistan (5 million) and Indonesia (4 million), it said. "Most of these countries had high neonatal mortality rates even before the pandemic and may see these levels increase with COVID-19 conditions," UNICEF said.

It is estimated that there will be 24.1 million births in India for the January-December 2020 period. UNICEF warned that COVID-19 containment measures can disrupt life-saving health services such as childbirth care, putting millions of pregnant mothers and their babies at great risk. Even wealthier countries are affected by this crisis. In the US, the sixth highest country in terms of expected number of births, over 3.3 million babies are projected to be born between March 11 and December 16.
"New mothers and newborns will be greeted by harsh realities," UNICEF said, adding they include global containment measures such as lockdowns and curfews; health centres overwhelmed with response efforts; supply and equipment shortages; and a lack of sufficient skilled birth attendants as health workers, including midwives, are redeployed to treat COVID-19 patients.

"Millions of mothers all over the world embarked on a journey of parenthood in the world as it was. They now must prepare to bring a life into the world as it has become ¿ a world where expecting mothers are afraid to go to health centres for fear of getting infected, or missing out on emergency care due to strained health services and lockdowns," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said. "It is hard to imagine how much the coronavirus pandemic has recast motherhood" Fore said.
UNICEF said its analysis was based on data from World Population Prospects 2019 of the UN Population Division.

An average full-term pregnancy typically lasts a complete 9 months, or 39 to 40 weeks. For the purposes of this estimate, the number of births for a 40-week period in 2020 was calculated. The 40-week period of March 11 to December 16 is used in this estimate based upon the WHO's March 11 assessment that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic. UNICEF warned that although evidence suggests that pregnant mothers are not more affected by COVID-19 than others, countries need to ensure they still have access to antenatal, delivery and postnatal services.

Similarly, sick newborns need emergency services as they are at high risk of death. New families require support to start breastfeeding, and to get medicines, vaccines and nutrition to keep their babies healthy, it said. "This is a particularly poignant Mother's Day, as many families have been forced apart during the coronavirus pandemic, but it is also a time for unity, a time to bring everyone together in solidarity. We can help save lives by making sure that every pregnant mother receives the support she needs to give birth safely in the months to come," Fore said.

Issuing an urgent appeal to governments and health care providers to save lives in the coming months, UNICEF said efforts must be made to help pregnant women receive antenatal checkups, skilled delivery care, postnatal care services, and care related to COVID-19 as needed. Ensure health workers are provided with the necessary personal protective equipment and get priority testing and vaccination once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available so that can deliver high quality care to all pregnant women and newborn babies during the pandemic, it said.

While it is not yet known whether the virus is transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy and delivery, UNICEF advised all pregnant women to follow precautions to protect themselves from exposure to the virus. Closely monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 and seek advice from the nearest designated facility if they have concerns or experience symptoms. Pregnant women should also take the same precautions to avoid COVID -19 infection as other people: practice physical distancing, avoid physical gatherings and use online health services, it said.

UNICEF said even before COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns died every year, or 1 every 11 seconds, mostly of preventable causes.
The agency called for immediate investment in health workers with the right training, who are equipped with the right medicines to ensure every mother and newborn is cared for by a safe pair of hands to prevent and treat complications during pregnancy, delivery and birth.

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