Portal:Current events/2020 March 28

March 28, 2020 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War, Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- In a televised address, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi offers to release five Saudi prisoners of war in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinian activists convicted by Saudi Arabia earlier this month. (Al Jazeera)
- Several ballistic missiles fired from Yemen are intercepted over the Saudi capital Riyadh, and the southern city of Jizan. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
- 2020 Hubei lockdowns
  - Wuhan, where the coronavirus pandemic first started, starts lifting its two-month lockdown by restarting some metro services and reopening borders to returning residents, though outbound traffic is still restricted until April 8. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana
    - Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo announces a two-week partial lockdown on 27th March 2020 for Greater Accra and Kumasi, beginning on 30th March 2020. He also announced the establishment of a special fund to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Brunei
    - Brunei reports its first death from COVID-19, a 64-year-old man, as confirmed cases rise to 115 in the country. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan
    - A 39-year-old doctor dies after he secretly underwent self-treatment for COVID-19. He was hospitalized on March 26 in grave condition. The doctor had been in contact with Uzbekistan's "patient zero". (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
    - China reports 45 cases of COVID-19, with all but 1 involving oversea travelling. (Straits Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
    - The United Arab Emirates reports 63 new cases of COVID-19. The country extends a curfew and disinfections to April 5. (Gulf News)
    - Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed announces that a mobile drive through testing site has opened. (Al Arabiya)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India plans to turn some railway coaches, which have been idled under the country's stay-at-home order, into isolation wards for patients with coronavirus. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The Department of Health and Social Care reports 260 more deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll in the country to date, bringing the United Kingdom's death toll to 1,019 with 17,089 confirmed cases. The patients included in the new figures were aged between 33 and 100 years old, with the majority being in England. (BBC News)
    - The National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham and Manchester Central Convention Complex are to be converted into NHS Nightingale Hospitals. (ITV News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - Spain's Ministry of Health reports 832 more deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll in the country to date, bringing the country's death toll to 5,690, as confimed cases rise to 72,248. (Reuters)
    - Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announces the cessation of all non-essential activity, leading the country to total lockdown during two weeks. (Politico)
    - Authorities in Madrid decide to stop using a Chinese rapid COVID-19 test kit, developed by Shenzhen Bioeasy Biotechnology, after research suggested it was not accurate enough with a rate of less than 30%. (NewsAu)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia announces that all borders will be closed effective March 30 to counter the spread of COVID-19. The new measure will not apply to Russian diplomats or drivers of freight trucks, among others. (Reuters)
    - In Kabardino-Balkaria, registry offices ask newlyweds to confine the number of guests at the wedding ceremony to 10 people or to postpone the wedding since four cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in the republic. (Vestnik Kavkaza)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - France reports 319 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the country's death toll to 2,314 with 37,575 confirmed cases. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in New York
      - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo confirms that 728 people died from coronavirus in New York. (CBS News)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
      - President Donald Trump approves Michigan's request for emergency declaration. (Politico)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces that the country will deny flights to people who show symptoms of COVID-19. (Reuters)
    - Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Justin Trudeau, says that she has recovered from coronavirus after testing positive on March 13. (ABC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Uruguay
    - Former Minister of National Defence Rodolfo González Rissotto becomes the first confirmed death from COVID-19 in Uruguay. (The New York Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia
    - The Minister of Health reports the first death from COVID-19 in the country. (U.S. News & World Report)

International relations

China–Pakistan relations, COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
- China sends medical aid and experts to Pakistan to help it contain the coronavirus pandemic. (AP News)

Politics and elections

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics
- 2020 New York Democratic primary
  - New York postpones its primary from April 28 until June 23 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (CBS News)