By Jessie Yeung, Joshua Berlinger, Adam Renton, Meg Wagner, Emma Reynolds and Mike Hayes, CNN
From CNN’s Dave Alsup and Joe Sutton
The United States has now reported at least 65,273 cases of the novel coronavirus and 938 deaths, according to CNN's tally.
The national total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases from overseas.
Today was the deadliest day of the pandemic in the US so far -- there were at least 233 new deaths reported Wednesday nationwide.
Stimulus bill passes Senate: The United States Senate voted 96 to 0 to pass a $2 trillion economic relief package meant to kick-start a moribund economy that's been dragged down by the novel coronavirus pandemic and the stringent measures put in place to stop the virus' spread.
The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, which plans to vote on it on Friday, leaders in that chamber said. If approved, the stimulus would be one of the most expensive pieces of legislation ever enacted by the US government.
The Senate shot down an amendment from Republican Sen. Ben Sasse that would have capped unemployment benefits at 100% of the wages workers received while employed. It was expected to fail. Proponents said the bill in its current form incentivized people not to work, while opponents of the amendment like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said it was wrong to fixate on minor perks for working-class Americans while providing millions of dollars worth of bailouts to big corporations.
Deadliest day in US: While senators worked to get the stimulus past a major hurdle, medical workers faced one of the toughest days we've seen during the pandemic. More than 230 people in the US died of coronavirus on Wednesday, according to CNN's tally, the most fatalities the country has seen in a single day so far during the pandemic.
To date, at least 65,273 coronavirus patients have been identified in the US. At least 938 have died.
Spain's death toll passes China's: The situation in Spain is even more grave -- the total number of infections there is inching closer to 50,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. At over 3,600 fatalities, the number of coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country has surpassed those in China. Only Italy has reported more deaths.
The Spanish government has voted to extend the country's state of emergency in order to slow the pandemic within its borders.
Spikes in Japan and New Zealand: Authorities in both countries saw their highest daily jumps in cases Wednesday, with Japan identifying 98 patients and New Zealand 73.
New Zealand's alert level has been raised to Level 4 -- its highest -- which significantly restricts residents' movement. Tokyo faces a major test this weekend, as its governor has asked people in the megalopolis to stay home to avoid contracting or spreading the virus.
From CNN’s Sophia Saifi in Islamabad
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has consistently rejected calls for a nationwide lockdown, claiming that an all-out closure of businesses would affect the “25% of the population that lives below the poverty line,” the country's daily wage earners who Khan said would lose their incomes in a heartbeat.
But for all intents and purposes, a lockdown is what seems to be in place in Pakistan:
Military steps in: While Khan’s government deals with growing criticism for not shutting down the country soon enough, the hugely popular military has been lauded for stepping in and announcing measures including the suspension of public transport and timed closure of gas stations. Troops have been deployed in all major cities to enforce these measures.
Rising caseload: According to figures released by the country's Ministry of Health, the number of patients diagnosed with coronavirus in Pakistan crossed 1,000 yesterday. Ten days ago that number was at 53. At least seven people are also confirmed dead. All major phone networks have changed their call tunes to messages asking people to wash their hands and state TV has messages in regional languages explaining the importance of social distancing.
Mosques stay open: One of the largest clusters of the virus sprung up in the outskirts of the capital Islamabad, where a large congregation of preachers met, disregarding the government’s requests for three or more people not to gather in a public space.
Medical equipment lacking: Public health specialist Dr. Arshad Altaf told CNN that there are roughly fewer than 3,000 ventilators available in the country, and while China has provided aid worth $4 million to Pakistan, alongside medical face masks and ventilators, this is still not enough to deal with the exponential growth of the virus. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, which is connected to the military, has taken over the reins in dealing with the crisis and Altaf welcomed the move. “There has to be a multi-pronged effort, the government cannot deal with this alone,” he said.
The Senate has just approved a historic, $2 trillion stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic, with a final vote of 96 to zero in favor of the bill.
Why this matters: The legislation represents the largest emergency aid package in US history and the most significant legislative action taken to address the rapidly intensifying coronavirus crisis, which is overwhelming hospitals and grinding much of the economy to a halt.
What comes next: The package will next go to the House for a vote. The House will convene Friday morning to consider the bill, and the plan is to pass the bill by voice vote. President Donald Trump has indicated he will sign the measure.
What's in the bill: Key elements of the proposal are $250 billion set aside for direct payments to individuals and families, $350 billion in small business loans, $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits and $500 billion in loans for distressed companies.
The bill would also provide a major amount of funding for hard-hit hospitals -- $130 billion -- and $150 billion for state and local governments that are cash-strapped due to their response to coronavirus.
It also has a provision that would block Trump and his family, as well as other top government officials and members of Congress, from getting loans or investments from Treasury programs in the stimulus, according to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office.
From CNN's Phil Mattingly and Manu Raju
The US House of Representatives will consider the $2 trillion economic relief package on Friday morning, announced Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
The bill is currently being voted on by the Senate.
When it goes to the House, the plan is to pass the bill by voice vote, said Hoyer in a notice to House members.
What's the bill about? The bill will respond to the coronavirus pandemic, offering cash and assistance for regular Americans, Main Street businesses and hard-hit airlines and manufacturers, among others.
From CNN's Mia Alberti in Lisbon and Tatiana Arias in Atlanta
The Spanish government voted to extend the current state of emergency until April 12 as the country continues to grapple with one of the world's most severe novel coronavirus outbreaks.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the decision was "a new sacrifice for all," but essential to "gain time" to allow hospitals to take care of patients and investigators to develop a vaccine.
"Social isolation is the only way to stop this virus," he said.
Sánchez said stricter measures regarding freedom of movement would be put in place, but people would still be allowed to go out and buy groceries and medicine. He said all essential industries would continue to work.
As of 10:30 p.m. ET, Spain had identified more than 49,500 coronavirus patients, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The country's death toll surpassed that of mainland China on Wednesday, trailing only Italy. At least 3,647 have died.
From CNN's Clare Foran, Ted Barrett, Manu Raju and Kristin Wilson
The US Senate is now voting on the massive $2 trillion stimulus package to deliver relief to an economy hard hit by coronavirus.
It needs to clear a 60-vote threshold to pass and will next head to the House.
Amendment fails: Right before this vote, the Senate had voted down an amendment from Republican Senator Ben Sasse that would have capped unemployment benefits at 100% of the wages workers received while employed.
Sanders rips into GOP senators: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders lambasted Republican senators who had supported Sasse's amendment over concerns that the bill's provisions would incentivize unemployment.
"What happened is Sen. (Lindsey) Graham and some other Republicans, they are just terribly upset that low-income workers might receive a bit more money than they otherwise would have earned," Sanders told CNN, before the chamber voted on the bill.
"Here we are in the midst of the worst economic downturn perhaps since the Great Depression, tens of millions of people are worried to death about how they're going to feed their families, pay their rent, prevent a foreclosure," Sanders added. "And these guys are just staying up nights worrying about low-income workers getting a few bucks more."
From CNN's Michael Nedelman
"We ended up getting our first positive patients -- and that's when all hell broke loose," said one New York City doctor.
The doctor, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity out of concern for his job, described a hospital that was woefully unprepared for an influx of Covid-19 patients that started roughly two weeks ago -- which has already stretched the hospital's resources thin and led to severely ill patients outnumbering ventilators.
"We don't have the machines, we don't have the beds," the doctor said.
"To think that we're in New York City and this is happening," he added. "It's like a third-world country type of scenario. It's mind-blowing."
At first, patients skewed toward the 70-plus age group, but in the past week or so there have been a number of patients younger than 50.
"I don't think they understand the severity of this disease," the doctor said of the younger patients.
"Two weeks ago, life was completely different."
Read more about the influx of patients here
New Zealand confirmed 73 new coronavirus patients and identified five more probable cases from 9:30 a.m. local time yesterday until the same time today, the country's Ministry of Health said in a statement.
That's the biggest single-day jump in cases in the country since the pandemic began.
"Of our new cases today, the majority still have a link to overseas travel, including being in the same household as someone who has returned from overseas, have attended a known event or linked to a cluster of other cases or are close contacts of a confirmed case," the ministry said.
As of this morning in New Zealand, the country has confirmed a total of 262 coronavirus cases and identified 21 probable patients. Twenty-seven have recovered.
"These are unprecedented times for New Zealand and other countries around the globe. We are all in this together. We will expect the number of cases to increase for at least the next ten days. If we all do our bit, and we break the chain of transmission, slow the spread of COVID-19 and we will be able to get on top of this," the ministry said.
Authorities said they have identified several possible outbreak clusters:
Strict measures in force: The rise in new cases comes a day after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern decided to raise New Zealand's alert to the highest Level 4, placing "the most significant" restrictions on its people "in our modern history," she said.
In her statement announcing the measures, which went into effect just before midnight, Arden acknowledged no other country has moved as fast to restrict daily life, but the trigger was early evidence of community transmission in New Zealand.
"Unlike so many other gravely inundated countries, we have a window of opportunity to stay home, break the chain of transmission, and save lives. It’s that simple," she said.