Coronavirus news you may have missed overnight: Trump signs US immigration order as vaccine unlikely to be available this year

More than 183,000 deaths and 2.6 million infections reported to date

The coronavirus pandemic continues to impact and shape every aspect of life across the world, having killed 183,454 people globally and infected 2.6 million.

Here is your morning briefing of everything you may have missed overnight:

Trump signs immigration order

President Donald Trump has signed an order to temporarily block some foreigners from permanent residence in the US, saying he was doing so in order to protect American workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The order is to last for 60 days and then will be reviewed and possibly extended. “In order to protect our great American workers I have just signed an executive order temporarily suspending immigration into the United States. This will ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds will be first in line for jobs as our economy reopens,” Mr Trump said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The order includes a long list of exemptions, including for anyone who is currently in the country, those seeking entry to work as physicians and nurses, wealthy foreign investors, and the spouses and minor children of American citizens. The 60-day pause also leaves untouched the hundreds of thousands of temporary work and student visas the US issues each year.

China cases four times greater than official figure, study suggests

The number of people to have been infected in the first wave of Covid-19 in mainland China might have been four times greater than the official figures, according to a new study.

Research by academics at Hong Kong University’s school of public health estimates the country will have had 232,000 cases as of 20 February – at a time when national authorities were reporting 55,000.

The disparity in figures is a result of the changing definitions used for Covid-19. China’s national health commission issued seven different versions between 15 January and 3 March, with the study concluding that these changes had a “substantial effect” on how many infections which were reported as confirmed cases.

Vaccine unlikely to be available this year, says chief medical officer

A vaccine is unlikely to be available before the year is out – despite tens of millions of pounds being poured into UK trials that start imminently.

After the government confirmed it was investing £41m in vaccine research taking place at Oxford University and Imperial College London, professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, insisted the country needs to be “realistic” in its hopes of a quick-fix.

He told reporters at the daily Downing Street press briefing that some social distancing measures would need to stay in place until there was a vaccine or drug which reduced the severity of Covid-19.

“Until we have those, and the probability of having those any time in the next calendar year are incredibly small and I think we should be realistic about that, we’re going to have to rely on other social measures, which of course are very socially disruptive as everyone is finding at the moment,” he said.

Italian cruise ship in Japan has 48 coronavirus cases

Nearly 50 crew members on an Italian cruise ship docked for repairs in Japan’s Nagasaki have tested positive for Covid-19, raising concern about the strain on the city’s hospitals if conditions worsen for those infected.

Results on Thursday showed 14 more aboard, all either cooks or those serving food, were infected with the virus, bringing the ship’s total to 48. One patient who had been taken to hospital previously was now in serious condition and on a ventilator.

The Costa Atlantica infections come after the cases on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama two months ago, where more than 700 passengers and crew were found to be infected, although this time only crew members were on board.

Two pet cats test positive in New York state

Two cats in New York have tested positive for coronavirus – but there remains no evidence pets can spread the virus to humans, according to health authorities.

The cats, from separate areas of New York state, had mild respiratory illness and are expected to make a full recovery. It is believed that they contracted the virus from people in their households or neighbourhoods, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Animals, pets, can get infected. ... There’s no evidence that the virus is transmitted from the pet to a human,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the daily coronavirus briefing.

There are few known Covid-19 infections of pets globally. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, one cat in Hong Kong tested positive without displaying symptoms, while a cat in Belgium recovered nine days after falling ill.

Other headlines and stories:

• Inside Politics – Coronavirus special
• ‘Every single aspect of our care has to be rethought’: What it’s really like to be an ICU doctor fighting the coronavirus pandemic 
• Homeschooling during lockdown: The best online resources for maths, science and computing
• Five out of six UK firms unable to cope if lockdown lasts six months, according to new survey