Coronavirus world live updates: Donald Trump's briefing goes off the rails

Jacinda Ardern has dismissed an alternative option to New Zealand's strict lockdown, saying it would cause thousands of deaths.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has dismissed an alternative strategy to her country's strict lockdown, saying it would kill thousands of people.

Speaking at a media conference this afternoon, Ms Ardern reinforced the need for all New Zealanders to obey the rules of the lockdown, saying it was their only choice to combat the coronavirus.

The one alternative, Ms Ardern said, would be to pursue herd immunity - an idea she bluntly rejected.

"We never considered the idea of herd immunity," said Ms Ardern.

"Usually that's achieved through vaccination. Without a vaccination, it means people having been exposed. People being exposed to that degree means thousands of people dying. That's not an option in New Zealand."

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There are now 720,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus around the world, with 33,903 deaths.

The United States has far more reported cases than any other country. Its total rose by 17,382 to 140,960 today. But other nations have worse death rates. Spain, for instance, has reported 821 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Our rolling coverage has now wrapped, here's how the day played out: