March 5, 2020 (Thursday)
Arts and culture
- Egypt reopens the Pyramid of Djoser after a 14-year restoration. The pyramid is deemed the oldest stone structure of its size in the world. (ABC News)
Business and economy
- Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- British airline Flybe collapses into administration with the loss of 2,000 jobs after failing to secure financial support. The airline says the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is partly to blame for its collapse. Flybe provided more than half of UK domestic flights outside London. (BBC News)
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops again almost 1,000 points over coronavirus fears. (Fox Business)
Disasters and accidents
- United States tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2020
- The National Weather Service confirms 13 tornadoes occurred. (USA Today)
- The tornado in Putnam County, Tennessee, is upgraded to an EF4, becoming the strongest tornado of the outbreak. (NBC News)
- The EF3 tornado that went through Davidson, Wilson, and Smith counties was confirmed on the ground for 53.4 miles (85.9 km), becoming the second longest path a tornado has taken in Tennessee. (Washington Post)
- Every person is accounted for at the end of the day, after three people were missing previously. Official death toll from the outbreak is 25. (USA Today)
- At least nine people, of whom four are children, are killed and 60 are injured when a fire at a bakery spreads to a crowded market in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Officials in Republika Srpska reports the first case of COVID-19 in the country. (N1 BA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
- The Italian government postpones the constitutional referendum, originally scheduled for 29 March. (Reuters) (ANSA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- The first death from COVID-19 is confirmed in England, after a woman in her 70s with underlying health conditions dies at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Berkshire, as the number of confirmed cases of the virus rises to over 100. (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
- Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly member and former Ambassador to Syria, Hossein Sheikholeslam, dies after becoming infected with COVID-19. Iran suspends its parliament indefinitely. (Business Insider)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
Law and crime
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- The International Criminal Court overturns on appeal a previous decision to block an investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by U.S. troops, the Taliban and the Afghan government. (BBC News)
- Russian military intervention in Ukraine (2014–present)
- A court in Russian-controlled Crimea sentences a Jehovah's Witness to six-years imprisonment for activities of a banned extremist organization, part of a crackdown that activists say violates religious freedom. (Reuters)
- The Republican-controlled Arizona House of Representatives passes a bill banning transgender females from women's sports. (Fox News)
Politics and elections
- 2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections, 2020 Dominican Republic protests
- The pots-and-pans protest continue in front of Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra where the meeting of the Economic and Social Council with the political parties was to take place. (Dominican Today)
- 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- After failing to win any states on Super Tuesday, Massachusetts U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren suspends her presidential campaign, leaving Hawaii U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard as the only woman left in the race. (The New York Times) (Reuters)