What you need to know today about the virus outbreak
France and Spain, two of the worst-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic, are laying out separate roadmaps for lifting their lockdowns, while signs are emerging that the virus has been all but vanquished in New Zealand and Australia.
But on the other side of the globe, Brazil is emerging as a new hot spot for infections. And new doubts are being raised over whether Japan will be able to host the already postponed Summer Olympics next year without the development of a vaccine. The key question of when to reopen schools looms around the world as nations seek to restart their battered economies.
Here are some of AP’s top stories Monday on the world’s coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories explaining some of its complexities.
WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
— The New Development Bank will allocate up to $15 billion for loans to help the so-called BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — boost their economies amid the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s foreign minister said.
— Prisoners in Peru staged a riot to protest their precarious living conditions following the deaths of several fellow inmates from the new coronavirus, but the revolt in itself proved fatal, with nine prisoners winding up dead, authorities said.
— Parts of the U.S. are starting to lift closures, and some of the quickest to reopen have been rural states like Montana, Vermont and Alaska. The effects of the pandemic in smaller, more remote towns can seem a world away from cities grappling with overwhelmed hospitals, packed morgues and economies pushed to the brink.
— Facing fierce blowback, House Democratic leadership announced that the House will not resume session next week as planned because of risks associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer declared the sudden about-face a day after a lawmakers revolted.
— Workers who had been exposed to the new coronavirus at Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital were herded into a small building to be tested. Inside, few wore masks. They were given test kits by people without gloves and told to swirl a swab inside their noses. The method was designed only for people showing symptoms, but the staffers said none of them did. Many told The Associated Press that the flawed testing process likely produced inaccurate results and exposed them to the virus again.
— For millions of people around the world dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, sleep brings no relief. The horrors of COVID-19, and the surreal and frightening ways it has upended daily life, are infecting dreams and exposing feelings of fear, loss, isolation and grief that transcend culture, language and national boundaries.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
Here are the symptoms of the virus compared with the common flu.
One of the best ways to prevent spread of the virus is washing your hands with soap and water. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends first washing with warm or cold water and then lathering soap for 20 seconds to get it on the backs of hands, between fingers and under fingernails before rinsing off.
You should wash your phone, too. Here’s how.
TRACKING THE VIRUS: Drill down and zoom in at the individual county level, and you can access numbers that will show you the situation where you are, and where loved ones or people you’re worried about live.
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ONE NUMBER:
— 28: The number of prisoners incarcerated in federal prisons in the U.S. who have died from COVID-19, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
IN OTHER NEWS:
— PIZZA’S BACK — Wood is burning again in pizza ovens in Naples, Italy, giving a symbolic and savory boost to Neapolitans after two months of lockdown meant an end to their most iconic and favorite food.
— LAKERS-CORONAVIRUS LOAN — The Los Angeles Lakers have repaid a loan of roughly $4.6 million from coronavirus business relief funds after learning the program had been depleted.
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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
