Surgeon general warns U.S. of ‘saddest week’ and ‘9/11 moment’
WASHINGTON — The U.S. surgeon general offered some of the starkest warnings yet Sunday as he braced Americans for the worsening fallout from the new coronavirus, warning “this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly.” The public was advised separately by...
Joe Biden raises idea of Democrats holding an online convention
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden said Sunday that the Democratic National Convention, already delayed until August because of the coronavirus, may need to take place online as the pandemic continues to reshape the race for the White House. The party “may have to do a virtual convention,” the former vice president...
U.S. ‘wasted’ months before preparing for virus pandemic
WASHINGTON — After the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment. A review...
No covid-19 testing at home yet but quicker options coming
WASHINGTON — Home testing for the new coronavirus may sound like a good idea, but U.S. regulators say it’s still too risky. They’ve stopped companies that quickly launched home-testing kits until they can show their products can accurately detect the virus. For now, the only way Americans can get tested...
Coronavirus pandemic disrupts Appalachian Trail dreams
COSBY, Tenn. — When Alexandra Eagle first mentioned plans to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alongside her new husband, her sister told her they’d either be divorced in five months or married forever. Eagle, 33, and Jonathan Hall, 36, had just moved out of their Brooklyn apartment when they married...
Jews prep for a pandemic Passover: Smaller but no less vital
Passover and its epic story — how the Jewish people escaped to freedom after plagues struck their oppressors — are uniquely resonant this year, as Jews find ways to honor the holiday amid the outbreak of what feels like a real-life plague. The coronavirus has forced Jewish families to limit...
Palm Sunday services held without public; some on rooftops
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in the shelter of St. Peter’s Basilica without the public because of the coronavirus pandemic, while parish priests elsewhere in Rome took to church rooftops and bell towers to lead services so at least some faithful could follow the familiar ritual....
Police arrest hospital aide in connection to thefts of equipment, supplies
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — A housekeeping employee at a Prescott hospital has been fired after being arrested on suspicion of stealing personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies in recent weeks as the coronavirus outbreak unfolded, police said Saturday. Keith Brown, 49, of Prescott was arrested Friday at Yavapai Regional Medical Center...
Wisconsin GOP vows Supreme Court appeal on extended voting
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans say they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block extended absentee voting in Tuesday’s primary, despite public health fears about in-person voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Wisconsin stands apart from other states in trying to hold to its April election date even though Gov....
Puerto Rico discovers protective supply cache amid covid-19
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The suspected mismanagement of essential supplies during Hurricane Maria turned out to be a boon for Puerto Rico as it fights a rise in coronavirus cases. Health Secretary Lorenzo González said Saturday that officials discovered a cache of urgently needed personal protective equipment at a...
Trudeau says Canada won’t retaliate for US export ban on masks
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that Canada won’t bring retaliatory or punitive measures against the United States after the Trump administration announced it would prevent the export of N95 protective masks. President Trump said he would block shipments of the masks from the United States to ensure...
Trump says ‘toughest’ weeks ahead as coronavirus spreads
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States was heading into what could be its “toughest” weeks as coronavirus cases swell nationwide. He warned states not to inflate their needs for critical medical equipment. “There will be a lot of death, unfortunately. There will be death,” Trump...
Mormons start crowd-less conference due to pandemic
SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sat 6 feet apart inside an empty room as the faith carried out its signature conference by adhering to social distancing guidelines that offered a stark reminder of how the global coronavirus pandemic is impacting religious...
Trump says second coronavirus panel with economic focus ‘good idea’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the notion of creating a second White House coronavirus task force to examine how best to reopen the country’s economy was a “good idea.” Trump tweeted an endorsement Saturday of a plan offered by Dana Perino, former press secretary to President George W. Bush....
Coral Princess cruise ship, with 2 dead people aboard, docks at Port Miami
MIAMI — Two people have died aboard the Coral Princess cruise ship, which docked in Port Miami on Saturday morning. The captain announced the updates to passengers Saturday morning, said Shannon Kilbane, a passenger from California. Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Miami-based Carnival Corp., confirmed in a statement the ship...
Coronavirus scofflaws arrested, criminally charged as California cracks down
LOS ANGELES — As California officials try desperately to keep people inside to slow the spread of the coronavirus, authorities are beginning to crack down on scofflaws. The crackdown has escalated in recent days, with nonessential businesses that refuse to shut down as well as people who defy orders to...
Where will the bodies go? Morgues plan as virus grows
PHILADELPHIA — There are the new dead. And then there are the bodies waiting in overcrowded mortuaries to be buried as cities struggle to meet demand and families wrestle with rules on social distancing that make the usual funeral rituals impossible. Med Alliance Group, a medical distributor in Illinois, is...
A gentler Gotham? NYers anxiously wait out coronavirus
NEW YORK — To a casting director, he might have seemed the perfect impatient New Yorker — broad, bald and with a booming voice, tattoos on his neck and hands visible under his construction jacket. Justin Hunter stood in line outside the Park Slope Food Coop, one of several dozen...
Hunt for medical supplies creates marketplace of desperation
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Shady middlemen, phantom shipments, prices soaring by the hour, goods flown in on a private plane. What sounds like an organized-crime thriller is now the new reality for governors desperately trying to find the medical equipment their states need in the throes of a pandemic. With the...
New coronavirus limits bring new religious freedom tension
NEW YORK — Despite state and local limits on public gatherings, some houses of worship have persisted in holding in-person services — a matter of religious freedom, they say, as the nation approached its fourth Sunday battling the coronavirus pandemic. The most high-profile clash over in-person worship — and crowd...
Gov. Cuomo: China sending 1,000 ventilators to New York
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that China is facilitating the shipment of 1,000 ventilators to his state, as he continues to shop for more of the lifesaving devices ahead of a growing number of coronavirus patients who will need them. The number of people infected...
Couple in India names newborn twins Corona and Covid
A couple in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh have named their newborn twins Corona and Covid. The twins — a boy and a girl — were born March 27 during the ongoing 21-day long nationwide lockdown that began on March 24. “The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore,...
Competition for supplies sharpening as pandemic worsens
NEW YORK — Scarce supplies of medical equipment are leading to growing competition within the U.S. and among nations, in what one French politician called a “worldwide treasure hunt.” The governor of New York state, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, vowed to seize unused ventilators from private hospitals and...
AP Week in Pictures, Global
March 28 - April 3, 2020 This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by The Associated Press from around the world. The gallery was curated by AP photo editor Patrick Sison in New York. Follow AP visual journalism: Instagram: AP Images on Twitter:...
‘Recovery’ search for Kennedy Townsend’s daughter, grandson
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Authorities were conducting a “recovery” search for the daughter and a grandson of former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, after a canoe they were paddling in the Chesapeake Bay didn’t return to shore, the family said Friday. The missing relatives were identified as Maeve Kennedy Townsend...
