What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

Cases of the new coronavirus are overwhelming hospitals, morgues, and cemeteries across Brazil As Latin America’s largest nation approaches to become one of the world’s pandemic hot spots. Medical officials in Rio de Janeiro and at least four other major cities have warned that their hospital systems are on the verge of collapse, or that they are already too overwhelmed to receive more patients.

In the United States, three states allowed certain companies to reopen on Friday with restrictions, even when the number of confirmed deaths in the US USA COVID-19 exceeded 50,000 and health experts warned that it is too early to facilitate closing orders. In Georgia and Oklahoma, salons, spas, and hair salons reopened with the green light from their Republican governors. Alaska allowed restaurants to resume food service and retail stores and other businesses to reopen.

Also on Friday, President Donald Trump signed a $ 484 billion bill that helps employers and hospitals under the stress of the coronavirus pandemic. The deadly outbreak has devastated wide swaths of the economy.

These are some of the main AP stories on Friday about the global coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates during the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories that explain some of its complexities.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY:

– There have been discussions within the White House about changing the format of briefings to reduce the role of President Donald Trump. Briefings often extend beyond an hour and feature combative exchanges between the president and journalists. Aides have been urging Trump to cut his appearances at briefings, saying he should appear on camera only when there is important news.

– Hollywood studios are considering more release dates, including a sequel to “Doctor Strange” and the latest entries in the live-action animated franchises and “Spider-Man.” On Friday night, both Sony Pictures and The Walt Disney Co. announced updated theatrical release schedules that significantly delay some of their superhero movies. Marvel’s “Strange Doctor in the Multiverse of Madness”, the sequel to the 2016 film Benedict Cumberbatch, was delayed from November 2021 to March 2022.

– Taxpayers will pay for restaurants preparing meals for millions of California seniors during the coronavirus pandemic, an initiative that could inject billions of dollars into a devastated industry and generate sales tax collections for liquidity-strapped local governments. California has about 5.7 million people over the age of 65 and it is not precisely known how many will be eligible.

– The national bill to combat the new coronavirus is skyrocketing and so is the federal budget deficit. More than $ 2 billion later, it is unclear where that spending will end. One of the enduring legacies of the coronavirus pandemic will be the staggering debts and deficits in the US balance sheet. With deficits reaching levels that would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.

– A handful of Texas companies reopened on Friday defying the state orientation in the fight against coronavirus, which allows retailers to offer “take away” service but leaves other restrictions in place. In Dallas, salon owner Shelley Luther received a subpoena at noon, but refused to close her business. He had two stylists and a nail technician on call, a fraction of his normal staff.

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AP FACT CHECK:

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie is further promoting the promotion of an unproven drug for coronavirus than President Donald Trump. He claims without evidence that it has been effective for young and middle-aged veterans in particular.

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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 disappear within two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more serious illnesses, such as pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.

Here are the symptoms of the virus compared to the common flu.

One of the best ways to prevent the spread of the virus is to wash your hands with soap and water. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USA They recommend washing first with warm or cold water and then soaping soap for 20 seconds to place it on the back of the hands, between the fingers and under the nails before rinsing it off.

You should also wash your phone. That is how.

VIRUS MONITORING – Deepen and expand at the individual county level, and you can access numbers that will show you where you are and where your loved ones or people you care about live.

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A NUMBER:

– 20 YEARS: That’s the time the World Health Organization warns that the battle against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, where it already kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, could be delayed as countries focus energy and resources on containing the coronavirus.

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IN OTHER NEWS:

– ERIC CHURCH: Country star Eric Church doesn’t know when concerts could resume in the United States after the spread of the coronavirus, but he wants people to feel safe when they listen to live music again.

– INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGES: Inspiration is also contagious. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a large number of messages to each other, on windows, on front doors, on walls, and on colored doorways and sidewalks worldwide.