These Are The Basics of What You Need Today About COVID-19 No Matter Where You Live

 Children in Spain out for the first time since the virus lockdown.
(The Guardian)

  The Associated Press               

 

Shrieks of joy ring out on the streets of Spain as children are allowed to leave their homes briefly for the first time in six weeks. The country has the second-highest number of confirmed infections behind the United States.

As Italy prepares to emerge from the West’s first and most extensive coronavirus lockdown, it is increasingly clear that something went terribly wrong in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region in Europe’s hardest-hit country. 

With open-air markets closed around Paris and supermarket prices skyrocketing, the coronavirus lockdown is raising tensions in France’s poorest communities.

Church services are resuming in certain states, including Montana, where a general stay-at-home order is expiring.

With limited supplies of coronavirus tests available, the Pentagon is focusing first on testing those performing duties deemed most vital to national security.

Here are some of AP’s top stories Sunday 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:

— During the pandemic, Detroit — the nation’s largest majority black U.S. city — is grieving collectively.

— A few states may have found a way to help slow the spread of the coronavirus in nursing homes by converting some of them into “recovery centers” set aside mostly for residents who have left the hospital but still might be contagious or lack immunity.

— British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is returning to work after recovering from a coronavirus infection that put him in intensive care, with his government facing growing criticism over the deaths and disruption the virus has caused.

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AP FACT CHECK:

Sunlight may be a disinfectant for the spirit, but there’s no proof it will make the pandemic go away. Without declaring that it would, President Donald Trump is again giving traction to a theory that could prompt people to let down their guard around others outside.

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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. 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 the spread of the virus is to wash one's 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.

Phones should also be washed. 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.