What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

In this March 31, 2020 photo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at the USTA Indoor Training Center where a 350-bed temporary hospital will be built in New York. Public schools in New York City's 1.1 million-student district will be shuttered for the rest of the academic year, but online education will continue as the city struggles to contain the coronavirus outbreak, de Blasio announced Saturday, April 11, 2020. (Frank Franklin II/AP, File)

In this March 31, 2020 photo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at the USTA Indoor Training Center where a 350-bed temporary hospital will be built in New York. Public schools in New York City's 1.1 million-student district will be shuttered for the rest of the academic year, but online education will continue as the city struggles to contain the coronavirus outbreak, de Blasio announced Saturday, April 11, 2020. (Frank Franklin II/AP, File)

President Donald Trump and his officials have made critical promises meant to reassure a country in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. But Americans are still going without the medical supplies and financial help from the government at the very time they need it most — and were told they would have it.

Europe is trying to persuade its residents to stay home ahead of the Easter holiday and the anticipated sunny weather while grappling with how and when to start loosening the weeks-long shutdowns of much of public life.

Doctors around the world are frantically trying to figure out how COVID-19 is killing their patients so they can attempt new ways to fight back.

Here are some of AP’s top stories 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.

THE FIGHT FOR NEW YORK: Listen to AP’s coronavirus podcast, “Ground Game: Inside the Outbreak,” for an interview with three AP reporters who worked on “24 Hours: The Fight for New York,” a multiformat package following 10 New Yorkers as they negotiate life in a city transformed by the virus.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:

— Congo, which has been battling an Ebola outbreak that has killed thousands of people, now must also face the coronavirus pandemic.

— Leaders in Iran decide to r eopen government offices after a brief nationwide lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 4,300 people in the country.

— New York City schools — which make up the largest school district in the country — will remain closed for the rest of the school year.

— A recent increase in virus cases in China has been largely attributed to people arriving from overseas. African nations and the U.S. say that's resulting in mistreatment of African Americans and Africans in the city of Guangzhou.

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.

ONE NUMBER:

42%: The drop in drug arrests in Chicago in the weeks since the city shut down, compared with the same period last year. Part of that decrease is attributed to the economic slump resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

IN OTHER NEWS:

— Apple and Google announce a joint effort to help public health agencies worldwide leverage smartphones to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

— The Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans welcomes a new resident, a baby giraffe named Hope.

Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.


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