What you need to know today about the virus outbreak
The Chinese city at the heart of the global pandemic, Wuhan, reopened Wednesday after 76 days in lockdown. Elsewhere, the economic, political and psychological toll of fighting the new coronavirus grew increasingly clear and more difficult to bear.
New York endured one of its darkest days so far, with the virus death toll surging past the number killed on 9/11. It recorded 731 new coronavirus deaths, its biggest one-day jump yet, for a statewide toll of nearly 5,500.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, spent a second night in intensive care.
Here are some of AP’s top stories Wednesday 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 pressures on intensive care units in Italy and Spain may have eased in recent days as new cases decline. But the psychological toll the pandemic has taken on the doctors and nurses who work there is only now beginning to emerge. Already, two nurses in Italy have killed themselves.
— President Donald Trump has lashed out at the World Health Organization while defending his own widely criticized early steps during the crisis. Trump threatened to freeze U.S. funding to the WHO, saying the international group “missed the call” on the pandemic.
— The head of the European Union’s top science organization has resigned in frustration at the height of the coronavirus crisis. The sudden resignation of Mauro Ferrari and his stinging criticism was bound to add pressure on EU institutions, which have been accused of not working together to battle the global pandemic.
— The warmer weather is bringing increased...
