What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

One of Sweden's top health officials is defending his country's response to the coronavirus outbreak after first showing some contrition about its actions.

“We still believe that our strategy is good, but there is always room for improvement. ... You can always get better at this job,” chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said.

Australia is in its first recession in 29 years and officials there believe the economic woe will likely get worse before things improve.

In Britain, airlines and tourist companies say the country's planned 14-day quarantine for visitors will blunt tourism recovery as nations open up from lockdowns.

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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:

— Contact tracers in New York City hired to contain the spread of coronavirus reached more than half the 600 or so people who tested positive for the virus there. Dr. Ted Long, head of the city's program, said tracers getting through to that many “shows that the system we're setting up is working.”

— Sweden’s chief epidemiologist showed contrition as criticism mounted over the Scandinavian country’s method of fighting the coronavirus, which has resulted in one of the highest death rates per capita in the world. Sweden did not shut down the country or economy, relying on citizens' sense of duty. Tegnell later defended what the country did, saying there's always room for improvement.

— A Chinese company paid by California to manufacture hundreds of millions of protective masks missed a Sunday deadline for federal certification, marking the second time its shipments to the...