Conservatives protest coronavirus restrictions; Florida beaches reopen to crowds and criticism

Here are some significant developments:

Aerial snapshots of people flocking to a reopened beach in Jacksonville, Fla., made waves on the Internet on Saturday, spurring #FloridaMorons to trend on Twitter.

President Trump made inaccurate claims about the United States’ coronavirus testing in comparison to other countries during Saturday’s White House briefing, where he also complained at length about media coverage and criticism of his administration.

Most states are shuttering schools through the academic year, even as they move to reopen their economies.

The failure by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to quickly produce a test kit was triggered by a glaring scientific breakdown at a CDC laboratory complex.

Concerns are rising in China over a potential new wave of covid-19 infections in a far northeastern province.

Deaths in Spain surpassed 20,000, while a spike in cases pushes Japan’s emergency medical system to the brink.

April 18, 2020 at 11:13 PM EDT

The nation’s first unemployment check â€" $15 â€" and the love story that led to it

They first laid eyes on each other in torts class.

It was 1923, a period of prosperity before the Great Depression.

He was the son of Walter Rauschenbusch, a prominent theologian and key figure in the Social Gospel movement. She was the daughter of Louis Brandeis, the progressive Supreme Court justice and the most famous Jew in America. Each inherited their parents’ zeal for social justice.

At the University of Wisconsin Law School, these two idealists â€" Elizabeth Brandeis and Paul Raushenbush â€" noticed each other immediately. She was brainy and shy, her hair long and dark. He was handsome and outgoing. On hikes and canoe outings, they fell in love romantically and intellectually â€" a partnership instrumental in passing the nation’s first unemployment compensation law.

By Michael Rosenwald

April 18, 2020 at 10:44 PM EDT

A New York facility for low-income seniors illustrates the many left behind during coronavirus

NEW YORK â€" On a rainy recent afternoon, a man in his late 60s with a noticeable limp stood in the middle of a normally busy intersection in downtown Manhattan holding a handwritten cardboard sign.

He had a simple request: He needed food. The usual services at the government-subsidized nonprofit facility where he lives had been cut off during coronavirus. And nothing of note had sprung up to take its place.

"The elderly and vulnerable have been forgotten about during the virus. Nobody cares,” said the sign. "Please help. We are hungry.”

By Steven Zeitchik

April 18, 2020 at 9:54 PM EDT

Federal judge blocks Kansas from limiting size of religious gatherings, paving the way for in-person services

A federal judge in Kansas temporarily blocked the state from limiting the number of people at religious gatherings to 10 people after two churches filed a lawsuit this week arguing that the governor’s policy violates their religious freedom, paving the way for in-person church services Sunday.

U.S. District Judge John Broomes in Wichita ruled Saturday that the state cannot enforce a recent order issued by the state’s Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, as long as churches observe social distancing. He will hear arguments from the churches Wednesday.

Kelly has tussled with the Republican majority in the state legislature about her stay-at-home order that’s now in place until May 3. The state’s Supreme Court struck down a Republican-led effort to block Kelly’s order limiting church gatherings and funerals to 10 people last Saturday.

The Justice Department has been carefully monitoring the restrictions posed on churches since the crisis began. Attorney General William P. Barr told Fox News recently that the Justice Department had “jawboned” some local governments who went too far with their directives â€" imposing burdens on churches that it did not on other businesses â€" and they ultimately backed down.

This week, the department filed a statement of interest seeming to side with a Mississippi church that sued after its parishioners were ticketed for attending a recent drive-in service. Authorities backed down and allowed the drive-in services to proceed.

Kelly said Friday that stay-at-home protection didn’t have anything to do with religious freedom, but it was about the “health and safety” of the state’s residents. Kansas has more than 1,800 confirmed coronavirus cases and 86 deaths, including at least five from religious services and conferences, according to health officials.

Timothy Evans, pastor of the 16 Mile Sabbath Keepers church of Garden City, Kan., is not party to the federal lawsuit, but he held in-person services as usual Saturday evening and has vowed to carry on regardless of the protracted legal wrangling.

“I do sincerely hope that each church prayerfully considers how this should affect their ministries going forward,” he said.

By Annie Gowen and Matt Zapotosky

April 18, 2020 at 9:26 PM EDT

#FloridaMorons trends after people flock to reopened beaches

Aerial snapshots of people flocking to a reopened beach in Jacksonville, Fla., made waves on the Internet on Saturday, though the city’s mayor said officials saw no issues in the evening as more stay-at-home-weary souls gathered.

Local news aired photos and videos of Florida’s shoreline dotted with people, closer than six feet apart, spurring #FloridaMorons to trend on Twitter after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) gave the go-ahead for local beachfront governments to decide whether to reopen their beaches during a news briefing Friday.

Duval and St. Johns counties reopened their beaches, while Miami-Dade County officials said they are considering following suit.

By Meryl Kornfield and Samantha Pell

April 18, 2020 at 8:55 PM EDT

First, the coronavirus pandemic took their jobs. Then, it wiped out their health insurance.

The vanishing of jobs across the United States in an economy dented by the coronavirus pandemic is producing a ripple effect: In a nation in which most health coverage is hinged to employment, people are losing their health insurance.

No one has a count of exactly how many people have lost their health plans. But 22 million workers have filed unemployment claims in the past month, and the latest census data show that job-based coverage accounted for 55 percent of Americans’ health insurance. One consulting firm is forecasting that perhaps 12 million to 35 million people will lose health benefits from employers because of the pandemic.

By Amy Goldstein

April 18, 2020 at 8:30 PM EDT

N.Y., N.J., Connecticut will jointly allow marinas and boatyards to reopen

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have agreed to reopen marinas and boatyards for personal use, even as the tri-state alliance maintains the necessity of shelter-at-home orders.

The three states’ governors announced Saturday that the maritime activities would be permitted as long as people adhere to “strict” social distancing and sanitization procedures. Watercraft rentals are still prohibited and restaurants near these sites must open only for takeout and delivery.

“We’ve committed to working with our regional partners throughout this crisis to align our policies when and where appropriate,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said in a statement. “A unified approach is the most effective way to alleviate confusion for the residents of our states during the ongoing public health emergency.”

The East Coast states have followed Florida and Texas in permitting certain leisure activities in public spaces. In Florida, people have been allowed to return to some beaches, while Texas will reopen state parks Monday.

Although boaters in New Jersey will now have access to their vessels, the state remains under a stay-at-home mandate. Earlier Saturday, Murphy rebuffed calls to reopen the state, saying “there will be blood on our hands” if the stay-at-home is lifted before rapid testing and contact testing becomes available.

“I want to make sure folks understand this. This is literally life-and-death,” Murphy said. “What we need now is responsible leadership. We don’t need irresponsible leadership.”

By Candace Buckner

April 18, 2020 at 8:24 PM EDT

Trump makes inaccurate testing claims, blames China at briefing

President Trump made inaccurate claims about the United States’ coronavirus testing in comparison to other countries at a scattered Saturday White House briefing where he complained at length about media coverage and criticism of his administration.

Trump claimed that more than 4 million coronavirus tests have been performed in the United States, which has resulted in “testing more people per capita, by far, than Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and all other major countries.”

Trump’s per capita claim is contradicted by coronavirus testing data collected by Vox from the scientific online publication “Our World in Data.” Italy had performed more tests per 1,000 people than the U.S. as of April 17, according to Vox’s graphic. Data for Spain and Germany is not posted for recent days, but they had both reportedly performed far most tests per capita than the U.S. as of earlier in the week.

Other officials pointed Saturday to signs of progress. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said that while fatalities in the U.S. will continue to lag behind hospitalizations, “the hospitalizations are declining.”

“This is really reassuring to us, the progress we are making,” Birx said.

Trump cut in as Birx discussed mortality rates for other countries, challenging China and Iran on data that has come into question. “Does anybody really believe that number?” he asked.

Trump has increasingly seized on China’s role in the spread of the coronavirus as he deflects criticism of his own handling of the pandemic.

“Could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn’t,” Trump said Saturday. “And the whole world is suffering because of it.”

Trump said that if China was knowingly responsible for the outbreak, than “certainly” there should be consequences for the country. Questioning whether China deliberately tried to spread the virus, he said there was a “big difference” between “a mistake that got out of control or [something] done deliberately.”

By Samantha Pell

April 18, 2020 at 7:48 PM EDT

Most states are shuttering schools through the academic year, even as they move to reopen their economies

In Florida, the beaches are crowded again and preliminary steps are being taken to reopen businesses. However, one institution of daily life remains shuttered by covid-19: schools.

On Saturday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced that K-12 students will continue with distance learning while school buildings remain closed through the end of the academic year.

“We spoke with a lot of folks throughout the state. There were some differing opinions,” DeSantis said during a briefing. “Some parents were not interested in their kids going back. Some others â€" it’s been tough around the house â€" they would have liked to see them go back.”

The Sunshine State is not alone in laying out plans to recharge the economy and hasten the return of essential social activities while ending in-building education for the rest of the academic year.

According to Education Week, 30 states and the District of Columbia have “ordered or recommended” that classrooms stay closed until school is out, even as nearly half of those states have commenced plans to slowly reopen.

“As we look at the clock and we look to see how it would look like,” DeSantis said Saturday, “it’s obviously not the ideal situation, but given where we are in the school year, we felt that that was the best decision to go forward.”

By Candace Buckner

April 18, 2020 at 6:50 PM EDT

How Oklahoma City will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the bombing in the age of coronavirus

OKLAHOMA CITY â€" For nearly a quarter of a century, people have gathered here on what is hallowed ground in this city, the former site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, to remember the horror of April 19, 1995. On that bright Wednesday morning, at 9:02 a.m., a rented Ryder truck filled with thousands of pounds of fuel and ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded along northwest Fifth Street in downtown, killing 168 people inside a day-care center and wounding hundreds more.

This year, on the 25th anniversary of the bombing, there will be no in-person mourning.

As organizers grappled with how to handle an annual tradition in the midst of a pandemic, a family member of one of those killed in the bombing called the executive director of Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum with a dire observation. Enough people had died in the 1995 attack, the person said. They shouldn’t feel an obligation to hold a ceremony that might risk more death.

By Holly Bailey

April 18, 2020 at 6:09 PM EDT

Southeastern governors join trend of leaders talking regionally to plan reopening

Several governors in the Southeast shared plans for reopening their economies Saturday, as a growing number of states huddle together for regional coordination before taking the first steps to return to business as usual.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) tweeted about a “productive” phone call in which the Republican governors of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee discussed their states’ plans to “safely get folks back into the workplace.”

The states are following a nationwide trend. On Monday, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced plans to work together on a vision to restart their economies. In shows of bipartisan cooperation, an alliance of seven East Coast and Northeastern states have declared similar coordination, as have seven Midwestern governors.

Shortly after McMaster announced the phone call, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) offered a glimpse of his state’s own path to reopening. During a Saturday afternoon briefing, DeSantis said he has created a task force of elected officials and business owners to develop a three-stage approach for Florida’s rebound. Starting next week, he said, the group will have daily meetings focused on the short-term strategy, and later move to medium- and long-term plans for the state.

By Candace Buckner

April 18, 2020 at 5:31 PM EDT

As lockdowns ease in some parts of world, views differ widely on when to reopen schools

Schools were among the first places closed as the coronavirus spread around the world. But now, as some nations cautiously ease lockdowns, there is far less consensus on how and when to restart classes.

A study published April 6 in the Lancet â€" and a separate paper by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development â€" suggest that school closures are less important than workplace closures in stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Still, few reopening decisions are more sensitive than when to send students back to class. The huge range of policies around the world â€" some schools shut for the academic year and other places moving to reopen â€" offer a preview into the contrasting speeds and priorities for the eventual rebound from life under the pandemic.

By Robyn Dixon

April 18, 2020 at 4:59 PM EDT

U.S. sent millions of face masks to China in January and February, in move underscoring failure to prepare for threat

U.S. manufacturers shipped millions of dollars’ worth of face masks and other protective medical equipment to China in January and February with encouragement from the federal government, a move that underscores the Trump administration’s failure to recognize and prepare for the growing pandemic threat in the United States.

In those two months, the value of protective masks and related items exported from the United States to China grew more than 1,000 percent compared with the same time last year â€" from $1.4 million to about $17.6 million.

“Instead of taking steps to prepare, they ignored the advice of one expert after another,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.). “People right now, as we speak, are dying because there have been inadequate supplies of PPE.”

By Juliet Eilperin, Jeff Stein, Desmond Butler and Tom Hamburger

April 18, 2020 at 4:38 PM EDT

Demonstrators in Florida, Baltimore protest prison conditions during outbreak

A Florida man encased his arms in concrete outside the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee on Friday in protest of inmates’ treatment. Jordan Mazurek, 28, first seen outside the house early in the morning, was arrested after police cut him out of two 55-gallon drums of concrete connected by a PVC pipe, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

The Tallahassee paper reported one of the drums was painted in white letters, “Stop the massacre,” while the other read, “Free prisoners now.” The man, who helped found the “Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons,” was released on bail after police arrested him on charges of resisting arrest and obstructing justice.

People also gathered outside the Baltimore City Correctional Center on Saturday to draw attention to inmates there, claiming prisoners have been neglected and not been granted wellness checks amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“Give them tests. Give them soap. Let all the prisoners go,” the protesters chanted.

The Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services said Saturday afternoon no one was available to comment.

Civil rights advocates, public health experts and the state’s Democratic lawmakers in Congress say Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is not doing enough to stop the spread of the virus among the state’s vulnerable prison population. They are pressing Hogan to release elderly, at-risk prisoners to slow the spread.

Other protests took place earlier in the week outside various prisons, including Monday in Connecticut at correctional facilities in Niantic and Montville, according to the Day. The gatherings came hours before state officials announced the first death of an inmate due to the coronavirus.

Ann Marimow and Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.

By Samantha Pell

April 18, 2020 at 4:11 PM EDT

Malaysia urged not to turn away Rohingya refugees amid lockdown

Millions of people around the world are retreating inside their homes to avoid the coronavirus. But some Rohingya Muslims â€" persecuted in their home country of Myanmar or languishing in refugee camps in Bangladesh â€" are still trying to get out.

On Saturday, Human Rights Watch called on Malaysia to stop turning away Rohingya refugees arriving by boat, after the county banned the entry of foreigners as part of a partial virus-induced lockdown.

“Malaysia’s claims to support the rights of the Rohingya mean shockingly little when they push desperate refugees back to sea,” Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch’s Asia director, said in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic does not create a justification for risking the lives of refugees on overcrowded boats.”

The predominantly Muslim country has previously spoken out against the persecution of Rohingya by Myanmar.

On Thursday, Malaysia’s navy intercepted a boat with about 200 Rohingya and prevented it from entering the country’s waters. The boat’s fate is unknown, according to the Associated Press.

The day before, a boat with 382 starving Rohingya arrived in Bangladeshi waters. Survivors told Bangladesh’s coast guard that Malaysia had turned away the vessel weeks earlier and that at least 30 people aboard had since died, the AP reported.

Malaysian authorities told the AP that they rejected the refugees as part of their efforts to limit entry into the country and other opportunities for the virus to spread.

“The pandemic does not justify a blanket policy of turning away boats in distress, risking the right to life of those on board,” Human Rights Watch said in response. “Malaysia’s pushback policy also violates international obligations to provide access to asylum and not to return anyone to a place where they would face a risk of torture or other ill-treatment.”

By Miriam Berger

April 18, 2020 at 3:41 PM EDT

Shadow broker, wire transfers, disguised trucks and the FBI all part of hospital’s dramatic effort to score PPE

In a breathless ticktock of events that read closer to a noir crime thriller than a medical supply procurement scenario, a Massachusetts hospital executive detailed in the New England Journal of Medicine the dramatic effort it took to get basic proactive gear for staff working on the front lines of the coronavirus.

“[W]e continue to be stymied by a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the cavalry does not appear to be coming,” Andrew W. Artenstein, the chief physician executive and chief academic officer at the Baystate Health hospital system in Massachusetts, wrote of his experience in the April 17 letter “In Pursuit of PPE.”

Artenstein says his team succeeded in securing a shipment of N95 masks from China by paying five times what the masks typically cost, traveling to an out-of-state airport to complete the sale and disguising trucks as food delivery vehicles to transport the PPE back to Massachusetts undetected. FBI agents nearly stopped the sale until they could be convinced the materials were being purchased for a hospital and not the black market.

“Only some quick calls leading to intervention by our congressional representative prevented its seizure,” Artenstein wrote. “The experience might have made for an entertaining tale at a cocktail party” under different circumstances, Artenstein wrote. Instead, “this is the unfortunate reality we face in the time of Covid-19.”

The lack of personal protective equipment and testing have been two of biggest threats to the United States’ ability to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. The procurement or distribution of personal protective equipment has mostly been left up to the states, leaving them to jockey for the same limited supply of materials against one another â€" and sometimes even the federal government. As of a week ago, the Strategic National Stockpile was nearly depleted.

By Kim Bellware

April 18, 2020 at 3:20 PM EDT

Deaths in Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries, surpass 20,000; U.K., Italy and France also report

Overall deaths from the coronavirus in Spain surpassed 20,000 on Saturday, even as European officials have said they believe they are passing the peak of the first wave of the virus, and health experts warn official figures are probably underestimates.

Spain, which has been among the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, reported another 565 deaths on Saturday, raising the country’s tally to 20,043 fatalities. Saturday’s figure, while devastating, marked a notable decline from the peak of 950 deaths on April 2.

Still, the official number represents only those who tested positive for the virus. Spanish officials estimate thousands more have died with similar symptoms but could not be tested because of shortages of testing kits, Agence France-Presse reported.

On Saturday Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez renewed the country’s state of emergency until May 9, but said that starting April 27 children will be allowed out in certain circumstances.

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service reported Saturday 888 people died of the virus in the past 24 hours, raising Britain’s count to 15,464 deceased. That figure includes only those who died in a hospital and not people who passed at home or in nursing facilities.

Italy reported 482 more deaths on Saturday, its lowest one day rise in fatalities in six days. The number of confirmed new cases remained largely stable at 3,491.

Coronavirus-related deaths and new infections in Italy have lingered along the same broad range for the past 13 days. Still the decline has not been as fast as some had hoped after almost six weeks of strict lockdown.

Italy, the worst-hit country in Europe, has the second-highest number of deaths after the United States.

France on Saturday reported another 642 coronavirus-related deaths. The country has officially had 19,323 deaths in total, the fourth-highest number in the world.

However, on Saturday the number of people in hospitals there also declined for the fourth day in a row, and the number of patients in intensive care units declined for the tenth consecutive day, according to France’s public health authority.

By Miriam Berger

April 18, 2020 at 3:19 PM EDT

Free speech groups call for release of dissidents from Turkish prisons

ISTANBUL â€" A group of 24 organizations advocating for free expression are demanding that Turkey’s government release journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and others from custody amid fears about the spread of the novel coronavirus in Turkish prisons.

The call came as Turkey on Saturday reported a total tally of 82,329 coronavirus infections, overtaking neighboring Iran with the highest count in the region.

A law passed by Turkey’s parliament last week, intended to ease overcrowding in prisons during the pandemic, released 90,000 inmates, either temporarily or permanently.

But it excluded people imprisoned on terrorism charges, which the authorities frequently have used to detain media workers, rights activists or the government’s political opponents.

Abdulhamit Gul, Turkey’s justice minister, said last week that 17 inmates had tested positive for the coronavirus and three had died. Seventy-nine prison employees had also tested positive, he said.

Turkey has detained thousands of people since a failed coup in 2016, including thousands of followers of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Turkish Muslim cleric accused of masterminding the coup attempt.

Also arrested were members of opposition political parties, academics, journalists, civil society activists and others.

Human rights groups and families of detained dissidents have been especially concerned for the safety of elderly prisoners and those with underlying medical conditions.

In their letter, which was released Friday, the free-expression organizations highlighted the case of Ahmet Altan, a 70-year-old novelist sentenced to more than 10 years in prison on charges of “aiding a terrorist organization.” Rights groups have also called for the release of Selahattin Demirtas, an imprisoned human rights lawyer and the former co-chair of Turkey’s second-largest opposition party, who suffers from a heart condition.

“Many thousands of individuals whose only crime is the exercise of their right to freedom of expression are effectively excluded from release and are at increased risk of contracting the disease in prison,” read the letter, which was signed by groups such as Article 19, PEN International and Reporters Without Borders.

By Kareem Fahim

April 18, 2020 at 3:15 PM EDT

Pence delivers commencement address to socially distanced Air Force graduates

Vice President Pence traveled to Colorado on Saturday to address the graduating class of the Air Force Academy, where cadets sat eight feet apart on the parade field known as the Terrazzo, in front of the academy’s famed chapel. No guests were allowed.

“We gather at a time of national crisis,” Pence began. But, he added, the nation will emerge “stronger than ever before.”

“The American people have met this moment with resilience, courage and strength. … It is the strength that will carry our nation through this challenging time to be stronger than ever before,” he said.

Pence asked the more than 900 cadets to stand and applaud for their family and friends who couldn’t be at the ceremony because of coronavirus safety restrictions. The cadets did not walk to receive diplomas.

The vice president, who heads the White House’s coronavirus task force, said the nation is being tested but is rising to the challenge.

“You see it in the doctors and nurses on the front lines. … You see it in the farmers, grocers, truckers keeping food on the table and autoworkers making valuable equipment to save Americans lives. … You see it in everyday Americans, but in these challenging times, we also see it in the American military, like the thousands of active-duty military personnel” deployed to hot spots, he said.

Pence was greeted on the airfield in Colorado by Gov. Jared Polis (D). Polis was wearing a mask to meet the vice president. Pence did not wear one.

By Colby Itkowitz and Robert Costa

April 18, 2020 at 3:08 PM EDT

More conservative groups protest stay-at-home orders

State Republicans, libertarian parties and Infowars are protesting local coronavirus restrictions this weekend after President Trump tweeted to “liberate” their states from stay-at-home orders.

Trump’s messaging, coupled with how quickly and well-organized these planned demonstrations bubbling up in Maryland, Utah, Texas, California, Arizona, Washington state and Colorado are, show how ideology has played a role in the national opinion of closures, though early polling suggests the activists represent a minority of Americans.

One of the groups making this argument, Reopen Maryland, hosted a drive-through fake memorial service honoring “the Maryland we knew” Saturday in Annapolis. Cars blocked streets and a chorus of horns rang.

Jim Wass, an organizer and chair of the Prince George’s County Republican Party, said Gov. Larry Hogan (R) shouldn’t push back the reopening day of May 1.

While Maryland’s protest and another planned in Arizona on Sunday are supposed to be car-only, not all of the events will be.

Protesters in Wisconsin and Nevada also gathered Saturday, some without masks or gloves, to protest their states’ restrictions.

At the steps of the Texas Capitol, people chanted “fire Fauci” at a demonstration hosted by Infowars on Saturday “to protest the authoritarian lockdown orders being imposed by petty tyrants at the local level,” according to its website.

One attendee brought her 7-year-old daughter, who carried an anti-vaccine sign.

On Sunday, demonstrators will also gather at the Capitol for Washington state, where mandatory stay-at-home restrictions are in effect until May 4.

Tyler Miller, who organized the event, told The Post that the demonstrators should wear masks and stand six feet apart but that he’s “not going to be going around with a yardstick."

He said the gathering would spread the virus “no more or less than going to work or to the grocery store or any other activity that we do in our lives.”

“This isn’t an old-fashioned chickenpox party where we are trying to get sick to get over it,” he said. “We are intending to follow all CDC guidelines as much as practical, while at the same time not sacrificing our fundamental principles of liberty and constitutional law."

While most protesters gathering in-person are able to because of loopholes in their states’ stay home orders, not all of them were able to skirt by the rules. New Jersey authorities charged Kim Pagan, one of the organizers of a planned protest in Trenton, with violating emergency orders.

By Meryl Kornfield

April 18, 2020 at 3:05 PM EDT

Coronavirus tracking apps meet resistance in privacy-conscious Europe

BRUSSELS â€" European leaders eager to reopen their societies are counting on mobile phone tracking technology to help keep the novel coronavirus in check, but they face a formidable obstacle: convincing their privacy-conscious citizens to use the tools.

European governments, which have sought to be global standard-bearers in their commitment to privacy protections, are having to tread more cautiously than South Korea, Israel and China, where digital surveillance is being used aggressively to follow citizen’s movements and identify those who may have been exposed to the virus. Even still, in Europe â€" especially in Germany and Austria, where memories of authoritarian government excesses from the last century linger â€" many people have little desire to adopt the voluntary technology their governments have begun to promote.

The result may be a setback for the efforts of public health officials, who say a majority of a society needs to use the trackers for them to be most effective.

By Michael Birnbaum and Christine Spolar

April 18, 2020 at 2:26 PM EDT

None of Trump’s hotels known to be participating in effort to house doctors

Thousands of U.S. hotels have volunteered to help local authorities house doctors, nurses and other medical personnel at reduced rates â€" or even free â€" during the coronavirus pandemic.

President Trump’s White House has praised these efforts. But so far, none of Trump’s own hotels is known to be participating.

By David Fahrenthold and Josh Partlow

April 18, 2020 at 1:50 PM EDT

Cuomo says crisis is ‘no time for politics,’ in reference to protests of stay-at-home orders

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Saturday pitched part of his daily coronavirus briefing to a national audience, insisting that he does not want to politicize the public health crisis and that others should avoid doing so, too.

His message seemed to be aimed at conservatives who are agitating for states â€" particularly those run by Democratic governors, like Michigan â€" to reopen business and ease stay-at-home orders.

“The emotion in this country is as high as I can recall,” Cuomo (D) said, acknowledging that people are “frustrated,” “anxious,” “scared” and “angry.” Still, he warned that now is no time for politics.

“How does this situation get worse and get worse quickly? If you politicize all that emotion,” Cuomo said. “We cannot go there.”

Although the governor has sparred with President Trump and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), Cuomo insisted he has worked hard to distance himself from politics amid the crisis and says he is not angling for higher office. (He has repeatedly dismissed calls for him to jump into the Democratic presidential primary).

Cuomo has said plans to ultimately reopen the state will be decided in regional coordination with nearby ones, including New Jersey and Connecticut, and will hinge on the ability to perform fast, widespread testing and to keep the rate of new infections from ticking back up.

The rate of hospital admissions in New York state has declined in recent days, but remains high, with roughly 2,000 new patients a day and 540 new deaths since Friday.

By Kim Bellware

April 18, 2020 at 12:14 PM EDT

Hundreds of cities may have trouble accessing $500 billion federal emergency program

Major American cities, including Austin, Baltimore, Boston and Detroit, may struggle to access a $500 billion emergency lending program meant to shore up local governments’ cash-starved budgets under rules limiting participation to cities with 1 million or more residents.

The program, administered by the Federal Reserve in coordination with the Treasury Department, seeks to buy short-term debt from cities, which should push down interest rates and help local leaders borrow at a time when they are facing a severe cash crunch as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the rules of the program, though, only 10 cities and 15 counties are large enough to sell directly to the Fed, according to 2018 census figures, which the Fed cites in its public guidance. That would include New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas and San Jose.

By Tony Romm

April 18, 2020 at 12:05 PM EDT

U.S. and Canada agree to extend border closure for 30 days

TORONTO â€" Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that the U.S.-Canada border will remain closed to “nonessential” travel for an additional 30 days to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“This is an important decision, and one that will keep people on both sides of the border safe,” Trudeau told reporters.

Under the agreement, Canada and the United States also said they would temporarily turn back asylum seekers who attempt to cross on foot at unofficial border crossings â€" a decision that has been criticized by refugee advocates.

Trudeau said the agreement, which was set to expire early next week, was renewed on the “same terms.”

Traffic at crossings across the border has dropped precipitously since the measures were implemented â€" so much so that the Canada Border Services Agency said this week it would temporarily reduce service hours at 27 crossings.

By Amanda Coletta

April 18, 2020 at 11:34 AM EDT

Iran allows some businesses to reopen in Tehran amid fears of a ‘second wave’ of infections

Some businesses reopened Saturday in Iran’s capital, Tehran, as part of a government plan to restart the economy gradually amid one of the most severe coronavirus outbreaks in the world.

Iran last week also began to allow “low-risk” businesses outside of Tehran to open.

The plan has attracted criticism, including from Iranian health officials and lawmakers who fear a rapid reopening of the economy could lead to a second outbreak even as the pace of infections has begun to fall, according to government figures.

Despite government warnings for people to remain in their homes, there appeared to be a rush to the streets: the amount of traffic in Tehran on Saturday was up 70 percent when compared to the same day last year, the traffic police chief in Tehran told the Tasnim news agency.

Iran has more than 80,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and more than 5,000 people have died, according to the Health Ministry. An Iranian parliamentary report released last week said the real number of cases may be eight to 10 times higher than the official government numbers. It cited the prevalence of asymptomatic infections, a lack of widespread testing and the unreliability of tests, among other factors.

Alireza Zali, head of the government coronavirus task force, said Tehran’s grand bazaar, covered markets and shopping malls would remain closed, in comments reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency last week. He also expressed concern at the relaxing of some restrictions, including the decision to allow two-thirds of government office workers to return to work.

“The consequences of today’s congestion will reveal themselves to medical centers five to 14 days from now,” he said.

By Kareem Fahim

April 18, 2020 at 11:29 AM EDT

Annual Holy Fire ceremony in Jerusalem held with only a few lights

Candle-bearing crowds usually fill every crevice of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem as part of the Holy Fire ceremony held ahead of Eastern Orthodox Easter.

This year the lights were dimmed. Just a few Eastern Orthodox clerics were permitted on Saturday to gather in the church said to house Jesus’ tomb.

The thousands of Christian Orthodox devotees who traditionally flock to Jerusalem were the latest to find their religious rites upended by the novel coronavirus.

As has been done for centuries, clergymen from different Orthodox denominations entered a closed-off chamber in the church where Christians believe Jesus was buried and resurrected. They re-emerged with candles lit by fire, the source of which is kept a secret. The clergy then circled the church as they recited prayers.

Usually, it is a hectic scene packed by pilgrims. This year, the chants echoed off the empty walls, the Associated Press reported.

By Miriam Berger

April 18, 2020 at 10:41 AM EDT

Japan surpasses 10,000 cases and pushes emergency medical system to ‘collapse’

Overwhelmed hospitals in Japan are turning away patients as a spike in coronavirus cases pushes the country’s emergency medical system to the brink.

The Japanese Society for Emergency Medicine said in a statement last week that front-line responders were “struggling day and night to maintain a medical system,” but he warned that the first sign of the system’s “collapse” occurred with the breakdown of the emergency response system.

“We can no longer carry out normal emergency medicine,” Takeshi Shimazu, an Osaka University emergency doctor, told the Associated Press.

In one of the starkest situations from hard-hit Toyko, an ambulance carrying a feverish patient who had trouble breathing was turned away by 80 hospitals, forcing paramedics to search “for hours” to find a hospital willing to treat him, the AP reported. Another patient in similar condition was rejected by 40 hospitals.

In addition to patients with symptoms of covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, hospitals are also rejecting patients suffering heart attacks or strokes, according to JSEM.

Despite a highly developed medical system, Japan is facing similar supply shortfalls as the United States, including a lack of ventilators, protective gear and testing. The country fares far worse when it comes to intensive care unit beds, with seven per 100,000 people, compared to 35 per 100,000 in the United States.

By Kim Bellware

April 18, 2020 at 10:26 AM EDT

Deaths in Africa officially surpass 1,000, though many more cases likely unconfirmed

Deaths across Africa attributed to the coronavirus surpassed 1,000 on Saturday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, though the figure is considered far lower than the actual death toll due to limited testing capabilities.

As of Saturday morning, 52 of the continent’s 54 countries had confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with the overall tally totaling more than 19,800, Bloomberg News reported.

The World Health Organization has warned that the number of cases and deaths across Africa is likely far higher. The WHO reported Friday that coronavirus-related deaths in Africa rose by 60 percent over the past week. New confirmed infections jumped by 51 percent during the same period.

In one of Africa’s most high-profile cases, the chief of staff to Nigeria’s president died Friday of the virus. As The Washington Post previously reported, Africa’s most vulnerable countries have only a few ventilators or, in the case of Somalia, none at all.

The Africa CDC said it plans to carry out more than a million tests, beginning next week.

Lockdowns imposed across the continent to stem the spread of the virus have been particularly punitive for impoverished communities already struggling to get by, largely through informal economies. South Africa, which has reported the most cases on the continent, has been on lockdown since March 27.

State-owned South African Airways plans to lay off all 4,700 employees after the national carrier failed to attain more government financial assistance, Bloomberg News reported Saturday.

By Miriam Berger

April 18, 2020 at 9:50 AM EDT

Queen Elizabeth II cancels birthday plans

LONDON â€" Queen Elizabeth II canceled the gun salute that traditionally takes place on her birthday, palace officials said Saturday.

The queen “did not feel it appropriate in the current circumstances” to proceed with a gun salute, the official said, adding that the queen would not be marking the day in any special way. She will turn 94 on Tuesday.

The queen has two birthday celebrations. Her real one, April 21, is usually a low-key, private affair with family. But it isn’t all quiet. The British public normally marks the day with ceremonial gun salutes, usually around lunchtime. Last year, there was a 41-gun salute at Hyde Park and a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.

It is believed that this is the first time during the queen’s 68-year reign that the gun salutes will have been canceled.

The queen’s second birthday celebration â€" the big one â€" is in June. For more than 250 years, British monarchs have celebrated their “official” birthday in the summer because of the chance for crowds to celebrate in better weather. The June celebration, a dazzling military parade known as Trooping the Colour, already has been canceled.

The queen is staying at Windsor Castle, where she has made two rare speeches. In an Easter address broadcast last weekend, she acknowledged the government’s guidance on social distancing, saying “by keeping apart, we keep others safe.”

By Karla Adam

April 18, 2020 at 9:44 AM EDT

Canada mandates all air travelers wear masks

All air travelers in Canada will be required to wear masks in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the Canadian government said Friday.

Starting Monday, air passengers arriving, departing or connecting through Canada will have to wear a nonmedical face mask or cloth that covers their mouth and nose when they are in transit.

The Canadian government said passengers will be required to wear masks at airport screening checkpoints, where they are unable to keep two meters (6.6 feet) away from others. They may also be asked to wear a mask by airline employees or public health officials.

“Aviation passengers on all flights departing or arriving at Canadian airports will also be required to demonstrate they have the necessary nonmedical mask or face covering during the boarding process otherwise they will not be allowed to continue on their journey,” Transport Canada, the federal transportation department, said in a statement on Friday.

The government also said those traveling by trains or buses are “strongly encouraged to wear nonmedical masks or face coverings as much as possible.”

By Karla Adam

April 18, 2020 at 9:00 AM EDT

Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz aren’t coronavirus experts. So why are they talking about it on TV news?

“Look, the fact of the matter is we have people dying â€" 45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes,” the talk-show host said Thursday, “but we don’t shut the country down for that. But yet we’re doing it for this?”

Social media quickly erupted with fury and derision as viewers pointed out the hopeless apples-to-orangeness of his argument: Cars and tobacco are not exactly communicable diseases; and both, in fact, have inspired extensive government regulations to limit injuries and death. (The TV shrink was also widely mocked for making a comparison to swimming-pool deaths using a bogus statistic inflated by a factor of nearly 100.)

By Paul Farhi and Elahe Izadi

April 18, 2020 at 8:25 AM EDT

Boeing to reopen factories in multiple states as governors mull stay-at-home orders

Boeing is reopening factories in three states where stay-at-home mandates remain in place, recent announcements from the company indicate, as executives attempt to stave off further economic damage while also protecting the health of employees.

The aerospace giant closed its largest factories in early April, putting a halt to final assembly of commercial aircraft. After just a few short weeks of deep-cleaning, Boeing executives say it is safe to return to work in a limited capacity.

Boeing will reopen its military helicopter production facility outside Philadelphia on Monday, the company announced Friday. On Monday, it reopened factories in the Puget Sound region of Washington state, where it carries out final assembly of the 737 Max and 777 commercial jetliners, as well as the KC-46 and P-8 military aircraft. The company announced Thursday that it will also reopen a smaller military aircraft repair facility in Heath, Ohio.

By Aaron Gregg

April 18, 2020 at 7:44 AM EDT

Britain’s health-care staff told to reuse protective equipment and rely on plastic aprons if necessary

LONDON â€" Doctors and nurses criticized the British government on Saturday following new clinical guidance for health-care workers to reuse protective equipment and to wear plastic aprons if necessary.

In a document published Friday, the British government issued new guidance, saying that if full-length, fluid repellent hospital gowns are not available, then front-line staff members should consider alternatives, including reusable gowns or “disposable, non-fluid repellent gowns or coveralls with a disposable plastic apron.” It also said that where there are acute shortages of protective equipment â€" and only when safe to do so â€" health-care workers may reuse some “single-use” items.

Health-care workers have repeatedly raised concerns about protective equipment, especially gowns.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, a group that represents hospitals, tweeted on Friday that hospitals could run out of gowns this weekend.

“Some trusts will run out of this type of gown/coverall in next 24-48 hours,” Hopson said. “What next?”

The government says it’s working to get new supplies and that its new guidance is in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization.

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told a parliamentary committee on Friday that Britain was “tight on gowns,” but that 55,000 were expected to arrive that day. The British Medical Association, the main doctors union, said the guidance to reuse equipment should be driven by science â€" not availability. Chaand Nagpaul, who chairs the union, said “too many doctors and health-care staff have already lost their lives. We cannot afford to risk losing any more.”

By Karla Adam

April 18, 2020 at 7:29 AM EDT

Trump struggles to convince black leaders his administration will respond to racial inequities on coronavirus

Already the nation’s leading infectious disease expert and a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, Anthony S. Fauci assumed another role this week, reaching out to reassure black congressional leaders that the Trump administration is pursuing strategies to mitigate the outsize impact of the disease on minority communities.

In an hour-long conference call with the Congressional Black Caucus, Fauci heard from members who emphasized the need to surge federal testing resources and medical gear to black communities, which data have shown are at a higher risk of being infected by and dying of the novel coronavirus.

Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said she quoted Fauci’s own words, from an interview with MSNBC host Al Sharpton on Sunday, that the administration has “got to bring the resources where the risk and vulnerability is.”

By David Nakamura

April 18, 2020 at 6:56 AM EDT

Trump foments resistance to Democratic-imposed shutdowns, but some GOP governors also are wary of moving too fast

President Trump on Friday amplified his call to reopen the country, suggesting citizens should “liberate” themselves even as governors and local officials in areas he said were ready to return to normal expressed concern about moving too soon.

Republican governors have been slow to embrace Trump’s call to lift statewide stay-at-home orders in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic that is killing thousands of Americans. Democratic governors increasingly have denounced what they describe as a lack of federal leadership in a response effort plagued by shortfalls in testing and equipment.

On Friday, Texas announced a plan for loosening restrictions on economic activity. But the proposal by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) made few immediate changes to the stay-at-home order and left many decisions for the end of the month after consultations with a new “strike force” of business leaders and medical professionals.

By Isaac Stanley-Becker, Toluse Olorunnipa and Seung Min Kim

April 18, 2020 at 6:40 AM EDT

Africa’s most vulnerable countries have few ventilators â€" or none at all

NAIROBI â€" The most critical piece of lifesaving equipment of the coronavirus pandemic is in desperately short supply in Africa: According to the World Health Organization, there are fewer than 2,000 ventilators across 41 countries that reported to it.

Somalia’s health ministry still doesn’t have a single one. The Central African Republic has three. South Sudan, four. Liberia, five. Nigeria, with a population two-thirds that of the United States, has fewer than 100.

Officials say those numbers will change as ventilator donations trickle in. But even in countries with the machines on hand, few doctors have undergone the intensive training to use them, and anesthesiologists, required in most cases to intubate patients or supervise that process, are scarce.

By Max Bearak and Danielle Paquette

April 18, 2020 at 6:19 AM EDT

Singapore records highest daily jump in coronavirus cases as infections spread among migrant workers

ISTANBUL â€" Singapore, once considered an early success story for its comprehensive efforts to battle the coronavirus outbreak, reported 942 new infections Saturday, a new daily record, according to the country’s health ministry.

The vast majority of the new infections were “work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories,” a health ministry statement said.

Saturday’s tally brought the total number of coronavirus infections to 5,992. A wealthy island state, Singapore had mobilized early to contain the pandemic. The country’s strategy included aggressively tracking chains of infection, imposing harsh penalties for patients who violated quarantine rules and mounting ubiquitous public awareness campaigns, all while avoiding a full lockdown.

Cellphone apps were developed to helped enforce quarantine rules and aid the contact-tracing effort.

But a surge of cases in the past few weeks has been concentrated among a community the government had apparently overlooked: hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers who live in dozens of crowded dormitories.

The toll has highlighted the pandemic’s often disproportionate impact on low-income people or those who live on the margins of government services, often living in conditions that make social distancing nearly impossible.

Migrant workers account for more than half of Singapore’s coronavirus infections, Transient Workers Count Too, an advocacy group, said in a statement Friday. The group urged authorities to use the crisis to improve living conditions for laborers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries.

“Many citizens have been appalled to discover the conditions in which male migrant workers are accommodated,” the statement said. “A radical upgrading of male migrant worker accommodation is called for, not only to prevent the rapid spread of any future infection among the workers, but as a matter of basic respect for their humanity.”

By Kareem Fahim

April 18, 2020 at 6:00 AM EDT

Will East Coast beaches open? Maybe, but with changes.

ASBURY PARK, N.J. â€" Realtor Michele DeRose had hoped the novel coronavirus pandemic would be subsiding by now so residents and business owners in this popular beach town along the Jersey Shore could prepare for the crush of summer tourists.

What’s begun instead, she said, are the phone calls that real estate agents and property owners dread: Customers asking for their money back amid signs this summer could be the first in more than a century that vacationers are not welcomed on some of America’s most storied beaches. “We’re not getting any new requests for rentals right now,” she added.

With the travel season less than six weeks away, would-be tourists and entrepreneurs alike are struggling to decipher whether the East Coast’s beach towns open by Memorial Day â€" and if they do, how social distancing guidelines implemented to combat the spread of the coronavirus could reshape what is, historically, one of the country’s most communal activities.

By Caren Chesler and Tim Craig

April 18, 2020 at 5:41 AM EDT

Alaska joins other states in weighing when and how to reopen

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) on Friday floated plans to reopen parts of the state shuttered amid the coronavirus pandemic, joining several other governors looking to ease social distancing restrictions and restart business.

Speaking in a news conference, Dunleavy didn’t offer a specific timeline but said Alaska, with its unique challenges given its size and abundance of isolated communities, would chart its own path in the coming weeks.

“We’re going to be looking at Alaska almost as if it’s its own country when we’re going about opening up sectors,” he said. “We will open different sectors of Alaska, different segments of Alaska, different locales as we are able to judge the course of this virus.”

Some locales are cut off from the state’s economic center and not accessible by road, he added.

The governor said he intends to meet with staff this weekend to examine containment measures then meet next week to discuss when retail stores may be able to resume normal operations. He added the state was increasing its capacity for testing and contact tracing.

The goal, Dunleavy said, was to restart society as soon as possible without jeopardizing public health.

“If we come across a flare up or a cluster somewhere, we’ll get in there very fast,” he said.

At least nine people in Alaska have died of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and 300 have been infected as of early Saturday.

By Derek Hawkins

April 18, 2020 at 5:19 AM EDT

NBA, WNBA selling team-branded face coverings, with proceeds going to charity

“As a global community, we can all play a role in reducing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic by following the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s] recommendation to cover our nose and mouth while in public,” Kathy Behrens, the NBA’s president for social responsibility and player programs, told ESPN. “Through this new product offering, NBA and WNBA fans can adhere to these guidelines while joining in the league’s efforts to aid those who have been directly affected by covid-19.”

By Matt Bonesteel

April 18, 2020 at 5:01 AM EDT

School closures extended in Md., D.C. as leaders say region is not ready to reopen

The capital region’s school year crumbled Friday before the advancing coronavirus, with Maryland saying schools would remain closed through at least May 15 and the District announcing that online instruction â€" and the academic year â€" would wrap up three weeks early.

The decisions came on a day when area leaders assured residents they are cooperating to chart a path out of the pandemic’s social and economic shutdown, even as President Trump sought to undermine the cautious approach via social media.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s decision to end the school year on May 29 without resuming in-person instruction puts her city in line with Virginia, which has moved to online school instruction for the remainder of the academic year. Bowser said the early wrap-up will “preserve” three weeks of instructional time, indicating that the 2020-2021 year could start early for at least some students.

By Gregory S. Schneider, Erin Cox and Perry Stein

April 18, 2020 at 4:43 AM EDT

Europe thinks it is past the peak of the first wave of the coronavirus

LONDON â€" All across Europe, the numbers are coming down.

In Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Britain, public health officials â€" their faces often drained by exhaustion â€" are expressing cautious optimism that the first wave of Europe’s devastating pandemic is ending.

From Ireland to Greece, officials are seeing hopeful signs that coronavirus infections are peaking and have begun to plateau or recede, pointing to intensive care beds that are slowly opening up and a daily reduction in the number of new hospitalizations.

In Paris, Milan and Madrid, hospitals and staff that were stressed to their limits just a few weeks ago, as thousands of coughing, fevered, breathless patients surged through their doors, are reporting empty beds in their ICUs. There are ventilators to go around.

By William Booth, Chico Harlan, James McAuley, Loveday Morris and Michael Birnbaum

April 18, 2020 at 4:23 AM EDT

At least 12 migrants â€" and probably more â€" on U.S. deportation flight test positive for coronavirus, Guatemalan president says

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei confirmed on Friday that many migrants on a deportation flight from the United States this week contracted the novel coronavirus and at least 12 had tested positive so far.

In a televised address, Giammattei said the people tested positive for the virus after random tests were administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Giammattei suggested that even more infections were suspected among the 73 Guatemalans aboard Monday’s flight from the United States to Guatemala City. Guatemalan officials said this week that as many as 44 Guatemalans had contracted coronavirus.

“A large part of it was infected,” said Giammattei, referring to the plane carrying the migrants.

Giammattei’s address comes as flights deporting Guatemalans from the United States were temporarily suspended.

As The Washington Post’s Kevin Sieff reported this week, Monday’s flight marks the second time in the past month that a flight of deportees to Guatemala was full of passengers infected with the virus. On a deportation flight last month, roughly 75 percent of the passengers tested positive, Guatemalan Health Minister Hugo Monroy said on Thursday.

In an attempt to continue deportations throughout the pandemic, the United States has attempted to reassure Guatemala about these flights by implementing new health protocols before deportees boarded planes.

It is unclear when and how the deportees became infected.

By Timothy Bella

April 18, 2020 at 4:00 AM EDT

P.T. Barnum relative who paved the way for Pride in Florida dies of coronavirus

Of the things Bob Barnum left behind when he died of covid-19, perhaps even more noteworthy than the circus-themed art that covered his real estate office, was the note sent to him and his friends by one of the stars of “The Golden Girls.”

“My dears: I can’t believe you could outdo yourself,” Estelle Getty, who played Sophia Petrillo on the 1980s sitcom, scrawled in messy cursive. “Thanks again and again. Happy new year.”

Those who knew Barnum, 64, were not surprised he once bonded with a famous actress. He seemed to know everyone and be involved in nearly every organization in Pinellas County, Fla., where he moved from Long Island when he was 16.

By Marisa Iati

April 18, 2020 at 3:42 AM EDT

Surge in coronavirus cases in northeastern China sparks concern

Concerns are rising in China over a potential new wave of covid-19 infections in a far northeastern province that could show how difficult the pandemic will be to stamp out.

Chinese officials reported 27 new confirmed cases on Friday, including 20 in Heilongjiang province, which shares a large land border with the far east region of Russia that has recently been closed to stem the flow of travelers. Thirteen of the 20 new cases in Heilongjiang were Chinese nationals who recently returned from Russia, officials said.

The northeast has become the focus of China’s anti-epidemic effort in recent days as cases there surged while they trended down in the rest of the country. Clusters of cases have been found inside the city of Harbin’s hospitals, and authorities have found an uptick in imported cases that went undetected by border checks and quarantines.

Heilongjiang’s disciplinary agency said Friday it punished 18 Communist Party officials, including a Harbin deputy mayor, for being “relaxed in epidemic vigilance.”

On social media, Harbin residents have shared videos of the city returning to a state of lockdown, with empty boulevards. A report on Saturday by the Southern Metropolis Daily said 44 cases in Heilongjiang were tracked to a 22-year-old woman surnamed Han who returned from the United States. Han infected a neighbor, whose relatives then dined with an 87-year-old man surnamed Chen who became hospitalized and infected dozens of nurses and patients while inside a Harbin Medical University hospital.

The Harbin city government issued a statement Friday disclosing Chen’s rough address and location inside the hospital to alert anyone who may have come into contact with him.

By Gerry Shih

April 18, 2020 at 3:22 AM EDT

San Diego Comic-Con canceled because of coronavirus pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the cancellation of San Diego Comic-Con for the first time in the event’s half-century history.

The announcement was made Friday on the Comic-Con website. The event has become a rite of summer for fans of comic book culture, attracting around 135,000 of them last year. Those who had already purchased badges for entry have the option to receive a full refund or have their tickets transferred to next year’s Comic-Con, which is scheduled to take place July 22 to 25, 2021.

“Continuous monitoring of health advisories and recent statements by the Governor of California have made it clear that it would not be safe to move forward with plans for this year,” the statement said.

By David Betancourt

April 18, 2020 at 3:03 AM EDT

GOP’s growing ‘open it up’ caucus urges fewer virus restrictions amid warnings from Republicans

A growing number of Republican lawmakers across the country are pushing for a more rapid reboot of the American economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that the risk of spreading more sickness â€" and even death â€" is outweighed by the broader economic damage that widespread stay-at-home orders have wrought.

They are taking cues from and breathing energy into a grass-roots conservative movement of resistance against government-ordered quarantine measures â€" one that President Trump appeared to back in several tweets Friday â€" but are facing defiance within their own party from Republican congressional leaders, governors and fellow lawmakers who warn that a rash reopening could reinvigorate the virus’s spread.

The emerging “open it up” caucus has spoken out on key conservative media platforms, including some of Trump’s favorite programs. In a prime-time Fox News appearance Wednesday, for instance, Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) said balancing the health of Americans with a functioning economy amid the pandemic was “like choosing between cancer and a heart attack.”

By Mike DeBonis

April 18, 2020 at 2:42 AM EDT

Tennessee can’t block abortion access during pandemic, federal judge rules

A federal judge ruled Friday that the state of Tennessee can’t block abortions under a temporary ban on nonessential medical procedures intended to contain the novel coronavirus.

In a late-night ruling, Judge Bernard Friedman of the Middle District of Tennessee said abortion was a “time-sensitive procedure” and that women could face immediate harm if abortions were restricted during the pandemic, according to the Nashville Tennessean.

“Delaying a woman’s access to abortion even by a matter of days can result in her having to undergo a lengthier and more complex procedure that involves progressively greater health risks, or can result in her losing the right to obtain an abortion altogether,” the judge wrote.

The judge also rejected arguments from state attorneys that personal protective equipment for front-line medical workers would be spared if abortions were temporarily halted, as the Associated Press reported.

The ruling reins in part of an executive order Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) issued earlier in April barring “non-emergency” medical procedures during the pandemic. The Republican governor said the measure was necessary to ensure safety equipment was reserved for workers treating covid-19 patients.

In a court hearing conducted by phone Friday, Alex Rieger, an attorney for the state, noted that the order extended through April 30, covering the anticipated peak of covid-19 cases. Allowing abortions before then would cause “irreparable harm to Tennessee’s authority to protect its citizens,” Rieger said, according to the Tennessean.

Republican leaders in more than a half-dozen other states have issued similar orders limiting elective medical procedures during the outbreak. A federal appeals court earlier this week curtailed a ban on such procedures in Texas, exempting women seeking an abortion induced by medication in the early weeks of pregnancy and those who are nearing the state’s prohibition of abortion after 22 weeks.

By Derek Hawkins

April 18, 2020 at 2:23 AM EDT

NBA withholds portion of player paychecks as schedule remains paralyzed

With professional basketball’s schedule paralyzed by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to a plan that will see 25 percent of each player’s remaining 2019-20 paychecks withheld during the league’s shutdown.

The plan, announced Friday, will take effect for the May 15 payment cycle. If the season resumes, withheld money could be returned to the players. If unplayed games are canceled, team owners would be able to retain some of the withheld wages.

Most NBA players receive their salaries every two weeks on a 12-month cycle, even though the season typically runs from October through April with a postseason that runs from April through June. Before the agreement, players were continuing to receive their standard payments even though Commissioner Adam Silver suspended the season March 11.

By Ben Golliver

April 18, 2020 at 2:00 AM EDT

‘An incompetent political hack!’: Trump criticizes Pelosi for late-night TV appearance amid pandemic

President Trump slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for appearing on a late-night TV show this week, saying that the Democratic leader should return to Washington to work on the government response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a late-night tweet Friday, the president responded to a post from Charlie Kirk, founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, that featured a video of Pelosi’s Monday appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” The clip features Pelosi, who is self-isolating at her home in San Francisco and appeared via video chat, showing the CBS host some of the chocolate and ice cream options in her kitchen.

But the lighthearted segment was not amusing to the president, who has clashed with the House speaker this week over differences in coronavirus funding demands.

“An incompetent political hack!” Trump tweeted late Friday. “Come back to Washington & take care of our great American workers.”

The president’s late-night criticism comes at the end of another contentious week between the political rivals over funding related to the pandemic.

On Monday, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said they wouldn’t agree to the Trump administration’s insistence on additional money for small business loans unless their demands were met for more funding for hospitals, state and local governments and food stamp recipients. The Democratic leaders also rejected Trump’s suggestions that the United States, the epicenter of the pandemic, could reopen quickly.

Then on Thursday, one day after Trump threatened to adjourn Congress because he complained nothing was getting done, the president lashed out at Pelosi over an impasse between Republicans and Democrats regarding the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program, a central piece of the $2 trillion economic rescue law that recently passed. The new lending program for small businesses has maxed out and stopped accepting claims this week.

Pelosi dismissed Trump’s words on Thursday, calling him “a weak person.”

By Timothy Bella

April 18, 2020 at 1:42 AM EDT

Amid skepticism, China defends its official data after revising Wuhan death toll upward by 50 percent

China revised its official coronavirus death toll in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the outbreak, by around 50 percent more Friday, citing new statistical evidence that has emerged as the city begins to reopen following months of lockdown.

The reassessment counted 1,290 more deaths, bringing the death toll in the city where the outbreak was first recorded to 3,869. The revision came amid global efforts to produce more accurate data â€" and growing suspicions among experts and world leaders over how China’s death toll could remain relatively low even as death counts surge across the United States and Europe.

Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, insisted Friday that this revision in no way indicated a coverup and is based purely on standard efforts to take into account deaths that were previously miscounted or excluded.

By Siobhán O'Grady

April 18, 2020 at 1:21 AM EDT

Some public safety agencies won’t say if workers have coronavirus

They make close-quarter arrests in a time of social distancing. They rush those sickened with the coronavirus to the hospital. They are responsible for guarding inmates in jails with covid-19 outbreaks.

Police officers, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers are on the front lines of the pandemic. Many public safety agencies, including police and fire departments in the District, have announced when their members become ill. But others have taken the opposite stance regarding the number of covid-19 cases within their ranks: silence.

In Virginia, the Fairfax County sheriff had declined to say whether any of her deputies tested positive after a coronavirus outbreak at the jail â€" until changing course this week. Alexandria and Arlington will not disclose whether their employees, including firefighters and police officers, are sick with covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

By Justin Jouvenal, Rachel Weiner and Peter Hermann

April 18, 2020 at 1:00 AM EDT

Minnesota governor says he tried to call Trump about ‘LIBERATE’ tweet

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said he tried to call President Trump on Friday after the president tweeted “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” in apparent solidarity with protesters defying social distancing orders, but got no response.

Walz said in a news conference that he phoned Trump and Vice President Pence to ask, “What we are doing differently about moving towards getting as many people back into the workforce as possible without compromising the health of Minnesotans or the providers?"

The solution “will probably take longer than a two-word tweet,” he said, “but I think there’s a responsibility to tell us that.”

Hundreds of protesters unhappy with ongoing stay-at-home orders converged outside Walz’s residence Friday, calling on the governor to ease social distancing restrictions and allow businesses to reopen. Similar protests took place in Michigan and Virginia. Trump seemed to take the protesters’ side, tweeting “LIBERATE MINNESOTA," “LIBERATE MICHIGAN," and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”

The dust-up came as Walz announced plans to gradually ease some restrictions and allow limited outdoor activities in Minnesota.

“I’d like to know what they think we could have done differently because, again, we’re leading as we were asked,” the governor said of Trump’s tweet. “We’ve kept Minnesotans alive, and we’re moving people back into the workforce in a safe manner."

“I would argue that we’re doing everything they’re telling us to do, but the difference is, I actually have to do it,” he added.

Minnesota on Friday reported one of its largest single-day increases in coronavirus infections, with health officials tallying more than 150 new cases. Statewide, more than 2,000 people have been infected and at least 111 have died.

By Derek Hawkins

April 18, 2020 at 12:41 AM EDT

Governments around the world are trying a new weapon against coronavirus: Your smartphone

When California officials wanted to see how closely people were following social distancing guidelines last month, they tapped a powerful new data set â€" a map that Facebook provided to state authorities derived from the location coordinates of tens of millions of smartphones.

The map showed with alarming clarity that large numbers of people were still gathering on beaches and in public parks. Soon after, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) ordered them closed to vehicles, sharply restricting access.

Newsom’s move to blunt the spread of the coronavirus was just one sign of the increasingly close cooperation between government authorities and technology companies in fighting a dangerous common enemy. This global wave of experimentation has involved data sets long considered so personal and sensitive â€" capable of revealing how smartphone users spent their days, and with whom â€" that many government officials shied away from their use out of fear of public backlash.

By Craig Timberg, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Drew Harwell and Tony Romm

April 18, 2020 at 12:20 AM EDT

States and businesses plead for more federal testing help

With the number of the covid-19 tests hovering at an average of 146,000 a day, businesses leaders and state officials are warning the Trump administration that they cannot safely reopen the economy without radically increasing the number of available tests â€" perhaps into the millions a day â€" and that will not happen without a greater coordinating role by the federal government.

Though the capacity of private business to produce those volumes remains unclear, state leaders and health experts say the administration should move with a greater sense of urgency and could do several relatively easy things to speed the production and distribution of tests.

On Friday, the American Association for Clinical Chemistry said there were still critical supply chain issues that stand in the way of ramping up testing, including a lack of protective equipment for technicians who run the tests and a shortage of swabs and reagents â€" chemical solutions required to run the tests.

By Steven Mufson, Yasmeen Abutaleb and Juliet Eilperin

April 18, 2020 at 12:02 AM EDT

Ticketmaster offering refunds for concerts postponed due to the pandemic

Ticketmaster announced Friday that it was finalizing its plans to issue refunds for more than 18,000 events postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the ticket retailer, starting May 1, once postponed shows announce the rescheduled dates, fans will begin to receive emails from Ticketmaster to initiate a full refund. From there, fans will have 30 days to request a refund. If they do not proceed with one, then their ticket will be good for the rescheduled date.

The global promoter Live Nation also joined Ticketmaster in announcing refunds for postponed shows. The company also announced it would be offering credit for future shows, as well as the opportunity to donate tickets.

To date, Ticketmaster has canceled or postponed 30,000 events, totaling $2 billion in ticket sales, according to Billboard. With another 25,000 events still scheduled to take place through the end of 2020, it’s expected the company will cancel or postpone more events before 2021.

Ticketmaster has recently faced criticism for not immediately offering refunds after shows were postponed because of the pandemic.

“People across the country are having to make adjustments in their lives to keep everyone safe. Ticketmaster can do its part by giving people their money back,” Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) said to Billboard. “Let’s be clear: they can do this without government action, and they can do it today. Ticketmaster should do the right thing and stop trying to profit off a pandemic.”

By Timothy Bella