Virus Outbreak, ADVISORY

Scientists have announced the first effective treatment against the coronavirus — an experimental drug that can speed the recovery of COVID-19 patients — in a major medical advance that comes as the economic gloom caused by the scourge deepens in the U.S. and Europe. The U.S. government says it is working to make the medication available to patients as quickly as possible.

AP’s coronavirus podcast, “Ground Game: Inside the Outbreak,” today focuses on how Brazil is emerging as potentially the next big hot spot for the COVID-19 pandemic. Listen to the podcast at https://appodcasts.com/category/ground-game/. Embed code is available on AP Coverage Plan.

The AP plans the following coverage. For up-to-the minute information, visit AP Newsroom’s coverage hub at https://newsroom.ap.org/page/Coronavirus Find AP Virus Alerts here

SENT/DEVELOPING:

VIRUS OUTBREAK: Scientists on Wednesday announced the first effective treatment against the coronavirus — an experimental drug that can speed the recovery of COVID-19 patients — in a major medical advance that came as the economic gloom caused by the scourge deepened in the U.S. and Europe. SENT; developing. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST and VIRUS OUTBREAK-WHAT'S HAPPENING.

ECONOMY-GDP: The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record. SENT; developing.

FINANCIAL MARKETS: Stocks charged higher around the world Wednesday following an encouraging report on a possible treatment for COVID-19. SENT; developing. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-BUSINESS FALLOUT.

ECONOMY-GDP: Hopes are beginning to arise that the U.S. economy might be poised to rebound by the second half of the year. SENT: 1080 words, photos..

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TREATMENT: An experimental drug has proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major study, shortening the time it takes for patients to recover by four days on average, U.S. government and company officials announced Wednesday. SENT: 835 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE AIRWAY EXPERTS: Hundreds of times every week during this pandemic, doctors and nurses treating critically ill COVID-19 patients steel themselves for a procedure that remains anything but routine. SENT: 880 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACCINE MISINFORMATION: A coronavirus vaccine is still months or years away, but groups that peddle misinformation about immunizations are already taking aim, potentially eroding confidence in what could be humanity’s best chance to defeat the virus. SENT: 1000 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Public transportation systems in cities around the world are key to getting workers back on the job and restarting devastated economies as coronavirus infections decline. Yet officials say mass transit will have to be re-imagined for the pandemic era. SENT: 850 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-PUERTO RICO-MISSING MEALS: Puerto Rico is refusing to open school cafeterias amid coronavirus health concerns and has not tapped into millions of federal dollars for help even as unemployed parents struggle to feed their children in a U.S. territory where nearly 70% of public school students are poor. SENT: 940 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CUBA ENTREPRENEURS: The pandemic that has frozen businesses around the world has been tough as well on the fragile private sector that has been permitted to blossom at times through the cracks of Cuba’s socialist economy. SENT: 780 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEDICARE: VIRUS OUTBREAK-MEDICARE — Seniors are at greater risk from COVID-19, and they now face added anxiety due to delays obtaining Medicare coverage. SENT: 910 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-AMAZON: With much of the globe in various stages of a lockdown because of the coronavirus pandenic, Amazon has become a lifeline to many shoppers. But it is also grappling with delivery delays and mounting complaints from workers who worry about contagion while on the job. SENT: 950 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VULNERABLE SUBURBS: Haunting images of an empty Times Square and the daily accounting of hundreds of fatalities in New York City have reinforced the idea of the coronavirus as an urban contagion. That may obscure the fact that statistically, you may be more likely to have the virus if you live in the suburbs. SENT: 920 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRTUAL FRIENDSHIPS: Virus-era friendships can be both crucial fraught with virtually all communications virtual. SENT: 1000 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-LIVES LOST-ITALIAN DOCTOR: The death of Dr. Roberto Stella comes to symbolize the plight of Italy’s family doctors, who were largely left on their own to tend to the first wave of COVID-19 patients at home as hospitals filled up. SENT: 950 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-INDIA-MEDIA: India’s news publishers face a delicate balancing act as they look to offset financial losses from sinking ad sales with support from a government seeking to control the narrative on the coronavirus. SENT: 900 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEMPORARY HOSPITALS: Uncertainty in planning for the coronavirus pandemic has left the globe dotted with dozens of barely used or unused temporary field hospitals. SENT: 1170 words, photos.

VIRUS DIARY-INDIA HOTEL QUARANTINE: Covering the Kashmiri conflict, a tsunami in Sri Lanka and the war in Afghanistan didn’t make this photojournalist flinch. Then came a positive test result for COVID-19. SENT: 650 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN: The U.K. has the third-highest coronavirus death toll in the world after the British government published new figures that now include those who passed away in care homes and elsewhere in the community. SENT: 600 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL: As coronavirus cases surge in Brazil, legions of poor Brazilians are lining up outside state-owned banks to try to get $110 monthly government handouts. SENT: 970 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-AMERICA FIRST: “America First” has long been a ready applause line for President Donald Trump at his campaign rallies. Now it is also a philosophy being put to a life-or-death test, with much of the world still looking to the U.S. for leadership and assistance. SENT: 990 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS: Reversing course, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell now says he is “open” to considering additional funds for state and local governments in the next coronavirus relief bill. SENT; developing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump says the federal government’s coronavirus social distancing guidelines will be “fading out” when they expire on Thursday and states pivot to reopening. SENT; developing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-AIRCRAFT CARRIER: The Navy will conduct a wider investigation of circumstances surrounding the spread of the coronavirus aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. SENT: 940 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-IMMIGRATION DETENTION: Two guards at an immigration detention center in Louisiana have died after contracting the coronavirus, raising new questions about whether the U.S. government is adequately protecting 30,000 immigrants in custody and the staff guarding them. SENT: 785 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: Records reviewed by The Associated Press show that an exclusive group of Texans stood to benefit when the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, urged a small Colorado county to reverse a public health order during the coronavirus outbreak. SENT: 860 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is taking heat after lashing out at a Jewish funeral. SENT; developing.

UNEMPLOYED-NEW YORK-ARTS: Across New York City, the coronavirus pandemic has upended almost everyone’s lives. But the arts community — the dancers, actors, visual artists and designers, who never made much income to start with — is especially suffering. SENT: 1000 words, photos.

UNEMPLOYED-NEW YORK-GROOMERS: The barbershops and salons that provide New Yorkers with cuts, colors, manicures and more are scrambling to ensure their small businesses can survive even after a stay-at-home order is lifted. SENT: 800 words, photos.

UNEMPLOYED-NEW YORK FASHION: Thousands of people have either been furloughed or laid off in the New York City fashion world, which is reeling from sudden store closures as well as the cancellation of fashion events and orders. SENT: 1000 words, photos.

OIL PRICES-Q&A: With a barrel of crude oil costing less than a New York pizza, many U.S. shale producers are being pushed to the brink of bankruptcy and experts are wondering when, and if, the oil industry will recover. SENT: 750 words, photos.

FILM-LOST SUMMER MOVIE SEASON: Studios and theaters are scrambling to minimize the financial fallout by shifting releases, trying to figure out what is salvageable and whether America will be ready to return to movie theaters by July. SENT: 810 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-HURDLE INSPIRATION: Clint Hurdle began sending his daily notes of inspiration more than 10 years ago, during his days managing the Colorado Rockies. Now they go out to 5,000 people. SENT: 590 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MID-LEVEL RECRUITS: The coronavirus pandemic has put AAU basketball on hold and left non-elite recruits in a tough spot. SENT: 730 words, photos.

ALSO:

VIRUS OUTBREAK-WISCONSIN ELECTION: More than 50 people who voted in person or worked the polls during Wisconsin’s election earlier this month have tested positive for COVID-19 so far. SENT: 520 words.

CYPRESS-VIRUS OUTBREAK: Cyprus’ president has unveiled a roadmap for gradually lifting over the next month a strict, stay-at-home order that has

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF DELAYS: The smallest companies seeking coronavirus relief loans are moving to the head of the line — the Small Business Administration says that for eight hours ending at midnight Eastern time it will accept loans only from small lenders. SENT: 170 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIA PHOTO GALLERY: A journalist chronicles life in quarantine. SENT: 380 words.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-REMOTE ART-TEACHER-PHOTO GALLERY: Fred Haag, an associate professor of visual arts at Penn State York, normally teaches art in a large studio at a state-of-the art performing arts center. Classes are now being held remotely from a loft studio at his small farm in south-central Pennsylvania. SENT: 330 words.

INTERACTIVES/GRAPHICS:

-US cases county-by-county. Embed code can be found in Coverage Plan. A static graphic also will be available in AP Newsroom.

-Interactive breakdown of unemployment filings by state with time scale for each (going back as far as 2000)

-Virus Europe Spread (map): An auto updating European map tracking the total confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths from coronavirus.

Additional graphics and interactives include:

- Flattening the Coronavirus Curve (Chart): Chart compares the cumulative cases over time in some of the hardest hit countries by coronavirus.

-Virus Global Spread (table): Table of countries which have confirmed cases of the virus. Table also includes when the virus was initially reported and the number of deaths by country.

-Virus Global Spread (Map): Map of countries which have confirmed cases of the virus. Map also includes when the virus was initially reported and the number of deaths by country.

-Virus Cases Compared Inside and Outside of China (Chart): Chart shows the number of confirmed cases in China over time and compares them to cases confirmed outside of China.

-Virus US State Map: State by state count of confirmed cases in the U.S.

-Virus US State Table: Table tracks the number of cases, recoveries and deaths for the US including its territories.

-Status of Cases Worldwide: Auto-updating once a day, this chart tracks the levels of active cases and deaths from COVID-19 around the world over time.

-Hospitality Workforce in the US: Coronavirus precautions have struck many U.S. business industries hard, especially the hospitality and service industry, where more than 16 million Americans work for support their livelihoods. This U.S. map highlights the number of hospitality workers and their average annual income by county along with the number of hospitality businesses. It is helpful in illustrating the potential impact of job loss to so many across the nation.

PHOTOS:

AP photos have moved from Britain, France, Poland, India, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Austria, China, various US and Latin America locations.

VIDEO:

AP video has moved from Italy, Iran, Philippines, India, Hong Kong, UAE, Japan, various US and Latin America locations.