Virus Outbreak, ADVISORY

Countries in Europe and Asia that saw a summer respite from coronavirus outbreaks are tracking swiftly rising numbers of new confirmed. The reversal is prompting worry among government leaders and health officials that months of hard-won progress could be lost in a matter of day. Several European countries are imposing mask and testing requirements as people return from vacations. An outbreak in Auckland prompted New Zealand’s prime minister to delay a national election by four weeks. In Lebanon, medical officials called Monday for a two-week lockdown amid a surge in new cases following the devastating Beirut port explosion. But progress in South Africa is leading the government to lift bans on cigarette and alcohol sales.

The AP plans the following coverage today of the virus outbreak. For up-to-the minute information, visit AP Newsroom’s coverage hub Find AP Virus Alerts here

ONLY ON AP: PUBLIC HEALTH-CARES ACT: Congress has allocated trillions of dollars to ease the coronavirus crisis. A joint Kaiser Health News and AP investigation finds that many communities with big outbreaks have spent little of that federal money on local public health departments for work such as testing and contact tracing. SENT: 2230 words, photos. A 1070-word abridged has moved.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-HOME FRONT: For four nurses in a Southern California hospital, the scariest place isn’t the hospital where they care for coronavirus patients. It’s home, where they feel helpless to keep their families safe. They care for their patients during 12-hour shifts, taking temperatures and holding hands through gloves and wondering when — if — it will all end. And then they go home, to a new routine of changing clothes in the garage and rushing inside to shower before they can kiss their kids goodnight. SENT: 1620 words, photos. An 840-word abridged also has moved.

SENT/DEVELOPING:

VIRUS OUTBREAK: Airlines are trying to convince a frightened public that measures like mandatory face masks and hospital-grade air filters make sitting in a plane safer than many other indoor settings during the coronavirus pandemic, but it isn’t working. SENT; developing. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL: Countries that had seen a summer respite from coronavirus outbreaks tracked swiftly rising numbers of new confirmed cases Monday, prompting fears among government leaders and health officials that months of hard-won progress would be lost in a matter of days as vacationers return home. SENT: 890 words, photos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS: Stocks are closing with modest gains on Wall Street, leaving the S&P 500 just shy of its record high. SENT: 840 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONTACT TRACING: New York City’s 3,000 contact tracers are working to curb the spread of coronavirus in what appears to be the biggest such effort in any U.S. city. New York says it’s now meeting its goal of reaching about 90% of all newly diagnosed people and completing interviews with 75%. SENT: 1110 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SCHOOLS: As states around the country require visitors from areas with high rates of coronavirus infections to quarantine upon arrival, children taking end-of-summer vacations to hot spots are facing the possibility of being forced to skip the start of in-person learning at their schools. SENT: 930 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-IOWA: Iowa’s coronavirus website has made the pandemic look less severe than it is because of a software error that artificially lowers the number of new confirmed cases. SENT: 680 words, photos.

BRITAIN-EXAMS-FIASCO: The British government has scrapped an exam-grading policy that was set to deprive thousands of graduating high school students of places at universities. SENT: 700 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL-INDIGENOUS: Dozens of Indigenous people have blocked a major highway in Brazil’s Amazon to pressure the government for help in protecting them from COVID-19. SENT: 550 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa, which imposed one of the world’s strictest anti-coronavirus lockdowns five months ago, will significantly relax its restrictions Tuesday, including allowing the sales of liquor and cigarettes, as it appears the country has weathered its first peak of COVID-19 cases. SENT: 540 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST: Lebanon is facing a surge in coronavirus cases after a devastating blast at the Beirut port earlier this month killed scores and wounded thousands, prompting medical officials to urge Monday for a two-week lockdown to try to contain the pandemic. SENT: 610 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SKOREA: A conservative South Korean pastor who has been a bitter critic of the country’s president has tested positive for the coronavirus, health authorities said Monday, two days after he participated in an anti-government protest in Seoul that drew thousands. SENT: 780 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA: South Korea counted its fourth straight day of triple-digit increases in new coronavirus cases as the government urged people to stay home and curb travel. Includes developments from thoroughout Asia. SENT 810 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-BOOKS FOR DAD: Geoff Woolf instilled in his sons a love for literature, and when he got sick with COVID-19, they turned to books to help him — and others. SENT: 630 words, photos.

FILM-VIRTUAL PRODUCTION: New LED video wall technology used in making last year’s “The Lion King” and “The Mandalorian” series could become more widespread as Hollywood production ramps back up during the pandemic. Instead of shooting on location with a full cast and crew and navigating stringent social distancing requirements, it allows filmmakers on a studio lot to spread out individual scenes captured virtually using a variety of techniques. SENT: 660 words, photos.

ALSO:

BRITAIN-AIRLINES: Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, plans to cut capacity by 20% in September and October as a surge in COVID-19 cases dents bookings. SENT: 260 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-DETENTION CENTER: A federal judge says she’ll allow two outside experts to inspect an immigration detention center in Virginia that has seen the worst coronavirus outbreak at any such facility in the nation. SENT: 320 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRANCE: Nine people with the virus died over the past week in a single nursing home in eastern France, and other French care homes are shutting their doors amid a new rise in virus infections. SENT: 320 words, photos.

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.

-State trends (table): Trends in new cases and positivity rates for each U.S. state over the past 14 days.

-Case count (table): Searchable table of confirmed cases, including recoveries and deaths, by country, updated each hour.

-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 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.

PHOTOS:

AP photos have moved from Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Nepal, China, India, South Korea, Kenya, various US, Latin America locations.

VIDEO:

AP video has moved from Belgium, Italy, South Korea, India, Japan, various US, Latin America locations.