Dr. Anthony Fauci says he is cautiously optimistic there will be a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year or early 2021. Fauci warned that the next few weeks will be critical to tamping down coronavirus hot spots around the country. Fauci and other top health officials also said they have not been asked to slow down testing for coronavirus, a controversial issue after President Donald Trump said last weekend that he had asked them to do just that because it was uncovering too many infections. Trump said that he wasn’t kidding.

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 —The government’s top infectious disease expert tells Congress he is cautiously optimistic that there will be a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year or early 2021, and warns that the next few weeks will be critical to tamp down coronavirus hot spots around the country. SENT: 857 words, photos, video. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GLOBAL— The number of global coronavirus cases continued to surge in many large countries that have been lifting lockdowns, including the U.S., even as new infections stabilized or dropped in parts of Western Europe. SENT: 800 words, photos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks headed higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street as investors focus on the prospects for an economic recovery as more businesses reopen after being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.. SENT: 700 words, photos. UPCOMING: Will be updated through trading, about 800 words by 5 p.m. WITH: NEW HOME SALES — US new home sales rise surprisingly strong 16.6% in May. SENT: 225 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-REOPENING SCHOOLS — As schools consider how and when to reopen their buildings during the pandemic, many are finding themselves overwhelmed by the potential expenses that would come with operating under social distancing guidelines: protective equipment, staff for smaller classrooms, and additional transportation to keep students spread out on bus rides. SENT: 780 words, photos.

US VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE TOWNS — Within a few weeks of Gov. Kim Reynolds opening bars and restaurants to customers again, two Iowa college towns are seeing spikes in coronavirus cases. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 4:30 p.m.

BRAZIL VIRUS COUNTRYSIDE — While the number of cases and deaths decrease in the big cities, in Brazil's countryside the spread of the Covid 19 is concerning the authorities. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos, video by 7 p.m.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-HAJJ - A Saudi official says the hajj pilgrimage, which usually draws millions of Muslims from all over the world, will only see at the most “thousands” of pilgrims next month due to the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 1038 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-DIARY-COPING NOT COPING -- For those who’ve found it hard to cope with coping during the pandemic, one writer decided to journey inside her own head to find some answers. SENT: 580 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VACATION HOTSPOTS — People are flocking to South Carolina’s beaches for vacation after being cooped up by COVID-19 for months. But the coronavirus is taking no vacation. SENT: 1,102 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MISSOURI — Pastor Joshua Manning is waiting for test results, but he’s pretty sure he has the coronavirus, and so do his wife, their three kids and many members of his small Baptist church. The Tyson chicken processing plant in tiny Noel, Missouri, employs the vast majority of the town’s 1,800 workers, and an outbreak of the virus that is soaring through the plant is affecting many others in the community, too. SENT: 645 words, photos.

US VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEVADA-CHURCH — A rural Nevada church is pleading with a federal appeals court to overturn the state’s COVD-19 restrictions on religious gatherings it says treat casinos and other secular activities more leniently than houses of worship in violation of the U.S. constitution. UPCOMING: 575 words by 5 p.m.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-PERU US AID — The Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy will deliver a donation from the United States Government of 250 mechanical ventilators to the Government of Peru, destined to different hospitals in Peru for their fight against COVID -19. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos, video by 5 p.m.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-LATIN AMERICAN RESTAURANTS — The economic implosion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening to shutter some of Latin America’s most emblematic eateries. SENT: 779 words, photos, video.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-GERMANY — New lockdown measures are being imposed for one week in a German region that has seen a large increase in coronavirus infections linked to a slaughterhouse. SENT: 800 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN — Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to outline plans to allow bars, restaurants and museums to begin re-opening in a further easing of coronavirus lockdown measures. SENT: 500 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-POULTRY — China’s decision to ban imports from a single Tyson Foods poultry plant where there was a coronavirus outbreak has raised concerns about the implications on the U.S. meat industry if the action is expanded to other plants. SENT: 740 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BUSINESS FALLOUT —Airlines, hotels, retail shops and restaurants have begun to reopen in parts of the country hardest hit by the pandemic, and there are signs of life in the housing market again. SENT: 710 words, photos, video.

US-VIRUS OUTBREAK-IMMIGRATION DETENTION — The isolation of at least three families at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention center in Dilley, Texas, has raised new fears of the coronavirus spreading through the facility. SENT: 815 words, photos.

TIM DAHLBERG-SPORTS RETURN — The hits just keep coming. So does the coronavirus, which in recent days alone infected the world’s top tennis player, part of a women’s professional soccer team and baseball players in Florida. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 6 p.m.

ALSO:

VIRUS OUTBREAKS-VIRUS QUESTIONS-SUPPORT BUBBLE — Is it safe to form a COVID-19 “support bubble” with friends? Yes, if done correctly. SENT: 290 words, photos.

DJOKOVIC EVENT-VIRUS CASES — Another tennis player has tested positive for the coronavirus after taking part in an exhibition series organized by Novak Djokovic in Serbia and Croatia. Viktor Troicki says he and his pregnant wife have both been diagnosed with the virus. SENT: 170 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.

-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.

PHOTOS

AP photos have moved from Germany, Cuba, Argentina, Columbia, Pakistan, Britain, Italy, India, Switzerland, Serbia, Portugal and Indonesia. Additional photos planned from various US. Latin America locations.

VIDEO:

AP video has moved from Bosnia, Brazil, Peru and various US locations.