AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EDT

Italian death toll overtakes China's as virus spreads

ROME (AP) —

Italy's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak eclipsed China’s on Thursday as the scourge extended its march across the West, where the United States and other countries increasingly enlisted the military and improvised at every turn to get ready for the onslaught of patients.

In the U.S., the Army readied mobile military hospitals for deployment in major cities. In Madrid, a four-star hotel was turned into a hospital. Medical centers around the United States set up drive-thru testing sites that drew long lines of motorists waiting for nurses to swab their nostrils.

As the outbreak spread westward, it infected at least one European head of state: Monaco's 62-year-old Prince Albert II, who continued to work from his office. And it appeared to be opening an alarming new front in Africa, where health care in many countries is already in sorry shape.

At the United Nations in New York, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world is “at war with a virus” and warned that “a global recession, perhaps of record dimensions, is a near certainty.”

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The Latest: Louisiana Gov. worried about virus predictions

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 240,000 people and killed more than 9,800. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems. Almost 85,000 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.

TOP OF THE HOUR:

—Italy passes China for most coronavirus-related deaths.

—UN Secretary-General: World "is at war with a virus.”

—Cannes Film Festival postponed because of coronavirus pandemic.

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Trump focuses attention on possible coronavirus treatments

President Donald Trump focused attention on possible treatments for the new coronavirus on Thursday, citing potential use of a drug long used to treat malaria and some other approaches still in testing.

At a White House news conference, Trump and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn cited the malaria drug chloroquine, along with remdesivir, an experimental antiviral from Gilead Sciences, and possibly using plasma from survivors of COVID-19, the disease the new virus causes.

Those treatments are among several being tested that might ease symptoms but do not stop the virus from spreading.

Also on Thursday, Swiss drugmaker Roche said it was working with the U.S. government to start a study of Actemra, a drug used now for rheumatoid arthritis and some other conditions, against the coronavirus.

"We're looking at drugs that are already approved for other indications" as a potential bridge or stopgap, Hahn said, while also doing rigorous studies to see if the drugs truly make a difference versus usual care, and if they are safe when used for a new purpose.

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Trump may add strings to virus bailouts; new travel alert

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday the government should take partial ownership of companies bailed out in the coronavirus pandemic, a step that would mark an extraordinary federal reach into the private sector if he was serious. He also held out hope that treatments for COVID-19 might be at hand, voicing far more optimism about quick therapies than federal scientists have expressed.

Trump sought to calm the public's fears as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. climbed above 11,000, with at least 168 deaths. He gave an upbeat promotion of therapeutic drugs in early testing that he said could be “a game-changer and maybe not” in treating those suffering with COVID-19.

But the head of the Food and Drug Administration cautioned that the drugs were still being tested for their effectiveness and safety, a process that takes months and may or may not yield anything. And a few hours after Trump's remark, the FDA reminded the public in a statement there are “no FDA-approved therapeutics or drugs to treat, cure or prevent COVID-19.”

Meanwhile the State Department issued an alert warning Americans not to travel abroad under any circumstances and to return home if they are already outside the country, unless they plan to stay there.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers worked urgently to fashion a $1 trillion aid package to prop up households and the U.S. economy, starting with a White House proposal to send Americans direct aid, potentially $3,000 for a family of four. Congress also is working to increase production of medical supplies and build temporary field hospitals under new authorities Trump invoked in the Defense Production Act.

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Coronavirus gathering bans raise religious freedom questions

NEW YORK (AP) — On the first Sunday after the coronavirus began upending American life, some religious institutions – including two churches whose pastors are close to President Donald Trump – held in-person services amid public health worries over the pandemic. That picture already looks different this week.

Pastor Robert Jeffress, a stalwart evangelical ally of Trump, held services at his First Baptist megachurch this past Sunday in accordance with Dallas-area limits on gatherings of more than 500 people but said in an interview that this week, he would hold online-only worship. The Florida church where Paula White, Trump’s personal pastor and a White House adviser on faith issues, invited congregants to in-person services this past Sunday will also shift to online-only status this week, according to a spokeswoman.

Jeffress, who had called for “a fearless church,” said on Tuesday that Christians should take “common-sense approaches” to protect their health.

“Every pastor needs to use wisdom, and it is very obvious that the government’s motivation in this is to protect the well-being of individuals,” he said.

Churches and other religious institutions that have chafed at public health experts’ calls to fight the virus by avoiding gatherings are under heightened scrutiny as those experts’ pleas become edicts from government officials, including Trump. In a nation where faith can be as politically polarized as any other part of life – and where freedom to worship has become a rallying cry on the right – some conservative religious institutions are acknowledging that the government’s word comes first during a pandemic.

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AP PHOTOS: Virus revives demand for traditional French soap

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Amid the rapid spread of the new coronavirus across Europe, the hallmark Marseille tradition of soap-making is enjoying a renaissance, as the French rediscover an essential local product.

Serge Bruna's grandfather entered the then-booming business in the southern port city more than a century ago. His father followed suit, although the family enterprise was requisitioned during World War II, when soap was considered an essential commodity.

Today, Bruna sells soap from the same shopfront on Marseille’s Old Port — wearing a sanitary mask and skintight gloves.

“Even though we work in a factory full of virus-repellent soap, it is good to take precautions,” he said.

Bruna’s Savonnerie de la Licorne, which runs four soap shops on the Old Port, a museum and a small factory in the heart of Marseille, has seen its shop sales increase 30% and delivery orders quadruple since Italy declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus.

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Joe Biden, nominee-in-waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the three weeks since his blowout win in the South Carolina primary, Joe Biden has emerged as the Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting. But, amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, put the emphasis on waiting.

Biden holds an essentially insurmountable delegate lead over his last remaining rival, Bernie Sanders, yet the Vermont senator remains in the race. And with several states delaying their primaries to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Biden can’t reach the required majority of pledged convention delegates until May or June.

Yet the former vice president, who proudly calls himself a “tactile politician,” can’t chase those votes in public because he’s essentially confined to his Delaware home like any other American in a quasi-national quarantine. His new campaign manager and her staff are working from home, too.

For now, Biden’s campaign has little choice but to embrace an unprecedented political purgatory.

“Three weeks ago, we were on the verge of collapse as a campaign, so this is a very recent phenomenon,” said Biden senior adviser Anita Dunn, insisting that the 77-year-old candidate remains focused on playing a productive role in the coronavirus response and sewing up a nominating fight that he doesn’t see as finished.

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Business Fallout: Airlines fear failure, delivery in demand

It was less than 11 weeks ago that the first cases of pneumonia were detected in Wuhan, China. The speed at which what would soon be named COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, knocked the global economy askew is unparalleled in our lifetimes.

Following are developments Thursday related to the outbreak, the efforts by governments to stabilize their economies, the companies that must navigate through an altered landscape, and the millions of people whose lives have been upended.

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NATIONAL ECONOMICS: Mass disruptions have spread across the globe as nations simultaneously try to slow the spread of the coronavirus and limit damage to the economy.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits surged last week by 70,000, indicating that the impact of the coronavirus was starting to be felt in rising layoffs in the job market. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for benefits, a good proxy for layoffs, rose by 70,000 to a seasonally adjusted 281,000 last week.

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Europeans sing health workers' praises nightly from windows

PARIS (AP) — At a time of isolation, people in many European cities hit hard by the new coronavirus are taking at least a minute each night to come together in gratitude.

They stand at open windows or on balconies in Rome, Madrid, Paris, Athens and Amsterdam, singing, cheering and applauding even though they know their intended audience is too busy to listen.

The adulation is for the doctors, nurses and other health care workers putting themselves at risk on the front lines of the pandemic that is forcing most residents to stay home. A 52-year-old nurse on Thursday became the first medical professional in Spain to die of COVID-19.

In Italy, where the number of virus-related deaths surpassed those in China, 2,900 health care providers have been infected, or 10% of the country's total. Italian broadcasters regularly feature exhausted doctors and nurses begging people to stay home and expressing a sense of abandonment over inadequate protective gear.

The Dutch health minister collapsed from exhaustion in the midst of a parliamentary session on Wednesday.

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National parks are free, but some oppose that amid the virus

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Most national parks are open as a refuge for Americans tired of being stuck at home during a pandemic, but despite now being free to visit, people may find it more difficult to enjoy them as parks close visitor centers, shuttles, lodges and restaurants to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

Parks are trying to keep up with ever-changing rules and recommendations from government officials who are urging people to avoid gathering in large groups but allowing them to get outside for fresh air and exercise as long as they keep their distance from others.

The National Park Service says it's adhering to the latest guidelines from the White House and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vowing to keep outdoor spaces open while giving park superintendents the power to close or modify operations.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt this week temporarily waived entrance fees at national parks, monuments and wildlife refuges to make it easier for people to get outdoors and “implement some social distancing."

“Getting out into the wilderness is perfect for what we call the ‘shack nasties’ — being cooped up inside your home,” said Trish Jacob, an employee of a backcountry guiding company near Rocky Mountain National Park.