Returning troops denied water, bathrooms under quarantine

WASHINGTON (AP) — It wasn’t the welcome home that U.S. soldiers expected when they returned from war zones in the Middle East in the past week.

When their planes landed at Fort Bliss, Texas, they were herded into buses, denied water and the use of bathrooms, then quarantined in packed barracks, with little food or access to the outdoors. “This is no way to treat Soldiers returning from war,” one soldier told The Associated Press in an email.

The soldiers posted notes on social media about the poor conditions. Their complaints got quick attention from senior Army and Pentagon leaders. Now changes are under way at Fort Bliss and at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where the first soldiers placed under quarantine also complained of poor, cramped conditions.

Quarantining troops on military bases is becoming a greater challenge for military officials. While continuing missions and training, they also have to try to prevent the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus by enforcing two-week quarantines of soldiers who have spent months overseas.

In one of Bragg's remote training areas, large white tents have popped up over the past few days to house hundreds of 82nd Airborne Division troops returning to the base from Afghanistan and Middle East deployments. The tent city, being called Forward Operating Base Patriot (FOB Patriot), materialized almost overnight, after commanders realized the limits of the barracks when troops began arriving on Saturday.

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What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

The death toll from the global pandemic surpassed 10,000 people worldwide and the effects of a global economy grinding to a halt because of the pandemic were beginning to show, from millions of unsold flowers rotting in piles in Kenya to the slow emptying of the world’s skies. In Southern Europe, gasping patients filled sick wards and field hospitals went up in hotels and a convention center in Madrid.

The U.N. chief warned of a looming global recession “perhaps of record dimensions." California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state's 40 million residents to stay at home indefinitely and venture out only for essential jobs, groceries and some exercise. At the other end of the country, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a similar order, starting Sunday, that all workers in nonessential businesses must stay home and all gatherings of any size will be banned in the state of more than 19 million people.

Here are some of AP's top stories Friday on the world's coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day:

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY:

—President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to get needed medical supplies on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak and the private sector mobilized against it.

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`Accept it': 3 states lock down 70 million against the virus

Illinois and New York state joined California on Friday in ordering all residents to stay in their homes unless they have vital reasons to go out, restricting the movement of more than 70 million Americans in the most sweeping measures undertaken yet in the U.S. to contain the coronavirus.

The states' governors acted in a bid to fend off the kind of onslaught that has caused the health system in southern Europe to buckle. The lockdowns encompass the three biggest cities in America — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — as well as No. 8 San Diego and No. 14 San Francisco.

"No, this is not life as usual,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said as the death toll in the U.S. topped 200, with at least 35 in his state. “Accept it and realize it and deal with it."

Cuomo said that starting Sunday, all workers in nonessential businesses must stay home as much as possible, and gatherings of any size will be banned in the state of over 19 million people. California likewise all but confined its 40 million residents on Friday, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a similar order set to take effect on Saturday for the state's 12.6 million people.

Exceptions were made for essential jobs and errands, such as buying groceries and medicine, as well as for exercise.

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US virus testing faces new headwind: Lab supply shortages

WASHINGTON (AP) — First, some of the coronavirus tests didn't work. Then there weren't enough to go around. Now, just as the federal government tries to ramp up nationwide screening, laboratory workers are warning of a new roadblock: dire shortages of testing supplies.

The shortages are the latest stumble in a botched effort to track the spread of coronavirus that has left the U.S. weeks behind many other developed countries. Dwindling supplies include both chemical components and basic swabs needed to collect patient samples.

There are "acute, serious shortages across the board" for supplies needed to do the tests, said Eric Blank, of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, which represents state and local health labs.

Late Friday, Blank's group and two other public health organizations recommended that testing be scaled back due to “real, immediate, wide-scale shortages.” The groups said only patients with COVID-19 symptoms who are elderly, have high-risk medical conditions or are medical staff should be tested.

“Testing for individuals who are not in these three groups is not recommended until sufficient testing supplies and capacity become more widely available,” said the joint statement, issued with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.

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Trump's big promises on COVID-19 often fall short

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's become a fixture of life under quarantine. Almost daily, President Donald Trump appears on television, flanked by officials, to announce his latest maneuver in the fight against the new coronavirus. He typically unveils a dramatic-sounding emergency measure, a solution that appears imminent or a bold promise meant to reassure Americans that he's got this.

Often, the reality falls short of the promise.

The new national testing infrastructure he unveiled in the Rose Garden last week is actually a modest pilot program still in development. The drug he branded a possible “game-changer” still needs testing. It's unclear whether he's using all his power to ramp up production of medical equipment — or whether he's just preparing to do so.

Here's a look at Trump's most high-profile announcements and how they line up with reality.

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Dow drops more than 900 points, ending worst week since 2008

Wall Street ended the week the same way it began: in full retreat from the coronavirus.

Stocks fell sharply and the price of oil sank Friday as federal and state governments moved to shut down bigger and bigger swaths of the nation’s economy in the hope of limiting the spread of the outbreak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid more than 900 points, ending the week with a 17.3% loss. The index has declined in four of the last five weeks.

The latest sell-off wiped out the gains from a day earlier and capped the market’s worst week since the financial crisis of 2008.

Investors are worried that the coronavirus will plunge the U.S. and other major economies into deep recessions. Steps to contain the spread of the outbreak are causing massive disruptions and layoffs. Optimism that emergency actions by central banks and governments to ease the economic damage has waned as investors wait for the Trump administration to deliver on legislation that will pump billions of dollars into hurting households and industries.

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Just get through today: Sheltering in place amid a pandemic

OAK PARK, Ill. (AP) — A week ago, I was that crazy parent. “Did you tell my friends’ parents I can’t hang out?” my teen protested. Yep, I basically did.

Today, we are “sheltering in place,” an order from the mayor in our Chicago suburb, Oak Park, to leave home only for essential services until at least April 3 — and to stay 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from others when outside. Like many across the nation, we’ve already been hunkering down, working from home and home-schooling to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Now it’s official, and even more eerily quiet.

My mind races. Two more weeks?? I try to shut it down. Just get through today.

And then tomorrow.

I text my nephew Sam in San Francisco. He’s already a sheltering veteran, as it were, with his entire state now being told to do so. New York state also is asking businesses with nonessential services to keep employees home. “Well, we just ordered delivery burritos!” he responds. I laugh. Moments of levity — the toilet paper jokes, the video with comedian Mel Brooks protected behind his glass door, the dog on Twitter who howls along with the “Law and Order” theme — are like a salve.

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Top Flyer: Dayton's Obi Toppin leads AP All-American team

The college basketball season came to an emphatic, dramatic end with the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament. The dream of playing under the bright lights of March Madness, of possibly hoisting a national championship trophy, wiped out by the coronavirus.

For a handful of players, earning a postseason honor offers a glimmer of happiness amid the uncertainty.

“Getting these awards, it brings brightness to my life right now,” Seton Hall's Myles Powell said. “To have it end so quickly was just like ... man.”

Powell added to his load Friday when he joined Dayton's Obi Toppin, Iowa's Luka Garza, Marquette's Markus Howard and Oregon's Payton Pritchard on The Associated Press All-America first team.

Toppin was the lone unanimous choice, receiving 65 votes from a nationwide media panel after averaging 20 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 63% in a breakout season. The 6-foot-9 sophomore helped the third-ranked Flyers match the program's highest ranking and be on track for a potential No. 1 seed before the NCAA Tournament was shelved. He is Dayton's first first-team AP All-American.

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Going stir crazy? Then train like an astronaut, mimic space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Isolated at home? Then train like an astronaut.

That's the inspirational advice from a public engagement specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Astronaut wannabe Rachel Zimmerman-Brachman said Friday that isolation is a lot like astronaut training. So she came up with this positive message and launched it via Facebook on Thursday:

“Attitude is everything: I'm on an adventure in a confined space with a small crew for a long duration mission, with occasional space walks and resupply missions. Sounds like astronaut training to me.”

Zimmerman-Brachman, a longtime JPL employee with degrees in physics and space studies, said she's wanted to be an astronaut since childhood. She's applied four times through NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. (She has dual citizenship.)

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Poland's idle restaurants send free food to medical 'heroes'

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A popular Warsaw entertainment center looks empty and closed amid a government ordered shutdown from the coronavirus, but inside, cook Bozena Legowska is busy.

One hot pizza after another is lifted out of the oven, boxed and whisked to a nearby hospital for a hungry staff of doctors who are working harder than ever under the pressure of the spreading virus.

The pizza boxes are inscribed with upbeat messages, including, “You are our heroes.”

The Ale Zebra center in northern Warsaw has joined a growing nationwide network of restaurants and eateries showing their appreciation for the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals by bringing them free meals.

Last week, the government imposed a “national quarantine” that closed schools, universities, restaurants and culture centers, asking everyone to stay home if possible. But that order doesn't apply to health care workers, who face a time of incessant, intensified effort. A nation of 38 million, Poland has 378 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections. Five of the patients have died.