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

Face masks recommended, though Trump says he won't wear one

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says his administration is encouraging many Americans to wear face masks in public, though he stresses that the recommendation is optional and is conceding that he will not be complying with it.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s expected new guidance that many people in the United States should start wearing face coverings when out in public is raising concern that it could cause a sudden run on masks.

Though some people already have begun acquiring or creating face masks on their own, the administration's new guidance could test the market's ability to accommodate a surge in demand. It was expected to be limited to people in areas of the country hit hard by the coronavirus, not nationwide, as some health experts had urged.

The new guidelines, to be announced Friday, will encourage people to use more rudimentary covering like T-shirts, bandannas and non-medical masks. And President Donald Trump himself suggested scarves could be an good alternative to masks.

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What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

With coronavirus deaths surging in New York, the governor announced Friday he will use his authority to seize ventilators and protective gear from private hospitals and companies that aren’t using them — one of the most aggressive steps yet in the U.S. to relieve severe shortages of equipment needed to fight the scourge.

Stocks fell again on Wall Street following the latest grim reading on the toll the coronavirus is taking on jobs as the economy grinds to a halt. The government reported earlier Friday that more than 700,000 jobs were lost last month because of the pandemic, and investors and economists expect that far worse data is on the way.

The unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% from a 50-year low of 3.5%.

Meanwhile, U.S. and European medical workers struggling to save ailing patients watched supplies of medicine, protective equipment and breathing machines dwindle by the hour.

Here are some of AP’s top stories Friday on the pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories explaining some of its complexities.

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Governor to seize ventilators for NYC's overtaxed hospitals

NEW YORK (AP) — With coronavirus deaths surging in New York, the governor announced Friday that he will use his authority to seize ventilators and protective gear from private hospitals and companies that aren’t using them — one of the most aggressive steps yet in the U.S. to relieve severe shortages of equipment needed to fight the scourge.

The executive order he said he would sign is aimed at the kind of shortages worldwide that authorities say have caused front-line health care workers to fall sick and forced doctors in Europe to make life-or-death decisions about which patients get a breathing machine.

“If they want to sue me for borrowing their excess ventilators to save lives, let them sue me,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. He characterized it as a “sharing of resources” and promised to eventually return the equipment or compensate the owners.

Cuomo has said New York, the worst hot spot in the nation, could run out of ventilators next week, while Louisiana's governor said New Orleans could exhaust its supply by Tuesday.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said his administration is encouraging many Americans to cover their faces in public — with T-shirts, scarves or bandannas — though he stressed that the recommendation is optional and conceding that he will not follow it.

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AP Sources: Shipping tycoon helps Venezuela in quest for gas

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — With gas lines across Venezuela growing, a controversial shipping magnate has stepped in to prevent the country from running out of fuel amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press has learned.

The fuel shortage, in the nation that sits atop the world largest crude reserves, is the latest threat to Nicolas Maduro's rule at a time he's under intense U.S. pressure to resign.

Wilmer Ruperti’s Maroil Trading Inc. billed state-owned oil monopoly PDVSA 12 million euros last month for the purchase of up to 250,000 barrels of 95-octane gasoline, according to a copy of the invoice obtained by the AP. The gasoline was purchased from an undisclosed Middle Eastern country, said two people familiar with the transaction on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive dealings.

The single gas shipment isn’t going to resolve Venezuela’s supply problems. But with the economy paralyzed, any amount of fuel that arrives will come as welcome relief, analysts said.

Ruperti, a former oil tanker captain, has a colorful history coming to the rescue of Venezuela’s socialist revolution at critical junctures, something that endeared him to the late Hugo Chávez.

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At Madrid field hospital, staff seeks to provide human touch

MADRID (AP) — There's a bookshelf filled with donated novels. Hotel toiletries rest on cardboard boxes turned into bedside tables. Meals are served with personalized notes from the staff. And an army of volunteers do their best to keep up an air of optimism amid the pandemic.

At a cavernous convention center that has become Spain’s largest makeshift hospital, these touches of kindness and camaraderie are helping to make the days and nights more bearable for patients afflicted with COVID-19.

“Despite the distance that we keep from each other, there is a sense of community,” said Jonan Basterra as he waited for the oxygen in his blood to reach a level high enough so he can go home.

The 50-year-old patient dreams about defeating the virus so he can shave off the beard he has grown and celebrate with ice cream. In the meantime, he rests in bed No. 15.18, making friends with others or reading the books that a nurse brought from home and offered in an improvised open library.

“We are all in this together and we are all going to get out of here together,” he told The Associated Press via video call shortly before he was delivered a potato omelet — one of Spain's national dishes — with a personalized note from the hospital's makeshift kitchen. The cooks had learned on social media about Basterra’s craving for the food.

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Insurance marketplaces offer help with coronavirus job cuts

More than a million people could swamp the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces in the coming months as employers lay off staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

The health insurance markets are a backbone of the Obama-era law that President Donald Trump has tried to demolish. They are now seen as a key option to help protect people from devastating medical bills while they search for another job and new coverage.

Nearly 10 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits in the final two weeks of March, far exceeding the figure for any corresponding period on record.

Here’s a closer look at the issue.

WHAT’S THE RISK OF REMAINING UNINSURED?

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Coronavirus struck entire Wuhan family, took its patriarch

WUHAN, China (AP) — For more than a month, Wu Di did not know his father was dead.

Before a virus outbreak devastated Wuhan, 68-year-old Wu Chuanyong, who had worked as part of a mandatory rural labor program, had been enjoying a peaceful retirement in the central Chinese city. His days began with a morning stroll through the park and ended watching television dramas at night.

“He was thrifty and cared a lot about his siblings, whom he took care of when they were young, as he was the oldest," said the younger Wu, his 34-year-old son.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of an ongoing series of stories remembering people who have died from the coronavirus around the world.

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Anick Jesdanun, longtime AP technology writer, dies at 51

He ran marathons on every continent, including Antarctica — 83 of them in all, many followed by a visit to an obscure craft brewery. Last year, he watched 365 movies — most of them in theaters. And Anick Jesdanun made sure — always — that when millions of people read his coverage of the internet and its ripples, they got all the facts and the context they needed.

Jesdanun, 51, deputy technology editor for The Associated Press, died in New York City on Thursday of coronavirus-related complications, his family said.

For more than two decades, Jesdanun helped generations of readers understand the emerging internet and its impact on the world. And while his work may have been about screens and computers and virtual networks, Jesdanun’s large life was about the world and exploring all of the corners of it that he could, virtual and physical alike.

“Before people knew the internet was full of falsehoods, he was the guy who said, `We’d better check that,’” said his colleague, AP technology writer Michael Liedtke.

Jesdanun, known as Nick, was the first AP reporter to be given the “internet writer” byline two decades ago, when the world was less than 10 years into using the network widely.

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Search underway for Kennedy Townsend's daughter, grandson

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Authorities were searching for the daughter and a grandson of former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend on Friday after a canoe they were paddling in the Chesapeake Bay didn’t return to shore.

Gov. Larry Hogan identified the missing relatives as Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, and McKean’s 8-year-old son, Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean.

Kennedy Townsend, who served two terms as Maryland’s lieutenant governor, is the eldest daughter of the late U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and niece of the late President John F. Kennedy.

“I reached out to and spoke with Lt. Gov. Townsend this morning and on behalf of the people of Maryland I expressed our most heartfelt sympathies and prayers to her and to her entire family during this difficult time," Hogan said.

The search started Thursday afternoon after the state Natural Resources Police responded to a report of two people on a canoe in the Chesapeake Bay who appeared to be overtaken by strong winds.

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VIRUS DIARY: Fantasy baseball, when real ball is the fantasy

CINCINNATI (AP) — "People ask me what I do in winter when there is no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” — Rogers Hornsby (1896-1963), baseball Hall of Famer

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Updating my brackets, I looked forward to a dream second-round game: the 1919 Chicago White Sox against the 1976 Cincinnati Reds. The two greatest players ever banned because of betting scandals, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose, on the same field!

The field is made of cardboard, a game played with dice and statistically accurate cards.

Instead of cleaning out the basement as planned two weeks ago in our self-isolating home, I returned upstairs carrying a box of Strat-O-Matic cards and drew up a March Madness baseball tournament with the best teams of all time.