Virus Outbreak, ADVISORY
The viral pandemic’s resurgence caused the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits to rise last week for the first time in nearly four months, evidence of the deepening economic pain the outbreak is causing. The increase in weekly jobless claims to 1.4 million served to underscore the outsize role the unemployment insurance system is playing among the nation’s safety net programs — just when a $600 weekly federal aid payment for the jobless is set to expire at the end of this week. All told, the Labor Department said Thursday that the total number of people receiving jobless benefits fell 1.1 million to 16.2 million.
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
UPCOMING:
SENT/DEVELOPING:
VIRUS OUTBREAK: The nation got another dose of bad economic news Thursday as the number of laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits rose last week for the first time since late March, intensifying concerns the resurgent coronavirus is stalling or even reversing the economic recovery. SENT; developing. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.
AP POLL-VIRUS OUTBREAK-REOPENING: Americans overwhelmingly in favor of requiring people to wear masks around other people outside their homes. The poll also shows increasing worries about infections, as well as increasing disapproval of the federal government’s response to the pandemic, as lawmakers nationwide struggle to find the right balance between preventing infections and saving local economies. SENT: 920 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SENDING MONEY HOME: Remittances from expatriates have been the life blood of many Mexican villages. But these days, fear accompanies the money that crosses the border. SENT: 2030 words, photos. A 980-word abridged also has moved.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE POPULISM FACTOR: The countries that top the rankings of COVID-19 deaths globally are not necessarily the poorest, the richest or the most densely populated. But they do have one thing in common: They are led by populist, mold-breaking leaders like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Jair Bolsonaro. SENT: 1230 words, photos. A 920-word abridged also has moved.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-TWO SMALL SHEIKHDOMS: The small, neighboring sheikhdoms of Bahrain and Qatar have the world’s highest per capita rates of coronavirus infections. SENT: 935 words, photos.
FINANCIAL MARKETS: Wall Street stumbled Thursday, undercut in part by a discouraging report showing that layoffs are picking up across the country with coronavirus counts. SENT: 990 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIGRANT CHILDREN-HOTELS: A court-appointed monitor for immigrant youth is calling on the U.S. government to stop detaining children as young as 1 in hotels before expelling them to their home countries. SENT: 800 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FEDERAL PRISON: The Justice Department inspector general’s office says a federal prison in California struggled to contain the spread of the coronavirus because of staff shortages, limited use of home confinement and ineffective screening. SENT: 500 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The director-general of the World Health Organization has upbraided U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for “untrue and unacceptable” comments as he responded to reported allegations that included the health agency chief having been “bought” by China. SENT: 540 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS: The White House has dropped a bid to cut Social Security payroll taxes as Republicans unveil a $1 trillion COVID-19 rescue package. SENT; developing. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS-OUTLOOK: Congress is just starting to negotiate new legislation to renew coronavirus aid. But the biggest obstacles to a deal are already coming into view.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ARGENTINA HEALTH WORKERS: Even before the new coronavirus hit, Argentina’s health care workers were struggling, most of them working more than 12 hours a day at multiple jobs to make ends meet amid the country’s overheated inflation. The pandemic has meant even tougher times on the job, providing medical care for the gravely ill and also giving what comfort they can to patients dying of COVID-19. SENT: 440 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA: The city of Tokyo has announced a record 366 new daily coronavirus cases, exceeding 300 for the first time as Japan begins a four-day weekend with many people joining a tourism promotion campaign that the government is pushing despite concerns of a new wave of infections nationwide. Includes additional developments in Asia. SENT: 830 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AUSTRALIA-MASKS: There are few bare faces among rush-hour commuters in Australia’s second-largest city as Melbourne residents are largely complying with a new law requiring masks. SENT: 750 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AFRICA: The South African Medical Research Council is reporting a “huge discrepancy” between the country’s confirmed COVID-19 deaths and the number of excess deaths from natural causes, while Africa’s top health official says the virus is spreading there “like wildfire.” SENT: 730 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BLOCKBUSTERS IN WAIT: After several false starts, the film industry is hoping to bring new releases back into movie theaters in late August. But for blockbusters like the recently delayed “Tenet,” it may mean rethinking opening weekend and returning to a more gradual rollout through international territories and even U.S. cities. SENT: 1170 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DIARY-BY THE NUMBERS: When journalists are trying to explain a complicated story, they often start with raw data. How many? How much? How long? How far? One writer decided to use this same approach to document my life during the lockdown. SENT: 640 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-ONE GOOD THING-PHILIPPINES BICYCLES: A year after he passed away at 17, Benjamin Canlas is still making the world a better place — one bike at a time. SENT: 590 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-VIRAL QUESTIONS-COINS: Why is there a coin shortage during the pandemic? The Federal Reserve has seen a significant decline of coins in circulation because businesses have either closed or are not accepting cash. SENT: 280 words, photos.
BASEBALL-THE SOUNDTRACK OF SUMMER: Major League Baseball is ready to start its most bizarre season ever. The virus-delayed opening day is set for Thursday night when the World Series champion Washington Nationals host the New York Yankees. SENT: 980 words, photos. With VIURS OUTBREAK-FAKE FAN FOLLIES: The fans aren’t in the ballpark for the 2020 baseball season, but you’ll be able to hear them anyway.
TOKYO-ONE YEAR TO GO: The postponed Tokyo Olympics have again reached the one-year-to-go mark. But the celebration is small this time with more questions than answers about how the Olympics can happen in a pandemic. SENT: 910 words, photos.
ALSO:
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MASK FIGHT: A Florida man is facing felony charges for pointing a gun at another Walmart shopper who had told him to wear a mask. SENT: 400 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO-MASKS: New Mexico authorities are investigating a deadly shooting at an auto shop after a man who refused to wear a mask tried to run over the shop owner’s son and crashed into a vehicle before driving off. SENT: 230 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW YORK: New York City officials say the city has reached its goal of performing 50,000 coronavirus tests a day, and its contact tracing effort has potentially prevented thousands of new infections. SENT: 240 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLORADO: All cadets at the Air Force Academy will return to the Colorado Springs campus in the fall, making the university one of the first in the country to return during the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 270 words, photos.
AUSTRALIA-ECONOMY: Australia’s response to the coronavirus pandemic tipped the government’s budget $61 billion into the red in the last fiscal year and is forecast to create $131 billion more debt in the current year. SENT: 260 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-WOMEN JOURNALISTS: Gender inequalities in newsrooms have increased during the coronavirus pandemic according to a survey published Thursday by the International Federation of Journalists. SENT: 250 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST: A U.N. report says the coronavirus pandemic will exact a heavy toll on Arab countries, causing an economic contraction of 5.7% this year, pushing millions into poverty and compounding the suffering of those affected by armed conflict. SENT: 350 words.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-JUSTIN BIEBER TOUR: New dates have been announced for Justin Bieber’s previously scheduled 2020 tour, which will now take place next summer. SENT: 190 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 Britain, Belgium, India, Iraq, Thailand, China. Additional photos planned from various US, Latin America locations.
VIDEO:
AP video has moved from Lebanon, Iraq, India, Japan, Italy, North Korea, Australia. Additional video planned from various Europe, US Latin America locations.