Virus Outbreak, ADVISORY

The latest hot spot for the coronavirus in the United States is the heartland, where cases are rising in a worrying trend. The pandemic began with devastation in the New York City area, and was followed by a summertime crisis in the Sun Belt. But it is now striking cities with much smaller populations, often in conservative corners of America where anti-mask sentiment runs high, creating problems at hospitals and schools in the Midwest and West. Wisconsin is averaging more than 2,000 new cases a day over the last week, compared with 675 just three weeks earlier, and hospitalizations are at the highest level since March.

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

SENT/DEVELOPING:

VIRUS OUTBREAK: It began with devastation in the New York City area, followed by a summertime crisis in the Sun Belt. Now the coronavirus is striking cities with much smaller populations in the heartland, often in conservative corners of America where anti-mask sentiment runs high. SENT; developing. With VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST.

UN-GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Struggling to contain resurgent virus infections, European leaders decried a collective failure to vanquish the pandemic. They told the U.N. General Assembly on Friday that it’s time for countries to reinvent international cooperation in response. SENT; developing. With UN-GENERAL ASSEMBLY-VATICAN: Pope Francis is urging world leaders to use the coronavirus emergency as an opportunity to reform the injustices of the global economy and the “perverse logic” of the nuclear deterrence doctrine.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SENIOR VOTERS: President Donald Trump’s remarks at a campaign event in Ohio this week reverberated all the way to a sparkling waterfront in Florida, where senior citizens parsed his assessment of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump said that COVID-19 was seriously affecting “virtually nobody” under the age of 18 and sought to frame the pandemic as largely impacting older Americans. Florida, where 34 percent of the population is over the age of 55, is a potential swing state for Trump’s re-election campaign. SENT: 880 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-LANDLORD LEGAL BATTLE: As millions of Americans struggle to keep up with their rent during the coronavirus pandemic, some landlords are pushing back by claiming that a national eviction moratorium has not only placed an unfair financial burden on them, but also infringed on their rights as property owners. SENT: 870 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MILESTONES-ISRAEL VIRUS CZAR: When Dr. Ronni Gamzu, one of Israel’s leading public health experts, was named the country’s coronavirus czar in mid-July, he was hailed as Israel’s best hope for halting a fast-growing number of cases. Two months later, Israel is suffering from one of the world’s worst outbreaks and heading into a tough new lockdown and Gamzu has faced withering criticism from opponents, pushback from Israel’s notoriously fractious political leadership and the stark fact that the number of new cases shows no sign of declining. SENT: 1020 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MIDEAST-WEDDING BUSTERS: Police in the Arab world have been disrupting long-awaited wedding parties in recent weeks, with officers busting in, kicking out guests and slapping hefty fines on the party’s organizers. SENT: 1070 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRAZIL CARNIVAL: A cloud of uncertainty that has hung over Rio de Janeiro throughout the coronavirus pandemic has been lifted, but gloom remains — the annual Carnival parade of flamboyant samba schools won’t be held in February. SENT: 990 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SIGN LANGUAGE: A federal judge has ordered the White House to begin providing sign-language interpretation at White House coronavirus briefings starting Thursday. SENT; developing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FLORIDA: Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses in Florida on Friday in a move to reopen the state’s economy despite the spread of the coronavirus. SENT; developing.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-VETERAN'S HOME: Two former administrators of a Massachusetts home for aging veterans where nearly 80 people sickened by the coronavirus died have been charged for their handling of the outbreak. SENT: 810 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPAIN: Health authorities combating coronavirus in Madrid are adding a further eight areas of the Spanish capital to those with movement restrictions but have not followed a recommendation from the national government that the partial lockdown should apply to the whole city. SENT: 700 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN: Cities around the U.K. are imposing new coronavirus restrictions as they race to slow the spread of COVID-19, and London could be next. SENT: 630 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BRITAIN-VACCINE: U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Novavax says it has begun a late stage trial of its potential COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom because the high-level of the coronavirus circulating in the country is likely to produce quick results. SENT; developing.

DESK SHORTAGE: First it was toilet paper. Disinfectant wipes. Canned beans. Coins. Computers. Now, desks are in short supply. The slew of kids attending virtual school has parents scrambling to find furniture for them even as workers realize they’re home for the long haul and need to update their home offices. SENT: 540 words, photos.

EASTER ISLAND-SIX MONTHS STRANDED: A group of 25 residents from remote Easter Island has been stranded far from home for six months now due to the coronavirus. SENT: 800 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA: India reported another 86,052 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, a declining trend with recoveries exceeding new cases this week. SENT: 730 words, photos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS: U.S. stocks are closing with solid gains Friday, the latest shift in a recent stretch of turbulence for the market. SENT: 1000 words, photos.

FRENCH OPEN-VIRUS: Crowd sizes for the French Open have been reduced again to only 1,000 spectators per day because of the worsening coronavirus epidemic in Paris. SENT: 830 words, photos.

ALSO:

VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTHAM: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and his wife have both tested positive for the coronavirus. SENT: 450 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-FRANCE: Angry restaurant and bar owners are demonstrating in Marseille to challenge a French government order to close all public venues as of Saturday to battle resurgent virus infections. SENT: 440 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-EUROPE: European Council President Charles Michel has ended his self-quarantine after testing negative for COVID-19 for a second time this week. SENT: 120 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 France, Britain, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, various US, Latin America locations.

VIDEO:

AP video has moved from Britain, France, China, Hong Kong, Navajo Nation, various US, Latin America locations.