The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed Italy's for the highest in the world Saturday at more than 19,700, as Chicago and other cities across the Midwest braced for a potential surge in victims and moved to snuff out smoldering hot spots of contagion before they erupt.
Around the world, meanwhile, European countries used roadblocks, drones, helicopters, mounted patrols and the threat of fines to keep people from traveling over Easter weekend. And with infections and deaths slowing in Italy, Spain and other places on the Continent, governments took tentative steps toward loosening the weeks-long shutdowns.
Among developments so far this weekend:
- The global coronavirus death toll has passed 100,000.
- The coronavirus pandemic that has crippled big-box retailers and mom-and-pop shops worldwide may be making a dent in illicit business, too. Crime is down in much of the world.
- Some nurses at a New York hospital who had just been lauded for their work during the coronavirus pandemic ended their overnight shifts to find their tires had been slashed.
- Mayor Bill de Blasio says that public schools in New York City’s 1.1 million-student district will be shuttered for the rest of the academic year, but that online education will continue.
- South Korea has announced plans to strap tracking wristbands on people who defy quarantine orders and Christians worldwide are urged to stay home this Easter weekend.
For more summaries and full reports, please select from the articles below. Scroll further for helpful tips, a guide to coping, maps tracking virus spread, and live updates from verified social media accounts.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate fever and cough. It can cause more severe illness including pneumonia for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
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