Q&A: What does 90-day tax delay mean for filers?
By SARAH SKIDMORE SELL and MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Business Writers
The Trump administration has announced that taxpayers will be allowed to delay filing and paying their federal tax bills for 90 days as part of an emergency relief plan amid the coronavirus pandemic. But taxpayers should take note of the details, such as state due dates, which don’t always follow suit.

The Latest: Senate doesn’t advance COVID-19 rescue package
By The Associated Press undefined
The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 328,275 people and killed more than 14,300. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems. More than 95,650 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.
TOP OF THE HOUR:
— Republican Sen. Rand Paul is first U.S. senator to test positive for COVID-19
— German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in quarantine after doctor who administered a vaccine to her tested positive for the coronavirus.
— Colombian authorities say 23 dead in prison riot.
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WASHINGTON — The Senate has refused to advance the coronavirus rescue package in a procedural vote with Democrats rejecting a draft from Republicans and pushing for more aid for workers.
Negotiations are expected to continue into the evening Sunday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged senators to “signal to the public that we’re ready to get this job done.” He wants passage by Monday.
But Democrats have resisted, arguing the nearly $1.4 trillion measure needs to bolster aid and put limits on how businesses can use the emergency dollars.
More voting is possible.
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NEW YORK — Futures for U.S. stocks fell sharply at the start of trading Sunday as investors watch to see if Congress can agree on a huge rescue package to try to stem the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell by 5%, triggering a halt in futures trading.
Wall Street is coming off its worst week since 2008. The S&P 500 fell 15% as large swaths of the U.S. economy shut down and investors waited for Washington to deliver financial support for American workers and battered industries such as airlines and hotels. Democrats have argued the package was tilted toward corporations rather than workers and healthcare providers, so negotiations are ongoing.
Oil prices also tumbled as the broad global economic slowdown threatens demand for energy. The price of U.S. oil fell 6% to $21.26 a barrel, while the international benchmark dropped 7% to $25.10
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WASHINGTON — The White House is urging commercial labs to prioritize the testing of hospital patients as they work to clear a backlog of tests for the coronavirus.
Vice President Mike Pence says the Department of Health and Human Services will issue formal guidance Monday, but that the federal government is encouraging all labs to “prioritize inpatient testing.”
Pence says the government hopes to have the backlog of existing tests — a milestone the White House hoped to reach on Monday — cleared by the middle of the week.
The White House is encouraging those without symptoms against seeking testing, warning it depletes already scarce supplies of personal protective equipment for healthcare providers.
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’s ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ship mobile hospital centers to the hard-hit states of Washington, California and New York amid the coronavirus pandemic. For New York, that would mean another 1,000 hospital beds.
Trump is also revealing for the first time the number of respirators and other personal protective equipment sent to the hard-hit states by the federal government. It comes as state and local leaders have appealed on the federal government to provide far more, and as Trump has held off on using his fully authorities under the Defense Production Act to marshal the private sector’s capabilities.
Trump says it’s up to states to try to get the materials first. He says: “We’re sort of a backup for states.”
Trump says he’s also giving governors in those three states in calling up their national guard, keeping it under local control but providing federal funding. @Michael Tackett
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CAIRO — Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el Sissi appealed to his people to help stem the spread of the coronavirus through staying at home and practicing social distancing, as the confirmed cases of the virus reached 327 and 15 deaths.
He warned that that numbers of the infected could be in thousands within days, if people did not take the virus seriously.
“Help us, Egyptians!” he appealed to his people. “We want more commitment and discipline for the next two weeks in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus in Egypt.”
He urged Egypt’s more than 100 million people to take the spread of virus “very seriously.”
He said his government have taken “simple measures” including the closure of schools and universities, a nightly curfew on shops, restaurants and other businesses in efforts to minimize interaction between people. He also thanked doctors and health workers as “heroes” who are fighting “a battle like a “war.”
Egypt’s health ministry added 33 more confirmed cases of the coronavirus and four new deaths, bringing the total number to 327 and 14 deaths. It said over 50 were discharged from the quarantine after their recovery. The military earlier Sunday reported the death of a major general while taking part in sterilization efforts.
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CAIRO — Egypt’s military said a senior officer died Sunday following his infection from the coronavirus.
The military said in a statement that Major General Khaled Shaltout was infected while participating in sterilization which the military has been carrying out across the country.
The military said it has sterilized and disinfected public institutions and several squares in the capital, Cairo and other cities, to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Military spokesman Tamer el-Refai Saturday posted footage on social media showing military personal in protective gear and equipment while disinfecting the Tahrir square, the epicenter of the 2011 uprising, and the metro station there.
Shaltout was the highest official infected by the virus to date in Egypt, which has around 300 cases and 10 deaths.
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BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. John Bel Edwards has issued a statewide “stay at home” directive, ordering all 4.6 million people in Louisiana to stay at home starting at 5 p.m. on Monday unless they’re performing an essential task like getting food or medicine.
Workers in grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors’ offices and other critical infrastructure are exempt from the governor’s directive.
“The bottom line is we are in a race against time when it comes to this coronavirus and it’s rapid spread in Louisiana,” Edwards said Sunday.
New York, California, Illinois and some cities have issued similar shelter in place or stay at home orders in the last few days. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell had issued a similar order for that city two days ago.
As of Sunday, coronavirus infections in Louisiana have climbed to more than 830. Twenty people in the state have died of COVID-19, state health officials said.
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BOUNTIFUL, Utah — Utah has reported its first death related to COVID-19 — a man over the age of 60 who had underlying health problems.
State health and hospital officials said Sunday that the unidentified man from Davis County had been at Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful for two days before his death.
The man tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday.
Health officials are working to identify and contact anyone who may have been in close contact with him. His family notified the hospital of the possibility of him having COVID-19 before his arrival.
The hospital’s CEO says workers met him in the parking lot in full protective gear, limiting possible exposure.
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ISTANBUL — Nine more people have died in Turkey from the coronavirus, bringing the country’s death toll to 30.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 289 people tested positive for COVID-19 Sunday. The total number of confirmed cases in the country is now at least 1,236.
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PARIS — France’s Parliament has adopted a bill allowing the government to declare a “state of health emergency” meant to better fight the coronavirus epidemic in the country.
The measure voted Sunday allows the government to issue decrees that curtail temporarily freedoms, including restrictions on movements, trade, entrepreneurship and gatherings. It also enables the government to requisition necessary goods and services to fight against a health disaster.
The state of heath emergency is yet to be formally declared by President Emmanuel Macron’s government during a Cabinet meeting.
The measure was needed to provide legal basis to ensure the continuity of current emergency measures in the country and the democratic functioning of the state.
The bill also includes the postponing of nationwide municipal elections initially due to take place on Sunday and a package of economic measures to support workers and businesses hardly hit by the crisis.
French health authorities have reported 16,018 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 674 people who have died.
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WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is the first U.S. senator to test positive for COVID-19, the infection caused by the coronavirus.
That’s according to a tweet from the senator, who is a top ally of President Donald Trump.
The senator is “feeling fine,” the tweet said. He is “asymptomatic,” and in quarantine.
He was not aware “of any direct contact with any infected person,” the tweet said.
This comes shortly after the nation’s capital announced its second death to coronavirus.
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BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has gone into quarantine after being informed that a doctor who administered a vaccine to her has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Merkel’s spokesman said the German chancellor was informed about the doctor’s test shortly after holding a news conference Sunday announcing new measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Merkel had received a precautionary vaccine Friday against pneumococcal infection.
Seibert said in a statement that Merkel would undergo “regular tests” in the coming days and continue with her work from home for the time being.
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ROME — The number of deaths of people with the coronavirus in Italy jumped 651 to 5,476 in the last 24 hours, while new infections rose by 10% to over 59,000. The head of Italy’s Civil Protection Agency, Angelo Borrelli, noted that the increases had narrowed from recent days, adding ”we hope that this trend can be confirmed in the coming days. We should not lower our guard.”
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BOGOTA, Colombia — Authorities in Colombia say 23 prisoners died and another 83 were injured in a riot and attempted escape over poor conditions inmates argue will spread the coronavirus.
The violence happened overnight at the La Modelo jail in Bogota, where all of the deaths occurred, along with several other penitentiaries. Officials said seven workers were injured, two of them in critical condition.
Relatives gathered outside the jail Sunday wearing masks and clamoring for information.
Videos shared by inmates online showed fires inside several jails, prisoners outside their cells and inmates complaining of conditions.
Colombia has confirmed 231 coronavirus cases. Authorities say none are in jails.
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ISTANBUL — Turkish Airlines will halt all international flights except for five destinations starting Friday.
The airline’s chief executive officer Bilal Eksi tweeted flights would continue to Hong Kong, Moscow, Addis Ababa, New York and Washington, D.C. All other international passenger flights would be suspended from March 27 to April 17.
Turkey already suspended flights to 68 countries as part of Ankara’s efforts to contain the coronavirus.
Eksi said domestic flights would continue but decrease in number. Cargo flights are also to continue.
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OKLAHOMA CITY — A second person in Oklahoma has died of COVID-19 as the number of state residents with the illness caused by the coronavirus increased by more than a dozen.
The man who died was in his 50s and lived in Pawnee County, west of Tulsa. The Oklahoma State Department of Health did not provide further details on the circumstances of his illness and death.
The number of people in the state who have tested positive for the virus increased to 67 Sunday, from 53 the day before. The health department said 11 of those people are hospitalized.
Oklahoma County has the most cases, with 26, following by Cleveland County, with 13, and Tulsa County, with six.
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PARIS — France’s health minister has said the country reached a grim milestone – the first hospital doctor to have died of the coronavirus.
Oliver Veran said Sunday he had learned of the death of the unnamed 68-year-old emergency doctor from Compiegne in Oise the day before and “shared the pain of the family.”
It is, he said, “to my knowledge… the first case that struck a hospital doctor.”
In the Le Parisien newspaper, the doctor’s son said his father’s illness hit suddenly, saying the family is “sad and angry.”
He added: “He came back very tired after being on duty. He quickly fell ill, no longer ate, had no taste in spite of being of a bon vivant. Despite everything — knowing he was sick, he wanted to go back to work.”
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ATHENS, Greece — Greece has reported an additional two fatalities from the COVID-19 virus.
That brings the total to 15. Also, 94 new cases were confirmed on Sunday, bringing the total to 624. Of those, 124 are hospitalized and 34 people are in intensive care.
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WASHINGTON — Immigrant advocates have filed a federal lawsuit demanding that family detention centers release immigrants because of an eminent risk of a coronavirus outbreak.
Lawyers filed the lawsuit in the District of Columbia on Saturday. They say the country’s three detention centers where families are held: Berks in Pennsylvania, Karnes and Dilley in Texas, have failed to take adequate measures to protect families from COVID-19.
They say there is no justification for risking their health and safety.
Immigration enforcement has a wide latitude on when to release people detained. Earlier this year, Homeland Security officials said they would detain families as long as possible in an effort to discourage migrants from crossing the border.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has said officers are taking precautions to avoid an outbreak in detention facilities.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Rand Paul is 1st senator to report positive test for virus
By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul says he has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. The Republican is the first member of the Senate to report testing positive. He said in a tweet Sunday that he is feeling fine and is in quarantine.  Paul, a doctor, said he has not had symptoms and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. Paul said he was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person. Two House members, Reps. Mario Diaz Balart of Florida of Ben McAdams of Utah, have tested positive.

Ohio to enact stay-at-home order as virus cases spread
Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration is enacting a stay-at-home order as cases spiked to a total of more than 350 in the state DeWine said the stay-at-home order will start to be enforced Tuesday by local health departments and local law enforcement, although he said the order includes things he’s already been asking residents to do, such as stay at home except for essential needs. DeWine’s office said Sunday the spreading virus has infected more than 350 people, up more than 100 in a day, with more than 80 in hospitals. His office reports that three people have died.

As coronavirus cases grow, Pennsylvania eyes later primary
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is confirming another big increase in coronavirus cases as lawmakers are drafting legislation to delay the state’s April 28 primary election. Pennsylvania health officials on Sunday reported more than 100 new cases in Pennsylvania, for a total of more than 470. Two coronavirus deaths have been reported so far in the state. Meanwhile, the state House’s State Government Committee chairman says forthcoming legislation would delay Pennsylvania’s primary to June 2. Everett said he hopes to get the legislation out of his committee on Monday and through the Republican-controlled chamber this coming week, to send it to the Senate.

The Latest: Ohio reducing jail populations to fight virus
By The Associated Press undefined
The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 287,000 people and killed more than 11,900. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems. More than 89,800 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.
TOP OF THE HOUR:
—Nearly 5,000 new infections in a day in Spain.
—More than 220,000 screened at U.S. airports.
—British residents urged to avoid panic buying.
—New York Gov. Cuomo reviewing new hospital beds at colleges, convention centers.
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CLEVELAND — Officials are taking steps to reduce jail populations in Ohio’s most populous counties as they work to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Those efforts in the past week have been most notable at the Cuyahoga County jail in Cleveland, where the population fell from nearly 2,000 inmates last week to just under 1,300 on Friday. Officers are being told to issue citations for nonviolent crimes.
In Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati, the jail population recently fell to just over 1,000 inmates from around 1,600 inmates on Monday. In Franklin County, which includes Columbus, officials said Saturday the jail population has been reduced to about 1,600 inmates, down from 1,900 on Monday.
Ohio in recent weeks has gained attention for its proactive steps to stem the spread of the virus.
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NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New York is scouring the globe for desperately needed medical supplies and scouting field hospital locations in New York City and its suburbs as confirmed coronavirus cases soar above 10,000 statewide.
Cuomo says the goal is to quickly boost the state’s hospital capacity from around 50,000 beds to 75,000. The state has already hospitalized 1,600 people. The governor says the state will see if Manhattan’s Javits Center could house 1,000 beds.
The state also will immediately conduct trials of an experimental treatment. Cuomo says the Food and Drug Administration is sending 10,000 doses.
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MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed the state’s first death due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Officials say a Ramsey County resident in their 80s died on Thursday.
Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm says the death underscores the importance of protecting the most vulnerable residents in the state, especially those over 65 and those with underlying health conditions.
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WASHINGTON — A Transportation Security Administration officer at the airport on St. Thomas in U.S. Virgin Islands has tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The TSA says the officer who works at the Cyril E. King International Airport is quarantined at home.
TSA reports that a total of 19 officers at eight U.S. airports have now tested positive since Feb. 21.
The other airports are in New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Atlanta; Cleveland; Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and San Jose, California.
TSA also reports the lowest number of airport travelers in the history of an organization that has been around since November 2001. On Friday, the agency counted just under 600,000 outbound passengers. That’s down from 2.5 million at the same point in 2019.
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TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is working with airlines and foreign governments to bring Canadians home but says they will not be able to bring back everyone.
Trudeau says the government is offering to lend up to $5,000 Canadian (US$3,480) in assistance for flights or for unexpected costs for extended time outside of the country. Canada chartered a plane for Morocco this weekend and expects to have planes for Peru and Spain soon.
Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne says many countries have closed their borders or airports and it will be impossible to return for some. Champagne says Canadian snowbirds living in the U.S. should come home now and the border will remain open for them. Canada and the U.S. have closed the border for all nonessential travel but returning citizens can get through.
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WASHINGTON — Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf says more than 220,000 Americans have been screened at airports when returning to the United States from countries impacted by the coronavirus. However, Wolf’s comments on the show “Fox and Friends” called into question the rigor of the screening process.
Americans returning from virus-affected regions have been routed to one of 13 major airports. Many have posted on social media of long waits and crowded conditions with hundreds of people crammed together for hours in packed lines. Some also noted that medical personnel didn’t check to see if they had a fever before letting them into the country.
Wolf acknowledged medical personnel in some cases are simply looking at individuals to weed out those who seem obviously ill.
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LONDON — The British government says panic-buying of groceries because of the coronavirus pandemic is leaving front-line medics unable to get the food supplies they need.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister George Eustice says “buying more than you need may mean that others are left without.”
With Britons told to stay mostly at home and restaurants closed to slow the spread of the virus, some supermarkets are having runs on daily of staples including rice, pasta, fruit and vegetables.
Eustice urged restraint, saying “there is more than enough food to go around.” The government has loosened the limit on deliver drivers’ hours and lifted nighttime delivery curfews so stores can restock more quickly.
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TAMPA, Fla. — A Navy sailor assigned to United States Central Command headquarters in Florida has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Bill Urban made the announcement. Urban says the sailor returned to the U.S. from overseas travel on March 15 and went into precautionary quarantine at his home. He didn’t stop at CENTCOM or at Macdill Air Force base, where the command is located in Tampa.
The sailor started developing symptoms on Wednesday, called ahead to Macdill health officials, and was met outside the base by doctors. Officials say his test returned positive on Friday.
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ROME — Italy’s health minister is pleading with people to follow the rules. Minister Roberto Speranza is concerned that too many citizens are flouting lock-down restrictions imposed nearly two weeks ago to contain Italy’s relentless increase in coronavirus cases.
Speranza called for a “great alliance” between citizens and institutions, saying “what counts more is the behavior of every individual.” He warned that until the virus is defeated, Italy’s economy – nearly stagnant for years before the outbreak – won’t get going again.
After local officials clamored for days for stronger measures, Speranza on Friday night ordered the closures of all parks and playgrounds and forbade people to travel to weekend homes from Friday through Monday.
Giuseppe Sala is the mayor of Milan, the capital of Lombardy and Italy’s hardest-stricken region. He tried to rally Milan’s 1.4 million citizens, tweeting “by now, we have understood, this is a marathon, not a sprint.”
People currently can go to work, food shop or exercise near their homes. Sala says he’s consulting with other mayors and the regional governor about imposing their own additional measures if the national government won’t.
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The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Germany rose above 20,000, with 70 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Germany’s official Robert Koch Institute listed 16,662 case and 47 deaths, but officials have acknowledged that their count lags behind figures provided by regional health authorities.
Some German states, such as Bavaria, have stepped up measures to contain the outbreak by further restricting the reasons people can leave their homes. That’s prompted some criticism about stricter curfew measures.
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ISTANBUL — Turkey is suspending flights to 46 more countries, the transport ministry announced, bringing the number of banned flights to 68 countries.
The interior ministry banned picnics and barbecues, expanding measures that included the closure of cafes, bars, schools and communal prayers. The official Anadolu news agency says restaurants would have to set up tables one meter (3 feet) apart. The agency also reported send-off gatherings for new soldiers would temporarily be banned.
At least 670 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and nine people have died.
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LONDON — The London tourist sites were eerily empty on Saturday, a day after the government ordered the closure of all bars, restaurants, movie theaters and other places where people congregate. Pigeons outnumbered people in the usually bustling Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square.
Parks filled with people strolling and jogging on a cool, sunny spring day, and business continued at the outdoor Portobello Road market — though produce-sellers and some shoppers wore masks and gloves.
There were long lines outside some supermarkets. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is meeting with supermarket executives over the weekend about how to keep the shelves filled.
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JOHANNESBURG — A few African heads of state have defied coronavirus-related travel restrictions to attend Namibian President Hage Geingob’s inauguration.
Angola closed its air, land and sea borders this week, but Namibian media showed President Joao Lourenco at Saturday’s ceremony. Also in attendance was President Mokgweetsi Masisi of neighboring Botswana, which this week suspended international travel by all government employees.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was there. He announced a national disaster even before his country confirmed its first virus case on Friday.
Confirmed cases in Africa have totaled more than 1,000.
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NICOSIA, Cyprus — A Cyprus police spokesman says authorities have turned away a boat carrying around 100 migrants, citing government directives banning the entry of foreign nationals to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Christos Andreou told state-run Cyprus News Agency on Saturday that police patrol vessels approached the boat as it was nearing the country’s southeastern coast late Friday and told passengers that they couldn’t disembark because of the ban. Andreou said the passengers, who were offered food, water and fuel, initially refused to change course, but eventually sailed away.
The spokesman said the chief of police has ordered stepped-up patrols around Cyprus’ coastline as well as along the 120-mile-long United Nations-controlled buffer zone that separates a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north from the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot police said a boat carrying 175 Syrians that included 69 minors and 30 women landed on the shores of the Karpas peninsula in the pre-dawn hours Saturday. They were taken to a sports hall for a medical check-up. The Cypriot government accuses Turkey of channeling migrants to Cyprus, especially through the north.
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MADRID — Spain has recorded almost 5,000 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours as it climbed into third place in the global ranking of infections behind China and Italy.
Health authorities said Saturday that virus infections have reached 24,926, up from 19,980 the day before. Total deaths were 1,326, up from 1,002 on Friday. Over 1,600 patients are in intensive care units that authorities admit are at their limits. Madrid is the hardest hit region with almost 9,000 infections.
Spain is approaching one week of tight restrictions on free movement and the closure of most shops as hospitals and nursing homes buckle under the burden of the virus outbreak. But authorities admit that they expect infections to continue to rise before the measures can hopefully reverse the trend.
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MOSCOW — A deputy mayor of the Russian capital says workers are laboring around-the-clock to build a center that can treat hundreds of coronavirus victims, and that completion is expected within a month.
Placards in the style of Soviet propaganda posters have been placed at the site, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Moscow’s center, exhorting builders to work at maximum speed; one shows Mayor Sergei Sobyanin pointing at the viewer and the slogan “Builders — Minutes count!”
Deputy Mayor Andrei Bochkarev said Saturday that the new facility will be able to accommodate up to 500 patients. Russia so far has recorded 253 cases of coronavirus infection.
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BERLIN — Germany’s southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg is opening its hospitals to patients from the neighboring region of eastern France that’s struggling with a surge of infections with the new coronavirus.
A spokesman for the state’s health ministry confirmed a report Saturday by the daily Schwaebische Zeitung that governor Winfried Kretschmann has offered assistance to France amid a growing shortage of ICU beds there.
Markus Jox said authorities have asked all hospital in Baden-Wuerttemberg with free capacity to take in French patients requiring ventilators.
Jox said that while the state’s own capacity is limited and there are already some bottlenecks, “we will naturally try to help our French neighbors.”
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LONDON — Britain lags behind Italy, Spain and France in the spread of the new coronavirus, but already the country’s overstretched health system is creaking.
The U.K.’s state-funded National Health Service has about 4,000 critical-care beds and some 5,000 ventilators, and officials say that’s far fewer than will be needed as the number of cases spikes in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, a London hospital temporarily declared a “critical incident,” meaning it could take no more critically ill patients. Unpublished NHS figures seen by The Guardian say the number of confirmed of suspected COVID-19 patients in intensive care in south London rose from seven on March 6 to 93 on March 17.
Engineering firms and automakers are stepping in to manufacture ventilators, and the government says it is shipping large supplies of protective equipment to hospitals. But some medics say they do not have confidence that they will receive the equipment they need to treat patients and keep themselves safe.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Pennsylvania reports COVID-19 death; Wolf defends shutdown
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM and MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s coronavirus death toll has risen by one. The Allegheny County Health Department confirmed the death on Saturday but did not release details, other than to say the victim was an adult who had been hospitalized. Nearly 270 coronavirus cases and two deaths have been reported in Pennsylvania. Lawyers for Gov. Tom Wolf, meanwhile, are asking a court to toss two lawsuits challenging his authority to shutter “non-life-sustaining” Pennsylvania businesses. The legal filing declared that unprecedented action is needed to combat a global pandemic they called “perhaps the biggest catastrophe of our lifetimes.”

(Beaver County, PA) Local reaction to the Corona Virus pandemic has forced the suspension or cancellation of large gatherings, including worship services across Pennsylvania.  Along that line, WBVP, WMBA and 99.3 F.M. are pleased to be the “pulpit” of the airwaves during this time.  Local listeners and parishioners can tune in to three different church and faith based programs this weekend.  at 7 A.M. on Saturday Morning, March 28, Pastor David Grove from The Church of The Redeemed of Beaver Valley hosts his weekly “Wake Up Beaver County Program”.  At 9 A.M. on Sunday morning, March 29, live Sunday Mass from St. Monica Catholic Parish in Chippewa will still take place even though the church is closed to the public.  Then, at 10 A.M. on Sunday March 29, a recorded version of this week’s message from Christian Dimensions in Beaver Falls, featuring Jackie Davis, will give church members and attendees a chance to engage with their church and their faith.  At 10:30AM, Pastor Jan Davis from Central United Methodist will engage with attendees via broadcast.  All three segments will air on WBVP,  WMBA,  99.3 F.M. and The Beaver County Radio Live Audio Stream.

Singer, actor, ‘The Gambler’: Kenny Rogers dies at 81
By KRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer
Actor-singer Kenny Rogers, who embodied “The Gambler” persona and whose musical career spanned jazz, folk, country and pop has died at 81. A representative says Rogers died at home in Georgia on Friday night. The Houston-born balladeer with a husky voice had hits like “Lucille,” “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream” with Dolly Parton. He sold tens of millions of records and was the star of TV movies, making him a superstar in the late ’70s and ’80s. With his silver beard and folksy charm, the Grammy winner excelled as a musical stylist for more than six decades.