Trump says virus testing 'not a problem,' but doubts persist

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House released new guidelines Monday aimed at answering criticism that America's coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump tried to pivot toward a focus on “reopening” the nation.

Still, there were doubts from public health experts that the White House’s new testing targets were sufficient.

Monday’s developments were meant to fill critical gaps in White House plans to begin easing restrictions, ramping up testing for the virus while shifting the president’s focus toward recovery from the economic collapse caused by the outbreak. The administration unveiled a “blueprint” for states to scale up their testing in the coming week — a tacit admission, despite public statements to the contrary, that testing capacity and availability over the past two months have been lacking.

The new testing targets would ensure states had enough COVID-19 tests available to sample at least 2.6% of their populations each month — a figure already met by a majority of states. Areas that have been harder hit by the virus would be able to test at double that rate, or higher, the White House said.

The testing issue has bedeviled the administration for months. Trump told reporters on March 6 during a visit to the CDC in Atlanta that “anybody that wants a test can get a test,” but the reality has proved to be vastly different.

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What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

Brazil is emerging as potentially the next big hot spot for the new coronavirus amid President Jair Bolsonaro’s insistence that it is just a “little flu.”

The intensifying outbreak in Brazil — Latin America’s biggest country, with 211 million people — has pushed hospitals to the breaking point, leaving victims to die at home.

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

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:

— Brazil is emerging as potentially the next big hot spot for the new coronavirus amid President Jair Bolsonaro’s insistence that there's no need for the sharp restrictions that have slowed the infection’s spread in Europe and the U.S.

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Texas, Ohio among many states to take steps toward reopening

Restaurants opened up to dine-in patrons in at least three states Monday and the governor of Texas allowed movie theatres, malls and eateries to start letting customers trickle into their establishments later this week.

Across the country, an ever-changing patchwork of loosening stay-home orders and business restrictions took shape Monday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott outlined a slow reopening of one of the world’s largest economies amid the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants in Tennessee, Georgia and Alaska's biggest city began opening their doors to dine-in customers, with new rules such as temperature checks at the door and logging of customer information for possible contact tracing.

Construction workers are being allowed back on the job in Vermont and other states. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's first steps toward reopening will require masks for workers and shoppers.

“No masks, no work, no service, no exception,” DeWine said.

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Questions over Kim's health highlight intelligence limits

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's prolonged public absence has led to rumours of ill health and worries about how it could influence the future of what one analyst calls Northeast Asia's “Achilles’ heel,” a reference to the North's belligerence and unpredictable nature.

But there's a basic question debated by the media and government intelligence services: Are the rumours even true?

The exact state of Kim's health matters because it could determine the stability of the dynastic government in Pyongyang and the security of nuclear weapons that the nation has repeatedly threatened to use on its neighbours and the United States.

It's a problem that outside nations have faced for decades. Gathering intelligence on perhaps the world’s most secretive, suspicious and difficult-to-read country is incredibly difficult. And there’s probably nothing North Korea guards more closely than information on Kim’s health, which is only likely shared among a small portion of the elite, including his powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong.

At the heart of the intelligence shortcomings about North Korea is its extremely closed nature. But there is also plenty of blame levelled in South Korea at efforts there.

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Brazil edges toward being next big coronavirus hot spot

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil is emerging as potentially the next big hot spot for the coronavirus amid President Jair Bolsonaro’s insistence that it is just a "little flu” and that there is no need for the sharp restrictions that have slowed the infection’s spread in Europe and the U.S.

As some U.S. states and European countries moved gradually Monday to ease their limits on movement and commerce, the intensifying outbreak in Brazil — Latin America's biggest country, with 211 million people — pushed some hospitals to the breaking point, with signs that a growing number of victims are now dying at home.

“We have all the conditions here for the pandemic to become much more serious," said Paulo Brandão, a virologist at the University of Sao Paulo.

Brazil officially reported about 4,500 deaths and almost 67,000 confirmed infections. But the true numbers there, as in many other countries, are believed to be vastly higher given the lack of testing and the many people without severe symptoms who haven’t sought hospital care.

Some scientists said over 1 million in Brazil are probably infected. The country is heading into winter, which can worsen respiratory illnesses.

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Pelosi, top House progressive give Biden twin endorsements

ATLANTA (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden renewed his party unification efforts Monday with bookend endorsements from Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the leader of the House progressive caucus that sometimes battles the speaker from the left.

The twin announcements from Pelosi and Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal highlight Biden's effort to avoid a repeat of the 2016 presidential election, when tensions between establishment Democrats and the party's progressive flank hobbled Hillary Clinton in her loss to President Donald Trump.

Pelosi, a longtime friend of Biden's, is a face of the Democratic establishment and boasts perhaps the widest network across the party's wealthiest donors. Jayapal, who had previously backed Bernie Sanders for president, is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, whose members want sweeping expansion of the federal government's role in the economy, notably through a single-payer “Medicare for All” insurance plan that Biden and Pelosi do not favour.

The two women reflected those varied approaches Monday as they explained their common conclusion that a Biden administration is the best chance for Democrats to advance a liberal agenda, even if in degrees.

Pelosi, speaking in a video, said Biden offers “hope and courage, values, authenticity and integrity.” She said he’d be a “voice of reason and resilience” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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Riots, escapes and pepper spray: Virus hits juvenile centres

Nicole Hingle wasn’t surprised when the call came. Frustrations had been building inside juvenile detention centres nationwide as the number of coronavirus cases continued to climb. Now, her 17-year-old son Jace, was on the phone telling her around 40 kids had rioted at his facility in Louisiana — the same state where more than a dozen youths escaped during two breakouts at another site this month.

Hingle said her son described whirring helicopters above the Bridge City facility just outside New Orleans. Juveniles kicked down their doors, a SWAT team swarmed in, kids were pepper-sprayed and a staffer was injured during the melee.

“It’s a real mess,” the teen told his mother. “Everything is destroyed.”

Due to coronavirus lockdown measures, it’s been more than two months since Hingle has been able to visit her son. She has accused administrators of keeping her in the dark, and said she was growing increasingly upset by the lack of a clear plan to protect or release those held inside. Ten youths have tested positive at Bridge City in recent weeks.

“This could be life or death for my child,” said Hingle, adding that her son was among a group transferred to the Acadiana Center for Youth after the brawl, where they were pepper-sprayed twice over the weekend by parole officers brought in to help due to short staffing.

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Virus is expected to reduce meat selection and raise prices

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Meat isn't going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices.

Industry leaders acknowledge that the U.S. food chain has rarely been so stressed and that no one is sure about the future, even as they try to dispel concerns about shortages.

On Sunday, the meat processing giant Tyson Foods ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times and other newspapers outlining the difficulty of producing meat while keeping more than 100,000 workers safe and shutting some plants.

“This means one thing — the food supply chain is vulnerable,” the statement said. “As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain.”

Company spokesman Gary Mickelson said the Tyson family thought it was important to explain their perspective.

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Milwaukee police find 5 dead in house; suspect in custody

Police found five people shot to death Monday inside a Milwaukee home and arrested the man who dialed 911 to report the slayings, the city's police chief said.

The police department received a call around 10:30 a.m. from a man who said his family was dead, Chief Alfonso Morales said during a brief news conference. When officers arrived at the house on the city’s north side they found five victims ranging in age from 14 to 41, the chief said.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters at the house that a baby was found alive in the house. Investigators believe the shooter decided to spare the infant.

Morales said investigators recovered a weapon and believe the shooter acted alone, adding that that there's no threat to the public.

The man who called authorities to the house has been taken into custody, and detectives were trying to determine the relationship between the caller and the victims, Morales said. No names have been provided.

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Winfrey, Roberts to appear in global virus relief livestream

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts and former President George W. Bush will be among 200 star-studded participants in a 24-hour global livestream event.

The Call to Unite event will kick off Friday evening to offer performances and conversations about overcoming the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Event organizers hope participants can help inspire people to “emerge from this crisis better than when it began.”

Quincy Jones, Jennifer Garner, Common, Maria Shriver, Questlove, Yo-Yo Ma, Eva Longoria, Naomi Campbell and Alanis Morissette are expected to participate in the event.

Each participant will answer calls in their own way, whether through performing a song, sharing a story or offering a prayer.

The event will be livestreamed at unite.us and on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, LinkedIn and SiriusXM Stars.

News from © The Associated Press, 2020