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Italian Virus Death Toll Nears China's as Outbreak Spreads

Associated Press

   ROME - The Chinese city where the coronavirus first emerged reported no
   new homegrown cases Thursday, while the death toll in Italy was poised
   to overtake China's in a stark illustration of how the crisis has
   pivoted toward Europe and the U.S.

   The outbreak spread to at least one European head of state, 62-year-old
   Prince Albert II of the tiny principality of Monaco. The palace
   announced that he had tested positive for the virus but was continuing
   to work from his office and was being treated by doctors from Princess
   Grace Hospital, named after his American actress mother.

   In the U.S., Congress rushed to pass a $1 trillion emergency package to
   shore up the sinking economy and help households pull through the
   crisis, with the first of two possible rounds of relief checks
   consisting of payments of $1,000 per adult and $500 for each child.

   The worldwide death toll crept toward 10,000 as the total number of
   infections topped 220,000, including nearly 85,000 people who have
   recovered.

   French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe pleaded with people to keep
   their distance from one another to avoid spreading the virus, even as
   the crisis pushed them to seek comfort.

   "When you love someone, you should avoid taking them in your arms," he
   said in Parliament. "It's counterintuitive, and it's painful. The
   psychological consequences, the way we are living, are very disturbing
   -- but it's what we must do."

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