AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

Sun draws many out in US, Europe; Russia virus numbers grow

NEW YORK (AP) — Gorgeous spring weather across the United States and Europe on Saturday drew people cooped up inside for weeks outside to soak in the sun, even as additional coronavirus hot spots in Russia and Pakistan emerged.

Though grateful to be outdoors, people were still wary — masks were worn everywhere, even on southern U.S. beaches and by some joggers in Spain. A New York City farmer’s market enforced the familiar 6 feet (2 metres) of space between people waiting to buy spring flowers. Mothers in Central Park reminded their kids to give people space. And small groups of picnickers kept their safe distances, while joggers moved past each other without a glance.

Retired New York attorney Stan Neustadter pulled down his mask to say it’s been important to his spirit to get out. “Why live like a rabbit? Plus I’m approaching 78, I’ve had a great run,” Neustadter said.

Police and park officials were spread out across New York City, which sent out 1,000 officers to enforce social distancing on the warmest day since mid-March. But they were more likely to break up large groups, leaving the nuisances of social distancing and hanging out safely outside to New Yorkers themselves.

“Go for a walk, but respect the social distancing and wear a mask,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

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AP: Most states fall short of coronavirus testing thresholds

ATLANTA (AP) — As more states begin to relax their coronavirus lockdowns, most are falling short of the minimum levels of testing suggested by the federal government and recommended by a variety of public health researchers, an Associated Press analysis has found.

Three months into an unprecedented public health emergency, the White House has largely resisted calls for a co-ordinated plan to conduct the millions of tests experts say are needed to contain the virus. What federal officials outlined recently isn’t even an official benchmark, and AP’s analysis found that a majority of states are not yet meeting it.

With no specific guidelines, states are left to figure out what a successful testing program should be while they simultaneously try to reopen their shattered economies. If states don’t have robust testing, public health experts say they will be unable to detect outbreaks quickly enough to contain them, which could lead to more shutdowns.

“It’s dangerous and irresponsible,” said Lawrence Gostin, a public health specialist at Georgetown University.

In many states, testing has been limited to hospitalized patients, high-risk individuals and front-line workers. But most public health experts agree that containing the virus will require a massive expansion of testing that eventually includes millions of patients without symptoms, which is not happening now.

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Back in session: Senate risks a return but House stays away

WASHINGTON (AP) — Weighing the risks, the Senate will reopen on Monday as the coronavirus crisis rages and the House stays shuttered, an approach that leaves Congress as divided as the nation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to convene 100 senators at the Capitol during a pandemic gives President Donald Trump the imagery he wants of America getting back to work, despite health worries and a lack of testing.

Yet, the Washington region remains under stay-at-home orders as a virus hot spot. Gathering senators for the first time since March risks lawmakers as well the cooks, cleaners, police officers and other workers who keep the lights on at the Capitol complex.

“We will continue to stand together for the American people — even as we stand 6 feet apart,” McConnell said ahead of the opening.

Trump himself offered Congress access to the instant virus test system used to screen visitors to the White House. But in an extraordinary rebuff, McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Saturday that they would “respectfully decline” the offer and instead direct resources to the front lines “where they can do the most good.”

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County has highest rate of COVID-19 cases on West Coast

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The highest rate of coronavirus cases of any county on the U.S. West Coast is in Washington state’s Yakima County.

Health experts point to a large number of essential workers, a large number of cases in long-term care facilities and a large agricultural workforce living and working in close quarters as the causes. The county has about 250,000 residents.

“We just haven’t been as much down as the rest of the state because our workforce is going to work,” said Lilian Bravo, a spokeswoman for the Yakima Health District. “Physically going to work every day is going to put you at a higher risk than others.”

As of Friday, Yakima County had 1,203 positive cases, a rate of 455 cases per 100,000 residents, the highest in the state. Second was Franklin County at 326 cases per 100,000. The statewide average was 185 cases per 100,000 residents.

Yakima County, 140 miles (225 kilometres) southeast of Seattle, also had a relatively high number of deaths from coronavirus with 47. Bravo said people in long-term care facilities account for about a third of cases and most of the deaths from COVID-19 in the county.

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S Korea says troops exchange fire along N Korean border

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says its troops have exchanged fire with North Korea along their tense land border.

The Joint Chiefs of Staffs in Seoul says North Korean troops fired several bullets at a South Korean guard post inside the heavily fortified border between the countries on Sunday.

The military says in a statement South Korea fired two rounds in response after issuing a warning broadcast.

It says South Korea suffered no casualties.

Sunday’s fire exchange took place a day after North Korea reported its leader Kim Jong Un’s first public appearance in about 20 days, ending intense speculation about his health.

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The week that was: Lockdowns ease, and choices are complex

Around the world, lockdowns are starting to ease as some places get coronavirus outbreaks under control and others decide the economic pain of keeping businesses closed is too much to bear.

The piecemeal reopenings are leaving people to make their own choices about what they should and shouldn’t do to protect themselves and others. Is it safe to go to a restaurant? Visit elderly family members? Experts don’t have definitive answers.

Beijing’s ancient Forbidden City, along with the city’s parks and museums, is open to the public for the first time in months. In the U.S., more than a dozen states are allowing stores, restaurants and other businesses to open, but with restrictions meant to keep the virus from spreading. In Spain, people are allowed outside to exercise for the first time in seven weeks, while German children can return to playgrounds. The U.S. Senate is set to convene Monday, but without tests that can quickly make sure senators and staffers are healthy.

In some places, unrest is brewing as people push back against continued restrictions. Protesters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona have brought guns to rallies outside state capitol buildings. In Brazil, residents egged on by President Jair Bolsonaro are defying social distancing. In Japan, known for conformity and consensus, many are going out even though the government has asked them to stay in.

And in Hong Kong, where the virus has slowed, the pro-democracy movement has re-emerged, with protesters defying a ban on public gatherings to chant slogans at a luxury mall.

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A referendum election in November? Trump allies see risks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Six months from Election Day, President Donald Trump’s prospects for winning a second term have been jolted by a historic pandemic and a cratering economy, rattling some of his Republican allies and upending the playbook his campaign had hoped to be using by now against Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump’s standing has slumped as the nation’s focus on him has intensified during the coronavirus outbreak, revealing an erratic and often self-absorbed approach to the crisis. The result: He’s losing ground in some battleground states with key constituencies, including senior citizens and college-educated men — all without his Democratic challenger having devoted much energy or money to denting the president.

“It’s Donald J. Trump versus the coronavirus and the recovery,” said Scott Reed, the senior political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Biden is a sideshow.”

For some Republicans, the prospect of an election that is almost wholly a referendum on Trump is unnerving. Though the president’s base remains loyal, a significant portion of GOP voters view him skeptically on a range of personal qualities. He pulled many of those voters to his side in the 2016 election by drawing an aggressive contrast with Democrat Hillary Clinton. He planned to do the same in 2020 with Biden, with the added tailwind of a surging American economy.

Now, that economy is crumbling around Trump. A staggering 30 million Americans have lost their jobs in the past six weeks as businesses have shuttered due to stay-at-home restrictions aimed at containing the pandemic. One of the president’s own economic advisers predicted nationwide unemployment could reach 20% by June.

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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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Amnesty reports chilling details of Egypt press crackdown

CAIRO (AP) — Journalism in Egypt has effectively become a crime over the past four years, as authorities clamp down on media outlets and muzzle dissent, Amnesty International said in a report released Sunday.

As the number of coronavirus infections in Egypt continues to rise, the government is strengthening its control over information, the London-based rights group said, instead of upholding transparency during the public health crisis.

“The Egyptian authorities have made it very clear that anyone who challenges the official narrative will be severely punished,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa director.

Amnesty documented 37 cases of journalists detained in the government’s escalating crackdown on press freedoms, many charged with “spreading false news” or “misusing social media” under a broad 2015 counterterrorism law that has expanded the definition of terror to include all kinds of dissent.

An Egyptian press officer did not respond to multiple calls seeking comment, but authorities have previously denied rights violations and justified arrests on national security grounds.

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What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

Spaniards have filled the streets to exercise outside in gorgeous spring weather for the first time in seven weeks and German children rushed to playgrounds as countries in Western Europe gradually relax coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Russia and Pakistan, however, reported their biggest one-day spikes in new infections, a sign the pandemic is far from over. And in the U.K., the death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 28,000.

In the United States, gun-carrying protesters have become a common sight at some demonstrations calling for public health restrictions to be lifted.

As warmer temperatures tempt New Yorkers to come out of quarantine, police dispatched 1,000 officers this weekend to enforce social distancing and a ban on congregating in public spaces.

Here are some of AP’s top stories Saturday 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.