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

Amid pandemic, Christians celebrate an Easter like no other

NEW YORK (AP) — Christians celebrated Easter Sunday isolated in their homes by the coronavirus while pastors preached the faith’s joyous news of Christ’s resurrection to empty pews. St. Peter’s Square was barricaded to keep out crowds, while one Florida church drew a large turnout for a drive-in service in a parking lot.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, released from the hospital after a week of treatment for COVID-19, paid an emotional tribute to the country’s National Health Service, saying its doctors and nurses had saved his life “no question.” He especially thanked two nurses who stood by his bedside for 48 hours “when things could have gone either way.”

The strangeness of this Easter was evident at the Vatican. St. Peter’s Square, where tens of thousands would normally gather to hear Pope Francis, was empty. Francis celebrated Easter Mass inside the largely vacant basilica, calling for global solidarity to confront the “epochal challenge” of the pandemic and urging political leaders to give hope and opportunity to people who’ve lost jobs.

Worldwide, families who normally would attend church in their Easter best and later enjoy festive group meals stayed home. Police checkpoints in Europe and outside closed churches elsewhere left the faithful watching services online or on TV.

Some U.S. pastors went ahead with in-person services despite state or local bans on large gatherings.

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In divergent Easter celebrations, prayers for virus victims

Christians around the world celebrated an Easter Sunday upended by the coronavirus without the usual crowded church Masses and large family gatherings. Instead, they turned to the internet, television and radio from home to follow services that noted the grave impact of the pandemic. Some found novel ways to mark the holy day. Others still assembled in groups, but took precautions to try to avoid infection.

The virus forced a change in Easter traditions that had even endured wars. Christians in the U.S. contended with a patchwork of limits on how and where they could gather to mark Jesus’ resurrection. Many states exempted houses of worship from orders curbing communal meetings to help stop the coronavirus from spreading. A few pastors said they would stay open to visitors despite pandemic-fighting guidelines.

But no matter how divergent the celebrations, the message from church leaders around the world remained consistent: prayers for the sick and dead and reassurances of God’s presence. Here’s a sample of Easter events from the U.S. and abroad:

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Parishioners from churches across New York City sang “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” from their balconies and windows as part of an initiative organized online.

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Nursing home deaths soar past 3,600 in alarming surge

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 3,600 deaths nationwide have been linked to coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, an alarming rise in just the past two weeks, according to the latest count by The Associated Press.

Because the federal government has not been releasing a count of its own, the AP has kept its own running tally based on media reports and state health departments. The latest count of at least 3,621 deaths is up from about 450 deaths just 10 days ago.

But the true toll among the 1 million mostly frail and elderly people who live in such facilities is likely much higher, experts say, because most state counts don’t include those who died without ever being tested for COVID-19.

Outbreaks in just the past few weeks have included one at a nursing home in suburban Richmond, Virginia, that has killed 42 and infected more than 100, another at nursing home in central Indiana that has killed 24 and infected 16, and one at a veteran’s home in Holyoke, Mass., that has killed 38, infected 88 and prompted a federal investigation. This comes weeks after an outbreak at a nursing home in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland that has so far claimed 43 lives.

And those are just the outbreaks we know about. Most states provide only total numbers of nursing home deaths and don’t give details of specific outbreaks. Notable among them is the nation’s leader, New York, which accounts for 1,880 nursing home deaths out of about 96,000 total residents but has so far declined to detail specific outbreaks, citing privacy concerns.

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Fears of ‘Wild West’ as COVID-19 blood tests hit the market

WASHINGTON (AP) — Blood tests for the coronavirus could play a key role in deciding whether millions of Americans can safely return to work and school. But public health officials warn that the current “Wild West” of unregulated tests is creating confusion that could ultimately slow the path to recovery.

More than 70 companies have signed up to sell so-called antibody tests in recent weeks, according to U.S. regulators. Governments around the world hope that the rapid tests, which typically use a finger-prick of blood on a test strip, could soon ease public restrictions by identifying people who have previously had the virus and have developed some immunity to it.

But key questions remain: How accurate are the tests, how much protection is needed and how long will that protection last.

The blood tests are different from the nasal swab-based tests currently used to diagnose active COVID-19 infections. Instead, the tests look for blood proteins called antibodies, which the body produces days or weeks after fighting an infection. The same approach is used for HIV, hepatitis, Lyme disease, lupus and many other diseases.

Because of the relative simplicity of the technology, the Food and Drug Administration decided to waive initial review of the tests as part of its emergency response to the coronavirus outbreak.

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Signs missed and steps slowed in Trump’s pandemic response

WASHINGTON (AP) — By the time President Donald Trump first spoke publicly about the coronavirus, it may already have been too late.

Interviewed at Davos, a gathering of global elites in the Swiss Alps, the president on Jan. 22 played down the threat posed by the respiratory virus from China, which had just reached American shores in the form of a solitary patient in Washington state.

“We have it totally under control,” Trump said on CNBC. “It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”

In the 11 weeks since that interview, the coronavirus has reached every corner of the globe. It has infected more than 500,000 Americans and killed at least 20,000. It has rewritten the rules of society, isolated people in their homes, closed schools, devastated the economy and put millions out of work.

When Trump spoke in Switzerland, weeks’ worth of warning signs already had been raised. In the ensuing month, before the president first addressed the crisis from the White House, key steps to prepare the nation for the coming pandemic were not taken.

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What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

Christians the world over are celebrating a solitary Easter amid a global virus pandemic. Pope Francis has called for solidarity. At the Vatican, Francis celebrated Mass in a largely empty St. Peter’s Basilica.

Italy had its lowest number of new deaths in three weeks.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been discharged from a London hospital where he was treated in intensive care for the coronavirus, as the U.K. becomes the fourth European country to surpass 10,000 virus-related deaths.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S., says the economy in parts of the country could be allowed to reopen as early as next month.

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

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Easter storms sweep South, killing at least 6 in Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Strong storms pounded the Deep South on Sunday, killing at least six people in south Mississippi and damaging up to 300 homes and other buildings in northern Louisiana.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency director Greg Michel said one person killed was in Walthall County, two were killed in Lawrence County and three were killed in Jefferson Davis County. All three counties are more than an hour’s drive south of Jackson, near the Louisiana state line.

The National Weather Service said strong winds were sweeping through other parts of Mississippi, and a tornado was spotted north of Meridian near the Alabama state line.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency Sunday night after he said several tornadoes had struck the state.

“This is not how anyone wants to celebrate Easter,” Reeves said on Twitter. “As we reflect on the death and resurrection on this Easter Sunday, we have faith that we will all rise together.”

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Older states grapple with fear, isolation and medical care

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — This isn’t the way Betsy Steen and her husband wanted to spend their golden years: Hunkered down at home, living with fear and isolation.

Steen, 76, and her husband David, 75, both take immuno-suppressant medications, placing them at high risk if they contract the coronavirus. They try to keep positive, but it’s hard to escape the flood of bad news.

“It’s just surreal,” the retired teacher said from her Bowdoinham home. “It’s kind of like a dream. Every once in a while, you wake up and say that’s real.”

States with older populations carry special worries during the deadly pandemic: Loneliness takes an emotional and physical toll on fragile residents. Delivering food and medicine to the homes of isolated shut-ins presents an enormous challenge. Rural hospitals, meanwhile, worry about overwhelmed emergency rooms if the virus continues to spread.

In Maine, behind the idyllic scenes of lighthouses and lobster boats, all of those problems are intensified with the nation’s oldest and most rural population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Doctor gambles on clot-busting drug to save virus patients

WASHINGTON (AP) — The woman was dying. New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital was about to call her husband and break the news that there was nothing left to try. Then Dr. Hooman Poor took a gamble.

With high-stress, high-stakes decisions, doctors around the world are frantically trying to figure out how COVID-19 is killing their patients so they can attempt new ways to fight back. One growing theory: In the sickest of the sick, little blood clots clog the lungs.

Poor couldn’t prove it. The tests required would further endanger his staff, who were already at risk of getting the virus. But the lung specialist saw clues that were “screaming blood clots.” So Poor pulled out a drug best known for treating strokes, and held his breath.

“I said, ‘What do we actually have to lose?’” Poor told The Associated Press. “That’s when I decided to give not just a blood thinner but a blood clot buster.”

Exactly what’s going on with blood clots in at least some COVID-19 patients is a mystery.

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From the files: Isle used for virus burials has long history

NEW YORK (AP) — In 2010, AP National Writer Adam Geller filed an in-depth story about Hart Island, the island off New York City where the unclaimed, unidentified and indigent have long been buried.

Last week, as New York City dealt with a mounting coronavirus death toll and dwindling morgue space, the city announced that Hart Island would be used for the burials of virus dead unclaimed after 14 days in storage. That shortened the amount of time the city would hold unclaimed remains before they’re buried in its “potter’s field” on Hart Island.

For those interested in learning more about Hart Island and its lengthy history, we offer here a look at Geller’s story, “City of the Dead,” as it appeared on Oct. 31, 2010.

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When the dead are delivered, four mornings a week, the ferry Michael Cosgrove is waiting.