What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

The death toll from the global pandemic surpassed 10,000 people worldwide and the effects of a global economy grinding to a halt because of the pandemic were beginning to show, from millions of unsold flowers rotting in piles in Kenya to the slow emptying of the world’s skies. In Southern Europe, gasping patients filled sick wards and field hospitals went up in hotels and a convention center in Madrid.

The U.N. chief warned of a looming global recession “perhaps of record dimensions.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state’s 40 million residents to stay at home indefinitely and venture out only for essential jobs, groceries and some exercise. At the other end of the country, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a similar order, starting Sunday, that all workers in nonessential businesses must stay home and all gatherings of any size will be banned in the state of more than 19 million people.

The death toll from the global pandemic surpassed 10,000 people worldwide and the effects of a global economy grinding to a halt because of the pandemic were beginning to show, from millions of unsold flowers rotting in piles in Kenya to the slow emptying of the world’s skies. In Southern Europe, gasping patients filled sick wards and field hospitals went up in hotels and a convention center in Madrid.

The U.N. chief warned of a looming global recession “perhaps of record dimensions.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state’s 40 million residents to stay at home indefinitely and venture out only for essential jobs, groceries and some exercise. At the other end of the country, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a similar order, starting Sunday, that all workers in nonessential businesses must stay home and all gatherings of any size will be banned in the state of more than 19 million people.

You should wash your phone, too. Here’s how.

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ONE NUMBER:

Nearly 624,000: That’s the number of passengers who passed throughout outbound checkpoints on Thursday, according to the Transportation Security Administration. That’s the lowest number at U.S. airports of outbound passengers ever recorded by an agency created in November 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It compares with 2.4 million on the same day a year earlier.

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IN OTHER NEWS:

PANDEMIC POT: Companies in California and elsewhere are reporting big jumps in marijuana deliveries and sales, as consumers stock up ahead of lockdowns or simply light up in search of relief during anxious times.

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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.

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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak