The Via Expresa highway, closed by the government to discourage citizens from circulating, is free of traffic in Lima, Peru, Thursday, March 19, 2020, the fourth day of a state of emergency decreed by the government to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
March 20, 2020
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March 20, 2020 4:26 p.m.
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.