President Donald Trump speaks during a coronavirus task force briefing this afternoon at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 335,900 people and killed more than 14,600. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems. More than 98,300 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.

TOP OF THE HOUR:

• China reports 39 new cases of COVID-19, says all from recent arrivals from overseas.

• Japan Prime Minister: Olympic postponement unavoidable if can’t be held in complete way.

• New Zealand to begin full lockdown for about four weeks.

• United Arab Emirates suspends passenger flights at world’s busiest international airport.

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China’s National Health Commission on Monday reported 39 new cases of COVID-19, all of which it says are “imported” infections in recent arrivals from overseas.

For more than a week, the majority of mainland China’s reported cases have been found in people coming from other countries, while community transmission inside the country has dwindled, according to the National Health Commission.

Seeking to prevent a resurgence of the virus, which first emerged late last year in central China, the government is imposing a strict quarantine on individuals entering the country.

Beginning Monday, all flights into Beijing will be diverted to one of 12 airports in other cities. Passengers must pass a health inspection in one of those cities before flying onward to the Chinese capital. They must then quarantine themselves in a hotel for 14 days at their own expense.

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TOKYO — Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that a postponement of the Olympics is unavoidable if it cannot be held in a complete way due to the coronavirus impact.

He was commenting on the International Olympic Committee plan to examine the situation over the next few weeks and make a decision, which could include a postponement option.

Abe, speaking at a parliamentary session, ruled out a possibility of a cancellation.

Whether Japan can hold the Tokyo Games as planned on July 24 has been a major international concern as the COVID-19 pandemic has spread globally, especially hitting hard Europe and the U.S.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand will go into a full lockdown for about four weeks, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday.

She said the lockdown will begin in 48 hours’ time. People must stay at home and all non-essential businesses and activities cease.

The decision came as health officials announced another 36 confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 102. Most of those cases have been traced to people returning from overseas but crucially two of the cases could not be traced and officials believe are evidence of a local outbreak.

Ardern said there would be an unprecedented level of economic and social disruption as a result of the lockdown.

“I do not underestimate what I’m asking New Zealanders to do,” she said. “It is huge, and I know it will feel daunting.” But she said it was important to act early to save tens of thousands of lives.

There have been no deaths due to the coronavirus in New Zealand, which has a population of 5 million.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates has announced that it is suspending all passenger flights and the transit of airline passengers in the country for two weeks to stymie the spread of a new virus.

Dubai’s airport, the world’s busiest international airport, is a vital hub connecting Europe and other Western nations with countries in Asia and Australia. Suspending transit flights there impacts travelers around the world. The UAE made the announcement early Monday.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, announced overnight that an evening curfew would go into effect starting Monday from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. for 21 days.

The decisions are the latest and most dramatic measures to be announced in what has been a gradual, but rapid tightening of daily life across Gulf Arab states and the world as government’s struggle to slowdown the rate of infections from the new coronavirus.

There are around 26,800 cases of the virus confirmed in the Middle East, but more than 21,000 of those cases are in Iran and many others are linked to travelers from Iran.

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Sunshine lured crowds to California beaches and parks today despite a statewide stay-at-home order, prompting officials to close some strands and trails and issue more warnings for people to go back indoors.

Santa Monica closed seaside parking lots to discourage people from visiting its famous beach and help curb the coronavirus spread. Most people on the sand took care to heed guidelines to stay 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from others. But spacing became an issue in popular areas like the boardwalk.

“Today is not the day to go to the beach,” city manager Rick Cole said.

Dozens of Southern California parks, trails and facilities overseen by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority were closed to visitors.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, authorities shut Drakes Beach, Agate Beach and other popular coastal spots, including Point Reyes Lighthouse and Chimney Rock Headlands.

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ROSEAU, Dominica — The eastern Caribbean island of Dominica is reporting its first COVID-19 case. Health Minister Irvin McIntyre said today that the patient is a 54-year-old Dominican who recently returned from the United Kingdom. He said the man was immediately placed under quarantine upon his arrival.

Also, the Dominican Republic’s minister of foreign affairs has tested positive for COVID-19.

Miguel Vargas said today that his son also tested positive after recently attending a wedding in the popular upscale resort town of Punta Cana. Vargas also is the chairman of the Dominican Revolutionary Party.

The Dominican Republic has 75 confirmed cases and three deaths. The country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

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WASHINGTON — The Senate has refused to advance the coronavirus rescue package in a procedural vote with Democrats rejecting a draft from Republicans and pushing for more aid for workers.

Negotiations are expected to continue into the evening tonight.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged senators to “signal to the public that we’re ready to get this job done.” He wants passage by Monday.

But Democrats have resisted, arguing the nearly $1.4 trillion measure needs to bolster aid and put limits on how businesses can use the emergency dollars.

More voting is possible.

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NEW YORK — Futures for U.S. stocks fell sharply at the start of trading today as investors watch to see if Congress can agree on a huge rescue package to try to stem the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Futures for the S&P 500 fell by 5 percent, triggering a halt in futures trading.

Wall Street is coming off its worst week since 2008. The S&P 500 fell 15 percent as large swaths of the U.S. economy shut down and investors waited for Washington to deliver financial support for American workers and battered industries such as airlines and hotels. Democrats have argued the package was tilted toward corporations rather than workers and healthcare providers, so negotiations are ongoing.

Oil prices also tumbled as the broad global economic slowdown threatens demand for energy. The price of U.S. oil fell 6 percent to $21.26 a barrel, while the international benchmark dropped 7 percent to $25.10

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WASHINGTON — The White House is urging commercial labs to prioritize the testing of hospital patients as they work to clear a backlog of tests for the coronavirus.

Vice President Mike Pence says the Department of Health and Human Services will issue formal guidance Monday, but that the federal government is encouraging all labs to “prioritize inpatient testing.”

Pence says the government hopes to have the backlog of existing tests — a milestone the White House hoped to reach on Monday — cleared by the middle of the week.

The White House is encouraging those without symptoms against seeking testing, warning it depletes already scarce supplies of personal protective equipment for healthcare providers.

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’s ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ship mobile hospital centers to the hard-hit states of Washington, California and New York amid the coronavirus pandemic. For New York, that would mean another 1,000 hospital beds.

Trump is also revealing for the first time the number of respirators and other personal protective equipment sent to the hard-hit states by the federal government. It comes as state and local leaders have appealed on the federal government to provide far more, and as Trump has held off on using his fully authorities under the Defense Production Act to marshal the private sector’s capabilities.

Trump says it’s up to states to try to get the materials first. He says: “We’re sort of a backup for states.”

Trump says he’s also giving governors in those three states in calling up their national guard, keeping it under local control but providing federal funding. @Michael Tackett

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CAIRO — Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el Sissi appealed to his people to help stem the spread of the coronavirus through staying at home and practicing social distancing, as the confirmed cases of the virus reached 327 and 15 deaths.

He warned that that numbers of the infected could be in thousands within days, if people did not take the virus seriously.

“Help us, Egyptians!” he appealed to his people. “We want more commitment and discipline for the next two weeks in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus in Egypt.”

He urged Egypt’s more than 100 million people to take the spread of virus “very seriously.”

He said his government have taken “simple measures” including the closure of schools and universities, a nightly curfew on shops, restaurants and other businesses in efforts to minimize interaction between people. He also thanked doctors and health workers as “heroes” who are fighting “a battle like a “war.”

Egypt’s health ministry added 33 more confirmed cases of the coronavirus and four new deaths, bringing the total number to 327 and 14 deaths. It said over 50 were discharged from the quarantine after their recovery. The military earlier today reported the death of a major general while taking part in sterilization efforts.

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BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. John Bel Edwards has issued a statewide “stay at home” directive, ordering all 4.6 million people in Louisiana to stay at home starting at 5 p.m. on Monday unless they’re performing an essential task like getting food or medicine.

Workers in grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors’ offices and other critical infrastructure are exempt from the governor’s directive.

“The bottom line is we are in a race against time when it comes to this coronavirus and it’s rapid spread in Louisiana,” Edwards said today.

New York, California, Illinois and some cities have issued similar shelter in place or stay at home orders in the last few days. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell had issued a similar order for that city two days ago.

As of today, coronavirus infections in Louisiana have climbed to more than 830. Twenty people in the state have died of COVID-19, state health officials said.

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BOUNTIFUL, Utah — Utah has reported its first death related to COVID-19 — a man over the age of 60 who had underlying health problems.

State health and hospital officials said today that the unidentified man from Davis County had been at Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful for two days before his death.

The man tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday.

Health officials are working to identify and contact anyone who may have been in close contact with him. His family notified the hospital of the possibility of him having COVID-19 before his arrival.

The hospital’s CEO says workers met him in the parking lot in full protective gear, limiting possible exposure.

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ISTANBUL — Nine more people have died in Turkey from the coronavirus, bringing the country’s death toll to 30.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 289 people tested positive for COVID-19 today. The total number of confirmed cases in the country is now at least 1,236.

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PARIS — France’s Parliament has adopted a bill allowing the government to declare a “state of health emergency” meant to better fight the coronavirus epidemic in the country.

The measure voted today allows the government to issue decrees that curtail temporarily freedoms, including restrictions on movements, trade, entrepreneurship and gatherings. It also enables the government to requisition necessary goods and services to fight against a health disaster.

The state of heath emergency is yet to be formally declared by President Emmanuel Macron’s government during a Cabinet meeting.

The measure was needed to provide legal basis to ensure the continuity of current emergency measures in the country and the democratic functioning of the state.

The bill also includes the postponing of nationwide municipal elections initially due to take place today and a package of economic measures to support workers and businesses hardly hit by the crisis.

French health authorities have reported 16,018 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 674 people who have died.

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WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is the first U.S. senator to test positive for COVID-19, the infection caused by the coronavirus.

That’s according to a tweet from the senator, who is a top ally of President Donald Trump.

The senator is “feeling fine,” the tweet said. He is “asymptomatic,” and in quarantine.

He was not aware “of any direct contact with any infected person,” the tweet said.

This comes shortly after the nation’s capital announced its second death to coronavirus.

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BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has gone into quarantine after being informed that a doctor who administered a vaccine to her has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Merkel’s spokesman said the German chancellor was informed about the doctor’s test shortly after holding a news conference today announcing new measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Merkel had received a precautionary vaccine Friday against pneumococcal infection.

Seibert said in a statement that Merkel would undergo “regular tests” in the coming days and continue with her work from home for the time being.

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ROME — The number of deaths of people with the coronavirus in Italy jumped 651 to 5,476 in the last 24 hours, while new infections rose by 10 percent to over 59,000. The head of Italy’s Civil Protection Agency, Angelo Borrelli, noted that the increases had narrowed from recent days, adding ”we hope that this trend can be confirmed in the coming days. We should not lower our guard.”