A Buddhist monk strikes a gong at a pagoda in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Mar. 23, 2020. Buddhist pagodas in Cambodia on Monday offered prayer, chanting along with strikes of gongs and drums in hopes of chasing away the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
March 23, 2020
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March 23, 2020 5:58 p.m.
What you need to know today about the virus outbreak
The head of the World Health Organization says the coronavirus outbreak is accelerating but insists “we can change the trajectory of this pandemic.” More than 1.5 billion people — one-fifth of the world’s population — were urged or ordered to stay home Monday to try to blunt the spread of coronavirus. The death toll from the pandemic has surpassed 16,000 people worldwide, and the virus has sickened more than 370,000.