Coronavirus Update: Concerns about Easter, weather sending people outdoors

Officials in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world are expressing concern about people bending or breaking the coronavirus stay-at-home rules this Easter weekend and as the warmer, outdoor weather arrives. 

“We are flattening the curve because we are rigorous about social distancing,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. “But it’s not a time to be complacent. It’s not a time to do anything different than we’ve been doing.”

New York remains the epicenter of the virus, with roughly 178 countries around the world now reporting cases of infection. New York on Wednesday reported 779 deaths in the past 24 hours, though virus-related hospital visits are down. 

There are now nearly 1.5 million reported virus-related cases worldwide and 89,733 related deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. 

Keeping people from gathering in public during the Easter weekend could be especially challenging in hard-hit Italy, which appears to be recovering from a massive outbreak, considering the holy city of Rome is part of the country, 

Italy has a total 139,422 cases, second only to the U.S. with more than 430,000. 

Britain is reportedly having a surge in deaths as Japan and India report more infections.