What you need to know today about the virus outbreak

The Trump administration’s leading health experts on safely dealing with the new coronavirus will be testifying in a Senate hearing by a videoconference this week after three of them and the committee’s chairman were exposed to people who tested positive for COVID-19.

Adding to a string of potentially awkward moments for President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence himself self-isolated for the weekend after a staff member tested positive. Pence leads Trump’s coronavirus task force.

The images of top administration officials taking such precautions come as states seek to loosen economic restrictions put in place to mitigate the virus’s spread.

Here are some of AP’s top stories Monday on the world’s coronavirus pandemic. Follow APNews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates through the day and APNews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak for stories explaining some of its complexities.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:

— Plastic spacing barriers and millions of masks appeared Monday on the streets of Europe’s newly reopened cities, as France and Belgium emerged from lockdowns, the Netherlands sent children back to school and Spain let people eat outdoors. All faced the delicate balance of trying to restart battered economies without fueling a second wave of coronavirus infections.

— Employees, business owners, police and trade unions in Britain are expressing confusion after the government switched from telling workers to stay at home to urging them to return to work — but preferably without getting near other people or using public transport.

— Global stocks have turned lower amid questions on how quickly government plans to ease lockdowns on public life might help economic activity pick up. European stocks lost early gains on Monday and Wall Street futures are down...