The Latest: Italians need to adhere to lockdown measures

TOP OF THE HOUR:

— Head of a Chinese Red Cross delegation helping Italy says people there aren’t adhering to lockdown measures.

— NATO Secretary General urges no cuts to defense spending as coronavirus hits global economies

— A four-star hotel in Madrid begins operating as country’s first medicalized hospital

— The coronavirus pandemic has infected 222,000 people and killed more than 9,100. About 84,500 have recovered.

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MILAN -- The head of a visiting Chinese Red Cross delegation helping Italy respond to the coronavirus crisis says people there aren’t sufficiently adhering to lockdown measures and warns the only way to stop the virus’ spread is by shutting down all economic activity.

Sun Shuopeng, executive chairman of the Red Cross Society of China.says he was shocked to see so many Milanese walking around the city, using public transportation, having dinners in hotels and not wearing protective masks.

Sun warned that Wuhan, China — the epicenter of the pandemic — only saw its infections peak after one month of a strictly enforced lockdown. He spoke on the same day that Wuhan for the first time registered no new infections. Italy is likely to overtake all of China in the number of virus-associated deaths.

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BRUSSELS -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is urging members of the military alliance not to cut defense spending as the coronavirus hits global economies.

Stoltenberg says the armed forces are providing support to the civilian society with logistics, military hospitals and patrol borders.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly chastised European allies and Canada for not spending enough on defense budgets.

NATO countries slashed spending as tensions eased after the Cold War. But after Russia’s 2014 annexation of...