The Latest: Italian Premier shuts down production facilities

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 303,000 people and killed more than 12,940. 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 91,600 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.

TOP OF THE HOUR:

—FAA briefly halts flights to NYC-area airports.

—Italy's coronavirus deaths, cases continue to rise.

—U.S. approves first rapid coronavirus test.

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ROME — Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has told the nation he is tightening the lockdown to fight the rampaging spread of the coronavirus, shutting down all production facilities except those that are "necessary, crucial, indispensable to guarantee essential goods" for the country. Conte said Italy is living through “ïts gravest crisis since World War II.”

Conte said while it's not easy to renounce habits, that sacrifice pales in comparison to the sacrifices made by other citizens, ranging from doctors and nurses to supermarket clerks and security forces.

Local authorities in Italy's northern regions have been pleading with the national government to enact ever stricter measures. The most hard-hit region, Lombardy, accounts for more than 60% of Italy's rapidly surging death toll.

Italy's economy has been stagnant for several years, and some in the country were reluctant to shut down industry, in a move that would deepen Italy's economic crisis.

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PARDUBICE, Czech Republic — A giant transport plane landed late Saturday at an airport in the Czech Republic loaded with over 100 tons of much needed supplies for the medical sector to combat the outbreak of the coronavirus. The transport was part of a NATO program.

The Czech Defense Ministry said the plane was...