Wednesday, Feb 26, 2020 | View in browser

Good morning.

We’re covering several developments in the coronavirus outbreak, President Trump’s visit to India and the star-studded memorial for a basketball legend.

By Melina Delkic

Workers spraying disinfectant against the coronavirus in a train station in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday. Kim Chul-Soo/EPA, via Shutterstock

An ‘unprecedented’ global health challenge

The top U.S. health official warned that the coronavirus outbreak, which has already sickened nearly 80,000 people in 37 countries, could hit the country hard, as chaos in the rest of the world drew attention to the need for a global game plan.

“We cannot hermetically seal off the United States to a virus,” the official, Alex Azar, said. “And we need to be realistic about that.”

The emergence of Italy, Iran and South Korea as new hubs for the virus shifted the focus in many countries from prevention to reaction. A 14-day isolation period has become standard, but that can be difficult to implement, and its effectiveness has been called into question.

Restricting the movement of goods and people seemed to have worked in China, where the rate of new infections has plunged, according to the World Health Organization — though the economic ramifications of those measures remain to be seen. South Korea has tried something entirely different, warning residents while keeping businesses running.

Here are the latest updates on the virus and maps of where it has spread.

Markets: Stocks dropped again on Tuesday, as the outbreak, now in its sixth week, upended the belief that 2020 could be a rebuilding year for the global economy.

Related: Cases in at least eight countries have been traced to Iran, which is emerging as a second focal point after China for the spread of the infection. Even its top health official in charge of fighting the outbreak tested positive.

Hotel workers waiting to get tested for the coronavirus in Tenerife, the largest of Spain's Canary Islands, on Tuesday. Associated Press

Europe scrambles to contain the virus

A Canary Islands hotel is on lockdown. Italy deployed its army to the “red area.” Cases linked to the Lombardy region have spread to Spain, France, Austria, Croatia and Switzerland.

In just days, a virus that had been mostly contained to countries surrounding its epicenter in Wuhan, China, went global. European health ministers met on Tuesday to work on a collective strategy, as the rapid spread underscored just how difficult it will be to control the virus.

Countries with commercial ties to Italy, like France, Croatia and the U.S., are canceling study-abroad programs, changing train service and installing checkpoints. Places with weaker infrastructure are scrambling to do what they can — Budapest’s airport, for example, is installing thermal cameras.

Details: Italy reported 322 infections through Tuesday, up from 229 a day earlier, and the death toll rose to 10.

Go deeper: We spoke to Jason Horowitz, our Rome bureau chief, about the spread of the virus in Europe. See what he said in today’s Back Story.

Hindus beat a Muslim man during clashes in New Delhi on Monday. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Deadly clashes over India’s citizenship law

Gangs of Hindus and Muslims have been battling in New Delhi since Sunday, killing at least 11 people, including a police officer who was bashed in the head with a rock.

On Tuesday, thousands of furious residents faced off again, hurling petrol bombs, attacking vehicles and hospitalizing several journalists.

The violence is related to the ongoing protests over India’s divisive citizenship law, which favors every South Asian faith other than Islam and which could leave the country’s 200 million Muslims at a calculated disadvantage.

Background: India is about 80 percent Hindu and 14 percent Muslim. Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have accused him of trying to move India away from its secular, democratic roots and turn the country into a religious state, a homeland for Hindus.

If you have 7 minutes, this is worth it

‘I felt like crying’

Giulia Marchi for The New York Times

As China deals with the vicious epidemic that has sickened nearly 80,000 people and killed more than 2,600, pregnant women say that navigating the country’s already overburdened health care system is lonely and terrifying.

Getting access to basic prenatal care is harder, and fear of contracting the virus runs high. “There were 100 times a day that I felt like crying,” said one woman who gave birth in an understaffed hospital in Beijing.

Here’s what else is happening

Trump in India: President Trump reported progress, but no breakthrough, on trade talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But he also broke from the mutually sunny tone of the visit to complain that high tariffs on American goods were unfair.

Hong Kong: A book publisher whose secretive detention in China ignited international controversy has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. The publisher, Gui Minhai, had disappeared from his home in Thailand in 2015 and later emerged as a target in a campaign by Beijing to silence dissent beyond the mainland.

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, the former autocratic president who ruled the country for three decades before he was deposed in 2011 amid the Arab Spring protests, died on Tuesday at 91.

Jenna Schoenefeld for The New York Times

Snapshot: Above, the Los Angeles memorial service on Monday for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who were killed along with seven others in a helicopter crash last month. Along with performances from superstars, the event featured several heart-rending moments.

What we’re reading: This essay in Bloomberg News about one editor’s personal struggle with his father’s former prison mate, Bernie Madoff, who has asked to be released so he can die at home. It poses a tough ethical question: Can you support an idea in the abstract, even if the specifics deeply upset you?

Now, a break from the news

Julia Gartland for The New York Times

Cook: Pasta with chicken and pine nuts is a nourishing midweek meal.

Read: In “Every Drop of Blood,” Edward Achorn addresses sweeping issues about the Civil War, and the precarious state of America in 1865, through the narrow lens of the 24 hours around Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address.

Listen: Justin Bieber has a new album, and he’s the subject of the latest Popcast.

Smarter Living: Staring down an endless selection of wine, either on a menu or on a shelf, can be a dreadful experience. Here are a few helpful tips to simplify the process.

And now for the Back Story on …

Europe’s coronavirus hotspot

Jason Horowitz, our Rome bureau chief, has been reporting from Milan on the stunning spike in Italy’s coronavirus cases, and what it could mean for the rest of Europe. I went to Jason on Tuesday to learn more, and to find out what we should be watching for next.

What’s the feeling right now in the streets of Milan?

It’s this eerie sort of feeling. Milan is an extremely energetic, buzzing town. It’s the creative center of Italy, the economic center of Italy, the cultural center of Italy, I’d argue. It’s like somebody has let the air out of there.

But nobody is wearing masks — when I have my mask on, they look at me like I’m out of my mind. They look at masks as showing mass hysteria.

A woman in downtown Milan on Tuesday. Claudio Furlan/LaPresse, via Associated Press

Is the virus making this reporting harder?

The place that’s most affected is under quarantine, and police stop you on the road and tell you that you can’t go places. People are freaked out and don’t want to talk about it a little bit. But also, it’s important not to be foolhardy and go places that put you and your colleagues in danger.

How are public officials handling it?

There’s total confusion about the guidelines. There’s confusion between the government in Rome and the local government in Lombardy, the state in which Milan and most of the closed-down towns are.

What the head of the region said today was, basically: Do those places that don’t have cases really have no cases, or are they just not testing? Their view of it is that they have a ton of cases because they’ve done a ton of testing, and they’re being whacked for it. But on the other hand, they also have a lot of people who have it.

What are you watching for next?

We’re watching for whether people from Lombardy are being turned away from other countries now when they arrive — as well as people from Lombardy spreading when they go to other countries.

This is a wealthy region with people on the move. This is the economic engine of Italy; they’re not going to stay put, unless they’re told to.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Melina

Thank you
Tom Wright-Piersanti helped compile today’s briefing. Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford wrote the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about the verdict in the sexual assault trial of Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood producer.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Philosopher who originated the “allegory of the cave” (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Erin Schaff and Doug Mills, staff photographers for The Times, won multiple awards from the White House News Photographers Association for their work.