Good Friday, coronavirus pandemic, severe storms in the Northeast: 5 things to know Friday

Editors, USA TODAY
·4 min read

For many Christians, a virtual Good Friday

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing changes to the way Christians celebrate Good Friday, which commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. With millions around the world under orders to stay home, many churches will be livestreaming services and using other alternatives to traditional in-person gatherings. That includes the Vatican, where Pope Francis will venerate the Cross alone in St. Peter's Basilica, according to Rome Reports. Good Friday is a part of Holy Week, the days leading up to Easter Sunday, which marks the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

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Government intervenes as supplies to fight coronavirus falls, demand rises

The Federal Emergency Management Agency this week unveiled regulations restricting the export of five types of personal protective equipment, saying the items could no longer be exported without explicit FEMA approval. Scheduled to take effect Friday, the list includes N95 respirators; other filtering facepiece respirators; reusable elastomeric air-purifying respirators and cartridges; surgical masks and surgical gloves. Trump signaled he would ban the export of the medical gear earlier this week, but the regulations offer new detail about specifically how the prohibition will work. The rule is expected to last four months.

Iceland has tested 10% of its population for coronavirus. Here's what it learned

By Friday, Iceland will have achieved something no other country has: tested 10% of its population for coronavirus, a figure far higher than anywhere else in the world. WIth a population over 364,000, their findings are startling: about half of its citizenry at any given time who have coronavirus but don't know it, will be asymptomatic — a large percentage many experts have suspected, but have had little firm data to corroborate. "That's a bit scary, They could be spreading it and not knowing it," said Kari Stefansson, a scientist involved in the testing who noted that Iceland tested citizens at random by selecting names out of the country's main telephone directory. Coronavirus has swept the globe, infecting more than 1.6 million people and killing at least 95,000..

A sign hanging on a locked gate in front of the Ermita de la Caridad church in Miami indicates that the church is closed during the new coronavirus pandemic, Churches are closed in South Florida as religious leaders worldwide are urging people to celebrate Good Friday and Easter from the safety of their homes.
A sign hanging on a locked gate in front of the Ermita de la Caridad church in Miami indicates that the church is closed during the new coronavirus pandemic, Churches are closed in South Florida as religious leaders worldwide are urging people to celebrate Good Friday and Easter from the safety of their homes.

Severe storms bring snow in the Northeast, storms to the South

The same weather system that battered Texas with harsh storms is poised to dump about a foot of snow in parts of northern New England Friday. The heavy snowstorm bearing down on Maine, and parts of northern New England, began with a mix of rain and snow Thursday afternoon before changing to snow as a push of colder air arrived, according to AccuWeather. "Similar to the pattern from this past winter, Maine and portions of eastern Canada will bear the brunt of snowfall from this storm," meteorologist Renee Duff said. In addition to the snow in the northeast, "there is still going to be some showers and thunderstorms across southern Western Texas (Friday) that will ramp up as the storm system moves out into the plains Sunday," AccuWeather meteorologist Michael Leseney told USA TODAY.

'Trolls World Tour' skips theaters and heads to streaming audiences

Unlike pretty much every other major studio movie during the time of the coronavirus pandemic, "Trolls World Tour" (★★★ out of four; rated PG; available for rent on digital platforms Friday) decided for a streaming release rather than waiting for theaters. After saving all of Troll kind in the first film, Poppy (voiced by Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) return in the animated sequel to learn all sorts of new things including that each Troll tribe is connected with a certain genre of music. They also get new metal-loving foes in Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend") and her dad King Thrash (Ozzy Osbourne). "While not quite as subversive and refreshing as the first 'Trolls,' World Tour' offers endless cuteness, an impressive voice cast and just enough depth for grownups and children alike to chew on," USA TODAY's Brian Truitt says.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Good Friday, coronavirus pandemic: 5 things to know Friday