Stories from Monday, March 23, 2020

A surge in infections has caused a critical shortage of medical supplies in many places. The hunt for ventilators and other critical items is consuming Europe and the U.S. Deaths around the world passed the 15,000 mark Monday. Meanwhile, China is slamming the U.S. for "scapegoating" over the virus, the Tokyo Olympics is considering postponing the event to 2021 and lawmakers in the U.S. are negotiating a nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package...

WASHINGTON (AP) — In its boldest effort to protect the U.S. economy from the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve says it will buy as much government debt as it deems necessary and will also begin lending to small and large businesses and local governments to help them weather the crisis...

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Residents of Missouri's biggest cities have been ordered to stay home to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, which sickened nearly 130 people statewide, including at least five people linked to a suburban St. Louis preschool. The shelter-in-place order in St. ...

PARIS (AP) — The hunt for masks, ventilators and other medical supplies consumed the U.S. and Europe, as more than 1.5 billion people — one-fifth of the world's population — were asked or ordered to stay home on Monday to try to blunt the spread of the coronavirus...

SIKESTON — Otis Rose, 81, died March 20, 2020, at Woodland Hills Nursing Center in Marble Hill. He was born June 10, 1938, in Portageville, to the late Luther and Ethel Fuwell Rose. Survivors include: one daughter, Darlene Watkins; four sons, Howard Rose, Darrell Rose, Mike Rysdam and Otis Rose Jr.; one stepdaughter, Leslie Jones; and nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Steve LaTart in Minnesota is thinking of installing a space heater in his basement to recreate the atmosphere of his hot yoga classes now that his gym has closed due to coronavirus fears. LaTart's says it's part of the "new, weird, strange workout plan" he has devised during a nationwide trend of self-isolation and social distancing as the government recommends limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer people...

The rapid spread of the coronavirus since it was first reported in China has dealt an unprecedented shock to the global economy. Following are business developments Monday related to the outbreak as governments attempt to stabilize their economies, companies struggle to cope and millions of people face job losses and disruptions in supplies of goods and in services...

Fellowship Baptist Church in Sikeston distributed 440 free meals Sunday to members of their congregation and the community. The meals were picked up through drive thru or were delivered. Fellowship Baptist Pastor Bob Houchins said there were many good reports from the delivery teams about how this touched people in the community and church...

GREENWOOD, Miss. — Dewey Chester Hagar, 93, of Greenwood, formerly of Morley, Missouri, died Friday, March 20, 2020, at the Riverview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Greenwood. He was born to Thomas Newton and Lydia Davidson Hagar Dec. 9, 1926. He married Sadie Goff in May 1950...

CHICAGO (AP) — A Michigan woman recounted for her congressman how she and her feverish 82-year-old husband were sent away from an almost empty emergency room after a fruitless, dayslong effort to get him tested for COVID-19. "Where are the sick people going?" she wanted to know...

SIKESTON — On Saturday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson directed the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Dr. Randall Williams to order statewide social distancing beginning Monday. Individuals “shall avoid eating or drinking at restaurants, bars, or food courts; provided, however, that the use of drive-thru, pickup, or delivery options is allowed throughout the duration of this Order,” according to the news release issued by Parson...

CHICAGO (AP) — You won't get a check in the mail for filling out this year's census as claims circulating on social media suggest. The inaccurate posts on sites including Facebook and Twitter urge people to respond to the census. They claim if you do so you will receive one of the stimulus checks that the federal government is considering sending to American households to buffer the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. ...

CHICAGO (AP) — For Jalen Grimes, the virus pandemic is stirring up a slew of emotions. "Annoyed" is the first one the 13-year-old Chicagoan mentions. "Scared, confused, worried." She was supposed to be enjoying the end of her eighth-grade year, a rite of passage in states like Illinois, with a graduation and a school trip that are not likely to happen. ...

O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis woman in her 30s died from COVID-19, and officials said Monday that they are still trying to figure out how she got the disease caused by the coronavirus. The death was the fourth in Missouri from COVID-19, and her relative youth "is a cause for concern for us," Dr. Fredrick Echols, the city's health director, said at a news conference. He said the woman was hospitalized on Sunday, though he declined to provide further personal details about her...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Donald Brown French, age 83, a resident of Charleston, died Sunday, March 22, 2020. He was born July 4, 1936, in Asheville, N.C., to Oliver B. and Jennie Lane Brown French Sr. Moving to Charleston in 1942, he was a 1954 graduate of Charleston High School then received his bachelor of science degree in agriculture from University of Missouri/Columbia where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. ...

SIKESTON — Wilma Lee Fausett Owen, 91, passed away peacefully with her two sons by her side on the first day of Spring, March 19, 2020. She was born Dec. 17, 1928, in Parma, Missouri, daughter of Fred and Dorothy Powell.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – As the United States tries to halt the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), scammers look to make money off the global pandemic. Better Business Bureau (BBB) Scam Tracker has received more than two dozen reports from consumers about surgical mask scams being perpetrated online. Most reported losing money to companies who failed to ship them masks. Reported losses were as high as $350...

SIKESTON — A Sikeston man is in custody after a shooting Saturday evening. According to a news release from the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, around 6:35 p.m. Saturday, Sikeston DPS received a report of shots fired near Ruth and Branum Street. A 35-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his right arm reported to the hospital a short time later...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Shirley Frances Hager Hall, 84, died March 20, 2020, at her home in New Madrid. Born March 11, 1936, in Huntington, W. Va., daughter of the late Clyde and Opal Wells Hager, she was a member of the United Methodist Church in New Madrid, Methodist Youth Foundation, Methodist Women’s Group and Quilter’s Group...