MILITARY FACES Russian fighter Iranian craft Athletes, celebrities endangered US harass US ships going ‘All In’ to feed plane, Navy says in Persian Gulf families in need Page 3 Page 3 Page 16 Clemson’s Simmons built to thrive in modern NFL » Back page Volume 78, No. 260 ©SS 2020 CONTINGENCY EDITION FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas VIRUS OUTBREAK Claims for jobless aid in US reach 22 million BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Associated Press WASHINGTON — The wave of lay- offs that has engulfed the U.S. economy since the coronavirus struck forced 5.2 million more people to seek unemploy- ment benefits last week, the government reported Thursday. Roughly 22 million have sought job- less benefits in the past month — the worst stretch of U.S. job losses on record. It means that roughly one in seven work- ers have lost their jobs in that time. The grim figures point to an econo- my that is tumbling into what appears to be a calamitous recession, the worst in decades. The nation’s output could shrink by roughly 10.5% before it starts to rebound, according to Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody’s Analytics. Force protection SEE JOBLESS ON PAGE 10 Army parachute riggers, civilians in Kaiserslautern improvise face masks BY JENNIFER H. SVAN livery Company soldiers have produced about Spc. Robert Walker, a Stars and Stripes 150 a day since Monday, as part of an effort to parachute rigger with the 5th contain the spread of the coronavirus. Quartermaster-Theater Aerial KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Sewing The first batches of masks have been distrib- Delivery Company at Rhine RICK BOWMER/AP machines continue to hum inside the work- uted to cooks, gate guards, postal workers and Ordnance Barracks, Germany, A sign reflecting the bleak state of shop at Rhine Ordnance Barracks, where U.S. finance specialists — essential workers in jobs holds up one of the masks he business hangs in the window of Army parachute riggers who normally mend where social distancing is difficult, soldiers and fellow parachute riggers Locust Tattoo on Tuesday in Salt Lake torn canopies have taken up a new project: face said this week. made this week from bed sheets City. Millions of Americans are newly masks. and parachute rigging. unemployed because of coronavirus- The 5th Quartermaster-Theater Aerial De- SEE PROTECTION ON PAGE 8 JENNIFER H. SVAN/Stars and Stripes related shutdowns. RELATED Esper says USS Theodore Roosevelt Base in South Korea Get the latest news Millions of relief checks STORIES could return to sea in matter of weeks aims to ease restrictions on the virus outbreak delayed by glitches Page 6 Page 7 stripes.com/coronavirus Page 10 PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Friday, April 17, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Military rates Switzerland (Franc)............................0.9666 Tech firms step up fight against bad virus info Euro costs (April 17)............................. $1.06 Thailand (Baht) .....................................32.63 Dollar buys (April 17) .........................€0.895 Turkey (Lira) .........................................6.9402 British pound (April 17) .......................$1.22 (Military exchange rates are those Associated Press regularly crop up . be a remedy on social media. An Japanese yen (April 17) .....................104.00 available to customers at military banking South Korean won (April 17) .........1,196.00 Health officials, critics and Arizona man also died after tak- Commercial rates facilities in the country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the CHICAGO — Potentially dan- Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3773 others who have long implored ing chloroquine phosphate — a Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For gerous coronavirus misinforma- British pound .....................................$1.2507 nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., the tech companies to step up product that some mistake for the Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.4108 tion has spread from continent to purchasing British pounds in Germany), their response to viral false- anti-malaria drug chloroquine, China (Yuan) ........................................ 7.0734 check with your local military banking continent like the pandemic itself, Denmark (Krone) ................................6.8590 hoods have welcomed the new which President Donald Trump facility. Commercial rates are interbank Egypt (Pound) ....................................15.7842 forcing the world’s largest tech rates provided for reference when buying effort, saying the platforms are and conservative pundits have Euro ........................................ $1.0879/0.9192 companies to take unprecedented now working faster than ever to touted as a treatment for COVID- Hong Kong (Dollar) .............................7.7506 currency. All figures are foreign currencies action to protect public health. Hungary (Forint) .................................322.06 to one dollar, except for the British pound, scrub their sites of coronavirus 19. Health officials have warned Israel (Shekel) .....................................3.5870 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, Facebook, Google and others misinformation. the drug hasn’t been proven safe Japan (Yen) ........................................... 107.45 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) have begun using algorithms, Last month, Iranian media re- or effective as a virus therapy. Kuwait (Dinar) ..................................... 0.3114 INTEREST RATES new rules and factual warnings to Norway (Krone) .................................10.4563 ported more than 300 people had Bogus ads for masks, hand Philippines (Peso)................................. 51.07 Prime rate ................................................3.25 knock down harmful coronavirus died and 1,000 were sickened in sanitizer and unregulated blood Poland (Zloty) ..........................................4.17 Discount rate ..........................................0.25 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...........................3.7571 Federal funds market rate ...................0.05 conspiracy theories, questionable the country after ingesting meth- tests for COVID-19 still appear Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.4279 3-month bill ............................................. 0.15 ads and unproven remedies that anol, a toxic alcohol rumored to on Facebook and Google. South Korea (Won) ......................... 1,226.38 30-year bond ...........................................1.27 WEATHER OUTLOOK FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FRIDAY IN EUROPE SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 54/38 Kabul 55/50 Seoul 59/46 Baghdad 85/60 Kandahar 63/57 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 57/46 57/49 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 53/44 52/37 60/51 Iwakuni 59/56 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 76/71 Brussels 55/40 Guam 83/64 69/48 Ramstein 58/54 82/79 Lajes, 67/37 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 85/63 82/62 61/58 68/48 71/46 Aviano/ Vicenza 62/41 Naples 63/50 Okinawa Morón 71/67 69/54 Sigonella Rota 70/44 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 85/80 65/55 59/54 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 14 Comics ...................... 17 Crossword ................. 17 Faces ........................ 16 Opinion ................ 18-19 Sports .................. 20-24 Friday, April 17, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 MILITARY Navy: Russian jet maneuver risked collision BY JOHN VANDIVER “Unsafe actions increase the risk of mis- The latest incident with the Russians if you will, at a time of crisis,” Milley said. Stars and Stripes calculation and potential for midair colli- comes one week after U.S. Air Force F-22 “That would be a terrible and tragic mis- sions,” NAVEUR said. “The U.S. aircraft fighter jets intercepted a pair of Russian take if they thought that.” STUTTGART, Germany — A Russian was operating consistent with interna- maritime patrol planes 50 miles off the Navy crews operating in Europe are fighter jet risked a midair collision when it tional law and did not provoke this Russian western coast of the Aleutian Islands, in taking precautionary measures to guard intercepted a Navy aircraft at close range activity.” what military officials said at the time was against the coronavirus, the service said. over the Mediterranean Sea on Wednes- In Europe, risky encounters with Rus- a test of U.S. capabilities amid the corona- This week, Rota, Spain-based destroyers day, U.S. military officials said. sian military aircraft have occurred on virus pandemic. maneuvered in the Black and Baltic seas, A U.S. P-8A Poseidon aircraft, used for occasion in recent years, most notably in And on Wednesday, 11 Iranian military while the P-8A Poseidon flew its Mediter- tracking submarines, was flying in inter- the Black Sea. But the latest action also vessels moved dangerously close to several ranean mission. national airspace when a Russian SU-35 comes as the U.S. military contends with American ships conducting operations in “U.S. 6th Fleet remains at sea, ensuring performed a high-speed, inverted maneu- the coronavirus. the northern Persian Gulf, the Navy said. maritime security and demonstrating our ver 25 feet in front of the Navy plane, U.S. The U.S. has been forced to cancel nu- Last week, as coronavirus cases surged continued ability to operate in concert with Naval Forces Europe-Africa said in a merous military exercises and training in the ranks, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. allies and partners across the European statement. plans