People wearing face masks wait in line to shop for groceries Saturday in metro Phoenix. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered residents of the state to stay at home through April 30 to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Matt York)
ARIZONA — Gov. Doug Ducey has issued a series of executive orders aimed at protecting Arizonans from the new coronavirus, which public health officials say is widespread across the state and sickened 151 more people from Tuesday to Wednesday, bringing the total to 2,726.

At least 80 people have died from COVID-19, as the illness caused by the virus is known. At least 15 of those deaths are linked to coronavirus infections in nursing homes in Maricopa County, and one of Ducey's new orders outlines steps all nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the state should take to separate residents who are infected from those who are not.

The governor's orders also require travelers from three states in the Northeast hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic to self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving at an Arizona airport.

Travelers From 3 States Must Quarantine
To slow the coronavirus spread, Gov. Doug Ducey issued a series of executive orders, including placing restrictions on some travelers.

Maricopa County, the state's most populous county and home to Phoenix, the 10th largest metropolitan area in the country, is the epicenter of the Arizona outbreak with 37 deaths. On Wednesday, there were 1,556 confirmed coronavirus cases, up 62 from the day before. The county health department said 87 people living in nursing homes have contracted the illness, and 15 of them have died.

Coronavirus updates: Surgeon General cautions that 'deaths lag at least two weeks' as cases rise in 40 states; 31 MLB players test positive

As MLB spring training resumes, 31 players test positive for COVID-19
Major League Baseball, resuming spring training Friday, announced that 31 players and seven staff members tested positive for COVID-19 as part of intake screening. The 38 positives were 1.2% of the 3,185 total samples collected and tested, according to the league.

Teams are not permitted to identify the players who tested positive for COVID-19, but two players, Delino DeShields Jr. of the Cleveland Indians and Brett Martin of the Texas Rangers each revealed their positive tests. Any player who tests positive for COVID-19 must test negative twice at least 24 hours apart from one another, with no fever for 72 hours, before he can rejoin a team.

MIKE TROUT: Angels' MVP isn't sure he'll play this season

As Texas shuts back down amid soaring COVID-19 cases, doctors across the now-hardest-hit states face insurers that are starting to back away from the widely embraced telehealth approach to doctor appointments.

Insurers are scaling back telehealth to pre-COVID levels, which were limited, resuming out-of-pocket payments and using time-consuming prior authorizations that can deter doctors. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas initially planned to end telehealth expansion May 31 but has moved the date three times. It's now Aug. 31.MLB Face Masks

Fanatics is making masks instead of MLB jerseys to fight Coronavirus

With the Major League Baseball season suspended due to Covid-19, resources that would normally be reserved for making jerseys will instead go toward masks and gowns for healthcare workers.

Fanatics, the company that manufactures MLB jerseys for Nike, has temporarily converted its 360,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Easton, Pennsylvania, to create up to 1 million masks and gowns, per MLB.

According to Fanatics executive director Michael Rubin, the company has halted production of jerseys entirely, instead re-focusing a staff of 100 social-distanced employees on making masks and gowns from jersey materials. They will be donated to hospitals and emergency management personnel in Pennsylvania with plans to expand to the New York City region, which has become the epicenter of the outbreak.

MLB jerseys are made with polyester, which could retain germs for a longer period of time compared to cotton. But the jersey-made equipment could still help prevent the spread of Covid-19 by way of coughing, spitting or sneezing. Some form of prevention is better than none as healthcare workers are already struggling with a lack of resources amid the outbreak and are being told to reuse masks.New York Yankees Face Masks

U.S. and global news on COVID-19

The Senate overwhelmingly passed a massive stimulus package late Wednesday night aimed at softening the economic blow of the coronavirus pandemic for American workers and businesses. The bill includes billions of dollars in credit for struggling industries, a boost to unemployment insurance and direct cash payments to Americans.

The U.S. reached a grim milestone as the number of deaths linked to the coronavirus passed 1,000 in the country, according to a count of reports of cases and deaths by NBC News. Globally, the death toll topped 20,000, with nearly half a million reported cases.

Meanwhile at the U.N., the Trump administration is pushing the Security Council to call attention to the Chinese origins of the coronavirus, four diplomats posted to the United Nations told NBC News, triggering a stalemate as the global body seeks to cobble together a response to the pandemic.

MLB and Fanatics, a company that manufactures official league jerseys, is shifting a manufacturing plant in Easton, Pennsylvania, to now make at least 1 million gowns and masks for health care workers and emergency personnel tackling the coronavirus outbreak.

The plan is to continue producing the gowns and masks as long as the need exists, Fanatics Executive Chairman Michael Rubin said. MLB's regular season has been delayed.

Shoulder's OK! Belli goes deep in Game 1

Bellinger entered the game 5-for-44 (.114) in 12 career World Series games. The blast marked his second World Series big fly and was his fourth homer of this postseason, tying him for the third-most homers by a Dodgers player in a single postseason, behind teammate and NLCS MVP Corey Seager in 2020 (six) and Davey Lopes in 1978 (five).

Including his NLCS-clinching homer in Game 7 on Sunday, the 25-year-old has gone deep in successive games. Bill Madlock is the only player in Dodgers history to homer in three straight playoff games, having done so in the 1985 NLCS.

"It was one of those where it's the first time I challenged it, and I closed to the wall, I dropped it, and then my shoulder hit the wall,” Bellinger said. “And then, I was, 'OK. I'm fine.' Mookie and [Chris Taylor] are like, 'All right, listen. Now you know. You're going to come up with a catch later in the game.’

Still not feeling good enough to take his chances with another elbow bump, though. The foot tap is funnier, anyway.

“I think I'll continue to do that,” Bellinger said. “Maybe my whole career -- who knows?”Oakland Athletics Face Masks