Today’s coronavirus update: Vaccine looks promising; fan-free sports possible

The company leading the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine announced “positive” early findings on Monday, with participants successfully producing antibodies to ward off the disease.
The news led to a stock market rally — and to President Trump predicting a V-shaped economic recovery from the pandemic.
“The market is up very big. And I think you’re going to have a ‘V’ — I think it’s going to be terrific,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump, however, also indicated that he doesn’t believe a vaccine is needed to reopen the US economy.

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Here’s what else we learned today: 

New York crisis:

• New data released Monday revealed the neighborhoods with the highest coronavirus deaths.
• The City Health Commissioner issued a public apology to police for rejecting a plea by NYPD brass for protective masks and saying, “I don’t give two rats’ asses about your cops.”
• Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered a probe of claims reported by The Post from out-of-state nurses about hellish conditions at the city-run adult-care center on Roosevelt Island.
• Burglaries spiked in the Big Apple — with as shops, spas and bars that remain closed because of the virus providing easy targets.
• The city’s famed Magnolia Bakery is planning on combating the virus with futuristic-looking portals and purple-hued ceiling lights as it reopens.
• Here’s everything you need to know about when NYC restaurants could reopen and how different they’ll be.

World reopens:

• Catholic churches across Italy held public Masses on Monday for the first time in two months — but with new rules on how to pray safely.
• In Wyoming, a strip club reopened over the weekend with a “masks on, clothes off” party, as it debuted new safety guidelines.
  

What virus?:

• The owners of a New Jersey gym were issued a summons after reopening in violation of stay-at-home regulations  — but they still plan to keep their business running.
• More than 180 people were potentially exposed to the virus after a California church defied state lockdown orders to hold a service.
• A Florida man who initially believed the coronavirus was a “fake crisis” that was “blown out of proportion” is now hospitalized along with his wife — and is sounding a cautionary note about the deadly bug.

Sports up:

• Spectator-free professional sports could start up again within weeks in California and Texas, the governors of those states announced today.
• And New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he is encouraging major sports teams to plan reopenings without fans.

Meanwhile…

• Researchers are trying to create a sensor that would allow the coronavirus to be detected by sneezing or coughing onto a phone, according to reports.
• And this is one ballsy quarantine activity — a dad in the UK has turned his entire home into an enormous ball pit amid the pandemic.