More than 200,000 corona deaths worldwide; nations struggle to keep economies afloat

Societies are navigating an uncertain path between preventing a resurgence of the virus and providing economic and psychological relief for people cooped up at home.

By Associated Press

There are more than 200,000 confirmed deaths worldwide from coronavirus, Johns Hopkins University researchers say.

Some governments have begun easing their coronavirus restrictions. In the U.S., Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska have also begun loosening restrictions despite warnings from health officials that it may be too soon.

While some U.S. states eased restrictions, Hawaii extended its stay-at-home order until the end of May, and California police closed a park because it got too crowded.

Even as aides develop plans to shift President Donald Trump’s public emphasis from the virus to addressing the economic crisis it has caused, Dr. Anthony Fauci at the U.S. National Institutes of Health warned against moving too quickly.

“You hear a lot about the need and the desire to get back to normal. That’s understandable,” he said. “If we don’t get control of it we will never get back to normal. I know we will, but we’ve got to do it correctly.”

Health v. economy

Societies are navigating an uncertain path between preventing a resurgence of the virus and providing economic and psychological relief for people cooped up at home. Millions have lost jobs, with migrant workers and the poor particularly hard hit in many places. Protests have broken out from Berlin to Texas over the restrictions.

In Israel, street shops that had been previously closed, including beauty salons and toy stores will be allowed to reopen on Monday. However, open-air markets popular in the country will be forced to remain shuttered.

India allowed neighborhood stores to reopen this weekend, though not in the places that have been hit hardest. Neighboring Sri Lanka reimposed a nationwide lockdown until Monday after partially lifting it.

The Chinese city of of Wuhan, where the pandemic began, said that all major construction projects have resumed in a push to restart factory production and other economic activity after a 2 1/2 month lockdown. The outbreak has largely subsided in China, which reported 11 new confirmed cases Sunday and no additional deaths.

South Korea, which recently relaxed some of its social distancing rules, saw a ninth straight day with fewer than 20 new cases. The small city-state of Singapore, though, reported 931 new cases as it battles an outbreak among foreign workers living in dormitories.

In Europe, Spain has joined Italy and France in preparing to loosen restrictions in early May, but the United Kingdom is holding off. Britain’s death toll has topped 20,000, not including nursing home deaths, which are believed to be in the thousands.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to return to work after recovering from the coronavirus, his office said Sunday.

The 55-year-old U.K. leader, who was hospitalized for a week, will return to the office Monday. Opposition politicians are calling for more clarity on when the government will ease a nationwide lockdown that runs at least through May 7.