ISLAMABAD: Confirmed coronavirus cases have now topped three million worldwide, as hard-hit France and Spain were on Tuesday set to detail their exit strategies from lockdowns imposed to stem the spread of the deadly disease.
As countries begin to chart their path out of shutdowns, US President Donald Trump said the devastating pandemic could have been "stopped at the source" by China, suggesting the United States may seek damages.
More than 215,000 people have been killed around the world by COVID-19, a quarter of them in the US.
In total, 3,111,418 cases have now been reported in 193 countries or territories.
The United States has the most deaths of any country with 57,941 fatalities.
Italy is the second hardest-hit country, with 27,369 dead. Spain follows with 23,822, then France with 23,293 and the United Kingdom with 21,678.
"We are not happy with China... we believe it could have been stopped at the source. It could have been stopped quickly and it wouldn´t have spread all over the world," Trump said of the disease that emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
The three-million figure probably reflects only a fraction of the actual number of infections, as many countries are testing only the most serious cases.
When asked about a German newspaper editorial that called on China to pay Germany $165 billion in reparations for economic damage done by the virus, Trump said the US could take its own action to hold China accountable.
"We are talking about a lot more money than Germany´s talking about," he said. "We haven´t determined the final amount yet. It´s very substantial."
Forecasts warn of the worst global recession in a century, with oil prices tumbling and the travel and tourism sector badly hammered.
For parts of the US, the lockdown has begun to ease -- despite criticism from health experts -- much to the delight of some citizens.
"We need human touch, human contact," said 64-year-old Kim Kaseta, as she tucked into breakfast in the US state of Georgia.
With a handful of US states taking steps to revive their shuttered economies, schools and shops in some parts of Europe also opened up as the rate of people dying slowed in the worst-hit European nations.
Italy -- the first European country to go into lockdown seven weeks ago -- began allowing some construction and factory workers to go back to work on Monday.
From next week, Italians will be able to exercise outdoors and visit relatives -- but only if they wear masks and refrain from hugs and handshakes.
Spain has already begun easing its tight lockdown and was set to announce more detailed plans on Tuesday, as was France, which has said it will begin to ease confinement on May 11.
Florists, dentists and others went back to work in Switzerland in the first stage of a three-phase plan.
"I´m delighted that we´re starting up again. If we don´t work, things are dead," Geneva hairdresser Anita Ayma said.
But British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who emerged from his own battle with the virus, called for patience in the UK, saying it was too early to follow suit.
Looking thinner and with his blond hair longer after his hospital stay, the 55-year-old said he could not "throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the British people and to risk a second major outbreak."
His comments stood in stark contrast to those made the previous day by New Zealand´s Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, who said the nation had won the battle against "widespread, undetected community transmission".
New Zealanders indulged in fast food and coffee-shop treats for the first time in five weeks as the country eased its strict lockdown that banned any form of takeaway.
"We see the difference in other countries and I don´t envy them, that´s for sure," said Wellington resident Cheryl Robertson, who planned to celebrate with a curry.
Surfers and swimmers also returned to catch the waves at Australia´s Bondi Beach, which was closed in late March, but the white sands remained off-limits to sunbathers, joggers and families.
Most US states do not yet have sufficient COVID-19 testing to consider relaxing stay-at-home orders, according to an analysis by Harvard researchers and the health news site Stat.
Trump said on Monday that testing was being rapidly expanded and that he expected to see a "lot" of schools open up, even if there is not much time left in the school year.
Germany, which started lifting restrictions last week, has seen small but regular protests against remaining curbs on personal freedom.
Starting Monday, masks became obligatory on public transport and in most shops in Germany.
"It´s warm, slippery, you can´t breathe well, but if it´s to avoid infection, I´m fine with it," said Emil, a commuter at a Berlin train station.
Meanwhile, the United States recorded 1,144 more overnight novel coronavirus deaths, according to international media reports, with confirmed US cases crossing one million. The country now has an overall death toll of 57,941, with 1,022,981 infections.
At least 111,109 people have recovered from the virus.
More states began lifting coronavirus lockdown orders on Monday but officials said New York -- America´s economic engine and coronavirus epicenter -- was in no hurry with hospitalisation rates still high.
As Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi and Tennessee were among the latest states to loosen restrictions, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he was preparing to lengthen confinement measures for badly-hit areas.
New York is America´s worst-hit state, with more than 17,300 COVID-19 deaths out of almost 292,000 confirmed infections.
President Donald Trump said he expected to see many US schools reopen before the end of the school year.
"Even if it´s for a very short period of time, I think it would be a good thing," he told reporters.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Tuesday Britain is not yet at the point of wanting to change its strict guidelines on social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19, with the government focusing on reviewing the measures by May 7.
“It is important that they remain in place for now. We need to pass five tests before we can think about moving on to the next phase in the coronavirus response. We are not there yet,” the spokesman told reporters.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte defended himself on Tuesday from widespread criticism of his highly cautious plans for a slow-placed end to Europe’s longest coronavirus lockdown.
The government has said strict curbs put in place seven weeks ago to curb the disease would be eased from May 4, when parks, factories and construction sites reopen.
However shops must remain shuttered until May 18, while restaurants, bars and hairdressers will stay closed until June 1 and students won’t be back at school before September.
The softly-softly approach has been criticised by businesses, lambasted by the opposition and even questioned by parties within Conte’s fragile coalition, worried by the huge economic and social toll of the long-lasting clampdown.
But the prime minister said he had no regrets.
“If I could turn the clock back, I’d do it all again,” Conte said. “I cannot let myself be swayed by public opinion, even if I understand those feelings very well myself.”
Germany's coronavirus infection rate has edged up from earlier this month and people should stay at home as much as they can despite a lockdown relaxation last week, the head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said on Tuesday.
The virus reproduction rate, dubbed 'R', is now at 1.0 in Germany, said Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute. That means one person with the virus infects one other on average. Earlier this month, the rate was at 0.7.
The education ministers of Germany's 16 federal states agreed on Tuesday that schools across the country would slowly reopen classes for all grades until the summer holidays, although pupils would have to work and learn in smaller groups.As India battles COVID-19, the corona cases on Tuesday soared to 31,360 with 1,909 new cases and 48 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
The death toll from the virus in the country has crossed one thousand and now stands at 1,008.
