The US on Tuesday recorded its one-millionth coronavirus case as countries including Spain, Russia and Nigeria took tentative steps towards normality by preparing to reopen some businesses.
Excitement over partial easing of lockdowns has been tempered by fears of new outbreaks and growing evidence of the economic devastation wreaked by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The US, where millions of jobs have been lost, reached another grim milestone as it registered 58,365 deaths, a larger loss of life than recorded by the US military in the Vietnam War.
And the overall US case load rose to 1,010,717 in a public health disaster that could threaten President Donald Trump's re-election.
But some countries have reported falling infection numbers and governments have begun to chart their way out of the shutdown.
France said on Tuesday that shops, markets and some schools could reopen next month, with face masks required on public transport and orders to work from home staying in place for several more weeks.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe admitted that even a gradual return to normal life was risky.
Spain said restrictions would be slowly lifted over the next two months, while Italians will be able to exercise outdoors and visit relatives from next week, but only if they wear masks and refrain from hugs and handshakes.
Italy, Spain and France have been the worst affected countries in Europe, with each reporting more than 23,000 deaths.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin warned that the peak of coronavirus infections was still ahead.
"The situation remains very difficult," Mr Putin said.
But he said that lockdown measures could be eased from next month.
Data on infection rates has shown mixed results in Germany, which is being closely watched after allowing some shops to reopen last week.
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Trains arrive and depart from Victoria Station near Battersea Power Station in London, England. TfL has announced that it has furloughed 7000 staff as it faces "massive financial challenges" due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who returned to Downing Street this week after recovering from Covid-19, said the country needed to continue its lockdown measures to avoid a second spike in infections. Getty -
A medical worker helps an elderly woman to get in a car as she was released from the intensive care unit of the hospital of Vinogradov City Clinical Hospital in Moscow, Russia. Reports of Russian medical workers becoming infected with the coronavirus are emerging almost daily as the country copes with a growing number of patients. AP -
A man sleeps on a street outside shuttered shops in the Monastiraki district of Athens as lockdown measures continue to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. AP -
A woman pushes a buggy as they walk along the Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain, as the lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus continues. Health authorities in Spain are urging parents to be responsible and abide by social distancing rules a day after some beach fronts and city promenades filled with families eager to enjoy the first stroll out in six weeks. AP -
A general view of Koninklijk Paleis or The Royal Palace on King's Day which has been muted amid Coronavirus Quarantine Measures in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The country is beginning to ease lockdown measures it adopted to curb Corona Virus / Covid-19 infections, but large public gatherings are still banned, such as the King's Day (Koningsdag) celebrations that typically mark King Willem-Alexander's birthday. Getty -
A cyclist rides down an empty Mulberry Street with the Empire State Building looming in the distance as storefronts in the normally bustling tourist district remain closed due to social distancing restrictions, in the Little Italy neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York. AP -
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (C) speaks with the media near a shipment of 10 million protective face masks and other protective medical gear that had arrived on an Antonov 225 cargo plane from China at Leipzig/Halle Airport during the novel coronavirus crisis in Schkeuditz, Germany. The flight, coordinated by the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, is one of three that will bring 25 million masks to Germany. Germany currently has approximately 157,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection, of which approximately 103,000 have recovered and 6,0000 have died. Getty -
An aerial view at the pedestrian intersection at Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave during morning rush hour in Los Angeles, California during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. AFP -
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte meets reporters in Milan, Italy. Italian factories, construction sites and wholesale supply businesses can resume activity as soon as they put safety measures into place aimed at containing contagion with COVID-19. This concession comes with partial easing of national lockdown restrictions announced Sunday night by Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte. AP -
An employee wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) directs a customer at a Hindustan Petroleum Corp. gas station during a lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus in New Delhi, India. Oil has lost almost 80% this year as global efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus vaporized demand for everything from gasoline to crude. The world's biggest producers have pledged to slash daily output from the start of next month to try and balance the market, but the collapse in consumption has led to a swelling glut that's testing the limits of storage worldwide. Bloomberg -
Nurses wearing face masks monitor COVID-19 patients in the ICU at the Emerging Infectious Disease Clinic in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. Athit Perawongmetha -
Medical personnel walk past migrant workers at a dormitory during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore. REUTERS -
Malaysian health workers register traders before carrying out COVID-19 screenings at a wet market in Petaling Jaya near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. About 60 traders of Taman Megah morning wet market were undergoing COVID-19 screenings after one of them had tested positive for the coronavirus disease. The market was shut down for sanitisation work. EPA -
Commuters wearing face masks travel on a tram past HSBC signage displayed outside the bank’s local headquarters in Hong Kong. The London-based, Asia-focused banking giant HSBC is expected to release its first-quarter results on April 28 amid affects of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. AFP
"We all need to take care that we don't end up with more infections," said Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute for disease control.
Experts have warned of a second wave of contagion if restrictions are lifted too hastily, and the World Health Organisation has said reinfection might be possible even among recovered patients.
In Nigeria's largest city Lagos, bus driver Taju Olonade said that a decision to ease the lockdown showed that authorities had finally listened "to the cries of the people".
"For almost one month I have not earned a penny," Mr Olonade said. "I hope life will soon return to normal."
The new coronavirus has killed at least 215,000 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December.
At least 3,110,702 cases have been registered in 193 countries and territories, although the official tally is widely thought to lag far behind the actual figures.
The US had the most deaths over the latest 24-hour period with 1,970, followed by Britain with 586.
With the US seeing by far the highest number of deaths, Mr Trump has increasingly sought to blame China for the mounting toll.
China responded fiercely on Tuesday, accusing US politicians of "bare-faced lies".
"They have only one objective: shirk their responsibility for their own poor epidemic prevention and control measures," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.
Beijing and Washington have clashed repeatedly over the outbreak as tension soars between the world's two biggest economic powers.
The outbreak seems to be under control in China with no new deaths reported for 13 straight days and the toll standing at 4,633.
Anger at the global economic paralysis has intensified in recent weeks, and anti-government protesters took to the streets in Lebanon on Tuesday in defiance of a lockdown.
"I came down to raise my voice against hunger, poverty and rising prices," said Khaled, 41.
He said he had lost his job selling motorcycle parts and could no longer support his three children.
In the latest sign of big business woes, British Airways is set to slash up to 12,000 jobs, its parent company said.
The carrier, which has about 45,000 employees, has already sent almost 23,000 staff home.
Despite other European countries moving towards reopening schools and shops, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was too early for the UK to follow.
That was in contrast to New Zealand, where people enjoyed fast food and coffee shop treats for the first time in five weeks as the country lifted its strict lockdown.
"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 her rediscovered freedom with a curry.
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People, wearing protective masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, walk in Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. AFP -
A resident looking at the streets from his home in Al Ras area in Deira Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
People walking on the streets in Al Ras area in Deira Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
People walking on the streets in Al Ras area in Deira Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
A seller wears a protective mask in a gold shop at Dubai Gold Market. EPA -
A drone image shows school buses parked in a lot in Dubai, during the coronavirus pandemic. AFP -
A Moroccan artist works on a mural thanking essential workers, in the city of Sale north of the capital. AFP -
An Iraqi Shiite cleric works in the Al Sadiqeen mosque in Baghdad turned into a mask production centre. AFP -
Iraqi Shiite clerics work in the Al Sadiqeen mosque in Baghdad turned into a mask production centre. AFP -
Iraqi men, wearing protective masks to combat the coronavirus, pray inside a destroyed mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. AFP -
A woman wearing a face mask walks past a city-sponsored graffiti mural depicting the historical Haydarpasa Train Station (left) and the famous ferry (right) at a metrobus station in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA -
A man wearing a protective suit disinfects streets and shops in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA -
Palestinian Fawzi Al Natsheh checks his handmade electric car named "corona" in the West Bank town of Hebron. Fawzi used to work in Israel but is temporarily out of work as a result of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. He collected iron pipes to make the body and decorated it with wood and painting. AFP -
A Palestinian boy drives the handmade electric car named "corona" his father Fawzi Al Natsheh built in the West Bank town of Hebron. AFP -
Palestinian police officers loyal to Hamas wearing protective masks, sit outside a school used as a quarantine facility in Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip. AFP -
Ahmed Khaled Al Kaabi and his bride Ruqaya Rahim celebrate their wedding in Najaf, Iraq. AP Photo -
A man sanitises the room as Syrians who returned from Turkey rest at a quarantine facility in the countryside of the town of Jisr Al Shughur, west of the mostly rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib. AFP -
Syrians who returned from Turkey standing at a quarantine facility in the countryside of the town of Jisr Al Shughur, west of the mostly rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib. AFP -
Men wearing face masks walk along a street before curfew in Shubra El Kheima, Al Qalyubia Governorate, north of Cairo, Egypt. Reuters -
Abdelhak Etlili, a 19-year-old handball referee, issues a blue card for women gathered outside a shop and violating social distancing rules at the coastal town of Nabeul, Tunisia. Reuters
In Australia, hundreds of surfers and swimmers rushed back to the waves at Bondi Beach in Sydney, five weeks after police closed the area because of large crowds flouting social distancing rules.
"I've been excited for like a week," said Diane Delaurens, dripping after an early morning surf.
There is not yet a vaccine for the disease and Britain issued a warning of coronavirus-related syndrome emerging in children, including abdominal pain and inflammation around the heart.
"What I would also stress is that it is rare," UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
"Although it is very significant for those children who do get it, the number of cases is small."
In Tokyo, organisers said the delayed 2020 Olympics woud have to be cancelled next year if the pandemic were not brought under control.
In Latin America, Brazil emerged as a new hotspot with 5,000 deaths so far, while nine inmates were killed when rioting broke out at a prison in Lima, Peru after two died from Covid-19.
