New York’s coronavirus death toll hit the grim milestone of 10,000 on Monday but its governor said the pandemic passed its peak, as hard-hit European nations looked to ease the lockdowns that threatening to unleash a global recession.
Spain offered a shred of hope as it allowed some factory and construction workers to go back to work, with the number of people dying there from COVID-19 beginning to slow after weeks of tough restrictions.
Italy and Britain also saw their death tolls fall, saying that the efforts of millions of their citizens to stay at home and ease the pressure on struggling health services could be finally flattening the curve of fatalities and infections.
New York is America’s coronavirus epicentre, with its death toll of 10,000 accounting for nearly half of the 22,000 across the entire United States — itself the world’s worst-hit country with a fifth of all deaths worldwide.
The impact in the state has been brutal, with unclaimed victims buried in unmarked mass graves and makeshift morgues set up for the dead.
But New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared the “worst is over” in the state, even as he announced the grim new figure, adding that he was working on a plan to gradually reopen the economy.
“I believe we can now start on the path to normalcy,” Cuomo said.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the restrictions in place across much of the country as soon as possible in order to revive the hammered US economy.
He announced Monday top oil producers could cut production by 20 million barrels per day after nations reached a landmark deal to prop up prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis.
Cautious optimism that the lockdown measures are working is beginning to grow in some countries hardest-hit by the pandemic.
As it began to reopen its economy on Monday, Spain said its death toll had fallen again with 517 fatalities, plus the lowest daily figure of new confirmed infections since March 20.
The British government is due to decide later this week whether to extend its lockdown — but without Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is recuperating at his countryside retreat after saying his battle with coronavirus “could have gone either way”.
Britain recorded 717 deaths on Monday, a slight drop from the day before, taking the toll to over 11,000. Daily deaths tolls are often lower on Mondays as weekend fatalities have not been collected.
