China and Europe show restarting coronavirus-hit economies is not easy
World leaders are anxious to reopen factories, schools and shops and to repair the economic damage caused by the pandemic.
As countries consider how to restart their virus-halted economies, early experiences in China and parts of Europe show it will be no easy task.
Workers back on the job are wary of spending much or going out; shoppers are staying away from the few reopened shops; masks and social distancing measures are not fading; and many fear coronavirus could return if lockdowns meant to stop its spread are eased too much, too quickly.
The World Health Organisation’s European chief said optimism that the spread of the virus was declining in Italy, Spain and France was tempered by the knowledge that it was rising or sustained at a high level in Britain, Russia and Turkey.
“The storm clouds of this pandemic still hang heavily over the European region,” Dr Hans Kluge said.
The International Monetary Fund says fallout from what it calls the “Great Lockdown” will be the most devastating since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
That has made leaders all the more anxious to send people back to work and school and to rebuild economies devastated by the pandemic that has infected more than two million people and claimed more than 137,000 lives, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
But Italy’s deputy economic development minister, Stefan Buffagni, called the plan premature.
“Going in a random order risks fueling confusion among citizens and businesses,” Mr Buffagni said.
Some Chinese cities tried reassuring consumers by showing officials eating in restaurants.
The US began issuing one-time payments this week to tens of millions of people as part of its 2.2 trillion dollar coronavirus relief package.
Despite the relief cheques, the ranks of Americans thrown out of work by the coronavirus ballooned ON Thursday to more than 20 million in just four weeks.
The US government said 5.2 million more people applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the running total to about 22 million out of a US workforce of roughly 159 million — easily the worst stretch of US job losses on record.
Some economists say the unemployment rate could reach 20% in April, the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 27-nation bloc’s next trillion-euro budget will have to be re-imagined as “the mother-ship of our recovery”.
Troubling data indicate the worst may still be to come in many parts of the world.
Japan’s prime minister announced he would expand a state of emergency to the entire country, rather than just urban areas, as the virus continued to spread.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging stepped-up efforts to prepare Africa, warning that the continent “could end up suffering the greatest impacts”.
Singapore’s outbreak has jumped more than 1,100 cases since Monday. It had looked to be successful in containing a first wave of infections, but the new cases are occurring among workers from poorer Asian countries who live in crowded dormitories and work in the tiny city-state’s trade-dependent economy.
New Zealand reported just 15 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern began outlining what restrictions imposed during a strict four-week lockdown might be eased from next Wednesday.
Politicians will make a final decision on Monday on whether to proceed with easing the restrictions.
Under Ms Ardern’s plan, primary schools would reopen but attendance would be voluntary, and some business could reopen, including drive-through and delivery restaurants.
New Zealand has reported 1,401 cases of Covid-19 and nine deaths. The number of new daily cases has dropped significantly over the past 11 days.
In Brazil, a war of words has broken out over President Jair Bolsonaro’s casual approach to the virus.
“We’re fighting against the coronavirus and against the ‘Bolsonaro-virus,’” Sao Paulo state governor Joao Doria told The Associated Press in an interview, adding that he believes the president has adopted “incorrect, irresponsible positions”.
