People venture outside as virus restrictions ease and temperatures rise
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a turn for the worse in some countries, with India and Russia recording grim milestones.
People in many parts of the world are emerging from their homes as coronavirus-related restrictions begin to ease and springtime temperatures climb.
The global pandemic took a turn for the worse in other places, however, with India reporting more than 2,600 new cases on Sunday, its biggest single-day jump.
In Russia, new cases exceeded 10,000 for the first time. while the US continues to have tens of thousands of new infections each day, with more than 1,400 new deaths reported Saturday.
On the eve of Italy’s first steps toward easing restrictions, the Health Ministry reported 174 Covid-19 deaths in the 24-hour period ending on Sunday evening – the lowest day-to-day number since the national lockdown began on March 10.
Parks and public gardens are expected to reopen on Monday.
In Spain, many ventured outside for the first time since the country’s lockdown began March 14 but social distancing rules remained in place and masks will be mandatory on public transport.
New Jersey in the US reopened state parks, though several had to turn people away after reaching a 50% limit in their parking lots.
Russia’s latest tally of infections was nearly double the new cases reported a week ago.
More than half of Russia’s new cases were in Moscow, where concern is rising about whether the capital’s medical facilities will be overwhelmed.
Indian air force helicopters showered flower petals on hospitals in several cities to thank doctors, nurses and police at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic.
The country’s number of confirmed cases neared 40,000 as the population of 1.3 billion marked the 40th day of a nationwide lockdown.
The official death toll reached 1,323.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis for international collaboration in the search for a vaccine and treatment for Covid-19 and invited people of all religions to spiritually unite in prayer, fasting and works of charity on May 14.
The virus has infected 3.4 million people and killed more than 244,000 worldwide, including more than 66,000 dead in the United States, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.
