![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/culturedarm.com\/staging\/5793\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cultureteca-29.png?resize=696%2C464&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As reopening plans began to supersede coronavirus case counts in the public imagination, the week brought plenty of positives across Asia-Pacific. With no cases of community transmission in New Zealand, the director general of health claimed that the virus had been eliminated if not eradicated in the country<\/a>, meaning control over the spread of COVID-19<\/strong> as businesses began to reopen and people returned to work<\/a>. Neighbouring Australia has also managed to limit the toll of coronavirus<\/a>, and to consolidate their gains both countries<\/a> rolled out tracing apps<\/a>. South Korea recorded no new domestic cases for the first time since the middle of February<\/a>, and further eased distancing measures<\/a> amid a rare border scuffle with their recalcitrant northern compatriots<\/a>, while zero cases were recorded across consecutive days in Hong Kong<\/a> and Vietnam<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was a different story in other parts of South and Southeast Asia, as cases surged in Afghanistan<\/a> and India<\/a>, while in Indonesia they topped 10,000<\/a>. India extended its lockdown for two weeks while dividing the country into zones for the gradual easing of restrictions<\/a>, and Thailand extended its emergency decree<\/a>, retaining a nightly curfew while loosening measures around businesses and recreational activities<\/a>. Japan prepared to prolong its state of emergency<\/a>, as cases passed 15,000<\/a> and health workers faced equipment shortages<\/a>, and while the death tally remained low in Singapore<\/a>, the country’s copybook was blotted by continuing outbreaks in foreign worker dorms<\/a>. Circuit-breaker mode in Singapore was extended for another week<\/a> as cases surpassed 18,000<\/a>, but the country made plans for the resumption of business<\/a>. In the Middle East, cases in Saudi Arabia topped 20,000<\/a> and continued to rise in Iran, which nevertheless opted to reopen schools and mosques in low-risk areas<\/a>. The Israeli government sought to reopen schools<\/a> but was rebuffed by the municipalities<\/a>. Lockdowns were eased in South Africa<\/a> and Nigeria<\/a>, while the relatively low figure of 480 cases in Tanzania still made the country the hardest hit in the east of the African subcontinent<\/a>.<\/p>\n Global cases of coronavirus had passed three million at the start of the week<\/a>, as Europe witnessed a cavalcade of reopenings. Schools and businesses began to open up in Norway<\/a>, Switzerland<\/a>, and the Czech Republic,<\/a> Austria allowed visits to hairdressers and beauticians<\/a>, and restrictions were eased in Germany even as face masks became compulsory in public settings<\/a>. By the end of the week Germans were returning to parks and museums<\/a>, and even to church, on the strict proviso of no singing<\/a>. Deaths fell markedly, with a few blips<\/a>, in Italy<\/a> and Spain<\/a> which made tentative<\/a> steps<\/a> as they allowed for outdoor activity<\/a>. The scenario was similar in France<\/a>, which also saw rapidly declining deaths and hospitalisations<\/a> as prime minister \u00c9douard Philippe outlined his country’s exit plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the other hand deaths remained high in the United Kingdom, even as prime minister Boris Johnson argued the country had passed the peak of the outbreak<\/a>. The addition of care home figures<\/a> saw the death toll jump beyond 26,000 by Wednesday<\/a>, and as the country approached Italy as the worst hit outside of the United States<\/a>, controversy beset testing targets<\/a>. Cases stormed past 100,000 in Russia<\/a>, so that by Sunday an ailing prime minister<\/a> and the president’s extended non-working decree<\/a> could not stop daily infections in excess of 10,000<\/a>. Bosnia reported a sharp rise in cases after relaxing its lockdown measures<\/a>. Belgium, high on the list of deaths per capita, ordered more frites<\/a>. Iceland said that it was gaining control over the pandemic<\/a>, but Sweden was proving the exception across Scandinavia, as cases stretched beyond the 20,000 mark<\/a>. During the course of the week, France<\/a> and Spain<\/a> elaborated on the reopening of their economies by mandating face masks, while countries remained reluctant to lift limitations on large gatherings<\/a> and travel<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the realm of medicine, the mixed messages continued for remdesivir<\/a>, as a study in The Lancet<\/em><\/a> following trials in Wuhan showed no significant benefits from the antiviral drug<\/a>, while in the United States Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases suggested that data from a government trial showed a ‘clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery’<\/a>. Despite some qualms over the metrics<\/a>, the Food and Drug Administration subsequently issued an emergency use authorisation for the treatment<\/a>. Meanwhile an Oxford University laboratory raced ahead in the quest for a vaccine<\/a>. Sport remained up in the air as doubts were cast over the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics<\/a>, and while the return of the Bundesliga was delayed by the German government<\/a>, in France Paris Saint-Germain were awarded the Ligue 1 title after the remainder of the season was cancelled<\/a>. The 2020 Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals also fell by the wayside<\/a>. No worries on the entertainment front however, as Netflix persevered with production in Iceland<\/a>.<\/p>\n The financial impact of coronavirus continued to be felt, as the United States economy shrank by 4.8 percent in the first quarter<\/a>, the worst contraction since the global crisis twelve years ago. Meanwhile 3.84 million jobless claims took the tally over the past six weeks beyond 30 million<\/a>. The eurozone witnessed an overall contraction of 3.8 percent<\/a> as France and Italy entered recession<\/a>, and even countries which had fairly weathered the storm faced unprecedented economic downturns<\/a>. Oil prices continued to sputter<\/a>. But for all that the stock market reported its best month in decades<\/a>, proving the adage that Wall Street may not incline towards Main Street’s best interests.<\/p>\n China scheduled the annual meeting of its National People’s Congress for 22 May<\/a>. The International Energy Agency indicated that global emissions would drop in the region of eight percent this year<\/a> as COVID-19 stifles commercial activity. There was renewed focus on the spread of coronavirus in meatpacking plants<\/a> and prisons, from the United States<\/a> to Latin America,<\/a> from the Philippines<\/a> to the United Kingdom<\/a> and Russia<\/a>. And on Friday, May Day was celebrated across the globe<\/a>, as against crackdowns<\/a> labour protesters paid heed to distancing measures<\/a>, while the annual worker’s day was given added succour by rent strikes in America<\/a>. China hit the road as residents embarked on their first national holiday since the end of lockdown<\/a>. Again studies showed the disparate effects of COVID-19 on the poor<\/a>, black Americans<\/a>, and other ethnic minorities<\/a>. The World Health Organization confirmed coronavirus as an ongoing global health emergency as the body sought to defend itself from critics.<\/a><\/p>\n The next wave of states in America reopened this week, particularly in the west and south of the country, as front-runners like Georgia<\/a> and Tennessee<\/a> were joined by Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana<\/a>, and later in the week Texas<\/a>. Texas allowed its stay-at-home order to lapse even though malls, restaurants, and cinemas could only reopen at limited capacity<\/a>, while other states like Alabama<\/a> and Maine<\/a> took a middle approach, implementing safer-at-home orders while gradually easing restrictions. Roads were closed into one city in New Mexico<\/a>, shutdown in Massachusetts was stretched until the middle of May<\/a>, and shelter-in-place orders were extended across Bay Area counties<\/a> as beaches became a battleground in California<\/a>. By the middle of the week cases in the United States had passed one million<\/a>, while more Americans had died from coronavirus than in the Vietnam War<\/a>, as fatalities surged past 60,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n Armed protests in Michigan were met by the extension of the state’s emergency order<\/a>, but Governor Gretchen Whitmer did allow for the resumption of the construction sector<\/a>. Deaths in the state of New York steadily declined<\/a> while reopening remained a distant prospect<\/a>, but in New Jersey the tally fluctuated, as by the end of the working week the state was recording the most deaths in all of America<\/a>. On Saturday the United States suffered its worst day yet, with 2,909 deaths in one twenty-four-hour period<\/a>. Numbers fell a little over the weekend, as more conflicts broke out between state governors and local leaders<\/a>. Quebec led the reopening efforts in Canada<\/a>. Meanwhile COVID-19 was taking hold of Central and South America. Mexico appeared to speak prematurely of taming the virus<\/a> even as deaths doubled<\/a>, while cases soared in Brazil, as amid mounting deaths<\/a> and indigenous concerns<\/a>, infections by Sunday had passed 100,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n