The death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed in some of the worst-hit countries, with Spain preparing to reopen parts of its economy as governments grapple with a once-in-a-century recession.

The death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed in some of the worst-hit countries, with Spain preparing to reopen parts of its economy as governments grapple with a once-in-a-century recession.
Italy, France and the US have all reported a drop in Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, with Italy – the European nation most afflicted by the disease – reporting its lowest toll in more than three weeks.
More than half of the planet’s population is staying home as part of efforts to stem the spread of the virus, which emerged in China late last year and has now killed at least 112,500 people, overwhelming healthcare systems and crippling the world economy.
Spain’s death toll has fallen over recent days, but as a small bump in deaths was reported on Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that the locked-down country was “far from victory”.
“We are all keen to go back out on the streets… but our desire is even greater to win the war and prevent a relapse,” he said, as some companies were set to resume operations at the end of a two-weeks halt of all non-essential activity.
Some factory and construction workers in Spain were set to return to work today, with police to hand out face masks at metro and train stations.
The fortnight of “economic hibernation”, as Sanchez described it, is about to be lifted, drawing criticism from some regional leaders and unions, but the rest of the lockdown restrictions in the nation of around 47 million people will remain in place.
Governments around the world are under pressure to keep populations safe while preventing economic collapse, amid warnings of a downturn not seen since the Great Depression.
But the World Health Organization has warned countries against lifting lockdown restrictions too early.