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Confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia rise by over 10,000 for the second straight day, while in Italy people have finally emerged from lockdown but statistics warn the death toll there could be thousands higher.
This story is being updated regularly throughout Tuesday. You can also listen to the latest episode of the Coronacast podcast.
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Russia again reports more than 10,000 new cases
Russia's national task force dealing with the outbreak reported 10,581 new coronavirus cases on Monday [local time] including 5,795 in Moscow, bringing the nation's total to 145,268, including 1,356 deaths.
The number of infections has been rising quickly over the past few days, fuelling concerns that hospitals there could be overwhelmed.
Russian authorities say broader testing has contributed to the recent surge in new cases and insist that hospitals so far have been coping with the influx of patients.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the real number of infections in the capital could amount to 2 per cent of its population, which would total more than 250,000 in the city of 13 million.
In anticipation of a quick rise in the number of infections, authorities in Moscow are rushing to turn a massive ice arena and several exhibition pavilions into temporary hospitals for coronavirus patients, totalling 10,000 beds.
Many hospitals across the vast country have reported a shortage of equipment and protective gear.
Russia's economy has been partially shut down since late March, and President Vladimir Putin extended the lockdown measures until May 11 to span the nation's long public holidays.
Officials have voiced fears that the holidays could cause a surge in contagion, and police have beefed up patrols to prevent lockdown violations.
Police in Moscow said they would use helicopters and drones to prevent big gatherings of people in city parks.
Indian police use tear gas, batons to disperse crowds
Indian police fired tear gas at a crowd of protesting migrant workers in Gujarat and launched baton charges against hundreds of people queuing at bottle shops in New Delhi, even as the first steps were being taken to relax a coronavirus lockdown.
The world's largest lockdown, in force since March 25, is slowly being eased in some areas with fewer infections, although it will stay in place at least until May 17, the Government said last week.
Although officials say rigid restrictions on work and travel are key to beating the virus, the shutdown has endangered the economic survival of many, including an estimated 140 million migrant labourers banned from going home.
About 1,000 stranded workers seeking help to return to homes in states across India gathered on the outskirts of Gujarat's city of Surat and threw stones at police who ordered them to disperse, an official said.
In the capital New Delhi, where some offices resumed work on Monday with fewer staff and traffic trickled into the streets, a police official said officers were forced to act after unruly crowds gathered outside liquor stores.
Italians ecstatic as they emerge from lockdown
Grandparents hugged their grandchildren, toddlers rushed excitedly through parks and factories revived their long-stalled production lines as Italy started the slow process of unwinding Europe's longest coronavirus lockdown.
Nearly two months after ordering Italians to stay home in an effort to slow one of the worst outbreaks of the new coronavirus in the world, the Government on Monday cautiously eased a few restrictions, while keeping many others in place.
"I woke up at 5.30am I was so excited," said Maria Antonietta Galluzzo, a grandmother taking her 3-year-old grandson for a walk in Rome's Villa Borghese park — the first time they had seen each other in eight weeks.
Under the new rules, 4.5 million Italians can clock back in, construction work can resume and relatives can reunite.
More importantly for some, cafes were allowed to reopen for takeaways, with customers sipping their coffees on the pavement.
Friends are still barred from meeting up and most shops must stay shut until May 18, while schools, cinemas and theatres remain closed indefinitely.
COVID-19 has claimed almost 29,000 Italian lives since the outbreak there emerged in February — the second highest toll after the United States.
Analysis from the country's statistics bureau ISTAT on Monday pointed to thousands of fatalities that have never been officially attributed to COVID-19.
ISTAT said that from February 21, when the first COVID-19 deaths occurred, until March 31, nationwide deaths were up 39 per cent compared with the average of the previous five years.
Of the 25,354 "excess deaths", the coronavirus was registered by the Civil Protection Agency as the official cause for 13,710, leaving around 11,600 deaths unaccounted for.
These occurred overwhelmingly in the northern part of Italy most heavily hit by the virus.
New York announces plan for reopening
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has outlined a phased reopening of business activity in the US state hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with select industries like construction and the least affected regions.
Mr Cuomo did not give a timeline, but the state's stay-at-home order is due to expire on May 15 and the Governor has said before that the areas with fewer infections could consider reopening after that date.
Mr Cuomo said he understood the feelings of protesters pushing for a faster reopening but also warned that moving too quickly could spark a resurgence of the virus, which has killed nearly 20,000 people across the state.
"You can do it for a short period of time, but you can't do it forever," Mr Cuomo said, referring to lockdown orders which have been in place since the middle of March.
"But reopening is more difficult than the closedown."
Mr Cuomo said construction, manufacturing and select retail shops could open in a first phase of reopening, followed by a second phase that would include the finance, administrative support and real estate and rental leasing industries
Phase three will see restaurants and the food service and hotel industries reopen, Mr Cuomo said, followed by arts and entertainment and recreation facilities, and education in the fourth and final phase.
Spanish soccer league says 'game on'
Spain's La Liga said Monday it is confident it can restart in June and finish its season by the end of the European summer, with players beginning to be tested this week so they can return to training for the first time in nearly two months.
Basic training was allowed to resume in Spain on Monday after the Government eased some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Spanish league players are expected to get back on the pitch later this week after they are tested for COVID-19 and after the clubs' training facilities are properly prepared and disinfected.
"The return of football is a sign that society is progressing towards the new normal. It will also bring back an element of life that people in Spain and around the world know and love," La Liga President Javier Tebas said in a statement.
Spain is beginning to lift some of its lockdown restrictions after being hit hard by the virus, reporting 217,466 cases and 25,264 deaths.
Vietnam, South Korea to reopen schools
Students across Vietnam started returning to their classrooms that had been closed to curb the coronavirus.
"I am so excited to go back to school, to be with my teachers and my classmates after three months," said Chu Quang Anh, a sixth-grade student at Dinh Cong secondary school in Hanoi.
Students are required to wear masks, among other measures to minimise the spread of the virus.
Vietnam has confirmed 271 coronavirus cases. It has not reported any new case in the community for nearly three weeks.
All educational institutions were closed at the beginning of February when the first cases were reported in the country and all learning was moved online. Last month, the country imposed travel restrictions and closed businesses for three weeks.
South Korea, meanwhile, says it will start allowing students to return to their classrooms next week amid signs the coronavirus outbreak is waning there.
Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said Monday that high school seniors will return on May 13 with lower grades a week later.
ABC/wires
