Global report: deaths are price of reopening, says Trump, as China warns risks remain

Donald Trump has again suggested the US may need to accept the reality of more deaths in order to start reopening the economy, as governments around the world continued to ease out of lockdown restrictions.

After backtracking on earlier indications that he would wind up the White House coronavirus taskforce, the Trump spelled out a potentially brutal approach to kickstarting the world’s biggest economy. “We have to be warriors,” Trump told Fox News when asked if Americans should expect additional deaths as the country looks to reopen. “We can’t keep our country closed down for years.”

The president added: “Hopefully that won’t be the case … but it could very well be the case.”

By Thursday morning the number of cases in the US stood at more than 1.2 million and 73,431 deaths, with infections still on the rise in some states. Worldwide there were more than 3.75 million cases and 263,831 people had died from the disease, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

But there were more signs of light at the end of the tunnel for people around the world still constrained by lockdown rules.

New Zealanders have been celebrating the potential widespread relaxation of restrictions and a return to normal life next week after the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said she could allow bars, offices and hairdressers to reopen.

Her cabinet will meet on Monday to decide whether to ease restrictions, which could also see gatherings of up to 100 people allowed for the first since March and the resumption of professional sport, albeit behind closed doors.

The easing would go much further than relaxations in countries such as Germany and Spain where large gatherings are still prohibited.

Ardern said the country, which on Thursday had one new case of Covid-19, two people in hospital and no new deaths, was “halfway down Everest” in its bid to exit what has been one of the world’s toughest lockdown regimes.

But she warned: “There is a much higher level of individual responsibly required at level two to prevent the spread of the virus. Even though the economy will be significantly opened up we still need everyone to remain vigilant and continue to act like you and those around you have the virus.”

Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, is widely expected to announce similar relaxations after a scheduled meeting of the national cabinet on Friday.

In the UK, Boris Johnson has also signalled that some restrictions could be lifted from Monday allowing people to go sunbathing and to have picnics as long as they stay a safe distance from people not in their household.

Despite recording more than 6,000 new cases on Tuesday, the government was preparing to push a new message – “Stay Safe, Save Lives” – compared with the “Stay Home, Save Lives” slogan used during the lockdown so far.

However a picture of the continuing threat of the disease emerged from China. President Xi Jinping reportedly told a meeting of the ruling standing committee that the virus was still spreading overseas and the battle against Covid-19 was continuing, especially in Hubei province where the disease is believed to have originated.

Announcing improved healthcare structures, reform of disease prevention and control systems, increased epidemic monitoring and early warning capabilities, Xi called for “unrelenting epidemic containment measures in Hubei province even as it has switched to epidemic control and prevention efforts on a regular basis”.

In other developments around the world:

• Trump said on Wednesday he would be able to report in about a week or two whether China was fulfilling its obligations under a phase-one trade deal signed in January before coronavirus spread globally. The two nations are embroiled in a war of words about the origins of the virus, with Trump warning that China’s alleged failure to warn the world could jeopardise their trade.

• All 400,000 protective gowns shipped to Britain from Turkey failed to meet NHS standards, it has emerged. The Department for Health and Social Care confirmed on Wednesday evening that the items were being held in a facility near Heathrow airport and would likely be sent back.

• Share markets in Asia were subdued on Thursday after warnings that the eurozone could see its worst ever recession. The FTSE100 is expected to open flat in London while Wall Street was set for bigger gains.

• Officials in Washington state have condemned a rise in so-called “Covid” parties where people gather in numbers with the idea of contracting the disease and gaining immunity.