LONDON: Britain became the first country in Europe on Tuesday to confirm more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths, and infections rose sharply again in Russia, even as other nations made great strides in containing the scourge.

In fact, the latest British statistics revealed that the country’s death toll had exceeded 30,000 as early as April 24 — one-third higher than the count reported at the time. A comparable figure for Italy, hitherto the hardest-hit European country with over 29,000 deaths, was not available.

Although Britain’s death toll is shockingly high, the rate of deaths and hospitalisation continue to decline and the government is preparing to take tentative steps out of lockdown.

The government has also begun a trial of a mobile phone app which the authorities hope will help contain the outbreak. The app, which warns people if they have been near an infected individual, is being tested on the Isle of Wight, off England’s southern coast. The authorities hope it can be rolled out across the country later this month.

China marked its third week with no reported deaths, while South Korea restarted its baseball season.

In the US, some states took continued steps to lift the lockdown restrictions that have thrown millions out of work, even as the country recorded thousands of new infections and deaths every day.

Underscoring the stakes, New York state reported that 1,700 more people died in nursing homes than it had previously counted.

President Donald Trump headed for Arizona to visit a factory that makes respirator masks, in what could be a return to more regular travel for the president.

“The people of our country should think of themselves as warriors. Our country has to open,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One.

In Russia, the number of infections rose sharply again, with Moscow reporting more than 10,000 new cases for three days in a row.

At the same time, many European countries that have relaxed strict lockdowns after new infections tapered off were watching their virus numbers warily.

“We know with great certainty that there will be a second wave. The majority of scientists are sure of that. And many also assume that there will be a third wave,” said Lothar Wieler, the head of Germany’s national disease control centre.

French President Emmanuel Macron took heat from parents, teachers and mayors, who pushed back against his plans to gradually reopen schools next week with classes capped at 15 students.

Italy allowed 4.4 million people to go back to work this week and eased restrictions on personal movement for the first time in two months.

“The coming weeks are essentially an experiment to see how the infection curve reacts to the easing of the West’s first lockdown,” the head of infectious diseases at Italy’s Superior Institute of Health told the La Repubblica newspaper.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2020