This archive report was first published on 10 May 2020.
As the global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic surpassed 277,000, the number of cases worldwide reached four million, prompting governments to weigh the risks of re-opening their economies.
On Sunday, France and Spain announced plans to ease lockdown restrictions, despite concerns about a second wave of infections.
French health officials warned that social distancing must be maintained even as restrictions are eased, while in Spain, about half the population will be allowed out on Monday for limited socialisation.
Belgium is also easing some restrictions on Monday, and in some parts of Germany, bars and restaurants reopened on Saturday with further easing set for Monday.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the country with the highest death toll, President Donald Trump has insisted that next year will be "phenomenal" for the economy, urging re-opening despite the virus still claiming over 1,000 lives daily.
Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, is among three members of the White House coronavirus task force who will self-isolate after potential exposure, while in South Korea, the capital Seoul shut all bars and clubs on Saturday as more than 50 cases were linked to a man who tested positive after spending time in one of the city's busiest nightlife districts.
Anti-lockdown protests have been held in several countries in recent weeks, with some demonstrators arguing that such restrictions violate their rights and others promoting conspiracy theories about the pandemic.
