This archive report was first published on 18 May 2020.
As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the US economy is facing a severe downturn, with the possibility of a 20-30% collapse in the current quarter and unemployment peaking at 20-25%, according to US Fed chief Jerome Powell.
However, Powell reassured that the downturn will be shorter than the 1930s Great Depression, saying, "it should be a much shorter downturn than you would associate with the 1930s," in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" on Sunday.
Meanwhile, in Europe, virus tolls are falling, with Italy and Spain reporting low death rates and easing lockdowns. Italy recorded its lowest daily death toll since the start of its two-month lockdown, with 145 deaths, while Spain saw 87 new virus-related deaths, the first time the number has fallen below 100 in two months.
Restaurants, bars, and cafes will be allowed to reopen in Italy from Monday, and Spain will further relax its lockdown measures, except in Madrid and Barcelona. Britain also registered its lowest daily increase in fatalities since late March, with 170 deaths, although this number did not include Northern Ireland due to a technical issue.
As the global economy reeling from the vast damage caused by stay-at-home orders, numerous European countries are lifting restrictions to provide much-needed respite for their beleaguered and impatient populations. Weekend leisure-seekers enjoyed reopened beaches in France, Greece, and Italy, and Britons basked in sunny parks.
Despite the optimism in some European countries, rising infection and fatality numbers in other parts of the world offered grim reminders of the threat COVID-19 poses. The number of cases in Latin America passed half a million as Chile locked down its capital Santiago following a sharp rise in infections.
US President Donald Trump has been keen to get his country's economy going again, and a top Trump economic advisor, Peter Navarro, took a swipe at the long-respected Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying that by initially providing a flawed test for COVID-19, the federal agency "let the country down."
New York, long a virus hotspot, has seen steady improvement, and Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday took a virus test on live television in a bid to encourage more widespread testing and pave the way for a safer reopening of the populous state.
