US states face pressure to ease virus lockdowns

Reported coronavirus deaths topped 40,000 in the US on Sunday as the pandemic showed early signs of easing in some states.

A doctor speaks to a patient in Toulouse, France Picture: Zuma Press

Reported coronavirus deaths topped 40,000 in the US on Sunday as the pandemic showed early signs of easing in some states, ramping up pressure to re-evaluate lockdowns.

Part of the challenge authorities face in gauging whether to loosen lockdown restrictions is ­deciding how to interpret statistics that they say present a mixed picture of the virus — contained in some areas but far from defeated.

There were 1997 reported coronavirus deaths in the US in the 24 hours ending at 8pm, Sunday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

The total number of reported infections in the US exceeded 759,000 on Sunday, with more than 40,400 dead, according to Johns Hopkins.

Experts have said the figures probably undercount the extent of the pandemic. Western economies now account for two-thirds of the 2.4 million-plus coronavirus cases around the world, according to Johns Hopkins.

Several governors went on Sunday morning talk shows, saying they didn’t yet have the testing capacity to reopen their economies, despite encouragement from President Donald Trump for them to do so and protests against stay-at-home orders in some states.

Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland, a Republican, said it was unfair to suggest that states had enough testing to move forward with reopening.

“To try to push this off to say that the governors have plenty of testing, and they should just get to work on testing, somehow we aren’t doing our job, is just absolutely false,” he said on CNN’s State of the Union.

“Every governor in America has been pushing and fighting and clawing to get more tests, not only from the federal government, but from every private lab in America and from all across the world. And we continue to do so.”

A few states are starting to reopen, however. Vermont and Minnesota are already easing some coronavirus-related restrictions. Texas Governor Greg ­Abbott, a Republican, has said that shopping, hiking and some medical procedures may restart as soon as next week.

Overseas, the coronavirus pandemic reached the presidential palace in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, where at least 20 people working for President Ashraf Ghani have tested positive, two government officials said.

Afghanistan has nearly 1000 reported positive cases of the virus, with 32 deaths. The government has locked down major cities, including Kabul.

In France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe outlined plans for the French to “live with the virus” while urging people to remain in their homes until the country begins to lift its lockdown on May 11.

Australia on Sunday called for a review of the origin and management of the global health crisis. Foreign Minister Marise Payne said such a review, taking in information from governments around the world, would need transparency from all countries and “transparency from China most certainly”, including in its interactions with the World Health ­Organisation.