France extends lockdown as countries see hope of virus peak

PARIS (HRNW) – France extended its nationwide lockdown on Monday for another month in a bid to halt the coronavirus pandemic, as other hard-hit countries considered easing their measures with hopes rising that death rates may soon plateau.

More than half of humanity is now under confinement to contain the virus, which has killed at least 119,000 people and infected two million since emerging in China late last year.

Most of the dead are in Europe, but the United States has also been hard hit — particularly New York state where more than 10,000 have died, close to half of all fatalities in the country.

Governments around the world are under pressure to save their economies from collapse as a result of the mass shutdown of businesses and confinement of people, but officials are also trying to avoid a deadly second wave of the disease.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stressed he wants to open the world s largest economy as swiftly as possible, and said Monday he would announce guidance this week on how to jump-start stalled business.

 

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