BANGKOK
(AP) — A lack of new hotspots in the coronavirus pandemic appeared to
be holding Tuesday, fueling a debate about how soon authorities could
start scaling back social restrictions and reopen economies.
While
concerns remained over the virus’ fresh spread in places like Japan and
Indonesia, nowhere was currently undergoing the explosion in
hospitalizations and deaths that were seen earlier in China, southern
Europe and parts of the United States.
Even
in New York — where deaths passed 10,000 on Monday — Gov. Andrew Cuomo
declared the “worst is over if we can continue to be smart.”
“I believe we can now start on the path to normalcy,” he said.
The
number of people hospitalized with the virus in New York has almost
flattened at just under 19,000, once discharges and deaths are taken
into account. That’s a relief after weeks of increases raised fears New
York City hospitals would be overwhelmed.
Dr.
Sebastian Johnston, a professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial
College London, said it appeared that COVID-19 illnesses had peaked in
much of Europe, including France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Britain.
While
the death toll in Britain climbed past 11,300, the 717 deaths reported
were the third daily decline in row, though it was unclear if that might
in part be because of delays in reporting over the Easter holiday.
With
social distancing and lockdowns in place across a large portion of the
world, grim projections that the virus that would spread with equal
ferocity to other corners the world have yet to materialize. But
questions remain about what could happen once those measures are eased.
Health authorities have warned that easing up too soon could undo the hard-earned progress and lead to new outbreaks.
Still,
there were signs countries were looking in that direction. Spain
permitted some workers to return to their jobs, while a hard-hit region
of Italy loosened its lockdown restrictions.
Governors
on both coasts of the U.S. announced that they would join forces to
come up with a coordinated reopening at some point, setting the stage
for potential conflict with President Donald Trump, who asserted that he
is the ultimate decision-maker for determining how and when to reopen.
Trump continued those assertions
during an afternoon White House briefing, pushing back against
reporters’ questions about whether the president or governors have the
authority to ease the restrictions. He said “the federal government has
absolute power” in that decision-making process if it chooses to
exercise it.
The Constitution largely gives states the authority to regulate their own affairs.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would announce a detailed plan Tuesday
for lifting virus restrictions. He cautioned people can expect an
“incremental release of the stay-at-home orders” that will use “science
to guide our decision-making and not political pressure.”
In
some European countries, officials pointed to positive signs as they
began prepping for the reopening of largely shuttered economies and
industries.
Italy’s
day-to-day increase in infections was one of the lowest in weeks,
bolstering a generally downward trend. Slightly eased restrictions were
about to take effect in some sectors of the country, such as allowing
stores selling necessities for newborns to reopen.
In
hard-hit Spain, workers were permitted to return to some factory and
construction jobs as the government looked to restart manufacturing.
Retail stores and services were still required to stay closed, and the
government required office workers to keep working from home.
Some
health experts and politicians argue that it’s premature to ease the
lockdown in a nation that has suffered more than 17,750 deaths and
reported more than 170,000 infections, second only to the United States’
more than 582,000 cases.
Health
Minister Salvador Illa said he would proceed with “the utmost caution
and prudence ... and always based on scientific evidence.”
Johnston,
the Imperial College professor, said he worried the virus might take
off across Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. He also expressed
concern about Russia.
The
infection rate remains relatively low in areas of the developing world
that have poor or nonexistent health care infrastructure. The rapid
spread of the coronavirus beyond cities to more rural areas often
depends on travel and social connections, said Dr. Mike Ryan, the World
Health Organization’s emergencies chief.
But
he noted that rural areas often have less sophisticated health
surveillance systems to pick up potential disease clusters, prompting
the question, “Is it that it’s not there, or is it that we’re not
detecting the disease when it is there?”
Indonesia,
the world’s fourth most populous nation, has seen a worrying increase
in cases in the past few weeks even though it has conducted fewer than
30,000 tests among its 270 million people. It has confirmed 4,557 cases
with 399 deaths, the highest number of recorded fatalities in Asia after
China.
After
weeks of delays, the capital, Jakarta, finally put in place legally
enforceable social distancing regulations last Friday. President Joko
Widodo, meanwhile, pledged to be more transparent after admitting he
deliberately withheld some information on COVID-19 cases to prevent
panic.
Japan,
with the world’s oldest population, has also seen a worrying growth in
cases since the decision was made to postpone this summer’s Tokyo
Olympics until next year. It reported another 390 new cases Tuesday.
And
tiny Singapore, which had been lauded for its early success in
containing the virus, reported its biggest daily jump in new coronavirus
infections Tuesday, most of them linked to foreign workers living in
crowded dormitories.
More
than 200,000 migrant workers live in 43 registered dormitories that
house up to 20 men per room, with shared toilets, cooking and other
facilities.
More
than 1.9 million infections have been reported and over 119,000 people
have died worldwide, according to count kept by Johns Hopkins
University. The figures certainly understate the true size and toll of
the pandemic, due to limited testing, uneven counting of the dead and
some governments’ desire to play down the extent of outbreaks.
For
most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as
fever and cough. But for others, especially older people and the infirm,
it can cause severe symptoms and lead to death.
___
Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
