World still upended despite restart

Europe, North America expand opening as Latin America in turmoil

At least 429,000 people worldwide have died from COVID-19, nearly halfway through a year in which countless lives have already been upended as the pandemic ravages the global economy.

The total number of confirmed cases has doubled to 7.7 million in slightly over a month and the disease is now spreading most rapidly in Latin America, where it is threatening healthcare systems and sparking political turmoil.

Brazil now has the second-highest number of viral deaths after the US, surpassing Britain’s toll, and the Chilean health minister resigned on Saturday amid a furor over the country’s true number of fatalities.

There is still no treatment for COVID-19, but pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca

said it has agreed to supply an alliance of European countries with up to 400 million doses of a possible vaccine.

German government sources told AFP a vaccine could be developed by the end of 2020.

Many European nations are further lifting painful lockdowns that have saved lives and forced caseloads down, but have also caused their economies to shrink and caused misery for millions.

After the European Commission urged a relaxation of restrictions, a number of nations are preparing to reopen borders on Monday – while some like Poland have done so already, with people from other European Union countries allowed to visit.

Germany said it would end land border checks on Monday, and France said it would gradually reopen its borders to non-Schengen countries from July.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis traveled to picturesque Santorini island on Saturday to open his country’s tourism season.

Venice sprang back to life Saturday, as hundreds of tourists flocked to the city for the reopening of the iconic Doge’s Palace.

In another joyful return to seminormality, soccer superstar Lionel Messi took to the pitch again in Spain as Barcelona resumed their La Liga title challenge and thumped Real Mallorca 4-0 in an empty stadium.

Live sport also returned on Saturday to New Zealand, which has gone 22 days without new coronavirus cases, as 20,000 fans watched rugby’s Otago Highlanders edge the Waikato Chiefs.

The World Health Organization said this week the pandemic is accelerating in Africa. Botswana’s capital Gaborone was locked down Saturday after new cases were detected.

And in the US, which has seen the most COVID-19 deaths with over 115,000, more than a dozen states reported their highest-ever daily case totals in recent days.

The rise comes as anti-racism protests across America and the world, with many demonstrators wearing masks to protect against the spread of the virus.