Merkel warns global pandemic is far from over as new cases rise

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel cautioned on Saturday that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over, as regional outbreaks gave rise to fears of a second wave.

Two of the largest US states reversed course and reinstated some restrictions amid a surge in new infections. India reported more than 18,000 new cases, pushing its cumulative total over the half-million mark, the fourth-highest globally behind the US, Brazil and Russia.

Elsewhere, China and South Korea battled smaller outbreaks in their capitals.

Merkel said in her weekly video podcast that getting Europe’s economy back on track is her primary goal, as Germany takes over the rotating European Union presidency next week.

But she stressed that everyone shared a “joint responsibility” in following social distancing, mask, and hygiene rules as lockdown rules are relaxed.

German authorities renewed a lockdown in a western region of about 500,000 people last week after about 1,300 slaughterhouse workers tested positive for Covid-19 in an attempt to prevent the outbreak from spreading across the area. Germany has recorded nearly 195,000 coronavirus infections and only about 9,000 deaths, with more than 177,000 recoveries, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

“The risk posed by the virus is still serious,” Merkel said. “It’s easy to forget because Germany has got through the crisis well so far, but that doesn’t mean we are protected, that the risk has been averted – that is not the case, as is demonstrated by these regional outbreaks.”

Fans of Germany’s Schalke soccer club planned to demonstrate later in the day at the stadium against chairman Clemens Toennies, one of whose companies owns the slaughterhouse where the outbreak began.

In the US, the daily number of confirmed infections surged to an all-time high of 45,300 on Friday, eclipsing the previous high of 40,000 set the previous day, according to Johns Hopkins. Newly-reported cases per day have risen on average about 60% over the past two weeks, according to an Associated Press analysis.

While the rise partly reflects expanded testing, experts say there is ample evidence the virus is making a comeback, including rising deaths in parts of the country and higher percentages of virus tests coming back positive.

About 600 people are dying every day with coronavirus in the US, down from a peak of around 2,200 in mid-April.

Worldwide, the virus has claimed close to half-a-million lives with nearly 10 million cases. Egypt on Saturday lifted many restrictions, reopening cafes, clubs, gyms and theatres after more than three months of closure, despite a continued upward trend in new infections.

Authorities in other countries were taking a more cautious approach, with the Indian city of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state, announcing a new two-week lockdown starting Monday.