China, S. Korea see new virus cases as world lockdowns ease

China and South Korea both reported more coronavirus infections Friday after reopening ecomies damd by devastating outbreaks. Around globe, governments are opting to accept risks of easing pandemic-fighting restrictions that left huge numbers of people without income or safety nets.

In U.S., some goverrs are disregarding or creatively interpreting White House guidelines in easing ir states’ lockdowns and letting businesses reopen. An Associated Press analysis found 17 states appeared to have t met one of key benchmarks set by White House for loosening up — a 14-day downward trajectory in new cases or positive test rates.

Worries over future waves of infections reflect difficulty of fighting a disease that leaves many of those infected with scant or symptoms, even as thousands lose ir lives to pneumonia and or virus-related illness.

South Korea's 13 fresh cases reported Friday were its first increase higher than 10 in five days. A dozen were linked to a 29-year-old who visited three nightclubs in Seoul last weekend.

“A drop of ink in clear water spres swiftly,” Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said, urging vigilance to guard hard-won gains. “Anyone can become that drop of ink that spres COVID-19.”

After its caselo waned from hundreds a day to a handful daily in recent weeks, South Korea has relaxed social distancing guidelines, scheduled school reopenings and allowed professional sports to resume without fans in stands.

In China, where new coronavirus first emerged, authorities reported 17 new virus cases on Friday, including 16 that tested positive but were t showing symptoms. new deaths have been reported for more than three weeks, and just 260 people remain hospitalized to be treated for COVID-19.

dire stakes of pandemic have contributed to a surge in anti-foreigner sentiment including denying medical treatment to migrants and refugees, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. He appealed for an end to “tsunami of hate and xephobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.”

U.N. is urging governments, companies and billionaires to contribute to a $6.7 billion appeal to fight coronavirus in poor countries, warning that failure to help could cause a “hunger pandemic,” famine, riots and conflict.

Worldwide, virus has infected more than 3.8 million people and killed over 268,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University based on official data. More than 1.2 million Americans have been infected and 75,000 have died. But everywhere, limited testing, differences in counting de and concealment by some governments undoubtedly mean true scale of pandemic is much greater.

This week, University of Washington researchers nearly doubled ir projection of deaths in U.S. to about 134,000 through early August, largely because loosening of stay-at-home restrictions will mean virus spres to more people.

An Associated Press analysis found many states that have begun to ease shutdowns or are about to do so have t yet attained a stey decline in cases and deaths. y include Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.

AP analyzed counts of tests and confirmed cases compiled by Johns Hopkins and looked at numbers using a rolling seven-day aver to account for day-to-day variability in test reporting.

bro wording of nbinding guidelines means or states, including Georgia, have technically mand to meet criteria and reopen.

In Nebraska, new cases and positivity rates have risen recently, but Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, has eased rules to allow salons, tattoo parlors, restaurants and churches to reopen with restrictions in most counties.

“We could ban just about all deaths on interstate by reducing speed to 5 mph, but we don’t do that,” Ricketts said, ting that number of new cases would naturally increase as testing ramps up.

Of 33 states that have h a 14-day downward trajectory of eir cases or positive test rates, 25 are partially opened or moving to reopen within days, AP analysis found.

California, most populous state and first to impose a comprehensive lockdown, is letting retailers and manufacturers reopen with safety measures as soon as Friday. state has met at least one of federal benchmarks, according to AP analysis.

As governments grapple with when to restart ir ecomies, Trump ministration shelved a 17-p Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document with step-by-step vice to help local authorities do it safely.

ding to pressure to ease restrictions are hundreds of businesses collapsing by day. Over 33 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits over past seven weeks, and a highly anticipated report on Friday is expected to show U.S. joblessness as high as 16%, a level t seen since Great Depression nearly a century ago.

Public health experts say guidance from White House has been anything but clear, while pushing responsibility for expanding testing onto states.

It's like “an orchestra without a conductor," said Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University. States share some blame, he said, but “ responsibility for coordinating and enforcing and implementing a national plan comes from White House.”