US, European leaders weigh reopening risks without a vaccine

On a weekend when many pandemic-weary people emerged from weeks of lockdown, leers in US and Europe weighed risks and rewards of lifting COVID-19 restrictions kwing that a vaccine could take years to develop.

In separate stark warnings, two major European leers bluntly told ir citizens that world needs to apt to living with coronavirus and cant wait to be saved by a vaccine.

“We are confronting this risk, and we need to accept it, orwise we would never be able to relaunch,” Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, heeding a push by regional leers to allow restaurants, bars and beach facilities to open Monday, weeks ahe of an earlier timetable.

In US, ims of crowded bars, beaches and boardwalks suggested some weren't heeding warnings to safely enjoy reopened s while limiting risks of spreing infection.

A member of President Donald Trump's cabinet, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, wouldn't second-guess state and local officials as y decide wher to let restaurants and or businesses reopen.

He said lockdown measures also carry “serious health consequences,” including risk of suicide, delayed cardiac procedures and cancer screenings.

“I think in any individual instance you're going to see people doing things that are irresponsible,” Azar told CNN on Sunday.

“That's part of freedom we have here in America.”

warnings by Italy's Conte and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came as governments worldwide and many U.S. states struggled with restarting ecomies blindsided by pandemic.

With 36 million newly unemployed in US alone, ecomic pressures are building even as authorities ackwledge that reopening risks setting off new waves of infections and deaths.

''We are facing a calculated risk, in awareness ... that epidemiological curve could go back up,” Conte said, ding that Italy could “t afford” to wait until a vaccine was developed. Health experts say world could be months, if t years, away from having a vaccine available to everyone despite scientific gold rush w on to create one.

Britain's Johnson, who was hospitalised last month with a serious bout of COVID-19, speculated Sunday that a vaccine may t be developed at all, despite huge global effort to produce one.

“I said we would throw everything we could at finding a vaccine,” Johnson wrote in Mail on Sunday newspaper.

“re remains a very long way to go, and I must be frank that a vaccine might t come to fruition.”

Coronavirus has infected over 4.6 million people and killed more than 312,000 worldwide, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University that experts say under counts true toll of pandemic.

US has reported over 88,000 de and Europe has seen at least 160,000 deaths.

In US, many states have lifted stay-at home-orders and or restrictions, allowing some s of businesses to reopen.

Ohio Gov Mike DeWine, a Republican, told CNN on Sunday that he was concerned to see ims of a crowded bar in Columbus, Ohio, on first day that outdoor dining establishments were allowed to reopen.

“All of this is a work in progress,” he said. “We me decision to start opening up Ohio, and about 90 per cent of our ecomy is back open, because we thought it was a huge risk t to open. But we also kw it's a huge risk in opening.”

Professional soccer matches in Germany resumed over weekend, a move keenly watched by rest of soccer world as well as Major League Baseball, NBA, NFL and NHL in US, which all face major changes to ir operations amid pandemic.

Germany has won wide praise for its widespre testing amid pandemic. t all fans were happy about restart, which took place in empty stiums, but games were brocast widely around world.

Players were warned t to spit, shake hands or hug each or to celebrate goals. Team staff and substitutes wore masks on bench, and balls and seats were disinfected.

“ whole world is watching Germany to see how we do it,” Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick said.

“It can act as an example for all leagues.” China's airline regulator reported that flights h returned to 60 per cent of pre-outbreak levels, exceeding 10,000 per day for first time since Feb. 1.

new deaths have been reported in a month in world's second-largest ecomy, where coronavirus was first detected late last year.

China reported just five new cases on Sunday, while South Korea recorded 13, raising hopes that a new outbreak linked to nightclubs in Seoul may be waning, even though 168 patients have been infected so far.