Despite fears of a second wave of infections, borders began opening up in Europe and lockdowns continued to ease as governments try to get stalled economies moving again, with experts warning world output could shrink by 10 percent.
The nexus of poverty and risk was also laid bare by a World Health Organization report that warned Africa is a hotspot waiting to happen, despite so far having escaped the worst of the disease.
Researchers say frangible health systems on the world's poorest continent could quickly be overwhelmed, with modeling suggesting 231 million people could become infected.
Up to 190,000 of them could die, the study published in the journal BMJ Global Health suggested.
With large populations living in slums, social distancing is all but impossible for many on the continent, and health experts say only a vaccine will prevent widespread infection.
Despite scientists working flat out towards that aim, experts say it could still be many months -- or even years -- away. And without a robust roll-out plan, even highly developed countries could struggle to take advantage of any breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank yesterday doubled its previous estimate of the cost of the pandemic, saying the world economy would shrink by $8.8 trillion -- almost a tenth of global output.
Up to 242 million jobs will vanish due to the virus, the Manila-based bank said.
