Germany, Israel, South Korea and several other countries plan to ease corona virus lockdowns this week as governments come under mounting pressure to reduce the economic and social pain caused by the safety measures. 

As Europe approached a milestone of 100,000 confirmed deaths, accusation continued over Covid-19’s origins, with a laboratory in Wuhan rejecting a theory pushed in the US that it might have engineered the virus, and Donald Trump warning China of consequences if it was found to be “knowingly responsible”.

After a week of slowing infection rates, the Israeli government announced it was easing the stringent quarantine measures in place for the past five weeks. It will allow the partial reopening of hardware, electronic and office supply stores, and group prayer outdoors – for up to 19 people, standing two metres apart – and extend the perimeter for exercise to 500 metres from a person’s home.