Nations in Asia-Pacific pass Covid-19 peak and plot return to work

Countries across the Asia-Pacific region have announced plans to cautiously reopen for business as governments around the world race to reboot economies devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia have all vowed to get their residents back to school and work in the coming days as Covid-19 infection rates slow. Financial markets have become caught between concern about cratering economies and rising US-China tension, and the prospect of more countries reopening for business.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, announced plans to reopen schools, cinemas, bars and beauty parlours from Friday, with authorities set to hand out reusable face masks to all 7.5 million residents. Hong Kong has had 1,041 cases of coronavirus with four deaths.

The move comes after the territory’s economy, already damaged by months of protest before the coronavirus outbreak, recorded its worst decline on record. GDP shrunk 8.9% year-on-year in the first quarter, the deepest contraction since records began in 1974, and the fourth consecutive quarter to drop. Lam noted it was worse than that experienced during the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

In South Korea, once the worst-hit country outside China, the government relaxed social distancing rules on Wednesday and students will return to school from Monday. The country, with more than 10,800 cases and 255 deaths, has been held up as an example of how to contain the virus. On Wednesday the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported two new cases – both imported – as the number of new infections continued to slow.

The education minister, Yoo Eun-hae, said high school seniors, who are preparing for highly competitive university entrance exams, would return to schools on 13 May with younger students to follow in phases from 20 May.

Students and teachers will have to wear a mask except during mealtimes, wipe their desks and observe social distancing as they move around. Schools will also be required to regularly disinfect their premises, conduct temperature checks and rearrange seating.

The South Korean professional baseball season began on Tuesday, although teams played in empty stadiums, and football is to follow suit on Friday.

Thailand, which has seen 2,987 cases and 54 deaths, began easing restrictions on movement and gatherings on Monday, allowing restaurants, hair salons and open-air markets to resume business, provided that social distancing is maintained and proprietors carry out temperature checks. In neighbouring Vietnam, which has had 271 cases and no deaths, life is also gradually returning to normal, but the economy, which relies on tourism for a 6% of its GDP, faces huge challenges.

The Australian government on Wednesday said it was seeking ways to reopen locked down businesses as early as July, as its success in containing the coronavirus outbreak allows it to focus on trying to regain a million jobs lost since mid-March.

Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, and state leaders will discuss health protocols at a national cabinet meeting on Friday that could enable businesses to open in a “Covid-safe environment”, with the government saying the shutdown has been costing the economy A$4bn a week.

“The lesson from history … is that the quicker you can get people back into jobs and off those unemployment queues, the better off the economy will be and the better off those individuals will be,” the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, told ABC television.

People exercise in Centennial Park amidst the easing of restrictions implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease in Sydney, Australia

There would be three stages to easing restrictions on social distancing for affected industries, with cafes, restaurants and retail expected to be among the first to be allowed to reopen. Each state would move at its own pace with the common goal of having most of their economies rebooted by July.

Australia has had fewer than 7,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and there are fewer than 1,000 active cases remaining. Ninety-six people have died in the outbreak.

The resumption of business might also coincide with the opening of the border between Australia and New Zealand, creating what has been dubbed a trans-Tasman “travel bubble”, given that both countries have significantly reduced infection levels and rates.

In the US, the Trump administration is also pushing for an end to lockdowns to focus on economic growth, despite the nation leading the world in infections and deaths, and experts warning that the worst is yet to come. President Donald Trump has scrapped daily coronavirus task force briefings and marginalised his medical experts, preferring economic officials to publicly urge states to reopen.

Chinese stock indices reopened in positive territory on Wednesday after the spring holiday but the Australian market lost 0.6% and futures trading pointed to a similar drop in London and New York later in the day. Disney cast a pall over Wall Street by announcing losses of $1.4bn in the first quarter and the entertainment company still had no indication when it might reopen its profitable theme parks in Europe and the US. Airbnb, the home booking site, said it was cutting 1,900 jobs amid the worldwide travel slump.

In other coronavirus developments:

Britain has overtaken Italy to become the worst-hit nation in Europe, and the second-worst in the world, with more than 32,000 deaths.

Youth unemployment in Britain will reach 1 million people over the coming year unless the government provides job guarantees or incentives for school leavers and graduates to stay on in education, a thinktank warns.

The global lockdown caused by Covid-19 risks a “devastating” surge in tuberculosis cases, with nearly 1.4 million additional deaths by 2025, new research shows.

Brazil confirmed its highest daily coronavirus deaths on Tuesday. There were 6,935 new cases since Monday evening and 600 new deaths. The previous record of 474 deaths came on 28 April.

Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, signalled some automotive factories could open in coming weeks.

After two consecutive days of zero new coronavirus cases, on Wednesday New Zealand reported one new case of the virus and one more death. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said success in curbing Covid-19 had provided a “safe haven” advantage allowing the country to be open for investment.