May brings reopenings around the globe as virus toll climbs

NEW YORK (AP) — May is bringing cautious reopenings from coronavirus lockdowns, from Beijing’s Forbidden city to shopping malls in Texas, as the grim economic toll from the pandemic ticks higher.

Many communities around the world are inching toward normalcy without certainty over whether they’ve vanquished outbreaks of the virus. But bleak new figures released Thursday underscored the pain inflicted by the disease and added to pressure on leaders to end shutdowns.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits surpassed a staggering 30 million and the European economy shrank a record 3.8% in the first quarter as hotels, restaurants, construction sites and manufacturing were frozen by lockdowns.

As bad as those and other numbers are, some are outdated because of the lag in gathering data so the true situation is almost certainly much worse.

Still, analysts saw a glimmer of hope in the way new unemployment claims have fallen for four straight weeks. Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, said the wave of layoffs at vulnerable businesses such as restaurants, hotels and stores may have largely run its course.

“Thankfully, for now, the economic contagion seems to have plateaued,” Stettner said. “But we’re still at a level that is a mortal threat to the nation’s financial well-being.”

Layoffs amount to 1 in 6 American workers and encompass more people than the entire population of Texas. Some economists say the U.S. unemployment rate for April may be as high as 20% — a figure not seen since the Depression of the 1930s, when joblessness peaked at 25%.

China's ancient, majestic Forbidden City reopened on Friday with all tickets for the May 1-5 holiday period sold out, and a limit of 5,000 visitors a day, down from the...