Britain’s death toll from the coronavirus rivals Italy’s

LONDON (AP) — Britain on Tuesday became the first country in Europe to confirm more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths, and infections rose sharply again in Russia, even as other nations made great strides in containing the scourge.

China marked its third week with no new reported deaths, while South Korea restarted its baseball season.

In the US, some states took continued steps to lift the lockdown restrictions that have thrown millions out of work, even as the country recorded thousands of new infections and deaths every day.

Underscoring the stakes, New York state reported 1,700 more people died in nursing homes than it had previously counted.

President Donald Trump headed for Arizona to visit a Honeywell factory that makes respirator masks, in what could be a return to more regular travel for the president.

“The people of our country should think of themselves as warriors. Our country has to open,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One.

Britain appeared set to surpass Italy as Europe’s hardest-hit nation, even as the rate of deaths and hospitalisation declined and the government prepared to take tentative steps out of lockdown.

The British government said about 28,700 people with COVID-19 had died in hospitals, nursing homes and other settings, while Italy reported close to 29,100 fatalities.

Both figures are almost certainly underestimates because they include only people who tested positive, and testing was not widespread in Italian and British nursing homes until recently.

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