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People walk past Tower Bridge in central London. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:01am, 6 May 2020Updated: 6:43pm, 6 May 2020

US President Donald Trump made his first major foray out of the White House since the coronavirus lockdown began, pushing for the US economy to reopen as Britain became the country with the second most deaths.

The US death toll is already more than 70,000 – by far the highest globally – while Britain’s rose to 32,000, putting it above Italy in the grim ranking of national fatalities.

Elsewhere in Europe, hard-hit Italy, Spain and France have reported a levelling off of figures, offering hope that life might slowly start returning to normal.

With experts warning of a severe global recession, many governments have been easing stay-at-home measures in a bid to revive badly hammered economies.

“We can’t keep our country closed for the next five years,” Trump said on a trip to a mask-making factory in Arizona, conceding that some people would be “badly affected”.

He urged US states to ease restrictions as he attempts to fire up the world’s biggest economy before the November presidential election, when the high death toll and millions of lost jobs could cost him dearly.