US states have eased the lockdown as virus drug approved

US states have eased the lockdown as virus drug approved

More U.S. states eased pandemic lockdown measures on Friday despite a rise in corona virus deaths, while U.S. officials approved an experimental drug for emergency use on patients.

A day after President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on China, Washington renewed its warning to Beijing, accusing chinese officials of providing "slow-moving" corona virus data, endangering American lives.

Many European countries have begun easing sanctions that have closed half the world, and  joined Asian countries that feel they have already taken a turn.

Despite reports of 50 deaths on Thursday, Texas has become the largest state yet to reduce lockdowns.



With nearly 1.1 million confirmed cases, 65,000 of them are fatal, United States has the highest toll of any country in the world.



"Hopefully, we're going to come in below that 100,000 lives lost, which is a horrible number nevertheless," Trump said Friday at the White House, after suggesting earlier in the week the country could expect 60,000 or 70,000 fatalities.



Many Americans are fed up with home stay orders. Further demonstrations demanding the lifting of the ban took place on Friday in several states, including California, where authorities closed the beach again to prevent a recurrence last weekend when crowds entered the shoreline.



Trump, a change-seeker, announced Friday that U.S. regulators have authorized the use of remdesivir to treat serious cases of the virus. A major clinical trial found that antiviral helped patients with serious cases of Covid 19 recover faster.



Meanwhile, the White House once again criticised Beijing



"It's no secret that China has mishandled this situation," said Press Secretary Kelly McKinney, blaming Beijing for failing to share the information quickly that the virus could be transmitted from one person to another through genetic transmission or from human to human.



Scientists believe the killer virus is leaping from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year, possibly selling exotic animals for meat from a market in Wuhan.



The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it should be allowed to participate in a Chinese investigation into the origin of animals infected with the epidemic, WHO spokesman Tariq Jasarevic said on Friday, adding that the global agency was "not currently involved in the studies in China" but would be "keen" to participate.



Washington's fierce rhetoric, including Trump's on Thursday, has accused the virus of coming from a Chinese lab in Wuhan - an allegation Beijing has denied.



Tech companies Apple and Amazon have become the latest firms to announce shocking results as corporations around the world cut staff and lower profit forecasts.