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Greece has always prided itself on its sunny weather, beaches and islands. And anyone familiar with the coast of Croatia will know that finding towel room on its increasingly crowded beaches is a challenge.

But despite both countries moving fast to stop the spread of coronavirus, it's threatening to ruin the summer season - a period vital to their economies.

About half of Croatia's 20 million annual visitors arrive in July and August, and tourism is responsible for at least a fifth of its economic output.

Tourism also accounts for around 25% of GDP in Greece, where the economy is only beginning to recover from an eight-year financial crisis.

Read more here.

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Japan has extended its state of emergency until the end of May after a government meeting late on Monday.

The country has so far avoided a widespread outbreak of the virus, but still has around 15,000 confirmed cases and just under 500 deaths that have been linked to Covid-19. Observers have warned there is insufficient testing and that hospitals are already pushed to the limit.

The state of emergency was due to expire on Wednesday, but will now remain in place until 31 May. It gives governors the authority to ask residents to stay at home and businesses to close. There are no penalties for non-compliance, however.

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A volunteer paramedic has been honoured after succumbing to coronavirus in New York City.

Paul Cary, 66, had travelled from the western US state of Colorado to join a coronavirus task force with private medical firm Ambulnz.

For three weeks he had helped to transport patients to local hospitals, and had signed up for a second 30-day deployment when he began to feel ill.

On Sunday a huge procession - including hundreds of emergency services personnel - escorted his body to Newark Liberty Airport to be flown back to Colorado.

"All of our first responders honoured him as if he had been a lifelong New Yorker," said the city's Mayor Bill de Blasio. "He ended up coming to New York City to help us in our hour of need, and then so painful that this disease has taken him."

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Creating a safe working environment in factories is "totally doable" but comes at a price, according to a director at a British sausage manufacturer.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Declan Ferguson of Finnebrogue Artisan says its social distancing measures have included staggering shifts and breaks, providing face masks on the factory floor, and paying workers more to keep the rules.

"We've introduced a social distancing bonus so workers get one pound an hour extra when they follow rules - and we have also introduced social distancing marshals, they are the policemen on the factory floor," he says.

"We are spending around £100,000 per week to pay for additional staff, bonuses and the cost of the PPE.

"People need to feel safe - we have things like hand sanitiser stations as people arrive, doors are left open where possible, and physical markings on the ground are vital to be able to do that."

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US officials believe that China "intentionally concealed the severity" of the pandemic, a leaked report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says, according to news agency AP.

The Trump administration has stepped up its criticism of China in recent days, with both the president and Secretary of State Pompeo directly condemning Beijing.

The DHS paper says China increased imports and cut back exports of medical supplies, while downplaying the severity of the outbreak.

The report is also cited as saying China didn't inform the World Health Organization properly in January so it could order medical supplies from abroad.

India has asked migrants seeking to return to their home states to pay their own train fares, in a move that has caused outrage in the country.

Millions of daily-wage earners were stranded with no means of income after India went into lockdown on 24 March to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Thousands fled to their home villages on foot, but many others are still stuck.

India's main opposition Congress party has said it will pay the fares, but the government has defended the move. It said the fee was necessary to ensure that only those who were "really stranded" would use the train services.

You can read the full story here

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US President Donald Trump has warned that as many as 100,000 people could die of coronavirus in the US.

Speaking at a two-hour virtual "town hall", Mr Trump also denied that his administration had acted too slowly.

More than 67,000 people have already died with Covid-19 in the US.

But Mr Trump expressed optimism about the development of a vaccine, saying one would be ready by the end of this year - although public health experts believe it will take 12 to 18 months.

Read more here.

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Rail union leaders say there is currently no "safe" plan to be able to increase UK rail services while also maintaining social distancing.

Union bosses have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, with "severe concerns" over proposals to increase services as part of a staggered approach to easing the lockdown.

Speaking on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, the RMT's Mick Lynch warned workers and passengers could be put at risk by a "blanket increase" which may also undermine attempts to suppress the virus.

"We’ve been told that from 18 May, the rail service will go up to between 85-100%.

"If you take any of the major stations in London like Euston, King's Cross, Waterloo - controlling passengers and numbers even in a mid peak will be virtually impossible.

"We don’t feel there are concrete plans for how the services will run, how the crowd will be controlled, how loading will be managed. If you encourage ridership where controls are not in place, you may create a system where the virus is reinvigorated."

Chinese travellers flocked to major tourist sites over the country's five-day May Day holiday, which began on Friday - a clear sign that things in the country are quickly returning to normal.

Nearly 85 million domestic tourist trips were made in the first three days of the holiday, according to state media quoting the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

In the capital Beijing alone, 1.67 million people visited the city's 1,030 parks, according to a CGTN report. , external

Elsewhere in the country, the festivities continued:

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Yesterday Dr Maria Van Kerkhove - a lead member of the World Health Oganization's coronavirus task force - told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that evidence suggested the virus was not man-made, and had a "natural origin".

Throughout the pandemic, there has been speculation that the virus was released - intentionally or accidentally - from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

China rejects this, and there is no public evidence that it is true.

At a press conference, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was "enormous evidence" of it starting in a Wuhan lab, but didn't provide any supporting facts.

A Washington Post article last month also revealed that US embassy officials were worried about biosecurity at one of Wuhan's virus labs. However the Post conceded there was no evidence that the lab was the source of the outbreak.

Nigeria is beginning to relax coronavirus lockdown measures in the capital Abuja and its biggest city, Lagos, in an attempt to limit the damage to Africa's largest economy.

The government says Monday's reopening is the first phase of a six-week easing process. It says the situation will be assessed in the next two weeks - if things go well, the lockdown will be further relaxed.

Shops and markets will now open until mid-afternoon and it's hoped some people will be able to return to work.

But a ban on public gatherings remains in place and a nationwide curfew from 20:00 local time (19:00GMT) to 06:00 is in force. Schools and places of worship remain closed.

Nigeria has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus infections over the past week, with 2,558 cases and 87 deaths now confirmed. Lagos state in the southwest remains the epicentre, accounting for nearly half of confirmed cases.

Governments around the world are proposing contact tracing as a way of limiting the spread of coronavirus after lockdown.

Contact tracing can be done from memory, but smartphone apps that can automate the process have also been developed. We explain what contact tracing is, and some of the methods that have been proposed:

As countries worldwide slowly begin easing lockdown measures - here are some of the things they're doing to help get a step closer to normality:

• Coming out of lockdown - in phases. The goal is not to throw away all lockdown restrictions at once, but to approach it in a phased way so the effects can be controlled

• Thermal screening is slowly being implemented across more countries. It's certainly not perfect - those who are asymptomatic won't be detected, for example - but it will definitely help identify who has fever

• Contact tracing apps are being rolled out. In South Korea, for example, the government used one heavily to alert people who had come into contact with someone who tested positive

Read more on how to come out of a lockdown here.

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Lam Cho Wai
BBC News Chinese

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Hong Kong has earned praise for its handling of the coronavirus crisis. It has reported no local case for two weeks and life is returning to normalcy gradually and cautiously in one of the world’s densest cities.

Today, civil servants are returning to the offices after weeks of working from home. The government is also set to relax some social-distancing measures, and gyms and cinemas might be allowed to reopen this week, according to local media.

No lockdown has been put in place in the city of seven million, but it has become compulsory for restaurants to check customers’ temperature before allowing them in and provide hand sanitisers. Most staff wears masks and gloves to serve customers.

But health authorities warn against complacency. Over the Labour Day weekend, crowds were seen on beaches and in shopping malls as residents appear to be tired of staying home for months.

As Italy begins to ease its lockdown measures, residents in some of Naples' poorest neighbourhoods have shared their stories of how the global pandemic has left scars on their city.

Italy's not the only country that's slowly easing its lockdown. Others are slowly starting to see light at the end of the tunnel:

• In Spain, adults were able to exercise outdoors over the weekend for the first time in seven weeks
• France is also set to lift its lockdown next week, on 11 May. Children will return to school in phases and some businesses will reopen
• After a six-week state of emergency, Portugal has today begun a three-phase reopening plan

• About half of the states in the US have also began easing restrictions
• In Asia, Thailand has begun easing its lockdown across certain sectors - some businesses and public parks have been allowed to re-open
• In Hong Kong, government workers are returning to work today as the city's lockdown eases. Outdoor facilities, libraries and museums will also reopen
• Several states in Australia are also allowing for more outdoor activities and public gatherings - though these rules differ across states
• Over in the Middle East, Jordan says it has lifted all restrictions on economic activity, allowing all businesses and industries to resume production. In Tunisia, half of the public administration and industry sectors are returning to work, although face masks must be worn. Egypt is allowing hotels to reopen for domestic tourists on condition they operate at no more than 25% capacity.
• And in Iran, mosques are reopening in many towns and cities where the risk from the virus is considered to be low

Image source, Michelle McLeod

With cases of Covid-19 falling in several states, Australia last week lifted some of the tighter restrictions.

So where they could, people got out to enjoy Australia's great outdoors, while others made the most of being able to see people they don't live with.

Click here to read how Australians were enjoying their first day out in weeks.

Good morning, and here are some of the latest developments:

• The UK government has drafted possible post-lockdown workplace rules - they haven't been announced yes, but the BBC has seen the proposals
• Rail union leaders have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson with "severe concerns" over plans to increase train services.
• Mr. Johnson will urge countries to "pull together" and share expertise as he co-hosts an international conference to drive the race for coronavirus treatments, tests and vaccines
• Businesses including sole traders and limited companies are able to apply for "bounce-back" loans of £2,000 to £50,000, 100% guaranteed by the government

• A drug developed by UK scientists to treat Covid-19 patients is being trialled at University Hospital Southampton
• University students in England must pay full tuition fees even if courses are taught online in the autumn

Mark Lowen
BBC News, Rome

Eight weeks ago, Italy became a guinea pig for draconian virus containment. From today, it’s easing: restaurants are allowed to offer takeaway service, parks are reopening, outdoor exercise is permitted, people can visit relatives albeit with masks, funerals with a maximum of 15 people can resume and some businesses are restarting.

The prime minister has warned Italians not to squander the progress they’ve made by being lax with hygiene controls and allowing new infections. “More than ever”, he said, “the future of our country is in our hands”.

Having just recorded the lowest daily rise in deaths since the measures were imposed, the lockdown has been Italy’s salvation. But it’s been the economy’s curse, with an expected contraction of 9% this year. And many businesses won’t be able to reopen, crushed by a shutdown that will leave deep scars.

Italy became the first country in the world to order a nationwide lockdown. And now, after more than two months of enforced quarantine, Italians are being allowed to resume some activities.

They will be able to move more freely within their region, visit relatives, go to re-opened parks and get takeaways from restaurants.

An estimated four million people are heading back to work.

There are 210,717 confirmed cases and 28,884 deaths in Italy - which was once the worst hit country in Europe.

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