WELLINGTON – New Zealand on Friday had all but eradicated the coronavirus from its shores with just one person in the nation of 5 million known to be still infected, but developments elsewhere were generally grim, with India reporting another record increase in cases and Pakistan a record number of deaths.
In the U.S., the virus threw more than 2 million people out of work last week despite the gradual reopening of businesses, stoking fears the scourge is doing deep and potentially long-lasting damage to the world's largest economy.
The latest job-loss figures from the U.S. Labor Department bring to 41 million the running total of Americans who have filed for unemployment benefits since the coronavirus shutdowns took hold in mid-March.