Leaders around world grapple with COVID-19 recovery

As the number of global COVID-19 cases top 4.7 million, leaders in the U.S. and Europe are weighing the risks and rewards of easing lockdown restrictions as a vaccine could take years to develop.

Two major European leaders have told their citizens that they will need to adapt to living with the coronavirus rather than waiting fora vaccine.

"We are facing a calculated risk, aware that the contagion curve could rise again," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told reporters Saturday. But he said Italy could not afford to wait for a vaccine.

Writing in the British Mail on Sunday newspaper, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson raised the possibility that a vaccine may not be developed at all. Britain on Sunday reported 170 more coronavirus deaths, the lowest daily number since late March.

A member of President Donald Trump's cabinet, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Sunday that he supports states moving to reopen their economies. He said lockdown measures have themselves caused "serious health consequences," including raised risks of suicide, and problems resulting from delayed cardiac procedures and cancer screenings.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine told CNN on Sunday that he was concerned to see images of a crowded bar in Columbus, Ohio, as his state began reopening, but said getting the economy back brings necessary risk.

Absent a vaccine, some officials are trying to ramp up testing as a way to control the virus.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took a coronavirus test on live television Sunday and urged any New Yorkers with symptoms or known exposure to the virus to do the same.

Cuomo said testing criteria has been expanded to include those with flu-like symptoms, medical and nursing-home staff, people returning to work following lockdowns, and anyone who interacts with the public at work or who has been exposed to a sick person.

"We're all talking about what is the spread of the virus when you increase economic activity. Well, how do you know what the spread of the virus is? Testing, testing, testing," Cuomo said.

(Cover image: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took a coronavirus test on live TV Sunday. /Reuters)

(CGTN)