(Bloomberg) — Coronavirus cases in the U.S. passed the 1 million mark and deaths topped 58,000, double the toll in Italy.

France plans to begin reopening shops on May 11, while Spain is preparing for a “new normal” as Europe’s hardest-hit nation removes restrictions over the next eight weeks. The trend of overall cases is improving in Singapore yet the government wants to make sure there is a reduction in local community transmission before relaxing circuit-breaker measures.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring meat-processing plants to stay open, in a move slammed by unions. Tokyo’s governor asked for an extension of the state of emergency beyond May 6, telling reporters that the situation remains severe in the nation’s capitol, Kyodo News reported.

Key Developments

• Virus Tracker: Cases top 3.1 million; deaths pass 217,000
• Testing shortages undermine drive to restart U.S. economy
• China is attempting to prevent a second wave of infections
• Alcohol spat shows India states battling Modi for virus billions
• Mexico City top hospitals reach capacity, reject virus patients
• Business of survival fuels race for new skills to stay afloat

Bangkok Committee Approves Partial Business Openings (11:58 a.m. HK)

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s contagious-disease committee approved the opening of some businesses soon, according to Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, a spokesman for the metropolitan agency.

The date some businesses could open depends on a national announcement from the government, which is expected in a few days.

Tokyo Governor Asks for Extension of State of Emergency: Kyodo (11:05 a.m. HK)

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike asked the government to extend the state of emergency to tackle the spread of the coronavirus, telling reporters that the situation remains severe in the nation’s capital, Kyodo News reported.

Governors of Japan’s prefectures held a video conference and are likely to ask for the emergency declaration to be prolonged nationwide beyond May 6, when it’s set to be lifted, Kyodo reported. The governors also discussed the possibility of changing the law so that businesses can be fined if they stay open despite being asked to shut, Kyodo said.

China’s Virus-Delayed Political Session Set for May 22 (10:52 a.m. HK)

China will hold its highest-profile annual political meeting in late May, after it was postponed for the first time in decades as authorities worked to contain the coronavirus outbreak.|

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress decided to hold this year’s meeting on May 22, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The government usually uses the meeting to announce its annual growth target, defense spending projections and other key policy decisions then.

The gathering of some 3,000 officials is usually held in March.

Samsung Warns of Profit Slide as Virus Slams Tech (10:24 a.m. HK)

Samsung Electronics Co. warned earnings may decline this quarter after the coronavirus outbreak hurt demand for its smartphones and gadgets, trimming income gained from surging server-chip orders.

South Korea’s largest company reported a 4% slide in net income to 4.9 trillion won ($4 billion) in the three months ended March. Samsung, which had reported better-than-expected operating profits earlier this month, said the pandemic continued to hammer demand across an array of markets.

The warning from the world’s largest maker of memory chips, smartphones and consumer appliances underscores the uncertainty gripping industries worldwide. As the pandemic spread in the first months of the year, the technology sector took hits from both supply and demand.

Brazil Death Toll Hits 5,000 With Curve on Rise (9:35 a.m. HK)

Brazil saw the total number of deaths from the virus surpass 5,000 after reporting 474 deaths over 24 hours, making its pandemic-related toll the ninth-highest worldwide.

In contrast to other parts of the world, Brazil’s curve is climbing, Health Minister Nelson Teich announced during a news conference. As of Tuesday, the country had counted nearly 72,000 positive cases and 5,017 deaths, and a 7% death rate.

When asked during the news conference about mounting fatalities, President Jair Bolsonaro answered, “So what? What do you want me to do about it?” before joking that even though his middle name means messiah in Portuguese, “I can’t make miracles.”

Trump Orders Meat Plants to Remain Open (8:49 a.m. HK)

President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that compels slaughterhouses to remain open, setting up a showdown between the giant companies that produce the country’s meat and the unions and activists who want to protect workers during the pandemic.

Meat-processing plants in the U.S. have shut down because of the coronavirus, but Trump said in the order that “such closures threaten the continued functioning of the national meat and poultry supply chain, undermining critical infrastructure during the national emergency.”

China Adds 22 Cases, No Deaths (8:32 a.m. HK)

China reports 22 additional virus cases as of April 28, with 21 of them from abroad, according to a statement from the country’s National Health Commission.

It reported no additional deaths. Of the confirmed cases, one was earlier classified as asymptomatic. China has 993 asymptomatic coronavirus cases under medical observation as of April 28.

The total death toll China has reported stands at 4,633.

HK High Schools May Resume on May 26: Ming Pao (8:29 a.m. HK)

Senior high school students are expected to return to school on May 26 at earliest, the day after the city’s university entrance exam ends, Chinese-language Ming Pao Daily reported, citing unidentified people.

The report said a half-day schedule is likely to run throughout the remaining school year to avoid crowds gathering during lunchtime. Junior high school students are likely to go back to class on June 8, at the earliest, the report said. Grades five and six are expected to resume as early as June 1.

U.K. Needs Key Tool to Lift Lockdown (7:57 a.m. HK)

The U.K. government is about three weeks from releasing the tool it says is essential to easing the current coronavirus lockdown, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, in a sign current restrictions are likely to largely continue until at least the second half of May.

The government has said it sees a “test, track and trace” system as the way to ensure that Covid-19 infections don’t take off again as the lockdown is eased. That requires the recruitment of 18,000 “contact tracers” to identify people who might have been exposed to the virus, as well as the release of a mobile phone app that will do part of that job automatically.

Romney Urges U.S. to Be Aggressive on Chinese ’Propaganda’ (7:51 a.m. HK)

Republican Senator Mitt Romney says he and other senators are urging the Trump administration to undertake a “very aggressive” effort to combat what he says is Chinese propaganda intended to portray the U.S. as incompetent in handling the coronavirus crisis.

The Utah senator said in an online discussion sponsored by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service that there is growing concern that China is trying to take advantage of the current crisis to expand its influence.

“They will be able to say, whether it’s true or not, that they were able to knock down COVID-19 and ‘look what’s happened in the United States, it’s still running amok’ and that will be convincing to many,” Romney said.

U.S. to Reclaim Payments to the Dead (6:30 a.m. HK)

The U.S. Treasury Department is planning to instruct people whose deceased relatives received coronavirus stimulus payments to return the money to the federal government, according to a department spokesman.

The Treasury is aware that some individuals who have recently died received the $1,200 economic impact payments and plans to issue guidance in the coming days, the spokesman said.

The announcement addresses an issue that some people began noticing earlier this month when the stimulus payments passed by Congress in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak were first deposited into bank accounts: Family members who had died in the past several months were receiving payments.

South African Economy Could Contract 6% (6:15 a.m. HK)

South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the South African economy could contract as much as 6.4% this year due to the coronavirus outbreak and the budget deficit could swell to more than 10% of gross domestic product.

In a recording of a conference call with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. clients, Mboweni said he expected the contraction to be deeper than the 5.8% forecast by the International Monetary Fund. The rebound to 4% economic growth that the lender projects for 2021 is possible, he said, but it will require significant structural changes to the economy.

Starbucks Sees China Sales Falling 25% (5:12 p.m. NY)

Starbucks Corp. has opened almost all its locations in China, but still sees the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic trimming same-store sales there by 15% to 25% this fiscal year. The shares fell in late trading.

Same-store sales fell 10% globally in the company’s second quarter, slightly outpacing the average estimate for a 9.7% decline compiled by Consensus Metrix. The measure — a key gauge of success for restaurant chains — fell 50% in China, which along with the U.S. is a priority market for the company.

With the U.S. likely following China’s path to reopening, but on a delayed time line, 2020 increasingly is looking like a lost year for the company. Since the pandemic started to affect U.S. sales only at the end of the quarter that ended in late March, impact on third-quarter results will be “significantly greater” and extend into the fiscal fourth quarter “at a more moderate level.”

California Considers Starting School Year in Summer (4:45 p.m. NY)

California, which has closed schools for the academic year, is considering bumping up the start of the new school year to late July or early August, Governor Gavin Newsom said. The tools necessary for distance learning – laptops, tablets and reliable wireless internet – aren’t adequately available across the state, he said.

“There’s been a learning loss, and you can either just roll over and just accept that or you can do something about it,” Newsom said at his daily press conference.

Opening schools would also help parents get back to work as the economy restarts. Newsom reiterated that he expects some changes to California’s stay-at-home order will come in “weeks, not months,” with the next phase aimed at bringing back some lower-risk workplaces, including child care facilities.