Atherstone and rest of the UK face the same conundrum as the world agonises over 'risk and reward' of lifting the lockdown load

THE WORLD is still torn between "risk and reward" on when is the right time to start easing out of lockdown and returning to some kind of normality.

Countries that were earlier, and tougher, on going into draconian restrictions appear to be finding the transition less fraught.

But America – and we have similar issues in the UK still officially in full lockdown mode – is agonising over the right path out.

President Donald Trump and state governors appear to signal one intent while health experts repeatedly warn of breaking out too early.

The US is also finding itself ridiculed as the "land of Dettol" after the president astonishing suggestion on Thursday of the possibility of experimenting with injecting "disinfectant" into Covid-19 patients, or blasting them with ultraviolet rays.

His press conference remark brought this riposte from Craig Spencer, the director of global health in emergency medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Centre: "My concern is that people will die. People will think this is a good idea.

"This is not willy-nilly, off-the-cuff, maybe-this-will-work advice. This is dangerous."

Sadly, last month, an engineer died from drinking fish tank cleaner after mistakenly thinking it was a coronavirus cure.

Gary Lenius and his wife Wanda, both in their 60s, drank chloroquine phosphate after confusing it for hydroxychloroquine, the drug touted by President Trump.

Mr Lenius died on March 22, while his wife was left in critical condition after ingesting the toxic chemical.

The US's next coronavirus milestone will be one million confirmed cases – currently the figure is more than 925,000. And some 52,000 people have lost their lives.

Some governors are reportedly disregarding their own medical advisers and local health departments in their haste to roll back quarantines.

In Georgia, Republican Governor Brian Kemp announced that certain businesses could reopen without consulting his advisory panel of doctors.

At least Decatur pub owner Mike Gallagher probably expressed views that would strike a chord here.

"The risks outweigh the rewards," he said. "We're itching for the revenue, but the spirit with us is that we have one shot to do this right."

In Wisconsin, placard-waving demonstrators are protesting at Governor Tony Evers's decision to the emergency Safer at Home order.

India – with 775 reported deaths from 18,600 cases – has announced easing of a stringent lockdown for 1.3 billion people by allowing opening of neighbourhood shops with restrictions such as 50 per cent of workers with face masks and social distancing.

On a slightly more positive note for Italy, it has seen its lowest single-day death toll of 420 since March 19. Number of new infections rose to 3,021.

A total of 25,969 people have died of the virus since the outbreak began on February 21, putting Italy as the second highest in the world after the death toll of the US.

The world case tally stands at 2.83 million this morning as the death toll closes in on the 200,000 mark – at 197,354. Some 807,000 people have now recovered from the virus.

Meanwhile in the UK, confirmed new cases in the West and East Midlands continue to outnumber those in London and the North West.

The positive tests went up by 450 to 17,133 in the Midlands out of a UK total of 143,464 – an increase of 5,386 on the previous day. London's case total is 22,767 and the North West 16,252.

Kent retains the 'hot spot' for coronavirus in the upper tier local authority table with 2,959 people testing positive for the virus – Birmingham saw 69 new cases and remains in second spot with 2,552.

Atherstone learned this week of how a family is coming to terms with the loss of their father taken in just four days by coronavrius as Warwickshire has 976 confirmed cases (21 up on yesterday), Coventry is on 591 (up 24) – Atherstone's neighbouring county Staffordshire lies 10th with 1,445 cases and Leicestershire 802

Stats from UK prisons reveal that 15 inmates have died from the virus out of a total of 304 testing positive in 69 jails.

Three prison officers across the service have lost their lives to coronavirus with 257 so far testing positive, Ministry of Justice figures reveal.

Britain's jails currently house 81,124 prisoners.