EU strikes rescue deal as hopes rise of virus easing

Tentative signs of hope emerged Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic was peaking, as the European Union sealed a rescue package to help the hard-hit continent.

With the death toll passing 93,000, there remained plenty of grim news, with the IMF warning that the world was dipping into a new Great Depression and new data showing the United States has shed a massive 17 million jobs in a matter of weeks.

But hospitalizations dropped in several countries and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the highest profile of the 1.5 million people infected by the virus, exited three days of intensive care.

"The fire started by the pandemic is starting to come under control," said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Spain, where fatalities inched down to 683 from 757 a day before, pushing the total above 15,000.

"Our priority now is not to turn back, especially not to return to our starting point, not to lower our guard," Sanchez told parliament.

France reported that 82 fewer people were in intensive care for COVID-19 - the first fall since the pandemic broke out.

Anthony Fauci, the US government's top pandemic expert, said the United States was "going in the right direction" - but urged people to continue to stay home. "At the same time as we are seeing the increase in deaths, we are seeing rather dramatic decreases in the need for hospitalizations," Fauci told reporters at the White House.

In New York, the epicenter of the virus in the United States, only 200 more people entered hospitals, the lowest number since the pandemic struck, even though 799 people died over the last day, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.