As it happened: US enters recession as global COVID-19 cases surpass 7 million, Australian death toll stands at 102

Officials at the WHO were not immediately available for comment on the subject on Tuesday. Van Kerkhove was due to answer questions at a social media session later on Tuesday.

Smeeth and other experts said understanding the risks of transmission among people with mild or no symptoms is crucial as governments begin to ease the lockdown measures they imposed to try and reduce the pandemic's spread and gradually replace them with case tracking and isolation plans.

Some experts say it is not uncommon for infected people to show no symptoms.

A non-peer-reviewed study from Germany in May based on 919 people in the district of Heinsberg - which had among the highest death tolls in Germany - found that about one in five of those infected were symptomless.

But data is sparse on how likely such people are to transmit the disease.

The co-head of Singapore's coronavirus task force told Reuters on Monday there had been asymptomatic transmission cases there, between people living in close quarters.

China said last week that 300 symptomless COVID-19 carriers in its central city of Wuhan, the pandemic's epicentre, had not been found to be infectious.

Keith Neal, a professor of the epidemiology of infectious diseases at Britain's University of Nottingham, said that while the question of how big a role asymptomatic transmission plays in new infections is unclear, what is known is that people with symptoms are responsible for most of the spread of the disease.

"This reinforces the importance of any person who has any of the symptoms of COVID-19 arranges a test ... as soon as possible and isolating until they get their test result," he said.

"Spain has called for a common (EU-wide) approach to opening the borders. If this is not done, it will establish its own criteria," the source said.

The British government is coming under increased pressure over its quarantine policy, with critics asking why it was not in place earlier when the virus was spreading, and the aviation industry warning it will hammer jobs and tourism.

Quash Quarantine, representing 500 travel and hospitality companies, said it had been told privately that air corridors would be in place from June 29.

Airlines want the quarantine policy scrapped.

British Airways has joined Ryanair and easyJet in a plan to launch legal action to try to overturn it.

Quash Quarantine did not rule out legal action itself.

"We are still considering our options regarding legal action, including whether to join BA’s claim or launch our own action, but would prefer that 29th June is confirmed as soon as possible for the start of travel corridors," spokesman Paul Charles said.

Reuters

Kate Griffiths, budget policy and institutional reform fellow at the Grattan Institute, said there was a "real risk" for women in the package and the old fee-and-subsidy model was a barrier to workforce participation.

"Women are more likely to be the ones who ... drop hours to take care of their kids or cut back work because they can’t afford [childcare] any more," Ms Griffiths said.

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Those test figures lag far behind neighbouring countries such as Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Australia, all of which have far smaller populations.

Mosques, churches and other houses of worship re-opened on Friday in the capital of Jakarta and limited services have resumed on the city's MRT underground train line.

Jakarta recorded the highest number of new cases, with 232 more people infected, on Tuesday. East Java, home to the second largest city of Surabaya, recorded 220 new cases.

Other social restrictions have also been eased under plans for a "new normal" regime that will allow businesses to re-open as long as health rules are followed.

But in the last two weeks the country has recorded fewer than 500 new daily cases just three times and trend for infections is rising, rather than falling, even as restrictions ease.

He added that the risk of a second wave of infection sweeping through the community shouldn't be underestimated.

"I think people should be cautious about the risk of a second wave but from what we see in Australia, the state and federal government are doing the right things and are very vigilant at managing the health issues."

Mr Scott's warning comes as the $47 billion retailer's Bunnings and Officeworks chains recorded bumper sales over the past five months, with both chains boasting double-digit growth as Australians loaded up on computer monitors and power drills during the coronavirus lockdown.

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