South Korea reported fewer than 10 new coronavirus cases Sunday for the first time in two months as US governors ease lockdowns amid pressure worldwide from businesses and the public to limit the pandemic's economic damage.
In Brazil, hundreds of people protested in major cities against anti-virus lockdowns.
France reported a decline in numbers of intensive care patients but its health agency warned the public to stick to strict isolation measures.
The pandemic that began in central China in December is believed to have infected more than 2.3 million people worldwide. While most recover, at least 155,000 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
South Korea reported eight new cases, raising its total to 10,661 with 234 deaths.
South Korea's toll of new cases has fallen from a peak of 909 on February 29.
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But officials warn of the possibility of a "quiet spread" as people relax social distancing.
"We must not loosen our guard until the last confirmed patient is recovered," President Moon Jae-in said on Sunday.
China reported 16 new cases and no deaths in the 24 hours through midnight Saturday. That raised the official fatality toll to 4,632 - some three-quarters of them in the central city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged - among 82,735 confirmed cases.
Governments face pressure to reopen factories, shops, travel and public activities even as numbers of infections rise in the US and some other countries.
Shutdowns that began in China in late January and spread to the US, Europe and elsewhere have wiped out millions of jobs, plunging the world into its most painful economic slump since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The International Monetary Fund expects the global economy to contract by an unprecedented 3% this year - a far bigger loss than 2009's 0.1% after the global financial crisis.
South Korea's Moon called for "public solidarity" to revitalize the economy. Government efforts alone aren't enough, he said.
On Saturday, Trump supporters protested in several states demanding governors end controls on public activity even as new case numbers surge.
The president on Twitter urged his supporters to liberate three states with Democratic governors.
Texas, Indiana and some other states have announced plans to allow some retailing and other activity to resume. Florida and South Carolina are reopening beaches.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has criticised the federal response as inadequate, rejected pressure to reopen businesses.
New York's daily death toll fell below 550 on Saturday for the first time in two weeks, but Cuomo said hospitals are reporting nearly 2,000 new patients a day.
Trump, whose administration waited months to add to stockpiles of key medical supplies and equipment, appeared to support protesters.
LIBERATE MINNESOTA! LIBERATE MICHIGAN! LIBERATE VIRGINIA, Trump said on Twitter.
He lashed out at Cuomo, saying he should spend more time 'doing' and less time 'complaining.'