The European Union's medicines agency suggested Thursday that a vaccine for the coronavirus could be ready in year, as US President Donald Trump once again lashed out at Beijing for its handling of the outbreak.

World leaders past and present have insisted that any eventual vaccines and treatments should be made available to everyone free of charge, as the World Health Organization said the disease may never go away.

The dire warning came as the global death toll from the disease neared 300,000, with more than 4.2 million people infected, according to an AFP tally.

The pandemic has caused massive social and economic upheaval across the planet and while some nations have begun easing punishing lockdowns, fears of a second wave have kept many businesses shuttered and people confined to their homes.

A long-simmering row between Washington and Beijing escalated again Thursday when Trump said he was in no mood to talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"I have a very good relationship, but I just -- right now I don't want to speak to him," he told US media.

"I'm very disappointed in China. I will tell you that right now," said Trump, referring to its handling of the virus.

When asked how the US might retaliate, Trump gave no specifics but struck a threatening tone, saying: "There are many things we could do. We could do things. We could cut off the whole relationship."

- 'Best-case scenario' -

With the race to find a vaccine gathering pace, the European Medicines Agency said one could possibly be ready in a year based on data from trials under way.

Announcing the forecast at a video news conference, Marco Cavaleri, the EMA's head of biological health threats and vaccines strategy, stressed that it was a "best-case scenario".

"We know also that there may be delays," he said, voicing scepticism over reports a vaccine could be ready as early as September.

And world leaders were among 140 signatories to a letter published Thursday saying any vaccine should not be patented and that the science should be shared among nations.

"Governments and international partners must unite around a global guarantee which ensures that, when a safe and effective vaccine is developed, it is produced rapidly at scale and made available for all people, in all countries, free of charge," it said.

But a row was brewing in France after drugmaker Sanofi said it would reserve first shipments of any vaccine it discovered to the United States.

The comments prompted a swift rebuke from the French government and President Emmanuel Macon's top officials were due to meet with company officials early next week.

"This vaccine must be a global public good, which is not submitted to market forces," the presidency said in a statement.

A vaccine could allow countries to fully reopen from shutdowns that have battered economies and thrown millions of people out of work.

But the WHO cautioned Wednesday that the virus may never be wiped out entirely.

"This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away," said Michael Ryan, the global health body's emergencies director.

"HIV has not gone away -- but we have come to terms with the virus."

- 'Smearing' -

The prospect of the disease hanging around leaves governments facing a delicate balancing act between suppressing the pathogen and getting economies up and running.

And with more gloomy forecasts emerging from the US, Trump has increasingly looked to pin the blame on China, where the virus first emerged in December.

US security agencies accused Chinese hackers of attempting to steal intellectual property related to treatments.

"China's efforts to target these sectors pose a significant threat to our nation's response to COVID-19," the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said, without giving evidence to support the allegations.

Beijing reacted with fury to the "smearing" and claimed China was leading the world in COVID-19 vaccine research and treatment so had no need to conduct cyber espionage.

Trump has been pushing for a swift resumption of economic activity in the US, often against the advice of health officials, as he tries to jumpstart the world's largest economy before a November election.

The United States is the country hardest-hit by COVID-19, logging a total of more than 84,000 deaths.

Its economy has been pummelled by the pandemic and fresh data Thursday showed that 2.98 million jobs were wiped out in the last week -- lower than the previous week but still sparking a tumble on Wall Street.

- 'Wave of bankruptcies' -

The tensions between health and the economy were thrown into sharp relief Wednesday when Federal Reserve chief Jay Powell warned of a potential "wave of bankruptcies" that could cause lasting harm.

Further signs of the damage to businesses emerged Thursday when Lloyd's of London forecast the pandemic will cost the global insurance industry about $203 billion.

And Australia released figures showing almost 600,000 people lost their jobs as the country's virus shutdown took hold in April, the steepest monthly drop in employment since records began more than 40 years ago.

But the reopening of economies continued in earnest across Europe, where the EU has set out proposals for a phased restart of travel and the eventual lifting of border controls.

Elsewhere, Japan -- the world's third largest economy -- lifted a state of emergency across most of the country except for Tokyo and Osaka.

New Zealanders mingled with friends and hit the shopping malls for the first time in seven weeks as a national lockdown ended and businesses faced a "new normal" minimising the constant threat of coronavirus.

Children were back to school in Finland, while in France some beaches reopened -- but only for fishing and swimming, and people in England were allowed to leave their homes more freely.

However, in Latin America the virus continued to surge, with a 60 percent leap in cases in the Chilean capital of Santiago, prompting authorities to impose a total lockdown on the city.

"It should have come a month before, about 20 days before, because there are many infected people," said Juana Vergara, a retiree.

In Argentina, officials were watching Buenos Aires warily after one of its poorest and most densely populated neighbourhoods showed a spike in infections.

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China admits coronavirus exposed 'shortcomings' in healthcare system
Beijing (AFP) May 9, 2020
The coronavirus outbreak exposed "shortcomings" in China's public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country's disease prevention and control mechanisms. China has faced criticism both at home and abroad for downplaying the virus and concealing information about the outbreak when it first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in December. The virus has since infected nearly four million people worldwide - claiming more than ... read more