Europe's hardest-hit nations saw some tentative signs of hope in the fight against the coronavirus Monday but the United States braced for its "Pearl Harbor moment" as the country's death toll raced toward 10,000.

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci as US President Donald Trump dismisses a question during an unscheduled briefing after a Coronavirus Task Force meeting at the White House on Sunday, in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP

The virus has infected virtually every corner of the planet, confining nearly half of humanity to their homes and turning life upside down for billions on a deadly march that has claimed more than 70,000 victims.

Queen Elizabeth II delivered only her fourth emergency address in a 68-year reign to urge Britain and Commonwealth nations to "remain united and resolute." The rare speech came as the 55-year-old Johnson was admitted to hospital for tests as a "precautionary step" after 10 days of persistent symptoms. 

There was cause for cheer in some European hot spots, with Italy reporting its lowest death toll in two weeks, Spanish fatalities dropping for the third straight day and France seeing its fewest dead in a week. 

"The curve has started its descent and the number of deaths has started to drop," said top Italian health official Silvio Brusaferro, adding the next phase could be a gradual easing of a strict month-long lockdown.

In Spain, nurse Empar Loren said: "The situation is more stable. The number of patients in intensive care is not growing much anymore, and we are starting to discharge quite a few."

At a field hospital set up at a Madrid conference centre, staff applauded whenever a patient was healthy enough to be sent home.

Builder Eduardo Lopez, 59, gave a "10/10" rating to the staff who cared for him "with tenderness and a great dose of humanity." 

But while the curve was bending in Europe, there was little sign of let-up in the United States, where the death toll approached 10,000 and authorities warned worse was around the corner.

"This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives, quite frankly," US Surgeon General Jerome Adams told Fox News. 

"This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it's not going to be localized."

The death toll in hardest-hit New York state rose to 4,159, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, up from 3,565 a day earlier.

It was the first time the daily toll had dropped but Cuomo said it was still too early to tell whether that was a "blip."

Images from New York showed medics in protective gear wheeling bodies on stretchers to refrigerated trailers repurposed as makeshift morgues. 

The city that never sleeps was quiet, the streets around Time Square deserted as neon lights continued to flicker, one reading: "2020. To those fighting for our lives. Thank you."

President Donald Trump has warned of "horrific" death toll numbers and John Hopkins University said more than 1,200 people had died of coronavirus complications over the past day.

In an empty Saint Peter's Square, Pope Francis, head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, appealed for people to show courage in the face of the pandemic.

The elderly pontiff, who himself has been tested twice for the virus, celebrated his Palm Sunday mass by livestream. 

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged governments to protect women from rising domestic violence.

"For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest. In their own homes," he said.


Newspaper headline: Glimmer of hope in Europe