Germany yesterday unveiled a plan for reopening, as Europe's largest economy tries to get the wheels turning after weeks of shutdown, as the deadly coronavirus continued to wreak havoc in the United States with a spike in the daily death toll.

The cautious steps towards normality came as South Korea leapt back to life and children in the Chinese city that is ground zero for the global pandemic filed back to classes for the first time since January.

Progress in lifting lockdowns was seen from Europe to Hong Kong, even as the global death toll hit almost 257,000, according to an AFP tally.

In the United States, President Donald Trump pushed for an economic restart as he made his first major foray out of the White House since US virus restrictions began.

And in a sign his administration no longer considers the pandemic its top priority, the White House is set to disband the emergency task force handling the country's outbreak.

But he admitted the reopening would cost more American life.

"Will some people be affected badly? Yes," he admitted earlier at the factory. "But we have to get our country open."

The United States remains the worst-hit country with more than 70,000 deaths. It recorded 2,333 more fatalities in the 24 hours to Tuesday evening, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, twice as many as the day before.

Germany is eyeing an almost complete return to normality in May, with plans to send all pupils back to school and restart top-flight football, according to a draft agreement seen by AFP.

With about 165,000 cases and 7,000 deaths, Germany has so far been able to prevent the scenes of dire overcrowding in its hospitals that have been seen elsewhere in Europe. The need to reopen the nation's economy was underlined yesterday by fresh official data showing German manufacturers in March endured their worst plunge in new orders on record.

But elsewhere in Europe, hard-hit Spain and France reported a levelling off of figures, offering hope of an end to a pandemic that has overwhelmed healthcare systems and shattered economies.