Images from around the world as coronvirus restrictions are eased in places

Originally published May 20, 2020 at 11:10 amUpdated May 20, 2020 at 11:58 am

In metropolitan Manila, Philippines, a health worker in a protective suit helps conduct random rapid testing for COVID-19 on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. The location is a columbarium at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao complex. (Aaron Favila / The Associated Press)

In Bangkok, Thailand, masked passengers stand in close proximity as they ride a canal boat during the evening rush hour on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. The Thai government continues to ease restrictions related to running businesses in the capital that were imposed weeks ago to combat the spread of COVID-19. (Gemunu Amarasinghe / The Associated Press)

In Kochi, in India’s Kerala state, people pass a cafe frequented by tourists that is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. India’s lockdown was imposed on March 25 and has been extended several times. On May 4, India eased lockdown rules and allowed migrant workers to travel back to their homes, a decision that has resulted in millions of people being on the move for the last two weeks. (R S Iyer / The Associated Press)

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, workers in protective clothing bury a COVID-19 victim at the Vila Formosa cemetery on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. (Andre Penner / The Associated Press)

In Incheon, South Korea, people wait in line at a safe distance from one another to undergo coronavirus tests at a makeshift clinic on a playground on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. (Yun Hyun-tae / The Associated Press)

Chinese paramilitary police stand guard near Tiananmen Square and the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. This year’s version of China’s biggest political meeting of the year will be unlike any other. It was delayed from March because of the then-spiraling coronavirus outbreak. The decision to go ahead with the gathering signals a partial return to normalcy in the country where the pandemic first broke out. (Mark Schiefelbein / The Associated Press)

Near Laudium, southwest of Pretoria, South Africa, people affected by the coronavirus outbreak line up to receive food donations at the Iterileng informal settlement on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. (Themba Hadebe / The Associated Press)

A customer sits with his laptop beside display mannequins at the Cafe Livres in Essen, Germany, on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. To obey coronavirus orders for restaurants, the cafe set the dolls as placeholders on various seats for more distance between living customers. (Martin Meissner / The Associated Press)

In Barcelona, Spain, patrolling police officers ask people to not sit at the beach on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Barcelona permitted people to walk on its beaches for the first time since the start of the coronavirus lockdown over two months ago. Sunbathing and recreational swimming are still not allowed. (Emilio Morenatti / The Associated Press)

In Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, a shopkeeper waits for customers on Wednesday ahead of Eid al-Fitr during the nationwide lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus. The festival of the ending of Ramadan fasts is this weekend. (Mukhtar Khan / The Associated Press)

In Asuncion, Paraguay, lawmaker Basilio Nuñez sits within transparent walls around his desk in the lower house of Congress on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. He installed the walls to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Jorge Saenz / The Associated Press)

Kansas National Guard members wait for cars during a lull in people seeking tests at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, in Dodge City, Kan. Kansas Army and Air Force medical guard units have tested 100-200 people daily since setting up the testing site nearly a month ago in an attempt to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. (Charlie Riedel / The Associated Press)

A view of the state funeral for the late veteran of the liberation struggle Absalom Sikhosana Moyo, at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Wednesday, May, 20, 2020. The funeral for Moyo, who died from heart complications, was held under strict health regulations due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / The Associated Press)

In Asuncion, Paraguay, people get their temperatures checked after washing their hands as a prerequisite to enter the Justice Palace on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. (Jorge Saenz / The Associated Press)

People wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus wait for a commercial bus in Lagos Nigeria, on Wednesday May 20, 2020. Nigeria delayed the easing of its strict lockdown measures for another two weeks on Tuesday as confirmed cases of coronavirus continued to increase. (Sunday Alamba / The Associated Press)

In the Eastleigh area of Nairobi, Kenya, medical workers from the Ministry of Health conduct mass testing of residents on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. The Eastleigh area of the capital has been sealed off from the rest of the city since May 6, with no movement permitted in or out, due to a surge in the number of positive coronavirus cases. (John Muchucha / The Associated Press)

Protesters congregate in front of the courthouse in downtown Clearwater, Fla., on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, to express discontent with the continuing order to keep bars closed in Pinellas County as states, counties and cities throughout the United States work through phases of reopening during the coronavirus pandemic. (Douglas R. Clifford / Tampa Bay Times via The Associated Press)

In Milan, Italy, a waiter tends to a customer at the “La Rotonda di Segrino” restaurant on Tuesday, May 19. Italy’s restaurants and pizzerias, for foodies the world over a key reason to visit, are facing an existential threat. Those that did not fold after 10 weeks of a strict coronavirus lockdown are emerging to find that new social-distancing requirements might yet drive them out of business. (Antonio Calanni / The Associated Press)

In Brighton, England, a message scrawled on a bin on the beach Wednesday points blame at the source of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdown restrictions have been relaxed, allowing unlimited outdoor exercise and activities such as sunbathing. (Frank Augstein / The Associated Press)

In Piraeus, Greece, near Athens, a man exercises on a lamp post on a warm Wednesday. Public beaches were reopened last weekend amid heat-wave temperatures, with strict distancing rules imposed by the government, but crowding did occur on buses from Athens to the nearby coast. Travel to the Greek islands remains broadly restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Thanassis Stavrakis / The Associated Press)

Here are selected photographs as the nation and the world deal with a COVID-19 pandemic that has affected nearly every corner of the planet.

By

Courtney Riffkin

Seattle Times photo staff

Courtney Riffkin: 206-464-2203 or criffkin@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @SeaTimesPhoto.