As Russia fast becomes Europe’s new COVID-19 hotspot, President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced an end to a federally mandated nationwide stay-at-home order. 

“Starting tomorrow, May 12, the nonworking period for the entire country and for all sectors of the economy is over,” Putin said in a televised meeting. 

Putin said the so-called nonworking period allowed Russia to slow the spread of the virus and prepare its hospitals to manage the crisis.

Officially, Russia has reported just over 2,000 deaths despite having recorded over 220,000 cases. Some suggest Russia is under-reporting fatalities.

Putin’s order, rather than lifting restrictions, effectively transfers responsibility for continuing them from the federal government to regional leaders.  

Some regional leaders, such as Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, have already shown zeal for their own COVID-19 crisis response. 

Last week, Sobyanin pre-emptively extended Moscow’s strict lockdown until May 31, and obliged residents to begin wearing masks and gloves when going to grocery stores or running other authorized errands.

Employees working in the office of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in Chicago must work from home after a senior staff member tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Monday.

The staff member, who was asymptomatic and tested positive late last week, had been in close contact with Pritzker and other staff members, according to a news release. The governor and his other office employees have been tested and their results were negative, the news release added, but all are self-isolating at home out of precaution.

About 20 other staffers who work in the building of the James R. Thompson Center are still reporting to that location and are undergoing daily temperature checks, wearing masks and social distancing under public health guidelines.

Tehran said Sunday that it was ready to exchange prisoners with the United States without any preconditions amid concerns for the health of Iranian prisoners in U.S. jails during the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have announced that without any preconditions, we are ready for a full prisoner swap and ready for talks on this matter,” government spokesman Ali Rabiei said during a video briefing with reporters on the coronavirus situation in the country.

Read more here.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., released guidance to lawmakers Monday that said that the earliest the House could reconvene in Washington is Friday. 

"Members will be given 72-hours' notice of when they would need to return to Washington, DC," the guidance said, noting that it's "possible" the House could meet this week. 

Hoyer also said that conversations on the next stimulus package package and a rule change to allow proxy voting are ongoing. Democratic leaders have said the House will consider those two pieces of legislation when lawmakers return to the Capitol. 

The House hasn't been in session for several weeks because the Capitol physician advised leadership that it wasn't safe for members to come back to D.C. as coronavirus continues to spread in the nation's capital. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said last week that the House will only return when they get the green light from the Capitol physician and sergeant-at-arms. 

The Senate is in session this week. 

Parts of Spain eased lockdown restrictions on Monday amid a slowing coronavirus epidemic that saw the number of new fatalities drop to a near two-month low.

About half of Spain’s 47 million people progressed to the so-called Phase 1 of a four-step plan to relax one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns. 

In regions that qualify, including most of Andalusia - Spain’s most populous - as well as the Canary and Balearic Islands, bars, restaurants, shops, museums, gyms and hotels were allowed to open, most at reduced capacity.

Still, cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, which have been particularly hard hit by the epidemic, have been left behind for now.

Health ministry data showed the daily death toll dropping to 123 on Monday from Sunday’s 143, bringing the total number of fatalities from the pandemic to 26,744 in one of the world’s worst-affected countries. The daily number, a seven week-low, has come down from a record of 950 in early April.

England’s Premier League could return to the world’s television screens as early as June, according to new coronavirus guidance published by the U.K. government on Monday. 

The guidance said it aimed for cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors for broadcast starting June 1 at the earliest, meaning it’s possible soccer could be played this summer without spectators.

However, the government warned that the June 1 timeline was conditional on a range of factors and would depend on the coronavirus alert level in the country, as well as the government’s five tests for easing measures, among other conditions.

Meanwhile, a number of soccer players have also expressed concern that a rush back to the field could put their health and that of their families at risk.

France started to emerge from one of Europe’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns on Monday, allowing stores, factories and other businesses to reopen for the first time in eight weeks.

All small shops and hair salons are allowed to reopen. Manufacturing plants can reopen as long as they put safety measures in place.

Face masks are now mandatory on public transit. On Monday, metro station staffers were handing out free face masks and sanitizer to commuters.

People can go back to work, but remote work is still encouraged. Workers can also leave home without carrying a permit and travel up to 62 miles.

Meanwhile, bars, cafes, restaurants, museums and cinemas are staying closed. 

Famous areas of Paris, such as the iconic Champ-de Mars, are once again accessible, but parks and gardens remain closed. 

In Chicago and Los Angeles, virus spread is slower, but persistent [The New York Times]

Inside the NIH’s controversial decision to stop its big remdesivir study [Stat]

U.S. falling short on needed contact tracers, experts say [The Wall Street Journal]

Today was not just another Monday back at school after COVID-19 restrictions for seven classes of Øster Farimagsgade School in Copenhagen, Denmark. While their school is still closed, around 200 kids took their classes in Parken Stadium, home of local soccer team FC Copenhagen. Pupils could be seen in a Twitter video singing the national anthem of Denmark, ”Der Er Et Yndigt Land” from the stands on Monday morning.

Denmark ordered the reopening of schools at the end of April, but finding enough space for children to learn while socially distancing posted a challenge. As a result, the local team offered “selected parts of the stadium to the municipality” to seven classes of fourth and fifth graders, FC Copenhagen said in a statement.

Denmark continues to ease lockdown measures, cutting in half the distance its citizens must maintain, the Danish Health Ministry said on Sunday. COVID-19 has caused 529 deaths in the country with 10711 cases according to John Hopkins University.

Colombia's national airline Avianca filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday.

The 100-year-old airline, which had played a big role in Colombia’s efforts to grow its tourism business, is the latest to suffer the calamitous effects of the near halt in global air traffic.

It follows other airlines including Virgin Australia and Flybe into bankruptcy court, but it will remain operational during the process, according to a statement. Most of the company's 20,000 employees have been on unpaid furlough since the coronavirus pandemic hit.

“Avianca is facing the most challenging crisis in our 100-year history as we navigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Avianca CEO Anko van der Werff in a statement.

There are discussions with the Colombian government about financial support, the statement said, adding that customers could continue to purchase tickets during the reorganization.