China's consulate-general in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, invited a well-known Chinese medical expert to share his thoughts on COVID-19 during a webinar on Thursday.

Zhang Wenhong, who heads a Shanghai medical team fighting the pandemic, is popular on Chinese social media platforms because of the humorous way he explains scientific truths.

He said that as more countries have started to ease lockdown measures and reopen businesses, the challenge will be to control the disease while maintaining economic development. He stressed the importance of raising public awareness in combating the pandemic.

"For each person, we must be prepared for it, the pandemic will last at least two years," said Zhang, who sees that time frame linked to the creation of a vaccine. "We have to adapt to the new normal and do what we should do.

"Vaccines are the best way to finally solve persistent infections. Essentially, the possibility to manufacture a successful novel coronavirus vaccine is higher than for other vaccines, such as HIV vaccines and even flu vaccines."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday announced a further 377 deaths had been reported in the past 24 hours, taking the national total to 37,837. But he said the situation is under control to the extent that he could order a further relaxation of the lockdown on June 1, including the reopening of many schools, outdoor retailers and car dealerships.

Across Europe, the novel coronavirus had infected 1,878,236 people and claimed 170,429 lives as of Thursday, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

France will also further unwind its anti-coronavirus lockdown from June 2, lifting a 100-kilometer travel restriction and allowing nonessential businesses, parks and beaches to reopen, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on Thursday.

The last three weeks of the first phase of deconfinement had "good results", Philippe said. "During this phase 2, freedom will become the rule again and bans will be the exception."

Italy's Education Minister Lucia Azzolina told RAI state TV on Thursday evening that in September, all the nation's school children "will hear the school bell ring" again. She said students older than six will have to wear protective masks at school and stay a safe distance apart from classmates.

Chen Yingqun in Beijing, Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.