are relying on these deliveries. The Postal Service, which employs more than 600,000 people, has said recently that it may not be able to continue service past September without help as the pandemic batters the US economy, Reuters reports. Amazon, and its owner Jeff Bezos, have long been in the president’s sights, partly because Bezos also owns the Washington Post, a newspaper that has been very critical of the administration. US links Amazon with counterfeit goods Responding to complaints from the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the US trade regulator has placed Amazon websites in Canada, Germany, France, India and the UK on its “notorious markets” watchlist. The inclusion does not carry any penalty, other than the embarrassment for Amazon of being listed alongside other websites and physical markets where counterfeit goods are sold, Politico reports. Over the years, the Office of the US Trade Representative has placed on that list China’s largest e-commerce platform, Taobao.com, which is owned and operated by Alibaba Group, as well as websites operated out of Indonesia, Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries, Reuters reports. In the past, Amazon has denied such accusations, saying it strictly vets everything sold on its sites and invests heavily in protecting consumers from deception. According to the Wall Street Journal, it has tagged the current attack as politically motivated. Germans urged to stay vigilant Some of Germany’s leading scientific institutes have issued a warning that social distancing must continue to be observed or the nation risks exponential growth in the number of coronavirus cases. In a joint statement, scientists from the Fraunhofer Society, the Helmholtz and Leibniz Associations, and the Max Planck Society said Germany had to beware of losing control of the disease’s reproductive rate, and that the “situation is not stable”. Germany has begun tentatively easing its lockdown, with some shops again allowed to open. On May 10, it will lift some coronavirus restrictions to reopen playgrounds, museums, galleries, churches and parks. But Chancellor Angela Merkel said major public events will remain prohibited, the Deutsche Welle website reports. The country has reported 157,641 coronavirus cases but carried out early and extensive testing and the death toll has been relatively low at 6115, Reuters reports. China’s export orders plummet China’s factories suffered a collapse in export orders in April even as a number of major nations began moves to ease up on lockdown conditions in an effort to restart their economies. Export orders dived to an index level of 33.5 from 46.4 in March, with some factories even having their orders cancelled after reopening, suggesting that a global recovery is some way off. With the coronavirus largely under control domestically, China’s economy has begun to open up again. But analysts warn that the rest of the year will be bumpy for businesses and consumers there as depressed external demand leads to more job losses. Japan apparel sales drop by 40 per cent Sales of apparel and accessories at Japanese department stores plummeted 40 per cent in March compared with a year earlier. The figures were released by the Japan Department Stores Association showing the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on its member businesses. Data showed ¥97,548 million ($1.4 billion) in revenues for the month, compared to ¥243,870 million ($3.5 billion) for March last year. Womenswear sales fell 44.2 per cent during the period, with menswear falling 39.7 per cent and kidswear 24.9 per cent. COVID-19 is not the sole factor in the industry downturn; sales figures had been dropping since October last year, well before the coronavirus was discovered. However, restrictions on movement and store closures strongly impacted the results.