Millions of people around the world have observed Good Friday, the day Christians believe Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem, as the coronavirus continues to take its toll, claiming more than 100,000 lives worldwide.

The rituals of the holy day were different this year as most worshipers had to view the solemn ceremonies on various media platforms instead of gathering in churches because of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

While much of the globe is sheltering at home to slow the transmission of the deadly virus, the number of infections continues to climb.

More than 1.6 million people worldwide had contracted the disease as of early Friday, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

The center reported more than 100,000 coronavirus deaths globally, but many public health experts throughout the world believe fatalities are much higher due to limited post-mortem testing, COVID-19 deaths that were not attributed to the disease, and deaths that go unreported due to homelessness and other factors.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, describes the U.S. death toll as "an underestimation," tracking only fatalities that were confirmed in laboratory tests.

The United States is the global hotspot for the virus with nearly 476,000 cases.

Spain and Italy follow with more than 157,000 and 147,577 cases respectively.

Nearly 18,000 fatalities were reported in the U.S. early Friday, exceeding Spain's nearly 16,000 deaths but still lagging behind 18,849 deaths in Italy, the world leader in coronavirus deaths.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned countries Friday to be careful about easing restrictions to stem the spread of the virus.

Tedros said the WHO would like to see some easing of restrictions but also warned that "lifting restrictions could lead to a deadly resurgence."

The WHO chief cited a "welcome slowing" of epidemics in the hard-hit European countries of France, Germany, Italy and Spain but noted there had been an "alarming acceleration" in other countries, including in 16 African nations.

Some countries throughout the world are extending lockdowns going into the Easter weekend. Authorities in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta imposed a partial lockdown on concern the country's health care system could be overburdened. Tokyo's governor requested that an array of businesses such as pubs and restaurant close down, after reaching an agreement with the Japanese central government.

Additional security measures are being applied in parts of Europe to discourage people from violating restrictions on movement over the Easter weekend. Some 1,200 police officers are patroling popular gathering places in the French city of Saint-Etienne. Paris has adopted similar measures.

Britain is increasing efforts to discourage travel, with police forces warning travelers not to visit the country. Similar measures are also in place in Spain, where police are stopping drivers on roads leading out of major cities to prevent them from spending the weekend at vacation homes.

In the United States, the administration of President Donald Trump is increasingly focused on considering when to reopen the U.S. economy, largely shut down due to the virus. Around 17 million Americans have filed for unemployment compensation over the past three weeks, cutting the U.S. workforce by 10 percent.

At a virus briefing Thursday, Trump said he did not seem to think massive testing for the virus is warranted for the U.S. even though some people who carry the virus are asymptomatic.

"We're talking about 325 million people and that's not going to happen, as you can imagine, and it would never happen with anyone else either," Trump said. "Other countries do it, but they do it in a limited form."

Finance ministers from the 19 eurozone countries Thursday agreed on a package worth more than half a trillion euros to help companies, workers and health care systems mitigate the economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.

The measures provide for Italy and Spain to quickly gain access to the eurozone's bailout fund for up to $262 billion, so long as the money is used for the needs of their health care systems.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has warned that the coronavirus pandemic could lead to the world's worst Depression since the 1930s.

Georgieva said Thursday that governments had already poured $8 trillion into programs to keep economies afloat, but that more will be needed. She said developing countries and emerging markets will be the hardest hit. A partial recovery may be seen in 2021, she said.

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