Rome (AFP)
The coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around the world but some of the most affected countries see a ray of hope: after Spain, where the economic "hibernation" has ended, France has set May 11 as the date of beginning of deconfinement, and the idea that "the worst is over" is also gaining ground in the United States.
Officials point out, however, the dangers of overly fast deconfinement procedures. "The era of globalization means that the risk of the reintroduction and resurgence of Covid-19 will continue," warned the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
In Italy, where the confinement and almost total cessation of economic activity imposed for more than a month has been extended until May 3, some businesses, such as bookstores or laundromats, are authorized to reopen on Tuesday in some regions. But this reduction, announced on April 10 by the head of government Giuseppe Conte, remains marginal.
Austria will reopen its small businesses on Tuesday, believing that it has sufficiently "flattened" its infection curve.
On Monday, France, one of the countries hardest hit by the epidemic, extended its confinement by one month. But President Emmanuel Macron also outlined the lifting of restrictions and the reopening of schools.
"The epidemic is starting to slow down," said Macron in a televised address, announcing that May 11 would be the beginning of the partial deconfinement of France, where the Covid-19 killed nearly 15,000 people.
- Gradual exit in France -
But it will be a gradual exit: if schools are to reopen little by little from May 11, bars, restaurants or cinemas will remain closed until further notice, as will the borders with non-European countries.
At the start of deconfinement in France, anyone with symptoms will be tested and, if positive, quarantined.
The protective mask "could become systematic" in "certain situations" such as public transport, said Macron, who acknowledged that France was "obviously ill prepared" to deal with such a pandemic.
In the United States, "the worst is over" in New York State, said Governor Andrew Cuomo, although the state crossed the 10,000 dead mark on Monday. "We are in the process of controlling the spread" of the virus, he said.
"The worst is over if we continue to be intelligent" and to follow the containment measures, nevertheless specified the governor. "If we do something stupid, you will see these numbers go up tomorrow," he warned.
Andrew Cuomo begins to cautiously consider post-containment, which will initially provide for "the restart of certain activities, while mastering a fragile balance".
In all of the world's leading powers, the decision to "reopen" the economy will be crucial - "the most important in my life," insisted President Donald Trump.
- "Reopening" the American economy -
"We are very close to finalizing a plan to open up our country," Trump said on Monday, speaking of a "plateau" for the epidemic. "We want to open up our country and return to normal life."
His scientific advisor Anthony Fauci estimated that the economy could gradually recover in May thanks to the start of improvement in the main indicators of the spread.
Governments around the world are working on the strategy of resumption of activity, which will necessarily be gradual to avoid a second wave even more deadly than the first.
Some less affected countries, such as Austria, have already launched their plan to end the crisis. But none of the most bereaved, such as the United States (more than 23,500 dead), Italy (more than 20,000), Spain (more than 17,000) or the United Kingdom (more than 11,000), had again given, as France did, a precise date for the end of the most draconian restrictions.
Because in the immediate future, the time is still in containment. Like Paris, and after Rome or Madrid, London plans to extend it.
The "measures currently in force" should not be lifted immediately, the country having "still not passed the peak" of the epidemic, announced Monday the British Minister for Foreign Affairs Dominic Raab, who provisionally heads the government in l absence of Boris Johnson.
The latter, contaminated by Covid-19, was convalescing in the Prime Ministers' country residence in the north-west of the country, after having barely escaped.
- End of "hibernation" in Spain -
In Spain, despite continued containment, the government has authorized workers, under strict conditions, to return to the factories and construction sites, after two weeks of "hibernation" of all non-essential economic activities.
In an attempt to revive a fragile economy while avoiding a rebound in contagions, police and volunteers have distributed ten million masks in metros and stations.
These very limited recoveries are made possible by health news, which is improving despite the litany of deaths that occur every day on the planet, which has recorded more than 117,000 deaths since the appearance of the coronavirus in December in China.
In Germany, the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, whose opinions are very followed by the authorities, also advocated Monday a return "in stages" to normal.
In Italy or Spain, daily check-ups are a little lighter, and in several countries, such as in France, the number of patients in intensive care in the hospital is slowly decreasing.
In the United States, a certain slowdown is also noted, even if we still deplore more than 1,000 deaths per day (more than 1,500 in 24 hours were recorded on Monday).
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver a televised address to the nation on Tuesday, his services said on Monday. He is expected to announce an extension of the containment of the 1.3 billion Indians.
- WHO call -
The WHO, which had already warned Friday that a premature lifting of containment measures could lead to a "deadly resurgence" of the pandemic, renewed its message of extreme caution, calling for a "slow" deconfinement.
"We know that Covid-19 is spreading quickly and we know that it is deadly: 10 times more than the virus responsible for the influenza pandemic of 2009," its director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday. a virtual press conference from Geneva.
"In the end, the development and distribution of a safe and effective vaccine will be necessary to completely stop transmission," he said.
burx-fff / plh / roc
© 2020 AFP