Italy

It is very busy at “Da Agnese” in Castel Gandolfo.

Almost all tables in the lakeside garden on Lake Albano are occupied for lunch.

The water shimmers turquoise in the sunlight.

The mood among the guests is tidy.

For a birthday party, an accordionist plays “Tanti auguri a te”, the Italian version of “Happy Birthday to You”.

Since April 26th, outdoor catering has been open again in most regions of Italy, in compliance with the relevant distance and hygiene rules.

Since then, the whole country has been looking forward to the longed-for further openings in summer.

From Monday onwards, all of Italy will be considered a “yellow zone” with a moderate risk of infection.

Travel across the borders of the twenty regions will then be possible again without restrictions.

For visitors from the EU, the five-day quarantine obligation no longer applies on this Sunday, provided they are (fully) vaccinated, recovered or tested (negative).

Italy sends out the signal that the Belpaese is "open" again to visitors.

The first bathing beaches opened this weekend, museums, theaters and cinemas are receiving visitors again, albeit in limited numbers.

In the face of falling infection numbers and the increased pace of the vaccination campaign, confidence is spreading.

And an all-round healthy virus: the one that causes “la voglia di mare”, the desire for the sea.

Matthias Rüb

Great Britain

Many in Europe are currently looking enviously at the British, who have been sitting in beer gardens for a long time and are allowed to go to restaurants and cinemas from Monday onwards. But the optimistic mood has been clouded since the so-called Indian variant spread in England. The government is still confident that not only the opening step can be taken next week, but also the fourth and last step on June 21, but the first scientists are already expressing skepticism. Should the virus variant spread among the elderly and put a strain on the health system, "step four is in question," said epidemiologist Paul Hunter on Friday.

Until recently, the number of new infections fell continuously, which on the one hand is attributed to the successful vaccination program.

However, the Corona measures have also had an effect, which are still stricter in some areas than in most EU countries: The indoor meeting is only allowed again from next week.

But since mid-April, infection rates have doubled from week to week in some parts of the country.

The Indian variant is spreading.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke this week of growing concerns in the government.

The Indian variant poses a “potentially fatal danger”.

Jochen Buchsteiner

Sweden

Sweden has almost become a myth in the Corona crisis. A shining example for some that it can still be done without a hard lockdown, and a terrifying example for others of what can go wrong if you do not intervene enough in the pandemic; Pictures of full tables in front of cafes or queues in front of fitness clubs on the one hand or the rapidly increasing death rate among the elderly, especially in the first wave, and the very high infection numbers to this day on the other.

The Swedish way has not differed so dramatically from that of other countries for a long time. Even without a formal lockdown, the country has imposed far-reaching restrictions in recent months - and of course everyday life in Sweden has not been unaffected by the pandemic. The restaurants have to close early, there are contact rules for indoor and outdoor meetings, the invitation to work from home still applies, there were also restrictions in schools for a long time - and after they hardly played a role in Sweden for a long time, that was also the case in the second wave We recommend wearing masks, at least where it can get tight.

Where the Swedes were more cautious about the restrictions than the neighboring countries, they are now also about the openings. The Swedish government has postponed the first step in its opening plan, and the first easing should not take place before the beginning of June.

Matthias Wyssuwa