Paris (AFP)
France and Spain, countries among the most bruised by the pandemic of new coronavirus, Tuesday presented their plans for progressive deconfinement, at a time when the number of cases recorded in the world has exceeded three million.
In the United States, the country with the heaviest toll of Covid-19 cases and deaths, President Donald Trump accused China of having mismanaged this global health crisis, which started at home. He went so far as to evoke a request for reparations, for a "very high" amount.
In Europe, the French will learn Tuesday through the voice of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe if the wearing of a mask will be compulsory, if schools will open or if inter-regional travel will be authorized.
The stake is vital: revival of the economy and control of the epidemic. In all cases, a return to normal life is excluded on May 11, the date envisaged for the lifting of a confinement in force since March 17 in this country.
Several other European countries but also a dozen American states have started a cautious exit from containment, encouraged by a slowdown in contamination and the number of deaths.
With nearly a third of the cases and more than 56,000 of the 210,000 victims worldwide, the United States is by far the most affected country but there are large regional disparities between rural areas, very little concerned, and New York region by example, epicenter of the crisis.
- Restart "the quickest" -
The local authorities, governors on the front line, therefore each approach at their own pace measures to restart an economy which, as everywhere, is suffering cruelly from containment measures.
"We want them to do it as quickly as possible but safely," said Donald Trump at a press briefing in the White House, hoping to see many schools reopen before the summer vacation.
Eager to make forget unhappy remarks on injections of "disinfectant", the American president was discreet this weekend, but resumed Monday with an exercise almost daily since the beginning of the crisis.
He took the opportunity to attack China again, where the new coronavirus appeared at the end of 2019. The disease "could have been stopped at the source", he assured, citing a possible request for compensation of several billion dollars.
"We have not yet determined the final amount," he added without further details.
The president defended his management of the crisis by highlighting the progress made in screening. However, Harvard researchers believe that the country does not have sufficient capacity to start a deconfinement on May 1.
But already several states have taken the plunge, like Georgia (southeast) where restaurants reopened on Monday. In Texas, restaurants, museums, cinemas and theaters can reopen on Friday at 25% capacity.
In New York State, on the other hand, containment will remain in force at least until May 15, a decision approved by an overwhelming majority of the local population (87%). Then, "we'll have to be smart," said Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Another federal country, Canada has the same differences: if New Brunswick (east) has reopened parks and beaches, schoolchildren in Quebec will not find the classrooms until May 11, and on May 19 in Montreal.
- "Protect workers" -
In Europe, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, himself infected with the virus and returning to business on Monday, called on his fellow citizens to be patient.
"If this virus were an attacker, an unexpected and invisible aggressor, and I can tell you from my own experience that it is one, it would be the moment when we started to control it on the ground. (...) But it's also a time of maximum risk, "he said.
Norway reopened schools on Monday. A week after the "barnehagers" who serve as nurseries and kindergartens, it is the turn of children aged six to ten to find their school benches, in classes reduced to 15 pupils.
The Swiss were able to start going to the hairdresser or the florist again. In Germany and Austria, a large part of the shops have reopened, with strict slogans of "social distancing" and with great reinforcements of masks.
In Italy, schools will remain closed until September, but strategic companies from the third European economy have been allowed to reopen.
The International Labor Organization on Tuesday called on companies to protect their workers. "The application of occupational safety and health measures is essential to both protect the lives of workers, their families and the populations around them, ensure work continuity and economic survival," noted the director. General of the ILO, Guy Ryder.
In China too, middle and high school students made an ultra-safe return to school on Monday, with masks and temperature measurements, in the megalopolises of Beijing and Shanghai.
In Africa, where containment is difficult to maintain for large sections of the population, the Nigerian giant will begin to lift these measures from May 4, while maintaining a curfew.
burx-cn / hh
© 2020 AFP