More than two months after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the Old Continent, Europeans are gradually returning to their former lives. Already initiated in several countries, the relaxation of containment aimed at halting the spread of the virus extends on Monday to France or Belgium, but with caution when faced with the risk of a second wave of contagions. Which countries have already started their deconfinement?

  • Italy: a gradual deconfinement

If Italian schools will remain closed until September, factories, construction sites and offices have reopened since May 4. The rules of distance remain in force, including in the parks, returned to the public, and the wearing of the mask is compulsory in transport.

All individual and team sports were suspended in early March when the government declared strict containment to stem the pandemic, which left around 30,000 people dead in the country. The only authorized exception: running or cycling within a radius of 100 meters around your home. Since Monday, local authorities can also authorize individual sports such as kitesurfing, provided they respect the safety distance.

All retail businesses will reopen on May 18, as well as museums, cultural sites, churches and libraries. Already authorized to sell takeaways, bars and restaurants will reopen entirely from June 1, as will beauty and hair salons.

Vigilance remains, particularly in Milan, the epicenter of the epidemic. The crowd of onlookers, often without masks, strolling along the canals for the weekend to take advantage of the sun made the mayor of Milan jump, who threatened to close the area.

  • Germany: first worrying signals

Lunch at the restaurant is now possible in the Mecklenburg region, in the north of Germany, where the first cafes and restaurants reopened on Saturday 9 May. The other federal states (Länder) will follow in the days or weeks to come.

If mask and social distancing are de rigueur, most stores of less than 800 square meters reopened on April 20. Hairdressers have raised the curtain, as have places of worship, museums, memorials, zoos, play areas. Schools resumed on May 4 in some Länder, but large gatherings will remain prohibited until at least August 31. Chancellor Angela Merkel and the regions have agreed to a local reconfinement mechanism in the event of a spike in the number of infections. 

Germany is indeed recording the first worrying signals. The Robert Koch National Institute of Virology, responsible for monitoring the evolution of the pandemic, reported Sunday an increase in the rate of infection, ironed around the area considered to be potentially dangerous, from 1 to 1.1. The institute warned that it was still too early to draw conclusions, but said in a report that the infection figures were "to be monitored very closely in the coming days".

  • Portugal: a relatively spared country

Portugal started this week to relax containment measures with the reopening of small street businesses. This southern European country has been less affected by this pandemic than others, notably neighboring Spain.

Wearing a mask or protective visors is now compulsory in shops, public services and public transport, according to the government's deconfinement plan, which spans the entire month of May.

During this period, telework remains the rule when possible, while gatherings of more than ten people are prohibited. Street businesses must respect rules of distancing and hairdressing salons only receive by appointment.

Sports side, activities are also resuming. Pending the return of the national championship, which should resume the last weekend in May, players from the main football clubs have started training again. The deconfinement plan provides for a resumption of certain courses for high school students in the second half of the month. Distance education is maintained until the end of the school year for primary schools and colleges.

  • Austria: travel restrictions lifted

Hairdressers, tennis and golf courses reopened the first weekend in May in Austria. Travel restrictions are lifted, gatherings allowed up to 10 people, with respect for social distancing. Wearing a mask is compulsory in transport and shops. 

On May 4, grade 12 students returned to school before a gradual return to school for the others. Restaurants are expected to reopen on May 15.

  • Greece: some stores already open

After the bookstores or the hairdressers, open since May 4, all the stores reopen on Monday. Shopping centers remain closed until June 1. Many Greeks took advantage of their first weekend of regained freedom to sunbathe on the beaches near Athens. The Acropolis and all archaeological sites will reopen on May 18, before the museums on June 15.

Less affected than its European partners, Greece imposed restriction measures earlier than its neighbors, to take account of the aging of its population and the chronic failures of its hospital system, weakened also during the debt crisis (2010-2018 ).

  • Denmark: early deconfinement

Denmark had taken measures in mid-March to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but less severe than elsewhere in Europe and for a shorter time. Nursery and primary schools and crèches reopened on April 15, followed by small businesses such as hair salons.

Shopping centers will also reopen on Monday. May 18, schoolchildren return to class, cafes, restaurants and places of worship reopen, provided social distancing is respected. The Danish death toll is slightly heavier there than in other Nordic countries with comparable populations, such as Norway and Finland.  

  • Sweden: a policy of non-containment

In response to the health crisis, Sweden has kept its schools, cafes and restaurants open. But this country, where the restrictions to contain the virus are more flexible than elsewhere in Europe, recognizes today to have failed in the protection of its elders. Of the approximately 3,200 deaths recorded since the beginning of the epidemic in the kingdom, almost half occurred in institutions for the elderly.

According to reports, some seniors were also infected during their hospitalization for other treatments, then sent back to a retirement home where they spread the virus without their knowledge. However, the country said it made protecting people aged 70 and over a priority.

With AFP

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