Italy announces the reopening of its borders to tourists, Germany regains its football, France its beaches: the lifting of restrictions continued on Saturday in a world struck by the coronavirus, which has killed at least 309,000 people and caused an unprecedented recession. Worldwide, some 4.6 million cases have been officially diagnosed since the start of the pandemic. Among the cases detected, more than 1.6 million are today considered cured.
EUROPE
ITALY
In an attempt to save the season, in a country where tourism represents around 13% of GDP, the Italian government has announced the lifting of the compulsory quarantine for foreign visitors and the reopening of the borders to all tourists from the EU. Italy is the third most bereaved country in the world, with more than 31,700 dead. “We are faced with a calculated risk, knowing (…) that the epidemiological curve could once again start to rise”, commented Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Saturday evening.
“We face this risk and we have to accept it, (…) we cannot afford” to wait for the discovery of a vaccine, unless you find yourself “with a highly damaged productive and social fabric”, he pleaded.
In Germany, the Bundesliga on Saturday became the first major football league to return to the stadiums after weeks of confinement. A return to the fields behind closed doors, followed closely by the entire football world. No handshakes, no children to accompany the players, no cheers: it was in empty arenas of all spectators that the first five matches were kicked off, including the prestigious derby of the Ruhr Dortmund-Schalke.
“Better matches behind closed doors to slow the progression of the epidemic than a health disaster is better than nothing”, consoles Nicole Bartelt, a Dortmund supporter who has resigned herself to watching the match on television.
Germany reopened on Saturday its border with Luxembourg, and slightly relaxed the conditions of passage with Austria and Switzerland. Thousands of people across the country demonstrated against the remaining restrictions on the pandemic in a movement that is steadily growing.
Europe’s leading tourist destination, France reopened several emblematic sites on Saturday, such as Mont Saint-Michel, Chartres Cathedral and the Sanctuary of Lourdes. However, their access is reserved for local visitors: in this country where the pandemic has killed more than 27,500 people, travel remains limited to a radius of 100 km around the home.
Many French beaches have also been allowed to reopen. But no question of sunbathing or picnicking: they are reserved for one use “dynamic”, without collective activities. “We are like drug addicts, we were impatient because we bathe here all year round”, says Gilles, a pensioner who went to swim on his favorite beach in Nice, on the Mediterranean, despite the rather cool water.
GREECE
Greece, for its part, has reopened its private beaches, but also on the condition of respecting strict rules, including the ban on placing its parasol less than four meters from its neighbor. Public beaches reopened on May 4. “It’s a bit of a burden to clean every time a customer leaves”, sighs Pedri Alatras, in charge of disinfecting deckchairs in Kavouri, near Athens.
UNITED KINGDOM
In England, the first weekend since the easing of containment measures saw visitors affected by weeks of confinement flocking to parks and certain tourist areas, sometimes making it difficult to comply with social distancing instructions.
Nearly 15 million cars are expected this weekend on the roads of England, according to a survey commissioned by the Royal Automobile Club.
AFRICA
In Africa, the people of Abidjan, in Ivory Coast, Were able to find their famous “maquis”, these popular bars-restaurants. But in a halftone atmosphere. “We are still afraid of the disease”, explains Hymia Solange Ouattara, who came to have fun Friday night at Chez Gnawa, in a lively district of the Ivorian capital.
At Congo, authorities announced the start of a “progressive and stepwise deconfinement”.
AMERICA
To the United States, the most affected country with more than 87,500 deaths, unemployment affects nearly 15% of the working population, a record. President Donald Trump again predicted a vaccine will arrive before the end of the year on Friday, “maybe before”. An optimism showered by the French Minister for Research, Frédérique Vidal. We cant “hope for a vaccine within 18 months, but it is not reasonable to think that we can go faster than that, except endangering the safety of people”, she estimated on Saturday. The European Medicines Agency had mentioned a delay of one year on Thursday, according to a scenario “optimistic”.
The number of cases of contamination with the new coronavirus exceeded Sunday the threshold of half a million in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 28,463 deaths from the Covid-19 disease in the region, according to a report established by AFP from sources official. According to this report at 6:00 GMT (8h, Belgian time), the region totals 501,563 cases, for almost half in Brazil which is the country of the area most affected.
Authorities brazilian have recorded nearly 15,000 new cases and 816 deaths on Saturday, increasing the total count for the country to 233,142 cases and 15,633 deaths since the start of the pandemic in China in December. In number of cases, the Peru is the second most affected country in the region (88,541 cases and 2,523 deaths), followed by Mexico with 47,144 cases. But in the number of deaths from Covid-19 disease, the Mexico is the second most affected country in the region, with 5,045 dead.
The Chile, where the capital began Saturday a “mega-quarantine” imposed after a sudden increase in the number of cases and deaths, accounts for 41,428 cases and 421 deaths. In Ecuador, the number of contaminations amounted to 32,723 and that of deaths to 2,688.
Among the other countries in the region, the most affected are the Colombia (14,939 cases and 562 deaths), the Dominican Republic (11,739 cases, 424 deaths), the Panama (9,449 cases, 69 deaths) and theArgentina (7,792 cases, 363 deaths).
The number of cases diagnosed, however, only reflects a fraction of the actual number of infections due to the disparity of diagnostic policies followed by each country, many only testing cases requiring hospital care.
– .
