'It's not exactly business as usual in Denmark…', Emma Firth, Copenhagen, Denmark
Cycling along Copenhagen’s colourful streets, especially during the warm days of last weekend, almost felt like life pre-lockdown. People were sauntering along the pavements, looking at the small businesses that had reopened, others were enjoying the sun with a barbecue in the park.
But then out came the fines. 2,500 kroner (€335, almost £300) for those who let their guard down and gathered in groups of more than ten. Hotspots were declared across 38 locations in the country to stop people from sitting in those popular places.
Two weeks into Denmark’s reopening after lockdown, there is a noticeable difference in social activity. But look a little closer and it’s not exactly business as usual.
There are more people wearing face masks, especially since they are now required by the professions that involve close customer contact.
There is no morning rush hour, despite all primary schools and day care institutions being open. Instead there are staggered drop offs and pick ups, many done by bike or foot as public transport is still very quiet. Some parks have become classrooms and many people are still working from home.
Those in schools, nurseries and kindergartens are getting used to their new routine of playing and learning in small groups, washing hands every two hours and spending much of the day outside.
A head teacher told me that teachers and pupils have settled well into the new way of life, creatively finding new ways to play and learn at a distance. But he said they were also doing video tours of the new school set up, to send to parents who were still very anxious about their children returning.
For the youngest children, many can’t go back to their nurseries or kindergartens because new floor space requirements mean there isn’t enough space for everyone. My children’s day care institution is still only accepting half the children back.
They are waiting to see if guidelines for the second phase of reopening, due to start on May 10th, can change this.
So far Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called the first stage of reopening a success, as the spread of infection remains under control.
According to Denmark's infectious diseases agency SSI, the infection rate of the coronavirus has increased from 0.6 to 0.9 – which is still under the crucial figure of 1 – preventing infections from escalating.
But it’s still very much a tightrope walk, and the second phase of reopening will be an even trickier balancing act.
'Telling people to stay apart on Spanish beaches in the summer just won't happen', Graham Keeley, Barcelona, Spain
So, life after lockdown at last becomes a possibility.
After the Spanish government announced a complicated, four-phased de-escalation of the state of emergency, we were left contemplating how we will adjust to what prime minister Pedro Sánchez called the 'new normality'.
Adults will be allowed out on their own from next week to practice sport. Until now we have only been permitted to leave the house if we were buying food, seeking medical help or heading to work in selected industries.
Restaurants will re-open, but only for takeaways. I will be allowed to get that badly-needed haircut.
If all goes to plan and there is not a new surge in infections, the country will progress to the next stage – confusingly called phase one – in which restaurants with terraces will be allowed to re-open up to 30% of their capacity and hotels can take bookings as long as they keep communal areas shut and observe social distancing rules.
I think many people are wondering who is going head out for a meal at these rather empty, soulless restaurants? Who would want to book into a hotel? Hoteliers and restaurateurs have condemned these plans as unrealistic.
Masks will be recommended but not compulsory. Why not compulsory? Already when I head out for our allotted one hour a day with the children, hardly anyone is wearing the masks. It seems a worrying sign.
The government has said Spain should return to normal by the end of June if all goes to plan. Although working at home will still be advised, businesses can slowly re-open.
However, schools will not re-open until September. So, who will look after millions of children if the parents are back at work? Does this mean extended families -or most often grandparents here in Spain – must be called upon to help? Surely, this raises the possibility of more social contact and a greater probability of a new spate of infections.
The beaches will be opened again by June if the plan goes well. But at present, the idea is this will only be possible if people observe social distancing and local police may have to stop crowds building up.
I may be a cynic but trying to tell people to keep away from each other on Spain's crowded beaches at the height of summer seems a little like the apocryphal story of King Canute trying to stop the sea coming in; it just cannot happen.
Strangely, after nearly seven weeks in lockdown, some seem a little reluctant to leave the secure confines of their homes to risk their health in the outside world.
Despite the encouraging signs that the infection rate is falling and daily fatalities are descending, the epidemic is not over.
'France has taken a first step, for sure, but this is a long road and may not be a straightforward one,' Emma Pearson, Paris, France
France now has its detailed plan for ending the lockdown, although nothing actually changes until May 11th.
After so much speculation, the long-awaited announcement of the new rules on Sunday felt like an anticlimax. Life won't really change that much for most of us in May. Shops and businesses will be gradually allowed to reopen over the coming weeks, and you can visit relatives in your own region – if you have any. For those of us with family in another country, and no idea when we'll be allowed to travel again, this isn't much comfort. Other restrictions on movement remain in place.
For me, the most exciting development is that we'll be allowed to go to the park (probably, depending on each region's local rules). Some regional governments are pushing ahead with relaxing the rules further, against the government's advice to take baby steps and stern warnings that reopening things too quickly could trigger a new outbreak.
Friends around the country report seeing more people in the streets and more traffic on the roads already in the past few days, as people seem to be preparing – at least mentally – for an end to their confinement.
Here in Bari nothing has changed, though I expect as usual we'll see changes a few days after the rest of Italy. For now, anyone daring to go outside without a mask here gets a telling-off from every Italian signora they pass – usually monitoring the situation closely from their balconies.
Most people I know in Italy are still being very cautious. Many say they feel torn between impatience with the lockdown, and a lingering reluctance to go outside.
People desperately want to get back to work, see friends, get a much-needed haircut – yet we're well aware of the thousands of new infections and hundreds of deaths still being reported here every day. This is a long way from being over yet.
“I think there’s a perception out there that Sweden has not put in place control measures and has just allowed the disease to spread.
Nothing could be further from the truth: Sweden has put in place a very strong public health policy around physical distancing, around caring for and protecting people in long term facilities and many other things,” said Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organisation’s health emergencies programme, in response to a question from a journalist at Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet this week.
WHO-chef berömmer Sveriges coronastrategi: ”Kan vara en framtida modell.”https://t.co/juGkQDBsDn pic.twitter.com/oxzkfNSRxg
— Dagens Nyheter (@dagensnyheter) April 29, 2020
It was a sharp rebuke of a widespread narrative that has emerged regarding the Swedish strategy – a relatively softer version of lockdowns seen in many other countries – and casts doubts on critics who have assumed that Swedish health authorities do not enjoy the support of the WHO.
And with the international attention Sweden has been getting in recent weeks, of course it immediately grabbed headlines. But I was surprised to see not a small number of articles interpreting his comments as confirmation that Sweden had chosen The One Right Path. His comments felt more neutral to me – all countries have something to teach each other.
We are often quick to find proof that reinforces what we want to believe. But you can’t talk about Sweden’s high level of trust and support without acknowledging the anger many are feeling; you can’t talk about those who flout social distancing rules without acknowledging those who don’t; you can’t talk about the number of deaths falling without remembering the lives we have lost.
So far, Stockholm has been the epicentre of the outbreak in Sweden, with immigrant communities in city suburbs and elderly people in care homes hit very hard. The virus is now showing signs of spreading faster elsewhere in Sweden, and many people are asking themselves: How can we stop it from getting as bad in our region… and what if we can’t?
There are lessons to be learned. It is essential for other parts of Sweden to learn from what worked and what didn’t work in Stockholm (honestly, it may even be worth learning from the town of Lund, who this week resorted to using chicken manure to enforce social distancing).
Similarly, it will be necessary for Sweden to study its neighbouring countries who have so far managed to keep their death toll far below that of Sweden; just as Sweden’s model of fewer restrictions may be useful to study for countries when they prepare to come out of lockdown. I think the point the WHO’s Ryan was making was that we should try to learn from each other’s successes and failures without competing. Only by working together can we really fight this.
A popular playground around the corner from my Berlin flat was sealed off mid-March, yet by early this week I could again hear the chatter of children on the swings and in the sand.
Play areas weren’t officially allowed to open up until this Thursday in several districts of the German capital, yet the anticipation for “normal life” could be felt (and seen) days in advance.
At the weekend, queues formed for the ice cream stands which were newly permitted to reopen, and shop signs announced to customers that they are back in business.
Germany is slowly taking steps to emerge from what many dub a partial-lockdown. Unlike some other European countries, most of the 16 states in the Federal Republic have permitted residents to be outside with one other person not of the same household or family – a measure which Thursday was extended until May 10th.
But at the same time, many restrictions around the country are slowly being loosened – from schools reopening next month to religious institutions officially welcoming worshippers again. The government is even discussing if restaurants and hotels can be opened by mid-May under strict social distancing guidelines.
Amid the return to regularity, several virologists and politicians are questioning if the Bundesrepublik is too quick to strip away regulations. Statistics from Germany’s top health institute on Tuesday showed that the coronavirus reproduction rate had grown just days after the country boasted that it was declining.
Taking this into account, Germany is trying to strike a tricky balance, cautiously taking measures that balance business, educational and health interests together.
It announced this week that it’s massively increasing coronavirus testing, and as of this week made face masks mandatory in supermarkets and public transport. It also officially extended a warning on international travel until mid-June.
As of Thursday afternoon, the country had reported over 162,000 coronavirus cases and 6,467 deaths. It remains to be seen how, and if, German residents can “live normally”, or if they will simply have to accept a new normal.
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