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COVID-19

How is each European country emerging from coronavirus lockdown?

Tentatively, parts of Europe are emerging from lockdown, with France and Belgium joining the list of countries easing measures on Monday, amid fears of a second coronavirus wave.

Published: 10 May 2020 16:50 CEST
How is each European country emerging from coronavirus lockdown?
European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, wearing a protective face mask to lessen the spread of novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Photo: JOHN THYS / AFP

Here is an overview:

France

Hair salons, clothes shops, florists and bookshops will open again Monday. Bars, restaurants, theatres and cinemas remain closed.

Primary schools will take small numbers of pupils, depending on space. Masks will be obligatory on public transport.

Everyone will be able to move outside without having to present a form on demand but people will only be able to go 100 kilometres (60 miles) from their place of residence.

The easing has brought mixed reactions. “I've been scared to death” about the reopening, said one bookshop manager from Lyon.

“It's a big responsibility to have to protect my staff and my customers.”

Belgium

Most businesses will open Monday, with social distancing. Masks are recommended.

Cafes, restaurants and bars remain closed. In central Brussels there will be speed limits on cars and priority will be given to cyclists and pedestrians.

Schools remain closed until May 18.

The Netherlands

Primary schools will partially reopen Monday. Driving schools, hair salons, physiotherapists and libraries also return, with social distancing measures.

Switzerland

Primary and middle schools will reopen Monday, with classes often reduced in size.

Restaurants, museums and bookshops will also open, with conditions. Meetings of more than five people remain banned.

Spain

Half of Spain's some 47 million people will be able to meet with family or friends in gatherings of up to 10 as of Monday.

Outdoor spaces at bars and restaurants can reopen with limited capacity. Hardest-hit Madrid and Barcelona are excluded from the easing, though football clubs FC Barcelona resumed training on Friday and Real Madrid will follow Monday.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on Spaniards to show “the greatest precaution and prudence” because “the virus has not gone away, it is still there”.

Only movements within provinces are authorised and cinemas and theatres remain closed. Schools will not start up again until September.

Britain

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will address the nation on Sunday evening to set out a “roadmap” for relaxing social distancing rules.

“We have to be realistic that there isn't going to be any dramatic overnight change,” Environment Secretary George Eustice said.

Italy 

While schools remain closed until September, factories, building sites and offices reopened on May 4. Social distancing rules are in place in parks.

Wearing masks is mandatory on public transport. All retail businesses will reopen on May 18, as will museums, cultural sites, churches and libraries.

Bars and restaurants will reopen from June 1, along with hair and beauty salons. The first phase of lifting lockdown has also sparked fresh concerns.

In Milan, photographs published in newspapers of people sitting along canals enjoying aperitifs in the sunshine, many not wearing masks or respecting social distancing rules, prompted the city's Mayor Giuseppe Sala to slam the behaviour as “shameful”.

Virologist Massimo Galli also warned the city was a virus time “bomb” at risk of erupting with residents now free to move around.

Germany 

Eating at the restaurant is now possible in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the country's first cafes and restaurants reopened on Saturday.

Under Germany's federal system, each of the 16 states makes its own decisions on how to emerge from lockdown and cafes and restaurants will reopen in a number of other states in the coming days and weeks. Most shops are already open and children are slowly returning to classrooms.

Bundesliga football matches are also set to resume. Heeding signs of a second wave, German authorities have agreed to reimpose restrictions locally if an area has more than 50 new infections per 100,000 residents over a week.

Austria

Hairdressers, tennis courts and golf courses reopened in the first weekend in May.

Travel restrictions have been lifted and gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed, with social distancing. Masks are compulsory in public transport and shops.

Final-year school students returned to class on May 4 ahead of a gradual return for others. 

Poland

Hotels can reopen on Monday but foreign tourists must quarantine for two weeks on arrival.

 

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HEALTH

How to donate blood in France

Donating blood can help save lives - and authorities often issue appeals for donors around holiday periods, including the public holidays in May. If you want to donate in France, here is what you need to know.

Published: 24 April 2024 17:08 CEST
How to donate blood in France

Who can do it?

In order to donate blood (don du sang) in France, you must be aged between 18 and 71, and you must meet certain health and medical criteria, including being in good health and weighing at least 50kg. 

Most of the rules for donating blood are the same in France as they are in countries like the US and UK, but there are some specifics to be aware of. 

For example, you cannot donate blood if you lived in the UK for a cumulative total of at least 1 year between 1980 and 1996, which excludes many Brits from giving blood in France.

READ MORE: Is it true Brits are banned from giving blood in France?

Similarly, you cannot donate blood if you:

  • have undergone a transfusion or transplant
  • could transmit a disease (bacteria, virus or parasite) through your blood
  • could transmit a viral infection through sexual contact
  • had a piercing or tattoo in the last four months
  • are or were pregnant within the last six months
  • had sex with different or new partners in the last four months
  • or have taken intravenous drugs

If you are sick with the flu or a cold, you will likely be denied as well (those who had an infection or fever in the last two weeks). People who visited an area with high rates of malaria, who have survived cancer, or who had recent surgical and dental operations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

To figure out if you are eligible you can take this quiz (in French).

You cannot be excluded from donating blood based on your sexual orientation – in March 2022 France lifted exclusions on gay men giving blood, saying the rule was no longer necessary and was unfair.

However, you can be excluded based on the health concerns listed above.

How does the process work?

In France, there is a three-step procedure.

First, you will complete a questionnaire assessing your ability to give blood. You will have a short interview with a medical professional who will determine if you are eligible. You have 15 days following the interview to follow-up and inform the medical professionals if there was anything you forgot to share. 

You can find a blood donation centre on this interactive map. Click on a centre to make an appointment. Keep in mind you will need to bring ID along.

The amount of time it takes to give blood depends on whether you are donating whole blood, plasma, or platelets (more on this below). 

After the donation, you will rest briefly and be given a light snack. If there were any abnormalities with your blood, then you will be contacted once it is analysed.

Can you be paid?

No, you cannot be paid. All types of blood donation are considered to be voluntary, unpaid acts in France – your reward is that post-donation snack, plus the priceless knowledge that you may have saved someone’s life.

Blood vs. plasma vs. platelets

A whole blood donation (don de sang total) collects three essential components: red blood cells, platelets and plasma. However, you can also donate plasma or platelets individually. 

The procedures take different amounts of time, and there are also different intervals between donations you should keep in mind. 

Whole blood donations are used for blood transfusions and medical research, and the volume taken will depend on your weight and height. These take about eight to 10 minutes for the blood collection, though you should allow for 45 minutes to an hour for the medical interview beforehand, plus rest and snack time afterwards.

Men can give a whole blood donation a maximum of six times a year, while women can give four times a year. There should be at least eight weeks between donations.

Plasma donations (don de plasma) yield two to four more times the plasma taken during a normal whole blood donation – these are usually used for special transfusions. It will take a maximum of one hour for the donation, but you should allow closer to an hour and 30 minutes. 

For plasma, both men and women can give a plasma a maximum of 24 times in one year. The interval between donations should be at least two weeks.

Donating platelets (don de plaquettes) helps to treat certain cancers, including leukaemia. This process takes a bit longer – closer to an hour and 30 minutes for the collection, so allow two hours for the whole process.

For platelets, men and women can both give a maximum of 12 times per year. The interval should be four weeks between donations.

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