Beaches and football as Europe relaxes virus restrictions
17 May, 2020
Beaches in France and Italy were open Saturday for the first weekend because the easing of coronavirus lockdowns while football fans awaited the return of major league action with Germany's Bundesliga set to kick off.
Italy also announced it will reopen to holidaymakers from June 3 and scrap quarantine requirements for arrivals, welcome news for the important tourism industry in another of the nations worst hit by COVID-19.
As some countries commence to reopen despite fears of another wave of the pandemic, President Donald Trump voiced hope a vaccine would be available by late 2020.
"We want to get it by the end of the entire year if we can, maybe before," Trump told reporters at the White House Friday as he discussed America's "Operation Warp Speed" effort in the global race for a vaccine.
The timeline -- deemed unrealistic by many specialists -- is more aggressive compared to the one-year scenario submit by European scientists.
The search for a vaccine for a disease that the World Health Organization (WHO) says may never disappear in addition has threatened to become source of tension between your globe's haves and have-nots, with trials underway in a variety of countries.
Many governments aren't waiting, with borders and beaches reopening around Europe after two traumatic months in which life ground to a halt.
Germany, which this month began its slow emergence from confinement, was ready to start its top-flight football league Saturday, although before empty stadiums and under draconian health measures.
"Depends upon will be looking at Germany, to observe how we take action," said Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick.
"If we manage to ensure that the growing season continues, it'll send a signal to all leagues."
Russia pushed ahead with plans to help ease restrictions despite reporting a lot more than 10,000 new cases, using its football league set to return the following month and thousands of individuals being tested for antibodies showing whether they have had the virus or not.
World athletics chief Sebastian Coe also said it had been crucial to get top events started again and warned that sports leaders may rebel and opt to resume even without the approval of local authorities.
"We will be respectful, but we have to make decisions in the very best interest of our sport and our athletes," the British former track legend told Indian tv channel WION.
Beaches reopening
Slovenia on Friday became the first European country to open its borders, despite new infections still being reported.
In northeast Europe, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were creating their own "Baltic bubble" allowing free movement among the three countries.
France needed self-restraint as the united states prepared because of its first weekend since easing its lockdown, warning that police would split up any large gatherings.
Several nations have eased restrictions to stem the monetary damage from lockdowns.
With the European summer approaching fast, the main element tourism industry is wanting to salvage something from the wreckage.
Parasols and sunloungers are starting to appear on coastlines in Italy.
"It moves me to see these sunshades," said Simone Battistoni, whose family has been running the Bagno Milano beach concession in Cesenatico on Italy's east coast since 1927.
Austria took an essential symbolic step Friday by reopening its restaurants and traditional Viennese cafes.
"We missed it and we're going to come back as much as possible," said Fanny and Sophie, 19-year-old students waiting for breakfast at a cafe in the Austrian capital.
Ireland will start to lift its lockdown in coming days while introducing a 14-day quarantine period for new arrivals.
US economic woes
The pressure to help ease lockdowns has mounted as the catastrophic economical effects of the virus have grown to be clearer.
In america, the world's worst-affected country with more than 87,000 deaths and 1.4 million cases, commercial production plunged 11.2 percent in April, the greatest drop in a hundred years.
Department store JCPenney, a retail institution which includes not turned a profit since 2011, on Friday became the latest US business to seek bankruptcy relief.
"May will never be a month of celebration. Nor will June. Nor July. Nor probably the rest of the year," warned Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.
With 36.5 million Americans -- a lot more than 10 percent of the populace -- now unemployed, Trump has been keen to help ease lockdown measures as he seeks re-election in November.
Some areas are resisting. Lockdown measures in New York City have been extended until May 28.
In america House of Representatives, Democrats late Friday narrowly pushed through a $3 trillion rescue package to greatly help American families and businesses stay afloat.
But its fate appears uncertain as Republicans have vowed to block it in the Senate that they control.
Europe's top economy Germany meanwhile tipped into recession, suffering its steepest quarterly contraction because the global financial meltdown in 2009.
'Nightmare scenario'
The brand new coronavirus which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late this past year has so far killed a lot more than 306,000 people globally and infected 4.5 million since it continues to spread.
The WHO warned Africa could have 231 million people infected or more to 190,000 could die.
There was also concern over the "nightmare scenario" of the discovery of infections in the world's biggest refugee camp, in Bangladesh, where up to a million Rohingya Muslims from neighbouring Myanmar are in squalor.
Besides its health insurance and economical toll, the pandemic has also caused political ructions.
The most recent fallout was in Brazil which lost its second health minister in per month as Nelson Teich resigned Friday over what the official said was "incompatibility" with right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's method of fighting the country's spiralling COVID-19 crisis.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
TAG(s):