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HEALTH-VIRUS NEWSERIES
Europe reopens borders but China battles new virus outbreak
BRUSSELS, June 15, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A raft of EU nations reopened
their borders to fellow Europeans on Monday after months of
coronavirus curbs, but China was battling a new outbreak that has
stoked fears of a second wave.
As caseloads have declined in recent weeks across many parts of
Europe, governments have been keen to ease painful lockdowns that have
saved lives but devastated economies and wearied confined populations.
Belgium, France, Germany, Greece and Ukraine were among those
lifting border restrictions on Monday, while shops and outdoor
attractions in England were set to welcome their first customers since
March and in Paris cafes and restaurants were allowed to fully reopen.
“We’re desperate about tourists, we need them and we want them. If
we don’t have the people, how will we survive,” says Michalis Drosos,
who works in a souvenir shop in Fira, capital of the Greek island of
Santorini.
However, the pandemic is gathering pace in Latin America, and Iran
and India have reported worrying increases in deaths and infections —
adding to concern over challenges the world will face in the long
fight against COVID-19.
China, where the virus emerged late last year, was the first
country to implement extreme restrictions on movement early this year,
forcing local transmission down to near-zero as the crisis hammered
the rest of the world.
But health officials on Monday reported 75 cases of the respiratory
illness in Beijing where the fresh cluster has been linked to a
wholesale food market.
Streams of people queued in a Beijing stadium as mass testing was
carried out, and a strict lockdown was extended across 21 Beijing
neighbourhoods.
– US reports lowest daily toll –
More than 430,000 people worldwide have died from COVID-19, nearly
halfway through a year in which countless lives have been upended and
the global economy ravaged by the crisis.
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President Donald Trump’s administration has noted that some states
have seen new flare-ups, but insists there will be no shutdown of the
economy even if a new wave arises.
But stock markets tumbled again on Monday on fears that an upsurge
of infections could put the brakes on the easing of lockdowns and dash
hopes of economic recovery.
– ‘Micro-outbreaks inevitable ‘ –
The Middle East’s worst-hit country, Iran, reported an uptick on
Sunday, recording more than 100 new virus deaths in a single day for
the first time in two months.
Surging infections in India have highlighted the precarious state
of its healthcare system, and more than 1,000 new cases are being
reported each day in the capital alone.
Mortuaries in New Delhi are overflowing with bodies and cemeteries
and crematorium staff say they cannot keep up with the backlog of
victims.
There have also been two new outbreaks in Rome, with 109 infections
including five deaths diagnosed at a hospital and 15 cases detected at
a building inhabited by squatters.
“It means the virus hasn’t lost its infectiousness, it isn’t
weakening… we shouldn’t let down our guard,” World Health
Organization deputy director Ranieri Guerra told journalists.
“Such micro-outbreaks were inevitable, but they are limited in time
and space. And today we have the tools to intercept them and confine
them.”
– ‘It’s going to be a party’ –
Despite fears over fresh clusters, many countries are making moves
towards semi-normality.
In Paris, restaurant and cafe owners were cheering after the
government said they could once again open their dining rooms, three
months after being shut to blunt the coronavirus outbreak.
Until now, restaurants in and around the capital could only serve
clients on outdoor terraces, even though eateries in the rest of the
country opened fully earlier this month.
“It’s going to be a party,” Stephane Manigold, owner of four Paris
restaurants, including the two-starred Maison Rostang, told AFP.
In England, thousands of non-essential retailers such as bookshops
and electronics outlets will be welcoming their first customers since
halting in-store business in late March.
Drive-in cinemas, safari parks and the outdoor parts of zoos will
also be able to reopen, while places of worship are also set to swing
open their doors again for individual prayer.
Egypt says it will open its doors for tourists to beach resorts in
July, and Peru’s Machu Picchu will also reopen next month, although it
will sharply reduce the number of daily visitors.
And top-level football continues its return in Europe with the
English Premier League making its long-awaited comeback this week,
days after Spain’s La Liga.
BSS/AFP/MRU/1740hrs