Covid-19 lockdown rules relax in European nations amid confusion in UK

Millions of people across Europe are set to embrace a relaxation of stay-at-home rules on Monday, as countries around the world plot their way tentatively through the coronavirus crisis.

In France, from Monday members of the public were able to walk outside without filling in a permit for the first time in nearly eight weeks, teachers will start to return to primary schools, and some shops – including hair salons – will reopen. Bars, restaurants, theatres and cinemas will, however, remain closed.

In Spain, urban hotspots such as Madrid and Barcelona remain under lockdown – but elsewhere people made plans to meet friends and family in bars and restaurants that have outdoor spaces.

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was criticised for being divisive, confusing and vague as he explained his blueprint for a gradual easing of the lockdown in England.

Almost seven weeks after a nationwide stay-at-home order was put in place in Britain, nearly 32,000 people have died, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker – the worst toll in Europe and second only to the United States.

Johnson, who himself spent a week in hospital with Covid-19, said on Sunday the measures had come “at a colossal cost to our way of life” but added it would be “madness” to squander the progress by moving too soon.

Johnson said schools in England and some shops might be able to open next month, and the government was “actively encouraging” people to return to work if they cannot do so from home.

Opposition leader Keir Starmer said the prime minister “appears to be effectively telling millions of people to go back to work tomorrow” without the necessary guidance. “But we haven’t got the guidelines, and we don’t know how it’s going to work with public transport so there’s a huge number of questions arising out of this,” the Labour leader added.

In Europe, some officials have been emboldened by declining death rates: France’s toll of 70 on Sunday was its lowest since early April, and Spain’s daily fatalities have dropped below 200.

But the risk of a second wave was underscored by a resurgence in South Korea. Although widely praised for its handling of its initial outbreak, the country has been forced to shut all bars and clubs in the capital Seoul after a cluster of infections.

China on Sunday reported its first infection in over a month in Wuhan, where the outbreak started late last year. On Monday, Wuhan reported five new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, the highest since 11 March. All were in the same residential compound in the city.

The Chinese city of Shulan, near the Russian and North Korean borders, has been reclassified as high risk after three new cases emerged. Last week China marked a milestone of success with all regions at low risk. Nationwide, 17 new cases were reported, the highest in almost two weeks. Of the new cases, seven were so-called imported cases in Inner Mongolia involving travellers from overseas.

There was uncertainty in Germany, too, with at least one district forced to reimpose restrictions after an outbreak at a meat processing plant. And even as the country loosened its lockdown restrictions, the latest German data also indicated the infection rate was rising again.

In Spain, however, some communities were getting ready to celebrate.

“We have already set a date for dinner on Wednesday, just 10 of us. I can’t wait to touch someone, to kiss and be kissed,” said 66-year-old Beatriz Gonzalez in the city of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.

Belgium and Greece are among other European nations set to ease lockdowns on Monday. Turkey had already eased some restrictions and allowed out those over 65 for the first time on Sunday.

Iran, the Middle East’s worst-hit country, has also relaxed its lockdown measures, and bazaars and shopping centres in the capital, Tehran, were bustling again after being nearly deserted for weeks. But health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour warned the situation “should in no way be considered normal”, as one region recorded a swift rise in its death rate and reimposed a lockdown.

Meanwhile, Russia and Brazil both passed grim milestones at the weekend.

Russia’s cases surpassed 200,000 and its figure is expected to become the highest in Europe within days, even as the number of deaths remains relatively low at fewer than 2,000.

While officials say the figures reveal the effectiveness of Russia’s testing regime, an opposition-allied doctors union said the authorities were under-reporting deaths of medics.

For Brazil, the signs are more ominous. Officials confirmed more than 10,000 had now died in the hardest-hit Latin American country. Scientists warned that the real figures could be many times higher, given a lack of widespread testing.

In a sign that officials were not yet facing up to the crisis, President Jair Bolsonaro, who has likened the coronavirus to a “little flu” and criticised regional lockdowns, was seen jet skiing to a floating barbecue.

The disease has also moved in the US into the White House inner circle, with a valet to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence’s spokeswoman testing positive. Pence’s office said he was not in quarantine and would be working at the White House on Monday. Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top infectious diseases official, and two other senior leaders in the fight against Covid-19 began self-quarantining on Sunday.