Pneumonia epidemic: The world’s top epidemic countries tremble toward unlocking-BBC News

Although the peak of the new global epidemic is not yet over, some major countries have begun to relax their isolation measures to varying degrees. Several states in Italy and the United States have introduced corresponding measures one after the other, and China continues to expand its efforts to resume work, and middle and high school students from all regions have begun to resume classes.

This wave of unblocking is mainly to lift some restrictive measures on the production and life activities of the country’s nationals, but the degree of lifting the blockade varies from region to region. Currently, few countries have completely eliminated strict quarantine and restrictions on entry and exit.

Different countries have implemented different segregation policies in recent months, but they all include avoiding going to public places, keeping a safe distance from others, and encouraging the public to stay home whenever possible.

The following are the policy changes for these countries and their specific steps to unlock.

China: Peak of Long Vacation Travel Approaching After Resuming Work and Returning to Class

Prior to this, most parts of China had basically resumed work, and Wuhan, the original epidemic center, recently announced that it will reach a 100% resumption rate in late April.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said on April 26 that patients with new crowns admitted to the Wuhan hospital were dispatched the same day. There were no new diagnoses and deaths in Wuhan that day.

According to “Hubei Daily” news, the Wuhan municipal government held a conference call on April 25, which emphasized the need to ensure that the city’s resumption of production and production in April reached 100%. However, “Global Times” reported that some local small and medium enterprises in Wuhan considered this target to be overly optimistic. Some experts believe it is the best idea to be able to resume full work in mid-May.

Starting April 27, high school students in Beijing will formally resume classes, and high school and high school students in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen will also begin returning to campus to take classes. Previously, the Chinese Ministry of Education announced that due to the epidemic, the time of the Chinese university entrance examination was postponed by one month, which took place from July 7 to 8. All provinces and cities have also postponed the entrance exam time.

Zhong Nanshan, a Chinese public health expert, previously said that the occurrence of some cases should not hinder the resumption of labor and production, otherwise it “will inflict great harm” on the economy and public life .

As the small “May Day” vacation in China approaches, most of China’s attractions have already reopened, and it is expected to hit a peak of tourists. China News Service reported that Chinese tourists are estimated to reach nearly 90 million passengers during Golden Week.

The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Health and Health Commission require all tourist attractions to implement a “reserve tour” to reduce staff contact. Experts also recommend that the public play in the park near home and eat out in the hotel room as much as possible to avoid going to restaurants and other crowded places.

United States: Multiple states relax ban

Although many American officials say that the policy of social distance should continue until this summer, more and more states have begun to relax the local blockade.

But some governors warned that life will not return to normal soon, and some restrictive measures will continue to be implemented to prevent the epidemic from escalating again.

Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska, and South Carolina have already allowed small businesses to resume their businesses. All four states and a few others have plans to ask for more restrictions to be relaxed starting this week.

Colorado Gov. and Democrat Jared Polis said the retailer’s sidewalk pickup began to recover Monday, and barbershops and tattoo shops reopened Friday. Tennessee has allowed restaurants to resume operations since the week, and Mississippi’s mandatory blockade has also expired.

The Montana governor allowed churches to resume service from Sunday, but the public still needs to continue to observe the social distance measures. Local restaurants and schools will open from May 7.

Eight states, governed by Republicans, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, have not issued mandatory orders requiring residents to stay at home.

Some public health experts have warned that premature cancellation of the blockade can cause a second wave of infection. At the same time, 26 million people in the United States have registered to seek unemployment protection. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett recently stated that the unemployment rate in the United States may reach 16% this month.

On April 24 (Friday), the United States recorded the largest increase in single-day cases, but the infection rate in some severely affected areas, such as New York, decreased significantly.

According to Johns Hopkins University data, as of Sunday, there have been more than 940,000 confirmed cases and more than 54,000 deaths in the United States.

Italy: Prime Minister announces lifting of embargo in early May

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that Italy will gradually relax the previous stringent measures starting May 4. Italians will be able to visit their relatives on a small scale while wearing masks. The park will also open, but the school will continue suspending classes until September

Data from the local epidemic have continued to decline for many days, and Italian authorities believe that the country’s infection rate has dropped to a level that may relax social control.

Italy has had 26,644 deaths due to new coronary pneumonia and is the country with the highest number of deaths officially reported by Europe. The country recorded 260 new deaths on April 26 (Sunday), the lowest number for a single day since March 14. According to data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, there are currently almost 200,000 confirmed cases in Italy.

The “second stage” relaxation measures announced by Conte include:

• Italians will be able to move within the local area, but not through the regions.
• The funeral resumes, but the maximum number of participants is 15 and the ideal would be to celebrate it outdoors.
• Individual athletes can resume training, the public can participate in sports activities, not only at home but also in a larger space
• Bars and restaurants can resume takeout service from May 4 (currently only delivery service), but meals must be done at home or in the office
• Services at the hair salon, beauty salon, bar and restaurant are expected to resume from June 1.
• Other retail stores that were not included in the previous round of relaxation measures can resume business starting May 18, and museums and libraries can also open thereafter.
• Sports teams can start training from May 18.

Conte also emphasized that measures to maintain social distance will continue to be implemented in the coming months, and church services will continue to be banned. He also urged everyone to continue to keep a meter away from others.

Italy and March 9 have implemented a closed policy across the country: Italians must stay home and their activities must not exceed a few streets outside their homes. On April 14, the country introduced very limited relaxation measures to allow the reopening of low-risk bookstores, dry cleaners, stationeries and other retail stores that would not appeal to the public.

Mark Lowen, a BBC correspondent in Rome, reported that the new set of policies is a roadmap for the restart of Italy, but the actual recovery may take years. He also said that if the infection situation increases, the Italian government has the right to intervene to adjust specific measures.