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SEOUL: Decreasing rates of coronavirus infections and falling daily death tolls for COVID-19 have emboldened governments around the world to ease blockade measures and reopen their economies.
But in doing so, countries also risk new outbreaks, with new cases emerging in South Korea, China, India, New Zealand and Germany in recent days.
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Though widely praised for its handling of its initial outbreak, South Korea on Monday (May 11) He fought to contain a new group, closing all bars and clubs in the capital Seoul.
READ: South Korean patient COVID-19 went to a nightclub in Seoul before testing positive, authorities say
In a speech to the nation on Sunday, President Moon Jae-in warned that “it will not end until it ends,” adding that the new group shows that the virus can be widely spread at any time.
Seoul will reopen schools on Wednesday, but the city’s superintendent of education has proposed delaying it by a week, Yonhap news agency reported.
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China on Sunday reported its First infection in over a month in Wuhan, where the outbreak started late last year before infecting more than four million worldwide. The city closed its closure a month ago.
In Japan, with the number of new cases trending downward over the past week, the government said on Monday it could lift the state of emergency in various regions this week.
But he warned at the same time, the emergency could be restored if there were signs of an outbreak after the uprising.
India’s massive train networks will gradually restart operations starting Tuesday as the country eases the blockade. The restrictions should be lifted on May 17, but authorities have reported record jumps in recent days.
READ: COVID-19 – Britain reveals a gradual plan to get out of the blockade
A seven-week blockade, one of the most severe in the world, has seen the number of active COVID-19 cases in New Zealand drop to just 70.
It has given Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her government the confidence to reduce the country’s level of restriction to another level: Retail stores and restaurants are due to reopen starting Thursday. Still, caution remains, as Ardern cautioned that “none of us can assume that COVID is not with us.”
There was also uncertainty in Germany, with at least one district forced to re-impose restrictions after an outbreak at a meat-processing plant. And even as the country loosened its blockade restrictions, the latest German data also indicated that the infection rate was increasing again.
IT’S NOT TIME TO END THE LOCK: UK PM
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent a week in the hospital with COVID-19, said on Sunday that the closure measures had had “a colossal cost to our lifestyle,” but added that it would be “crazy” to waste. Progress. move too soon
“This is not the time simply to end the blockade this week,” said the 55-year-old, but revealed a “conditional plan” to ease the measures in England in the coming months.
But in France, Sunday’s COVID-19 death toll was the lowest since early April. French stores and beauty salons will reopen on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: People enjoy the good weather in the Bois de Vincennes park on the eve of the gradual lifting of blocking restrictions during the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Paris, France, May 10, 2020 REUTERS / Charles Platiau / File Photo
Similarly, Spain’s daily deaths have been reduced to less than 200. More than half of its population will be able to gather in groups of up to 10 people on Monday, as their regions advance to Phase 1 of a relaxation plan. four steps.
“We have already set a date for dinner on Wednesday, only 10 of us. I can’t wait to touch someone, kiss and be kissed,” said Beatriz González, 66, in the Spanish city of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
Belgium and Greece are among other European nations that will facilitate the blockades on Monday.
Canada reported a 2.2 percent rise in its death toll to 4,728 on Sunday, one of the lowest daily increases since the outbreak began.
Several provinces are moving to gradually reopen businesses that were closed to combat the outbreak, leaving millions out of work. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Saturday that if the provinces acted too quickly, a second wave of the pandemic could send Canada “back to confinement this summer.”
Iran, the country hardest hit by the Middle East, has also relaxed its closure measures, and the bazaars and shopping malls in the capital Tehran have been boiling again after being nearly deserted for weeks.
But Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour warned that the situation “should not be considered in any way normal,” as one region saw an increase in death rates and re-imposed a blockade.
And the resumption of the soccer league in Europe took a hit after confirmation of infection groups among players in Spain, Germany and Portugal.
Football bosses in all three countries, however, insisted that planned season restarts for the coming weeks were still underway.
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