Barcelona (AFP) – Spain put 200,000 people locked up on Saturday despite a stuttering European reopening as Americans cut down on July 4 celebrations for a sad Independence Day.
In a welcoming sign that some parts of the old way of life were returning, England reopened its pubs with drinkers returning to their local hostelries for the first time since late March.
However, the announcement of the closure of the Catalonia region in northeast Spain came as Europeans began converging on their favorite vacation spots thanks to a reduction in border restrictions in place to stop the spread.
Regional authorities said a “sharp increase” in infections around the city of Lleida, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of Barcelona, forced them to ban meetings of more than 10 people and to impose other restrictions.
Across the United States, Independence Day celebrations will have a creepy feel: the parades on Main Street have been called off, the bustling barbecues in the courtyard have been reduced, and family gatherings have been postponed.
The beaches that would normally fill up on the weekend of July 4 are closed on both coasts, as California and Florida suffer alarming cases.
The virus, which has affected almost every country since its appearance in China late last year, is being unevenly withdrawn after forcing billions of people to spend weeks confined to their homes.
– ‘I’m not a party pooper’ –
Nations are now rethinking how their cities can function, and economies are surviving in the face of a disease that has infected at least 11 million and killed 526,000 worldwide.
In England, the reopening of pubs, restaurants and hairdressers was finally allowed.
“Superb,” Andrew Slawinski sighed as he took his first sip in a London pub. “This is like winning the (Premier) League.”
Prince William of Great Britain got into the spirit of things by taking a photo of himself by drinking a glass of cider and dutifully using a hand sanitizer from a wall-mounted dispenser.
And Finance Minister Rishi Sunak urged the British to “eat out to help,” a message that did not seem right with Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
“I’m not a party pooper,” said Hancock. “But the virus can still kill.”
– Australia closed skyscrapers –
Governments around the world are trying to carefully gauge their reopens, stimulating their economies without triggering outbreaks and further blockades.
The new closure of Catalonia occurred when the modernist basilica of the Sagrada Familia reopened in Barcelona, a short distance away.
The dangers of reopening are being felt around the world.
Thousands of residents of high-rise apartments in Melbourne were locked up for at least five days, as Australia recorded its largest daily increase in infections in months.
“There are many, many vulnerable people living in these towers,” said Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews.
The United States also broke a record for new cases for the third day in a row on Friday, when the world’s largest economy prepared to celebrate its July 4 holiday in the shade.
The disease has already claimed nearly 130,000 lives in the United States and a new wave of cases that followed the relaxation of some measures “puts the entire country at risk,” according to infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci.
Although local officials have been warning not to go outside, President Donald Trump said he would take part in a “Salute to the United States” complete with military music and flybys in Washington.
Trump was at Mount Rushmore for a fireworks celebration with thousands of attendees indoors, most without masks.
“INCREDIBLE VIEW,” the president tweeted alongside a clip of the crowd watching him and his wife Melania onstage at the South Dakota event.
– Beaches of the United States nearby –
At least 14 US states are reportedly seeing their weekly averages reach record levels before the holiday weekend.
States like Florida register more cases daily, around 10,000, more than European countries like Italy at the height of the crisis.
South Pointe Beach, usually crowded with Miami, closed Friday, except for patrolling police and a stray cat.
Los Angeles’ beaches will also be closed over the weekend and Major League Baseball canceled its 2020 All-Star Game for the first time since World War II.
– Latin American cases skyrocket –
Cases have also skyrocketed across Latin America.
Brazil now has 1.5 million confirmed infections and 63,000 deaths, while the number of cases in Peru and Chile has also surpassed those in any part of Europe except Russia.
However, the Brazilian Rio de Janeiro authorized the reopening of bars and restaurants at 50 percent of their capacity in an attempt to attract tourists to Copacabana beach.
Cases also topped 200,000 in Saudi Arabia as the virus continued to spread throughout the Middle East.
Meanwhile, African countries followed through with plans to reopen despite constantly increasing cases.
burs-jxb / har
