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Germany is reopening its stores today as it takes its first steps outside the coronavirus blockade, joining a group of European countries that are restarting their economies while others remain firmly closed.
Starting today, small shops, including garden centers, bookstores, and car and bicycle dealers, may reopen in Germany, while some children will begin to return to schools and kindergartens from the next week.
Germany today reported the fewest deaths from the virus for two weeks and the fewest cases since mid-March, although, like many countries, it generally sees a decline in numbers over the weekend when there are delays in collecting figures. .
Elsewhere, the children returned to daycare in Norway today, while Denmark has already reopened some of its schools and Switzerland has set a date (May 11) to do the same.
However, not all of Europe is moving in the same direction, as Britain and France extend their blockades until May and Spain is likely to follow suit.
Italy has only taken very limited measures to ease the blockade, and some regions have even resisted some of them, while Finland still has most of its restrictions.
This diagram shows how different countries are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Some European countries are already beginning to ease their blockades, while others, such as Spain and France, will remain firmly in quarantine until next month.
A customer wearing a protective mask is in a row of people, not all of them wearing masks, outside a DIY store in Munich today, as Germany allowed some stores to reopen after the coronavirus closed.
This graph shows the daily number of deaths from coronavirus in Germany. The 110 new deaths added to today’s account are the least since April 6.
This chart shows the daily number of cases, which fell to 1,775 today, the lowest number since 1,042 new cases were added to the total on March 18.
The lowering of Germany’s restrictions means that stores, including DIY stores, furniture stores, bookstores, bicycle dealers and florists can welcome customers again today.
Schools will also partially reopen in the coming weeks, and most states will welcome older students beginning May 4. Some students who will have the next exams will return earlier.
Angela Merkel agreed to relax last week with the leaders of Germany’s 16 states, who are ready to implement the new measures at their own pace.
Education policy is traditionally decided at the state level in Germany, and Bavaria, the region most affected by the virus so far, will keep its schools closed for another week.
Merkel today expressed fear to her party colleagues that “discussion orgies” over the end of the blockade could lead to a loss of discipline, according to CDU sources who described her as “very concerned.”
The ban on meetings of more than two people and the requirement to stay more than 1.5 meters (5 feet) away from others in public areas remains in effect.
Cultural venues, bars, entertainment venues and beauty salons will also be closed for now, while large-scale public events such as concerts and soccer games have been banned until August 31.
With the largest stores unable to open, the German Trade Association warned on Friday of a possible “distortion of competition”.
But the economy minister, Peter Altmaier, defended the 800 square meter limit and said that “the belt can only be loosened little by little.”
People push their shopping carts in a hardware store reopened today in Unterhaching, in the state of Bavaria, which has been hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis in Germany
Customers keep their distance while looking at pot plants in a DIY store in Munich today as some stores were able to reopen in Germany starting Monday morning
A customer wearing a bicycle helmet and face mask talks to the owner of a tea and wine shop, separated by a glass screen on the box, in the German city of Ludwigsburg today.
French patient with coronavirus is taken on a stretcher from Essen University Hospital after recovering from the disease after treatment in Germany
Germany today reported 1,775 new cases to bring the total from 139,897 to 141,672, marking the smallest increase since 1,042 positive tests were added to the account on March 18.
Like many countries, Germany generally sees a drop in its Sunday and Monday figures due to an accumulation of reports of new cases and deaths over the weekend.
The 110-kill jump is the smallest from the 92 recorded on April 6, another update Monday morning, and raises Germany’s death toll from 4,294 to 4,404.
Germany’s 1.3 percent increase in cases is the lowest since the crisis began, replacing the previous low of 1.7 percent last Tuesday.
The Robert Koch Institute, which compiles the figures, also has a good eye on the contagion rate (R), which shows how many people each sick person is infecting.
R is currently estimated at 0.8, which means that, on average, four out of five coronavirus patients infect another person and the fifth does not transmit the disease.
Germany has identified an R rate below 1 as a key indicator of whether the outbreak has stabilized enough to allow a return to normal life.
With the expectation of increased population movement as stores reopen, the eastern states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony have made masks mandatory on public transport.
Although not mandatory in Germany yet, Merkel says the federal government ‘recommends’ wearing a mask in public.
Two medical workers wearing protective gear and masks care for a coronavirus patient at a Magdeburg hospital in eastern Germany
Meanwhile, France says its national blockade is beginning to bear fruit more than a month after its imposition, but has yet to announce any lifting of the measures.
The current confinement rules have been extended until May 11, and the government warned that people should not plan to travel to distant destinations on summer vacation.
“Our life after May 11 will not be the same as before … and probably not for long,” said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
The prime minister said France was “scoring points against the epidemic,” but noted that people should work from home as much as possible once the shutdown is lifted.
Philippe said that passengers will probably have to wear masks on public transport.
Philippe said France is “far from herd immunity”, estimating that between 2 and 6 million people had been infected with the virus, about 3-9 percent of the population.
Spain is also expected to extend its blockade until May, beyond the current deadline of April 27.
The measures will be loosened a bit to allow children to leave their homes for short periods, the government says.
People could be allowed to exercise outdoors, officials say, which is currently not considered a valid excuse to go out to Spain.
This graph shows the daily number of coronavirus cases in Spain. Today’s figure was 399, down from 410 yesterday.
This graph shows the daily number of cases in Spain. Today’s figure of 4,266 brought the total number of infections to more than 200,000.
SPAIN: Members of the National Police arrested a motorist and registered his boot at a checkpoint in Malaga yesterday. Spain remains largely under lock and key
AUSTRIA: A line of people waits to enter a store on the Mariahilfer Straße shopping street in Vienna, after Austria allowed some stores to reopen last week
A two-week “hibernation” of all non-essential economic activity in Spain was lifted last week, allowing some people in construction and manufacturing to return to work.
Authorities are even beginning to shut down some makeshift facilities set up to alleviate the overloaded health system, including a morgue on a Madrid ice rink.
However, most people are still confined to their homes, except for essential outings like grocery shopping.
There are also signs of regional tensions, after the head of the Catalan government said he should handle lifting the blockade measures in the region.
The Spanish health minister, Salvador Illa, rebuked the Catalan authorities and said that the Madrid government was centralizing decisions in a state of emergency.
There is also no immediate end in sight in Britain, where the blockade has been extended for “at least” another three weeks.
The government says there is no date for the resumption of schools and warned that pubs and bars are likely to be “among the last” to reopen.
Italy, which has been closed since March 9, more than any other European country, opened a handful of stores on a trial basis last week.
Libraries, stationers and shops selling children’s clothing were allowed to reopen to see how social distancing measures could be applied.
However, there is some discrepancy between the regions. The heavily affected Lombardy region is among those that have not allowed bookstores to reopen, while Campania will open children’s clothing stores only two mornings a week.
Currently, the Italian blockade will expire on May 4, and the authorities have spoken of a “phase two” in which Italian society learns to “live with the virus”.
Switzerland will begin to relax the closure measures on April 27, with hairdressers and garden centers among the companies that will reopen.
Children will return to school on May 11, while universities, libraries, and museums will reopen on June 8.
ITALY: Two store workers wear face masks at their bookstore in Rome, which is one of the few store categories that has been allowed to reopen in Italy.
SWEDEN: The Swedish government has become an outlier in Europe by refusing to apply any official closure. Yesterday people are seen walking here in Stockholm
DENMARK: Children keep their distance in a row of pupils outside the Stengaard School north of Copenhagen last week after Denmark began reopening schools
Austria, which has had similar success to Germany in reducing the infection rate, allowed some stores to open last week with a view to opening larger ones on May 1.
Already open stores include DIY stores and garden centers, where masks are now mandatory.
Schools remain closed until at least mid-May, unlike in Denmark, where children returned to primary schools and kindergartens last week.
Older kids will stay home until at least May 10, but hairdressers and beauty salons can resume business starting today.
Norway also allows children to return to kindergartens on Monday, although some parents expressed reservations about the decision.
The government plans to allow a partial reopening of high schools, universities, and beauty and hair salons beginning April 27.
Finland has slightly eased its restrictions by lifting the travel ban in and out of the Helsinki region, but schools and restaurants remain closed.
The Nordic countries have a nervous eye on neighboring Sweden, which has never imposed a closure in the first place, with bars and shops still open.
Swedes are advised to practice social distancing, but the government has emphasized “individual responsibility” and is not applying most of the measures.
