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Spain expected to follow soon as Austria, Denmark and Germany announce slight lifting of Coronavirus lockdown restrictions

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 06 Apr 2020 • 14:50

AS Britain and America start to draw up plans for life after the lockdown, they may look for inspiration from European countries where the coronavirus crisis has already shown signs of peaking.  

Austria followed by Denmark and Germany take small steps to relax harsh measures put into place to contain the coronavirus.

Austria today became the first country to set out detailed plans for ending the standstill, with smaller shops reopening on April 14 and larger ones on May 1.

Denmark also plans to start lifting restrictions after Easter but wants people to ‘work in a more staggered way’ to avoid crowding into trains and buses.

Germany has said it is willing to reopen schools on a regional basis and allow a limited number of people into restaurants if the infection rate stays sufficiently low.

The Spanish government recently extended the lockdown period, but as new cases of infection have started to slow and in many cities actually drop it is generally thought that the strict measures put in place will start to be relaxed soon.

France appears less close to ending the lockdown, with the figures improving less clearly than in Italy or Spain.

Deputy interior minister Laurent Nunez has warned that “the end of confinement is not yet on the cards, a deadline has not been set.”

Italy plans to ‘live with the virus’ using more masks and dedicated hospitals.

Italy is openly talking about a ‘phase two’ in which society will have to ‘create the conditions to live with the virus’ until a vaccine is developed.

Health minister Roberto Speranza says more testing and a beefed-up local health system would be necessary to allow an easing of the lockdown.

Portugal

Following Easter, airports are set to reopen, but will only be allowed to carry one-third of their passenger capacity.

At the time of writing Portugal has recorded more than 9,800 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 246 deaths.

And finally, the UK

It’s two weeks since Boris Johnson announced the UK’s lockdown, and there are signs the rate of infection is starting to slow, though not deaths.

While the number of people dying in hospital with coronavirus is doubling every few days, the figures for confirmed cases and hospitalisations are slowing down.

The daily death total will follow suit, scientists say. But they warn we could still see record highs in the coming days.

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Tony Winterburn

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