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Changes of restrictions Western European countries by Covid-19

Changes of restrictions Western European countries by Covid-19

people walking on grey concrete floor during daytime

Spain

Starting Monday, workers were allowed to return to some manufacturing and construction jobs — work that cannot be done remotely — operating under strict safety guidelines. In a country of about 47 million, coronavirus-related deaths have exceeded 17,000, but new infections are dropping off somewhat, the government said.

Italy

The country has been under lockdown for five weeks, and most restrictions will continue until at least May 3. The death toll now exceeds 20,000, but with the rate of new coronavirus cases slowing, a narrow range of businesses — bookstores, stationers’ and children’s clothing shops — will be allowed to open on Tuesday.


Austria

A lockdown that began on March 16 shut down everything except supermarkets and medical facilities. But nonessential businesses including clothiers, hardware stores and plant nurseries will be able to open starting Tuesday, based on size. Others will follow on a staggered basis: shopping malls, beauty salons and barbershops are to open May 1; hotels and restaurants, tentatively in mid-May. No large public gatherings are envisioned until at least June.
Masks became mandatory this month in Austrian food stores and pharmacies; starting Tuesday, they will be required in other shops and on public transportation.

Britain

A shutdown is now in its fourth week, and Britain’s death toll stands at more than 11,000. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after what he has described as a life-threatening brush with COVID-19 that landed him in the intensive-care unit last week, is out of the hospital and recuperating at the prime minister’s official country retreat, Chequers.

Germany

While Spain, Italy, Britain and France have all topped 10,000 deaths, Germany’s fatality toll is relatively low, less than a third of that. The reasons why — including a younger population, widespread testing, and an ample supply of hospital beds and medical equipment — are still being studied.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel startled compatriots when she warned more than a month ago that up to 70% of the population was likely to contract the virus eventually, but she said restrictions aimed at controlling the spread should prevent the healthcare system from being overtaxed.

France

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday extended a strict lockdown until May 11. In a speech to the nation from Elysee Palace, he sought to walk a fine line — warning that relaxing the nearly month-old lockdown too soon could be catastrophic but proffering hopes of a not-too-distant return to normality.

Sweden

An outlier among its European neighbors, Sweden has allowed restaurants and most businesses to remain open amid the pandemic, and critics inside and outside the country have been irked by the sight of Swedes chatting in cafes and strolling city streets. Elementary schools are open and domestic flights continue. The government has taken some steps, banning gatherings of more than 50 people, closing high schools and universities, and urging the elderly and otherwise vulnerable to sequester themselves.

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