People head out as lockdowns lifted
Weary citizens enjoy respite from virus as anti-malaria drug trials halted
Europeans flocked to parks, gyms and pools on Monday as more countries eased coronavirus restrictions, while Japan lifted its state of emergency but urged vigilance to avoid another wave of infections.
In the US, as the pandemic death toll approached the horrific milestone of 100,000, stir-crazy Americans also headed en masse to beaches and parks for the big Memorial Day weekend.
While many Americans wore masks and followed distancing rules, many did not – and images of packed pools and boardwalks triggered fears of a new flare up of the virus that has infected more than 5.4 million worldwide and killed more than 344,000, according to an AFP tally.
Meanwhile, hopes that anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could be used as a potential treatment for the virus were quashed as the World Health Organization halted clinical trials “while the safety is reviewed.”
With the global economy battered, governments are scrambling to provide relief to businesses and citizens wearying of mass confinement.
In hard-hit Spain, Madrid and Barcelona cautiously emerged from one of the world’s strictest lockdowns, with parks and cafe terraces open for the first time in more than two months.
Hundreds of people flooded Madrid’s famous Retiro Park to enjoy a stroll or a jog in the sunshine.
In other parts of Spain, beaches reopened with strict guidelines for social distancing.
As gyms and swimming pools reopened in Germany, Iceland, Italy and Spain, slowing infection rates in Greece allowed restaurants to resume business a week ahead of schedule – but only for outdoor service.
But not all the news from Europe was encouraging.
Sweden, which has gained international attention for not enforcing stayat-home measures, saw its COVID-19 death toll pass 4,000, a much higher figure than its neighbors.
And in Britain, a political scandal raged on as Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied pressure to sack his top aide Dominic Cummings, accused of breaching the government’s own lockdown rules in March and April.
In Asia, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ended a nationwide state of emergency after new cases slowed to a crawl.
The move will help the world’s thirdlargest economy to gradually pick up speed again, but Abe urged citizens to remain cautious.
“If we lower our guard, the infection will spread very rapidly... we need to be vigilant,” he said.
He urged people to adopt a “new lifestyle” and continue to avoid the “three Cs”: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact.