Europe breathes easy as soccer returns and beaches reopen
berlin — Germany’s Bundesliga became the first major European football league to return from coronavirus lockdown on Saturday, playing in empty stadiums as leisure-seekers across the continent flocked to newly reopened beaches.
The reopenings are a tentative step towards a return to normality in some of the countries worst affected by the pandemic, which has killed more than 307,000 people, infected over 4.5 million, wrought vast economic havoc and brought life to a halt.
There are also signs that countries are relaxing border controls imposed months ago to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Italy, for a long stretch the world’s worst-hit country, announced on Saturday that EU tourists will be allowed to visit from June 3 and a 14-day mandatory quarantine period will be scrapped.
But as governments lift restrictions to boost their stagnant economies, there have been widespread fears of a second wave of infections. Such fears have delayed the return of team sport, and on Saturday all eyes were on the Bundesliga’s opening games, which were played to vacant, echoing stadiums. In the French Riviera city of Nice, keen swimmers jumped into the surf. Parasols and sunloungers have popped up on coastlines in Italy and Greece, which opened its beaches on Saturday. —
venice — Venice geared up to receive tourists, Milan’s pizzerias prepared to open and Australians headed out to eat for the first time in weeks on Saturday, but the reopening of restaurants, pubs and cafes came with a warning: Don’t overdo it.
Public health experts are urging caution as governments ease restrictions on eateries, shops and parks in many countries and roll out measures to restart dormant factories. The coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 300,000 people, has slowed in many places but could pick up again if precautions aren’t taken or officials move too quickly to get people back to work.
“The message is, yes, appreciate all the efforts, appreciate the opportunity to release some of those measures, but let’s not have a party, let’s not go to town,” said Tony Bartone, president of the Australian Medical Association.
Most restaurants are limited to 10 customers at a time, and Bartone said people must maintain social distance, follow coughing etiquette, wash their hands regularly and stay away from others if they are ill.
Italy’s tourism industry is focused firmly on June 3, when both regional and international borders reopen, allowing the first prospect of tourists since Europe’s first lockdown went into place in early March. In tourist-reliant Venice,
occupancy of the city’s 50,000 hotel beds has hovered around zero ever since.
“Venice lives on tourism, period,” said Claudio Scarpa, head of the city’s hotel association. “All the economic structures that operate in the city, including the port, are tied to tourism.”
While Venice hopes for some
kind of restart, it may have to wait a while yet. Germany is instructing citizens not to travel abroad for tourism until at least June 15.
France was also being cautious, calling for a coordinated European effort on opening. At the same time, it could make decisions “that protect the French” regarding countries “where the virus is still active,” Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Saturday.
In Milan, Italy’s financial capital, 3,400 restaurants plan to open Monday, along with 4,800 bars, 2,900 hairdressers, 2,200 clothing stores and 700 shoe shops.
“After a long period at home, we will all want to go out and have a good coffee in a bar, eat a pizza in a pizzeria, buy a pair of jeans, or go to the hairdressers,” Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said . —