Continent starts planning for life after lockdown

Austria prepares to ease restrictions as virus figures fall, with other countries preparing to follow

AUSTRIA will begin to ease its coronavirus lockdown from next week, as falling death and infection rates have encouraged countries across Europe to start planning for a return to normality.

Several countries badly affected by the pandemic are preparing to relax quarantine measures amid hopes that the crisis may have peaked.

Spain, France and Finland have set up committees of experts to decide when restrictions could be loosened, without running the risk of a flare-up.

Schools might be allowed to resume, as most children appear to be little affected by the virus, but older people, who are most at risk, could face restrictions for much longer.

However, it could still be months before normal life resumes, with governments likely to ease lockdown measures in gradual phases as they wait for a reliable vaccine.

Austria, where the growth in daily infections has dropped from around 40 per cent in mid-march to less than 3 per cent, yesterday became one of the first European countries to propose a timetable for lifting restrictions.

“The fact we were among the first to impose restrictions now gives us the opportunity to get out of this crisis faster,” Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor, told a press conference. “But only if we continue to adhere to the current measures and stand together as well as we have done so far.”

Small shops, garden centres and DIY stores will open from next Tuesday under a provisional timetable. Other shops will reopen from May 1, and restaurants and hotels from mid-may.

Schools will remain closed until at least mid-may, and a ban on public events will remain in place until June.

But Mr Kurz warned that international travel may not be possible until a vaccine is developed.

In Spain, the daily death toll fell for a fourth consecutive day, raising hopes that it may have passed its peak.

At 637, Monday’s death toll was still high in absolute terms, and raised the total number of people who have died from the virus to more than 13,000.

Although Spain has 135,000 confirmed cases – the highest in Europe – the infection rate has been slowing and Spain plans to start widening testing to include people without symptoms.

“We are preparing ourselves for deescalation for which it is important to know who is contaminated to be able to gradually lift Spanish citizens’ lockdown,” said Arancha González, the foreign minister. The lockdown has been extended until April 26 but restrictions on some manufacturing and construction sectors could be lifted after Easter.

In Italy, the total confirmed cases rose to 132,000, but with the lowest daily increase since March 17. At more than 16,500, the death toll is officially the world’s highest but there is tentative optimism that Italy may have come through the worst. “The curve has started its descent and the number of deaths has started to drop,” said Silvio Brusaferro, a senior health official.

The government is beginning to debate when to ease the country’s lockdown, imposed a month ago.

Denmark announced a very gradual lifting of its lockdown starting next week. Creches and primary schools will reopen from next Wednesday, but shops and restaurants will stay closed until May 10.

Secondary schools will remain closed, and there will still be ban on gatherings of more than ten people.

Greece also hopes to lift some restrictions next month if the public respects the lockdown until then. Up to Sunday afternoon, the country had 1,735 confirmed cases and 76 deaths.

The Czech government said it, too, would ease some measures taken to

stem the virus’s spread, by reopening some shops and mitigating a face-mask requirement before Easter.

In Germany, Angela Merkel, the chancellor, said it was too early to speak of lifting its lockdown.

“We are still in the middle of the pandemic,” she told a press conference in Berlin. “I would be a bad chancellor and we would be a bad government if we were to give a date now.”

On Sunday, France saw its lowest daily death toll since March 29, with 357 fatalities, raising hopes the spread of the virus was slowing down. However, yesterday, the number of deaths was 605 – the highest since the start of the outbreak – bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 8,911.

“We have not reached the end of the ascent of this epidemic,” Olivier Véran, the health minister, told reporters.

‘The fact we were among the first to impose restrictions now gives us the opportunity to get out of this crisis faster’