Europe relaxes; cases flare elsewhere
Border crossings, cafes reopen in EU countries
BERLIN — Several European countries where coronavirus infections have slowed moved ahead Friday with relaxing border restrictions. Infection flare-ups in Mexico and elsewhere served as a reminder the pandemic is far from over.
Slovenia, which has been gradually easing strict lockdown measures, declared that the spread of the virus is now under control and that European Union residents could now enter from Austria, Italy and Hungary.
Germany prepared to open its border with Luxembourg at midnight and to increase the number of crossings open from France, Switzerland and Austria. Travelers will still need to demonstrate a “valid reason” to enter Germany, and there will be spot checks, but the goal is to restore free travel by June 15.
In northern Europe, Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania removed travel restrictions between the Baltic nations, which Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas called “another step toward normal life.”
Austria and Switzerland also moved ahead with easing some border restrictions, and Austria reopened all cafes and restaurants.
“I have been having breakfast at this café for about 100 years,” said Helmut Gollner, a former literature professor who was one of the first guests Friday at Vienna’s Cafe Sperl. “My wife always made great breakfast, but it’s a different atmosphere here with the newspapers and so on.”
In Australia, many Sydney cafes and restaurants opened again as New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, granted permission for them, as well as places of worship, to reopen with up to 10 people so long as distancing rules are in place.
Many Catholic churches across the state opened for private prayer, confession and small-scale Masses.
“The celebration of Mass is the highest form of Catholic worship and to not be able to physically gather these past two months has been very difficult,” Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher said in a statement.
In Japan, some schools, restaurants and other businesses started to reopen after the country lifted its national coronavirus emergency, while keeping in place restrictions in limited urban areas like Tokyo where risks remain.
The head of the World Health Organization’s Europe office, Dr. Hans Kluge, warned that distancing guidance and other protective measures were more important than ever.
“It’s very important to remind everyone that as long as there is no vaccine and effective treatment, there is no return to normal,” he said on French radio Europe-1.
In other developments:
Brazil’s health minister resigned Friday after less than a month on the job in a sign of continuing upheaval over how the nation should battle the coronavirus pandemic, quitting a day after President Jair Bolsonaro stepped up pressure on him to expand use of the antimalarial drug chloroquine in treating patients.
Three young Zimbabwean opposition activists who were reported missing following a protest over COVID-19 lockdown measures this week were being treated at a hospital Friday after asserting they were abducted and sexually abused by suspected state security agents.
The first coronavirus case has been confirmed in the crowded camps for Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh, where more than 1 million are taking shelter.
A 113-year-old Spanish woman says she is in good health after having overcome infection by the new coronavirus. Maria Branyas said she “feels good.” She avoided developing severe COVID-19 symptoms and had her latest test come back negative. Her daughter told Spanish news agency EFE that her mother, who was born in the United States, tested positive for the virus in April.