Virus forces cancellation of iconic events like Oktoberfest

ATLANTA—Spain called off the Running of the Bulls in July, the U.S. scrapped the national spelling bee in June and Germany cancelled Oktoberfest five months away, making it clear Tuesday that the effort to beat back the coronavirus and return to normal could be a long and dispiriting process. Amid growing impatience over the shutdowns that have thrown tens of millions out of work, European countries continued to reopen in stages, while in the U.S., one state after another — mostly ones led by Republican governors — outlined plans to gradually get back to business.

Business owners in the U.S. who got the go-ahead weighed whether to reopen, and some hesitated, in a sign that commerce won’t necessarily bounce back right away.

Mark Lebos, owner of Strong Gym in Savannah, Ga., where Gov. Brian Kemp announced that gyms and salons can reopen this week, said it would be professional negligence to do so right now.

“We are not going to be a vector of death and suffering,” he said.

Ronique Holloway, who owns a hair salon in Smyrna, Ga., said she will wait until late next week, and even then thinks that’s too early. She is nervous about contracting the virus from customers, though she plans to wear a mask and gloves and is looking for sanitary wipes and Lysol.

“I would have waited at least until the end of May, but I’m going back because I don’t have a choice,” she said. “I have to feed my daughter.”

With deaths and infections still rising around the world, the push to reopen has set off warnings from health authorities that the crisis that has killed well over 170,000 people globally — including more than 42,000 in the U.S. — is far from over and that relaxing the stayat-home orders too quickly could enable the virus to come surging back.

Denmark, Austria, Spain and Germany began allowing some people back to work, including hairdressers, dentists and construction workers, and some stores were cleared to reopen or will soon get the OK.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the government will be watching carefully and will “pull the emergency brake” if necessary.

Spain, among the worst-hit countries, will also begin allowing children out of their homes for brief periods next Monday. Denmark’s Tivoli Gardens, the Copenhagen amusement park that inspired Walt Disney, will reopen on May 11.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee in the U.S. was cancelled. The competition has been held since 1925 and was last scrubbed in 1945.