Lockdowns ease as EU countries step up jabs
Western Europe is beginning to loosen restrictions meant to contain the coronavirus, offering relief for the pandemic-weary region as vaccination programmes turn the corner.
Italy will ease many restrictions on Monday, Greece will follow suit in early May and Germany is considering privileges for people who have been immunised. Later on Thursday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex will announce the next steps for the country amid plans to lift some restrictions on travel and outdoor dining.
After a slow start to inoculation, Western Europe is starting to see progress in protecting its people against Covid-19, which has caused more than 640,000 deaths on the continent.
As supplies increase, Germany may be able to lift vaccination prioritisation by June, opening access to all adults, says health minister Jens Spahn. “If it’s earlier than that, then I will be pleased, but we shouldn’t raise expectations,” Spahn said in a speech in parliament’s upper house on Thursday.
As the pace of contagion slows in Italy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government is restoring free travel between moderate-risk regions. People can go to riskier areas on certain conditions, including vaccination certificates. Bars and restaurants will be allowed to open outdoor areas.
In France, curbs on interregional travel will be lifted on
May 3, four weeks after they were announced by President Emmanuel Macron. But a curfew from 7pm to 6am will remain in place, a government spokesperson said before Castex’s address.
Greece will ease its main pandemic restrictions — including allowing outdoor dining — in early May, ahead of the country’s opening up to international travel in the middle of the month, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday. Tourism is one of the country’s most important industries, accounting for about a fifth of the economy and more than a quarter of jobs.
To accelerate immunisation, Greece will start administering unused doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to people aged 30 to 39.
Nevertheless, the situation remains tense. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel secured passage of a controversial
law on Thursday, which triggers tighter restrictions in virus hot spots, including nighttime curfews and closing schools and nonessential stores.
While Germany’s contagion rate has stabilised in recent days, it is still well-above levels the government has determined to be manageable. The number of patients in intensive-care facilities continues to rise.
Vaccine progress also varies widely across the continent, casting doubt over the timing of reopening in some countries, especially in the east.
While the island nation of Malta has already administered 67 doses per 100 adults, Bulgaria is only at 11 doses per 100.
The average for the whole of the European Union is 31.6, with countries including Hungary, Estonia and Denmark leading the push, and Latvia and Croatia among those lagging.