(Paris) France reopens its terraces and museums, Austria its restaurants, New York wears less the mask: the population of several Western countries found a little freedom on Wednesday thanks to a decline in the epidemic, unlike India, which is still plunged into an acute health crisis.
Posted on May 19, 2021 at 6:27 am
Updated at 2:25 p.m.
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After six months of life in slow motion, the French can once again eat or have a drink on the terrace, in accordance with a 50% capacity rating and six people per table. Restaurants and cafes will have to wait until June 9 to welcome dining room customers.
“A little moment of rediscovered freedom” in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Prime Minister Jean Castex took a very high profile coffee on the terrace on Wednesday morning to illustrate, in the words of the Head of State, “a little moment of rediscovered freedom”.
PHOTO GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and French Prime Minister Jean Castex have coffee on the terrace of a Paris café.
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“Today sincerely I live again”, summarized Sylvie Champalle, 53, seated at a terrace in Lyon.
French cinemas, theaters and museums can once again also welcome the public – masked – with maximum attendance figures. And the start of the curfew is delayed by two hours, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
This partial lifting of the restrictions was decided in favor of a decrease in the circulation of the virus, which however remains high (around 14,000 new cases per day on average), and a ramp-up of the vaccination campaign in a country where the pandemic has killed 108,000 people.
Show white paw in Austria
The return to normal life goes even further in Austria, where restaurants, hotels and places of culture reopen fully on Wednesday.
However, it will be necessary to show a white paw at the entrance of the various places, by carrying out a test on site when possible or by presenting a negative result, proof of vaccination or antibodies.
At the European level, the representatives of the 27 Member States agreed on Wednesday to allow entry into the EU to travelers from third countries who have received the necessary doses of vaccines authorized at European level. A measure decided on as the summer tourist season approaches, which is crucial for many countries.
As for the European health certificate, which aims to facilitate travel within the EU during the tourist season, discussions are due to resume on Thursday.
Fewer masks in New York
After being at the epicenter of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 and observed extreme caution in the face of the coronavirus for months, New York marks the lifting of many restrictions on Wednesday, especially in restaurants.
The rise in the vaccination rate – over 60% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose – and the drop in the COVID-19 positivity rate, now below 1.5%, have also pushed several major banks such as JPMorgan Chase or Goldman Sachs to signal the end of widespread teleworking.
To these relaxations was added the authorization for vaccinated people to no longer wear the mask, even indoors: after a few days of hesitation, the governor of the State of New York ratified this authorization from the federal authorities, to from Wednesday.
While some took the opportunity to drop the mask, others continued to be cautious.
“It’s difficult to know exactly what to expect, it’s a bit annoying” confided Miranda Maxwell, 41, fully vaccinated. “I continue to wear the mask when there are people, in a busy street for example, and of course indoors”.
A “summer of freedom” in Quebec
End of the crisis also in sight in Quebec, one of the Canadian provinces hardest hit by COVID-19: Prime Minister François Legault announced Tuesday a “summer of freedom” with a gradual lifting of restrictions by the end of June .
In the UK, the government has launched clinical trials, billed as the first in the world, of the immune response elicited by a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for a recall campaign.
This hope of Western countries, where vaccination is in full swing, contrasts with the still catastrophic situation in India, where immunization campaigns had to be stopped in several places due to the passage of Cyclone Tauktae, which made at least 55 dead.
The disaster in India
India, which has 1.3 billion inhabitants, on Wednesday counted a new record of 4,529 deaths, and 267,334 contaminations in 24 hours, bringing the total toll to 25.5 million cases and 283,248 deaths. Everywhere, hospitals are saturated, nursing staff at the end of their rope, oxygen and medicines are lacking.
The situation is also worrying in Argentina, which on Tuesday recorded record numbers of new cases (35,543) and deaths (745) for a single day.
“Do not give up, we know that we are going through difficult times,” said President Alberto Fernandez, who has promised to speed up vaccination.
In Japan, IOC President Thomas Bach was reassuring by indicating that at least 75% of residents of the Olympic Village for the Tokyo Games “have already been vaccinated or have planned to do so” before the Olympics, while many of Japanese fear that the event will put further pressure on their health care system.
In Malaysia, a record number of cases was recorded on Wednesday (6,075) and hospitals are close to saturation.
The coronavirus has killed at least 3.4 million people since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP on Wednesday.
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