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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World

'New normal' as Europe cautiously awakes from lockdown slumber

A waitress serves a coffee to customers in the Spanish city of Tarragona on May 11, 2020. AFP

Spain

Fifty-one percent of Spaniards will once again be free to enjoy the outdoor terraces of bars and restaurants, albeit with limited capacity, and to meet with family or friends in gatherings of up to 10 people.

The Real Madrid football team resumed training this Monday, following on the heels of FC Barcelona who began training again last Friday.

However the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, hard hit by Covid-19, have been excluded from the country's lockdown easing, with tough restrictions remaining in place.

Schools across Spain will will not reopen until September, while cinemas and theatres also remain closed.

Italy

Residents are now free to move around, with offices and factories having reopened last week. Shops, museums, churches and libraries will reopen on 18 May.

Bars and restaurants will be back in business from June, though schools will remain closed until September.

Masks must be worn on public transport and social distancing measures respected in parks.

Germany's first restaurants reopen in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western.
Germany's first restaurants reopen in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western. AFP

Germany

Individual German states are making their own decisions regarding their lockdown exit.

Cafés and restaurant have reopened in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with some other states to follow suit in the coming days and weeks.

Most shops are already open, with children slowly returning to school. Bundesliga football matches are also set to resume, but big events such as festivals are banned until the end of the summer.

Local authorities have agreed to reimpose restrictions if their area logs more than 50 new infections per 100,000 residents over a week.

Belgium

Most businesses reopened Monday, including non-essential shops, with schools to resume on 18 May – but no more than 10 children will be allowed in each classroom.

Cafés, restaurants and bars are to remain closed. In central Brussels, there will be speed limits on cars with priority to be given to cyclists and pedestrians.

The Netherlands

Primary schools and crèches partially reopened Monday. Driving schools, hair salons, physiotherapists and libraries are also back, albeit with social distancing measures in place.

Switzerland

Primary and middle schools reopened Monday, with limited classes. Restaurants, museums and bookshops also got going again, but meetings of more than five people remain banned.

Children Mael and Thinh arrive for their first day back to school in Geneva, Switzerland, as the country eases lockdown measures on May 11, 2020.
Children Mael and Thinh arrive for their first day back to school in Geneva, Switzerland, as the country eases lockdown measures on May 11, 2020. REUTERS - DENIS BALIBOUSE

Greece

While the bookstores and hairdressers have already been open for a week, other shops followed suit Monday.

Archeological sites will reopen on 18 May, with museums to reopen mid-June. The lifting of lockdown measures on migrant camps has been postponed to 21 May.

Croatia

Outdoor spaces at bars and restaurants reopened Monday, and gatherings of up to 10 people are now allowed. Schools are resuming on a voluntary basis.

Denmark

Shopping centres reopened Monday, after primary schools reopened last month. Secondary schools are to resume on 18 May.

Norway

All schools are back Monday, though bars and cultural centres remain closed until June.

Iceland

Universities, museums and hair salons reopened last week.

Finland

Schools are to resume on 14 May.

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