The drive to ease lockdowns across Europe intensified today as several countries set out blueprints for how to restore normality in everyday life.
Austria’s health minster Rudolf Anschober announced his country will allow gatherings up to 10 people from the end of this week.
He said that restrictions on leaving home would also be scrapped and that his government had decided there was no need to extend its existing lockdown rules when they expire on Thursday.
Tourism minister Elisabeth Köstinger revealed that hotels will be able to reopen on May 29. Zoos, swimming pools and other leisure attractions will also be allowed to operate again from the same date. Restaurants will be allowed to reopen with social distancing rules.
In France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was addressing his country’s parliament on how the planned easing of its lockdown from May 11 will proceed, with schools expected to reopen.
France has more than 128,000 confirmed cases, and yesterday recorded 437 new deaths bringing the total to 23,293.
The leaders of Spain, which today announced 301 more deaths, bringing the total to 23,822, and Greece were also expected to set out their plans for easing lockdown restrictions.
The moves follow a video meeting of EU tourism ministers yesterday that discussed how to reopen the holiday trade and the relaxation earlier this week of some curbs in Germany, which today reported that its reinfection rate was sitting at 1.0, meaning that one person with the virus is infecting one other on average.
In the Vatican City, Pope Francis used his daily private morning Mass to urge the public to continue obeying the rules in place to avoid a second wave of the disease.
The Czech Republic reported its lowest daily rise in new cases in more than six weeks as it eases out of lockdown. The number of cases rose by 41 yesterday to 7,449, with 223 deaths.
