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'Is it too soon? How will social distancing be kept up?' Emma Firth, Copenhagen, Denmark
This week came the news that everyone in lockdown looks forward to – Denmark can start to slowly reopen.
And soon – just two days after Easter.
Its success will lie in everyone’s hands – thoroughly and frequently cleaned ones – and by continuing to follow social distancing instructions and sneezing into our sleeves.
But if figures remain stable over the weekend, all children in nursery (vuggestue) and kindergarten (børnehave) and those up to the age of 12 at school (0-5 klasse) can return to their classes from Wednesday 15th April.
The aim of this, the Prime Minister said, was for parents to be able to work more effectively from home without caring for small children.
The government is also talking to some private businesses about how employees can start to return to the workplace. Everything else, including Denmark’s borders, will remain closed until May 10th, when they’ll be another review.
Cheers and celebrations from parents in Denmark you might think. Not quite. Less than four weeks after the sudden, decisive and full lockdown, this news came as quite a surprise for many.
Was it too soon? How would social distancing be kept up? What if many children become ill and the infection spreads?
A Facebook group soon started, called “Mit barn skal ikke være forsøgskanin for Covid19” – “My child will not be a Covid19 guinea pig.” It currently has over 35,000 members.
But details of how this reopening will work are yet to be announced.
Individual municipalities and institutions are currently deciding how and when they can open safely, before informing parents of the new structure.
The government has the backing of the health authorities in Denmark and has said the country will close down again if numbers worsen.
The empty boats of the Sightseeing company 'Stromma Canal Tours Copenhagen' lie at the quay in Copenhagen Harbour during the government lockdown. Photo: AFP
But for now, the numbers are stable. Hospital admissions for the coronavirus are decreasing (currently 433), as are those infected patients in intensive care (currently 120). So far there have been 237 reported deaths linked to the coronavirus in Denmark, according to Statens Serum Institute, a figure that is rising but not soaring.
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus is 5,635 but this could be much higher due to not testing everyone.
The government has said it will take three to four weeks to see the effects of the country’s reopening. Weeks that will be closely watched, not just by Denmark but the rest of the world.
Read more on The Local Denmark
'We're not asking when lockdown will end, just what the next stage will be,' Clare Speak, Bari, southern Italy
It's one month today since national quarantine measures were brought in across Italy. Are they working? From the latest official data, it looks like the shutdown has so far contained the outbreak.
We may be at the end of the beginning at least. But Italy's progress depends on people continuing to follow the rules and, as Italy's health officials keep reminding us, it could easily be undone.
Authorities in the Lombardy area say people are already starting to travel around more, and police expect plenty of rule-breaking this weekend.
There are to be no trips to summer houses, no barbecues with friends, and no big family lunches this Easter. But the long weekend is predicted to be a warm one, and we all know how much Italians value family and tradition. Police think the rising mercury and falling rate of new infections will tempt people to break the rules.
A woman wearing a face mask rides a bicyckle on April 9, 2020 in Treviolo, near Bergamo, Lombardy. Photo: AFP
We're still not allowed to leave the house without a very good reason and a properly-filled-out form, and it looks like the rules will stay in place for a long time yet.
Instead of asking “When will lockdown end?” the big question everyone's asking now is “What will the next stage of lockdown look like?”
Not much is known for sure yet about the plans for “phase two” of the shutdown, but health experts say this is likely to last months, rather than weeks.
The government says it may allow some businesses to get back to work, perhaps this month, perhaps next. But there's no question of relaxing the rules on social distancing.
Despite the serious economic pain caused by the shutdown, Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister, has repeatedly warned that it's not the right time to start relaxing measures – the fear is that doing so now could trigger a second wave of contagion.
We're waiting for Conte to announce official plans for the next phase. For now, one thing we can be sure of is that Italy will take its time relaxing the rules. Piano piano – slowly, slowly – we'll reach phase three, which is when the government says we can start returning to normality. Or something like it.
Many people here are now wondering if Italy will ever be quite the same again.
'The next stage may well be the biggest challenge yet', Emma Löfgren, Stockholm
It is not over yet, but this week we started seeing a small, flickering light on the horizon. The curve appears to be flattening in Stockholm, the region worst hit in Sweden. It is too early to make any guarantees, but it is a welcome piece of hopeful news in a sea of bad news.
However, the virus is also spreading in other parts of the country, and in southern Sweden they expect to peak in late May or early June. Some regions, like the island of Gotland – a beautiful oasis in the Baltic Sea, and normally a hotspot for mainland tourists – have seen relatively limited health impact so far, but a heavy economic impact that will hit them hard.
Sweden’s rules are not as restrictive as other countries, but life is far from normal.
The virus affects all our lives in so many different ways.
A woman takes photos of the cherry blossoms trees at Kungstradgarden in Stockholm. Photo: AFP
The pensioner who can’t do their grocery shopping for fear of catching the virus; the work permit holder who just lost their job; the daughter who can’t fly home for her mother’s funeral; the parent who doesn’t know whether to keep their child home from school and break Swedish law, or send them to school and feel their heart drop through the floor; the hospital worker who is pulling 12-hour shifts every day; the small child who doesn’t understand why he’s allowed to wave at his grandad through the window but not hug him as he always does; the immigrant worker who knows he’s supposed to stay home from work and self-isolate, but who’s going to pay the rent?
We keep talking and making big plans for what we’re all going to do “once this is over”. But when the spread of the infection is over, the part where we pick up the pieces and try to put them all back together begins. That may very well turn out to be the biggest challenge yet.
Which strategy is the right one? Perhaps we’ll never know.
“The answer isn’t the number of people who die from the coronavirus,” Public Health Agency director Johan Carlson told the DN newspaper last week. “The answer is what we see after four to five years. How does the corona outbreak affect the entire health situation in Sweden?”
That’s a question we’ll be asking for years to come.
'Just hearing discussions about the end of lockdown helps us imagine a life beyond this,' Emma Pearson, Paris
In France the death toll continues to rise and the lockdown has been extended. And yet, strangely, there is a note of optimism in the air.
A commuter walks at the deserted Gare de Lyon train station. Travel is now heavily restricted in France. Photo: AFPOn Tuesday, nearly a month after we radically changed the way we live, Norwegian Prime minister Erna Solberg said “the measures are working.”
We have things under control, the government promised. From April 20th, schools and nurseries will begin to reopen, and some professions, like psychologists, physiotherapists and hairdressers, will be allowed to go back to work. Things will slowly but steadily get back to normal.
For some, this was the best news they had heard in a very long time. While it should be said that we haven’t been under a strict lockdown like many other countries and are still able to move around outside freely, Norwegians are sick of being stuck at home. Parents are fed up with having to work from home while trying to be their kids’ teachers. People want to go back to work. Get a haircut.
But others were alarmed by the PM’s optimism. We’re drowning in news about how countries around us seem to be falling apart. How could Norway do what no one else could? What were we risking? Was Erna being reckless?
A slope and ski lift unusually empty are pictured in Hemsedal, Norway. Photo: AFP
On the one hand, measures the government has taken to tackle the coronavirus are working. The numbers are looking good. We have passed the peak of the epidemic (at least one of them) and, on average, each infected person contaminates 0.7 others. Hospitals have seen the number of covid-19 patients decrease over the past week.
But, on the same day as the PM’s speech, the Norwegian Institute for Public Health (NIPH) released a risk report that stated that the contamination rate could be kept under control if – and that’s an important if – we continued with the current restrictions.
In other words: it can get a lot worse. NIPH said the main wave of the virus has not yet hit us.
So while we are happy to slowly go back to normal, many of us are feeling slightly uneasy right now. If there’s one thing that’s certain about the coronavirus, it’s that you never know what’s around the next corner.
“Do you have a feeling it’s over?” That was the text message I received from a friend this week as temperatures climbed to over 20C and queues formed outside ice cream shops.
It’s been nearly three weeks since Chancellor Angela Merkel announced strict social distancing rules for Germany which include keeping a distance of 1.5 metres between people and only meeting with one person in public.
Yet looking at the busy streets, parks and supermarkets, there’s definitely a feeling that suggests Berliners think the worst of the coronavirus epidemic in Germany has passed.
The restrictions are to last until April 19th but there is already talk of Germany’s lockdown exit strategy.
What will life look like? According to a draft government plan there would be widespread testing, contact tracing and isolating, compulsory face masks, as well as social distancing measures allowing businesses and schools to reopen.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said there would be a “gradual” return to normality – although partying would be off the cards for some time yet.
On paper this is all positive and the curve is flattening, according to experts.
Various face masks and a face shield are displayed for sale in Berlin. Photo: AFP
But the number of people dying in connection with coronavirus is still going up as the infection takes hold across care homes in Germany. As of Thursday there were around 2,300 confirmed deaths compared to about 1,000 a week ago.
There were more than 114,000 confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Seeing rising numbers – even if the infection rate is slowing – is grim.
Compared to other countries like Italy, Spain, France and the UK, Germany is in a better position. The lockdown is not as strict here; it’s still okay to go out and get fresh air. We’re even allowed to sit on a bench.
It sounds cheesy but you do become grateful for simple things, like being able to pick up a coffee or croissant from the bakery.
Last Saturday I cycled around the quiet streets of central Berlin, passing the Brandenburg Gate, before stopping off to grab a halloumi kebab to take home.
It’s such a small insignificant thing in the scheme of things but in corona times it felt amazing having the freedom to do that.
Merkel made another appeal on Thursday saying: “We must remain focused – the situation is fragile.”
I just hope people stick to the rules because I don’t want them to become stricter. And more importantly: it’s just the right thing to do.
So there is a lot of positive news coming from Germany. But the crisis is far from over.
Our three boys will snaffle all the chocolate. Not everything about coronavirus is bad!
Tomorrow will mark four weeks in confinement and the reality of life is starting to sink in.
The novelty has gone and we are starting to look ahead to what this will mean for the rest of the year.
Even if, as seems likely, the lockdown ends some time in May, how will it impact on us as a family?
Will this mean the children go back to school? Probably not. Imagine sending millions of children back to mix with each other and all that means; it would surely be a madness.
Then your mind wanders to summer holidays already booked. We have already tried to change flights to, of all places, Venice. We have struggled on the line to a certain low-cost carrier for hours, like many others.
Summer holidays loom ahead and we start to wonder if we will be travelling anywhere this year.
However, lurking at the back of our minds is the question of what will happen to our jobs: the big worry.
Spanish flag with a black ribbon to pay tribute to the coronavirus victims hangs on a balcony in Madrid. Photo: AFP
Without having any control on all of this, we try to muddle through on a day-to-day basis, with old fashioned games like bobbing for apples, skipping contests and picking Kit Kats off wire suspended over our trampoline; (anything to keep them off the dreaded screens!).
Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish prime minister, struck an optimistic tone when he told the parliament that “the fire starts to come under control”.
He has the unenviable job of deciding if and when we return to 'normal' life.
Yet, I have the impression, life will not be quite the same for a long while.
Epidemiologists have predicted a second wave of the virus as often happens with pandemics.
Preventing this from happening will depend on political leadership at a local level to clamp down when outbreaks are spotted in towns and cities.
Meanwhile, I am sure we will be walking around wearing masks.
Many of us will remain at home working there, looking after children. Offices will be almost empty, restaurants, bars and beaches likewise.
One hopes Spain's politicians can resist the childish temptation to squabble to win points off each other and see the bigger picture.
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