The third phase of the lockdown in India will begin today with "considerable relaxations", but curbs will continue in containment areas so that the gains achieved so far in the fight against COVID-19 are not "squandered away". The country has been divided in three zones—Red, Orange and Green—based on coronavirus risk-profiling. The extended lockdown is slated to last till May 17.
The lockdown will be phased; in keeping with the prime minister's announcement to balance economic needs along with health and safety, activities will be allowed depending on the geographic risk profiles.
Now, with the COVID-19 crisis stabilising across the world, balancing lives and livelihoods is a question countries have started grappling with. The worst-hit Europe and many places in the US are gradually easing their restrictions amid warnings from health experts that a second wave of infections could hit unless testing for the virus is expanded dramatically.
A look at the rest of the world:
United States
An enduring image from the United States during the past week was that of gun-totting activists storming the Michigan state capitol, amid President Trump's calls to the public to "liberate" their country (ending lockdown). The image best exemplifies the great gulf in public opinion in the West, torn between the need to ensure social distancing measures and fears of a dying economy and 'freedoms lost'.
Militia surround Michigan capitol | Reuters
The divide in the United States between those who want lockdown to end and those who want to move cautiously extended to Congress, with President Trump coming out firmly against a continued lockdown. The Republican-majority Senate will reopen Monday, while the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives stays shuttered.
More than 12 US states allowed restaurants, stores or other businesses reopen Friday, amid Trump's renewed push for an "economic reboot", acting at their own speed and with their own quirks and restrictions to make sure the coronavirus doesn't come storming back.
AFP reported that people in Louisiana could eat at restaurants again but had to sit outside at tables 3 metres apart with no waiter service. Maine residents could attend church services as long as they stayed in their cars. Nebraska malls reopened with plexiglass barriers and hand-sanitising stations but few shoppers. Hotels near South Carolina beaches opened and state parks unlocked their gates for the first time in more than a month.
Texas' reopening got underway with sparse crowds at shopping malls and restaurants allowing customers to dine in, though only at 25 per cent capacity in most places.
A scene from San Francisco | Getty
However, civic unrest was a fixture. A viral video posted on social media showed a city park ranger in Austin getting shoved into the water while asking people in a crowd to keep two metres apart from each other.
President Donald Trump said Friday that he's hoping the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States will be below 100,000, which he acknowledged is a horrible number.
China
China, which reported only two new cases, saw a surge in visitors to newly reopened tourist spots after domestic travel restrictions were loosened ahead of a five-day holiday that runs through Tuesday.
Nearly 1.7 million people visited Beijing parks on the first two days of the holiday, and Shanghai's main tourist spots welcomed more than 1 million visitors, according to Chinese media. Many spots limited daily visitors to 30 per cent of capacity. The Forbidden City, past home to China's emperors, is allowing just 5,000 visitors daily, down from 80,000. And parks are allowing people to visit at 30 per cent of the usual capacity.
Beijing on Thursday downgraded its level of emergency response to the virus from first to second tier, but temperature checks and social distancing remain in force. The change comes at the start of the five-day May 1 holiday and in advance of China's rescheduled gathering of the National People's Congress on May 22.
Italy
A tram in Italy, with warnings to maintain social distancing | AP
As Italy contemplated its first steps toward easing restrictions today, the health ministry reported 174 COVID deaths in the 24-hour period ending Sunday evening, the lowest day-to-day number since the national lockdown began on March 10. Parks and public gardens are hoped to reopen from today.
Germany
Germany's health minister has warned against significantly relaxing restrictions imposed to curb coronavirus infections, saying this could recklessly endanger the country's achievements in fighting the pandemic. In an op-ed for daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Jens Spahn welcomed the public debate over loosening the lockdown. But, he said that especially because Germany has so far come through this crisis better than others it would be reckless to endanger this hard-won joint achievement.
Germany has recorded almost 162,000 cases of COVID-19 and 6,467 deaths so far, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That is about a quarter the number of deaths recorded in Britain and France, which have a similar number of confirmed cases.
UK
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to reveal how the country will leave the lockdown that began March 23. The restrictions are due to last at least until through Thursday, but with hundreds of deaths still being reported daily, it's unclear how the country can safely loosen the restrictions. Britain over the last two days reported double the number of deaths that both Spain and Italy reported.
The UK government is facing sharp criticism as it becomes clear that Britain will have one of the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the world. British medical workers have also denounced what they call is a shortage of protective equipment.
Spain
AFP reported that thousands of Spaniards woke up this week to lace up their running shoes for the first time in seven weeks after the government ended a prohibition on outdoor exercise.
Spaniards come out for open air | AP
Since Spain's lockdown started on March 14, one of the strictest in the world, only adults have only been able to leave home, and only for shopping for food, medicine and other essential goods, and to walk dogs close to home. For two weeks, all commuting was banned; now, only unavoidable commutes to and from work are allowed, with authorities encouraging people to work from home.
Spain has announced a complex lockdown rollback plan that will vary by province. Those with the fewest cases and with health care resources to handle a rebound of the virus will be the first to enjoy a further loosening of the measures. The government has set up time slots for age groups and activities to prevent crowds from forming and exposing the most at-risk elders.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh plans to extend the nationwide shutdown until May 15 as the novel coronavirus claimed five more lives in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the country to 175. The capital city of Dhaka is the worst-affected area with 54.73 per cent of COVID-19 cases.
Despite experts' warnings, Bangladesh had reopened hundreds of its garment factories this week after nearly one month of closures. The factory owners reportedly claimed they were operating with fewer workers than usual and following safety guidelines. There are nearly 4.1 million garment workers in the country.
Global lockdowns led the international apparel brands and retailers, who rely on the cheap labour that Bangladesh provides, to cancel or suspend an estimated $3.17 billion worth of orders in the country.
Malaysia
Malaysia will allow most economic sectors and business activities to reopen today, days before a two-month lockdown is scheduled to end. After coronavirus infections fell sharply in recent weeks, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said there was a need to revive the economy as the country has lost 63 billion ringgit ($14.7 billion) since a partial lockdown began March 18.
It is due to end May 12, but Muhyiddin says most businesses, including restaurants, can open their doors beginning Monday with strict social distancing rules and health guidelines in effect.
That includes health screening for staff and customers, and registering details of visitors. In a televised May Day speech, Muhyiddin said mass gatherings will still be banned, which means places such as schools, cinemas and worship houses will stay shut, and group sports are prohibited.
