COVID-19 | France reopens terraces and museums, New York wears less of a mask

(Paris) France reopens its terraces and museums, Austria with its restaurants, New York wears less masks: the population of many Western countries found little freedom on Wednesday, thanks to the decline of the epidemic, unlike India, which still fell into a serious health crisis.

France Media Agency

After six months of life in slow motion, the French can eat or drink on the terrace once again with a 50% efficiency rating and up to six people per table. Restaurants and cafes have to wait until June 9 to welcome dining room customers.

“Small moment of rediscovered freedom” in Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron and his prime minister, Jean Costex, drank a lot of coffee on the terrace on Wednesday morning, in the words of the head of state, “a moment of rediscovery of freedom”.

“Today I live heartily again,” said Sylvie Champalle, 53, sitting at a terrace in Lyon.

French cinemas, theaters and museums can once again welcome people – in disguise – with maximum attendance figures. And the start of the curfew will be delayed by two hours, from 7 to 9 p.m.

This partial lifting of the restrictions was determined to reduce the spread of the virus, but it was high (on average about 14,000 new cases per day), and the ramp-up of the vaccine campaign in the pandemic country killed 108,000 people.

Show white piece in Austria

The return to normal life goes even further in Austria, where restaurants, hotels and cultural venues are fully open on Wednesdays.

However, it is necessary to show a white claw at the entrance of various places, by conducting a test on site when possible or by giving a negative result, proof of vaccination or antibodies.

At the European level, representatives of 27 member countries agreed on Wednesday to allow travelers from third countries to enter the EU after receiving a dose of authorized vaccines at the European level. One measure has been set as the summer tourism season approaches, which is crucial for most countries.

As for the European Health Certificate, which aims to facilitate travel in the EU during the tourist season, talks are set to resume on Thursday.

Less masks in New York

After being the epicenter of the epidemic in the spring of 2020 and following months of extreme caution in the face of the coronavirus, New York lifted a number of restrictions on Wednesday, especially in restaurants.

The rise in the vaccine rate – more than 60% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose – and the drop in the COVID-19 positivity rate, now less than 1.5%, is a sign of the end of widespread televerking that has pushed many major banks, including JPMorgan Chase or Goldman Sachs.

People who have been vaccinated for these relaxations are no longer allowed to wear a mask even indoors: a few days after the contraction, the New York state governor approved the power from federal officials on Wednesday.

While some took the opportunity to drop the mask, others were cautious.

“It’s hard to know exactly what to expect, it’s a little annoying,” said Miranda Maxwell, 41, who is fully vaccinated. “I continue to wear a mask when there are people, for example on a busy street, and at home”.

“Free summer” in Quebec

The crisis is also over in Quebec, one of the Canadian provinces hit hardest by COVID-19: Prime Minister Franకోois Legalt declared Tuesday a “free summer” as sanctions were gradually lifted by the end of June.

In the UK, the government has launched clinical trials, the first in the world, to promote the recall of the third dose of the immune response, the COVID-19 vaccine.

This hope of the Western countries, where Tactane is in full swing, is still different from the catastrophic conditions in India, where the immunization campaign had to be halted in many places due to the passage of Tactane, which killed at least 55 people.

Disaster in India

India, with a population of 1.3 billion, recorded 4,529 deaths and 267,334 contaminants in 24 hours on Wednesday, bringing the total to 25.5 million cases and 283,248 deaths. Everywhere, hospitals are saturated, nursing staff at the end of their rope, lacking oxygen and medication.

The situation in Argentina is also alarming, with a record new number of cases (35,543) and deaths (745) recorded on the same day on Tuesday.

President Alberto Fernandez, who promised to speed up vaccinations, said “do not give up, we know we are traveling through difficult times”.

In Japan, IOC President Thomas Bach assured that at least 75% of the residents of the Olympic Village for the Tokyo Games would have been “already vaccinated or planned to do so” before the Olympics, but many Japanese feared the event would put more pressure on their health care system.

In Malaysia, a record number of cases were reported on Wednesday (6,075) and hospitals were close to saturation.

The coronavirus has killed at least 3.4 million people since the end of December 2019, according to a report founded by AFP on Wednesday.