MADRID • New coronavirus infections and deaths declined in France, Italy and Spain, while cases accelerated again in Germany, as all of Europe watched their efforts to gradually ease the lockdowns that sought to tame the pandemic.
Spain, which lifted a ban on outdoor exercise on May 2, recorded the fewest deaths since March 18 yesterday. Small shops in much of the country reopen today.
Italy's death toll yesterday was the lowest since March 9.
France loosens restrictions on businesses today, though strict controls will remain on public transport in Paris.
Only parts of Spain will get a respite because restrictions will not be eased yet in cities including Barcelona and Madrid, the epicentre of the country's outbreak.
"This 51 per cent of the Spanish population will get back a greater part of their lives" after the whole country fought the outbreak, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday. Spain has the most confirmed cases in Europe.
In Germany, however, new infections were accelerating again just days after its leaders loosened social restrictions, raising concerns that the pandemic could once again slip out of control.
The Robert Koch Institute for disease control said the number of people each sick person now infects - known as the reproduction rate - had risen to 1.1. When it goes above 1, it means the number of infections is growing.
Chancellor Angela Merkel had bowed to pressure from leaders of Germany's 16 federal states to revive the economy, announcing last Wednesday measures that included more shop openings and a gradual return to school.
Despite more than 150,000 deaths in Europe, leaders are feeling the heat to restart an economy that may be set to contract the most since the Great Depression.
While European Union countries are testing the waters on rekindling economic life, borders will remain shut until mid-June, limiting transport and commerce.
Outside the euro region, Russia's new cases topped 10,000 for a seventh straight day, leapfrogging on Friday the size of the outbreak in France and nearing levels recorded in Britain, Italy, and Spain, the region's hardest-hit countries.
The strictness of lockdown measures varies greatly in Eastern Europe.
Belarus on Saturday ignored the pandemic risk and held a large military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Thousands gathered in the streets of Minsk for the event, with little social distancing.
In Britain, the end of the war was commemorated with a two-minute silence on Friday, but no public gatherings were sanctioned.
With more than 31,500 fatalities, Britain has suffered the most deaths from the virus in Europe. Another 346 deaths were reported on Saturday, with almost 4,000 new cases.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to ease the country's lockdown even after a week in which the death toll exceeded 600 on several days. Mr Johnson was set to lay out a road map out of the lockdown last night, though he is expected to largely keep restrictions in place until June.
Mr Johnson's government has been criticised for being slow to respond to the risks of the virus even after cases began spreading there in January. Now, there may be evidence that the virus may have been in Europe much earlier than that.
The outbreak could have started as early as October, according to a joint British-French study cited by the Telegraph.
A French athlete who participated in the World Military Games in Wuhan, China, last October suffered symptoms matching Covid-19, the paper said.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
