Europe extends openings; China to give $2B to virus fight

ATHENS, Greece — Europe reopened more widely on Monday, allowing people into the Acropolis in Athens, shops in Italy, museums in Belgium, golf courses in Ireland and beer gardens in Bavaria. China announced it will give $2 billion to the fight against the coronavirus.

As nations carved out a new normal amid the pandemic, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the World Health Organization’s annual meeting that the funds would be paid out over two years to help respond to COVID-19, which has already killed hundreds of thousands and devastated national economies. He didn’t specify where the Chinese funds would go.

Xi’s address to the World Health Assembly came amid sharp tensions between Beijing and U.S. President Donald Trump, who has suspended U.S. funding to WHO and accused it of failing to stop the virus from spreading when it first surfaced in China. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was representing the U.S. at the meeting, which is being held online this year.

New infections and deaths have slowed considerably in Europe, where some countries started easing lockdowns a month ago. Many nations are preparing to open their borders next month, trying to sketch out the parameters for a highly unusual summer tourist season.

Germany’s foreign minister, who was discussing the options Monday with colleagues from 10 largely southern European countries, cautioned that this year’s holidays will be like no other.

“Even if a summer vacation will be possible elsewhere in Europe, which I hope, one has to say that this vacation this year won’t be like the ones we know from the past,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told ZDF television. “The pandemic is still there and we must at least have safety precautions for the worst case that the figures get worse again.”

315K deaths worldwide

More than 4.7 million people worldwide have tested positive for the coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year, and over 315,000 deaths have been reported, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Those figures are believed to understate the true dimensions of the pandemic because of limited testing, differences in counting the dead and concealment by some governments.

The U.S. has reported almost 90,000 deaths and Europe has seen at least 160,000 dead.

Greece reopened the Acropolis in Athens and other ancient sites, along with high schools, shopping malls and mainland travel. Tourists were local, for the country still has a 14-day quarantine for arrivals, and travel to the Greek islands remains broadly restricted. Paving stickers were used as markers to keep visitors apart outside the Acropolis.

Authorities are keen to reopen the vital tourism sector, following a warning by the EU Commission that Greece is likely to suffer the worst recession in the 27-nation European Union this year.

Greece’s public beaches reopened over the weekend amid a heatwave with strict social distancing rules, but buses from Athens to the nearby coast were crowded.

In Belgium, more students returned to school, hairdressers began clipping locks again and museums and zoos opened their doors, all with strict reservation systems to avoid overcrowding. Hoping to make the most of the sunny weather, open-air markets started selling their plentiful spring fruits and vegetables.

Nervous in Ireland

Some stores reopened in Ireland but Health Minister Simon Harris said he’s still nervous because the virus hasn’t gone away. He hoped that social distancing and other measures will make more normalcy possible.

If Ireland can get the next three weeks right, “we as a country will find a way to live safely alongside the virus,” Harris told RTE radio.

Churches in Italy and at the Vatican resumed public Masses. Guards in hazmat suits took the temperatures of the faithful entering St. Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Francis celebrated an early morning Mass in a side chapel to commemorate the centenary of the birth of St. John Paul II.

Across town, the Rev. Jose Maria Galvan snapped on a latex glove and a face mask before distributing Communion to the dozen parishioners attending Mass at his Sant’Eugenio parish.

“Before I became a priest I was a surgeon, so for me gloves are normal,” he joked later.

The virtual meeting of the U.N. health agency’s World Health Assembly comes as the WHO has been drawn into a blame game between the U.S. and China over the spread of the virus. Trump claims China mishandled the outbreak early on but China has defended its record, saying it has worked closely with the WHO to respond to the pandemic.

The EU and other countries have called for an independent evaluation of the WHO’s response to the pandemic “to review experience gained and lessons learned.” The resolution has the support of more than half of WHO’s member countries.

China reported just seven new cases on Monday but kept tighter social distancing rules in parts of the northeastern province of Jilin after a cluster of cases of unknown origin turned up. But many people in Beijing, where no cases have been reported in weeks, have stopped wearing masks outdoors, although masks are required in most indoor areas and on public transportation.

2.7K official deaths in Russia

Moscow health officials said 77 people died of the virus in the Russian capital in the past 24 hours, the highest daily number so far. With over 290,000 infections, Russia is second only to the U.S. in the number of cases but health officials suspect many more people with the virus have died than Russia’s official death toll of 2,722.

In some Indian states, people trickled outdoors and thin traffic returned to the roads Monday, a day after the government extended a nationwide lockdown to May 31 but eased many restrictions to restore economic activity. Small shops and other businesses reopened in several states, including the capital, New Delhi.

At the same time, India recorded its biggest single-day coronavirus surge with 5,242 new cases, along with 157 deaths.

In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro greeted hundreds of supporters — and joined some in performing push-ups — who gathered before the presidential offices to back his open-the-economy drive. Bolsonaro has played down the impact of the virus even as it has swept through Latin America’s most populous country, leaving over 16,000 people dead.