It seemed Sunday that the measures taken in major western countries to curb the emerging Corona virus are paying off, at a time when preparations are being completed to mitigate them with caution and within relatively imminent deadlines.
In a precedent recorded in Europe, the continent that accounts for about two thirds of the pandemic deaths that exceeded 164 thousand cases, Germany will start easing restrictions as of Monday, with the reopening of the majority of stores less than 800 square meters.
With more than 135,000 confirmed infections and nearly 4,000 deaths, the pandemic in Germany is "under control", according to Health Minister Jens Spahn.
And German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that this "interim success" is still "fragile", while the current head of the Renania government in North Westfalia (West), one of the most affected regions of Germany, warned of the virus that "a return to our previous normal life will take a long time."
The number of daily deaths and injuries decreased in several countries, such as France (about 20 thousand deaths), Spain (about 20,500 deaths) and Italy (about 23,600 deaths), after the numbers continued to rise for weeks, which means anticipation of measures to exit from isolation in the coming weeks.
"We are not out of the health crisis," said the French prime minister, although "the situation is improving gradually, slowly but surely."
France is the fourth country in the world in terms of registering Covid-19 deaths after the United States, Italy and Spain, and it intends to ease restrictions as of 11 May.
In Italy, the easing of restrictions will not start before the third of May, according to what the authorities announced, knowing that companies are slowly reopening their doors, and partly and in the midst of strict preventive measures.
In his account on Instagram, the famous ice cream maker Roman Julieti made a comment in which he announced, "We are returning", confirming the resumption of delivery of products as of Tuesday.
In Spain, the head of the health emergency center, Fernando Simon, announced that for the first time since 22 March, the number of daily deaths has decreased from 500, to 410 cases.
On Wednesday, a morgue created in Madrid will be closed, and as of April 27, the authorities will allow the exit of children banned since March 14 from the exit.
In Norway, where the authorities consider that the "virus is under control", nurseries will open their doors from Monday, and will lift the ban on staying outside the home. In a second phase, beginning on April 27, schools and universities will partially open their doors.
"We can slowly reopen society," said Prime Minister Erna Solberg. "We will do it together, under supervision, gradually."
In the United States, which is witnessing a conflict between US President Donald Trump calling for the speedy recovery of economic activity and a number of Democratic state governors, New York Governor Andrew Como, the state that is the epicenter of the epidemic in the country, declared that Covid-19 started its downward path.
"All indications are that we are on a downward path," Como said, but he called for caution, saying "the continuation of the downward path depends on what we do," and he had decided to extend the closure in the state until May 15.
The Israeli government agreed to ease some restrictions as of Sunday as part of a "responsible and gradual" plan.
The pandemic has killed more than 164,000 deaths in the world, about two thirds of them in Europe since the virus first appeared in China in December last year, at a time when the Chinese Wuhan Laboratory denied responsibility for the spread of the virus after accusations by American media and warnings issued by Donald Trump.
A Statistics France Press agency based on official sources showed that the United States is the country worst affected by the number of deaths, which reached 40,585 cases out of 74,242, according to Johns Hopkins University.
In a new chapter in the confrontation between Washington and Beijing, the director of the laboratory, who was accused by the American media of being the source of the spread of the new Corona virus, said, "It is impossible to be the source of the virus." In an interview with a government channel, Yuan Ziming denounced the accusations "without evidence" for "deceiving people."
Most scientists believe that the new virus has passed from animal to human, specifically in a popular market in Wuhan that sells live animals. But the presence of the laboratory a few kilometers from the market contributed to increased speculation about the possibility of the virus leaking from this sensitive facility.
Trump attacked China again Saturday. "It could have been stopped (the epidemic) in China before it started, and this has not happened," he said. "And now, the whole world suffers from this."
"If they are intentionally responsible, yes, then there must be consequences."
Turkey has crossed the threshold of two thousand deaths, while Africa has crossed the threshold of one thousand deaths with Covid-19, about 75 percent of which are in Algeria, in addition to Egypt and Morocco.
In Mali, legislative elections were held despite the Corona virus and were marked by jihadi violence. Although preventive measures were taken at polling stations, markets, mosques and transportation were not emptied.
But according to the World Health Organization, the epidemic is still out of control, with "fixed or increasing numbers" being recorded in Eastern Europe.
On Sunday, more than 260 million Orthodox Christians living, especially in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, celebrated Easter in unprecedented circumstances, ranging from a commitment to stone and a "rebellion" against it.
