Many countries have already begun easing restrictions on their citizens as a result of the Corona epidemic, others will do so in the next few days • The world is trying to balance the reduction of economic harm and public health • What do the reliefs look like in each country and what is happening where they have already begun to ease closure?

• Workers on construction site in Spain // Photo: IP

• A bustling market in Diego city of South Korea // Photo: Reuters

• Wholesale flower market in the Netherlands // Photo: IP

The Corona epidemic has been raging around the world for over three months and many countries have found themselves in a general closure that significantly impairs the economy and morale of their citizens. While Israel has announced a series of easing restrictions at various stages, almost every country affected by the virus has in recent weeks introduced some "exit plan" from the closure. 

The pioneer in this area was actually one of the more severely affected countries in Europe, Spain. Madrid authorities saw a decline in the mortality and infection rate as a golden opportunity to start and reinvigorate different parts of the economy. Already last week, the government brought back tens of thousands of workers in the manufacturing and construction sectors, many of whom are not defined as essential.

The government has distributed tens of millions of masks to workers returning to their workplaces and announced the existence of social remoteness, as far as possible, in factories and construction sites. The government aims to balance the desire to bring the economy back on track in a responsible and controlled way, and calls for a full return to routine, such as the one published today by Barcelona's Mayor Ada Colau, which called for the reinstatement of the city's educational institutions and the cancellation of the general closure. 

In Italy, whose northern provinces have become plague-laden fields, attempts to ease closure and return to routine are met with skepticism by the population itself. On Tuesday, the government announced a series of reopening businesses, including children's clothing stores, bookstores and craft and knitwear stores. The tentative move was met with opposition from store owners themselves, who are suffering heavy losses as hundreds of bookstore owners came together and wrote a letter expressing doubts about the wisdom of the decision. 

The one who demonstrates confidence in the return-to-normal steps is Germany, where a week when the number of people recovering from the virus was greater than the number of people infected, along with an increase in the number of tests available to the population, convinced the government that the country's corona epidemic was in decline. The Minister of Health announced today that the plague is "manageable" and Chancellor Merkel yesterday announced a return to education in all the state's institutions as early as May. The auto industry in the country will return to work as a series over the weekend and a large line of relief for gathering and leisure and wellness centers is already on the chancellor's desk.

The American Dream

US President Donald Trump made a speech yesterday explaining in general how he wants to "reopen" the US economy in three stages, a program that depends heavily on the cooperation of the governors of various states and Congress. Trump, who at an early stage expressed concern about the economic damage that closure measures could inflict, has received quite a bit of criticism for his slow response to the virus's arrival in his country. 

Trump has put together a new set of guidelines to reopen the economy, backed by medical experts by the Corona virus task force. The three-step program will offer recommendations on when to resume bars and restaurant activities, as well as sports events and other large public gatherings. Trump's plan differentiates the severely affected states such as New York and Michigan from countries where the spread of the virus is limited.

In the first phase, restaurants and movie theaters will be opened, while maintaining strict social exclusion rules. Schools will be able to open their doors during the second phase. In the third phase, bars will also be opened, a gathering of up to 50 people will be allowed, the ban on non-essential travel will be lifted and seniors will be able to leave their home. The President did not delineate the various stages of the program's implementation at a specified time and the expectation is for significant differences between the various countries. 

Corona at the ballot box

Yesterday, Seoul Democratic Party members celebrated, after an unprecedented victory in the state legislature, which gave the party, for the first time in its history, an absolute majority in the legislature. This is a tremendous personal victory for the president of the country, Moon Jay-in, and a seal of approval for his conduct in the face of the South Korean outbreak. 

South Korea, which relies on the country's civil obedience tradition, did not declare closure similar to what was done in China and the western countries. Flights to the country have not been discontinued and many jobs remain open, especially in the manufacturing sector. Millions of employees were moved to work from home and a special app managed to track patients. 

Now in Seoul optimistic about the return to the routine, when cafes and restaurants in different areas have been granted permission to open and even a number of tourist attractions have received government approval to allow a limited number of visitors. Markets have also resumed in full format and images of homeless markets in the city of Diego, the epicenter of the past, are enviable in many countries. Concerts and performances have also been approved in a slightly different format than expected and crowds will also be allowed during May. 

Exit Quarantine: In 2-week stages

The World Health Organization on Wednesday called on countries that are weighing on the population restrictions imposed by the Corona's disease, to do so in a controlled manner and to adopt a two-week waiting period between relief measures to examine the impact of the measures. 

The organization announced that humanity is "at a critical juncture" in the war in the epidemic, under which "the speed of response, the extent of the response and the transparency of the response measures will be significant as guiding principles for decisions regarding the steps to be taken." The organization argued that every state should take measures to ensure a viable influx of patients into their health care systems in order to cope with a sudden influx of new corona cases in the event that public relief fails. 

While countries such as Italy and Spain, and some countries in the United States, are currently considering closure measures, the World Health Organization calls on states: "In order to reduce the risk of a recurrent outbreak, steps need to be taken in a thoughtful, step-by-step manner and decisions must be made based on the epidemiological dangers And the socioeconomic benefits of removing the restrictions on education systems, various workplaces, and social activities. " 

"Ideally," a World Health Organization document reads, "there should be a minimum two-week adjustment period between each closure relief step, to allow enough time to understand the risk of a recurrence, as this is the corona virus incubation time." The organization also warned that even in places where the epidemic is waning, the risk of a new outbreak or transmission of the virus from another country will continue. 

The organization's significant announcement comes against the backdrop of an uproar over the organization's functioning during the global outbreak of the Corona epidemic. Critics of the organization, including US President Donald Trump, claim that the organization has hailed China's conduct regarding the outbreak of the epidemic and avoided using the term "plague" so as not to cause anger in Beijing.