Europe reopening begins with ‘apology’

Bloomberg

Italy’s prime minister apologised for delays in aid payments to jobless workers, underscoring the pitfalls for political leaders who are warily reopening Europe for business.
As governments enter the next phase of dealing with the coronavirus, European policy makers are increasingly focusing on the risk of a second wave of a pandemic blamed for some 235,000 deaths worldwide.
Giuseppe Conte, whose country’s credit rating was cut by Fitch to a step above junk, is more challenged than most. He apologised on Facebook for holdups in aid to workers and small businesses while facing criticism from industry and political rivals after two months of lockdown.
“We are moving towards the reopening of economic activities through a chaotic succession of uncertain and contradictory measures,” said Carlo Bonomi, designated head of the Confindustria manufacturers’ lobby.
In the UK, there were 739 new virus-linked deaths reported on May 1, bringing the total to 27,510 a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “we are past the peak of this disease.”
Plans being considered by UK ministers would keep white-collar employees working from home for several months to avoid overwhelming mass transit, the Financial Times reported.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the UK had met its target of providing more than 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April as it sought to build capacity to tackle the next stage of the outbreak.
With the UK turning to easing a nationwide lockdown in force since March 23, testing and a system of tracking and tracing Covid-19 cases are key tools for preventing a second wave of
infections. “Our goal must be freedom. Freedom from the virus. We will not lift measures until it is safe to do,” Hancock said.
France reported 218 new deaths on May 1, the lowest since March 23. The euro area’s second-biggest economy plans to ease restrictions starting from May 11, reopening shops as one of the first steps.
Italy will start to gradually ease its lockdown on Monday, with construction and manufacturing the first to resume.