Europeans taste freedom as COVID-19 curbs ease

ROME－Central Piazza della Repubblica was filled with the usual bustle of people going to work or heading to their activities. From this key junction behind the central train station, a network of large streets leads to Rome's center and its complex of historical monuments, ministries, offices, and shops. On Friday, many passersby were not wearing face masks.

This was one of many similar scenes in Europe as countries including Italy, Norway, and Belgium started a new phase of gradual lifting of COVID-19 restrictions over the weekend.

Key pandemic figures have been improving across Italy, and the tide of infections brought about by the Omicron variant in winter seems to be ebbing.

However, some voiced concern about not wearing a face mask.

"I am a bit puzzled, to be honest," Antonella Marchina, 52, said while wearing a mask.

Despite the positive signals registered lately, the number of daily infections and deaths was still high to let people walk and mix without face masks, she said.

"Only 45 days ago, between Christmas and New Year Eve, we were registering staggering figures of some 100,000 new cases a day or above. …To let people walk without face masks now seems imprudent to me."

Many other people on Friday could be seen walking around wearing face masks as if rules had not changed.

The new measures, introduced with a specific decree signed by Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Feb 8, permit being outdoors without a mask anytime unless it is in a gathering. This means people still need to be carrying masks.

Norway will scrap nearly all its remaining COVID-19 lockdown measures, the Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Stoere, said on Saturday.

The country removed most curbs on Feb 1, but will still keep some restrictions in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. The new rules took effect on Saturday.

"The coronavirus pandemic is no longer a major health threat to most of us. The Omicron virus causes far less serious illness, and we are well protected by vaccines," Stoere said.

Norwegians will no longer need to stay at least one meter apart or wear face masks in crowded settings. The removal of these measures means nightclubs and other affected entertainment venues can resume full business.

Travelers to Norway will no longer need to register their arrival ahead of time and the government is scrapping a requirement for proof of a negative test before departure for some visitors, such as unvaccinated people.

Belgium also announced a further easing of coronavirus restrictions on Friday to allow nightclubs to reopen.

From next Friday, nightclubs will be allowed to reopen, bars will be able to extend their hours beyond the current limit of midnight and end curbs on the number of customers per table, and concerts will be possible with a standing audience.

From midnight on Saturday in Iceland, the limit on the number of people allowed to gather in public will increase from 50 to 200, and sports centers and ski resorts will be allowed to operate at full capacity, the government said.

In France, COVID-19 restrictions will ease in schools when they reopen after the February holidays, Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer said.

Students will return from the break at the end of this month.

The wearing of face masks will no longer be mandatory in schools' outdoor spaces and the individual educational institutions' safety rules will be determined at school rather than at class level.

Agencies via Xinhua