Emerging from lockdown: '46 days in the house was enough'

A dog on top of a roof watches people strolling in Granada, Spain, during the hours allowed by to exercise, for the first time since the beginning of a lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Pic/AFP

From the US to Europe and Asia, people in many parts of the world are emerging from their homes as virus-related restrictions begin to ease and springtime temperatures climb.

Chinese were flocking to tourist spots, many newly reopened, after a relaxation of domestic travel restrictions ahead of a five-day holiday that runs through Tuesday.

Nearly 1.7 million people visited Beijing parks on the first two days of the holiday, and Shanghai's main tourist spots welcomed more than a million visitors, according to Chinese media reports. Many spots limited the number of daily visitors to 30 per cent of capacity or less, keeping crowds below average.

Masks were worn widely, from runners in Spain to beach-goers in the southern US. "It's great to have an audience after all these weeks," saxophonist Julia Banholzer, a native of Germany, said.

New Jersey reopened state parks, though several had to turn people away after reaching a 50 per cent limit in their parking lots. Margie Roebuck and her husband were among the first on the sand at Island Beach State Park. "Forty-six days in the house was enough," she said.

In Spain, many ventured out Saturday for the first time since a lockdown began on March 14. "I feel good, but tired. You sure notice that it has been a month and I am not in shape," Cristina Palomeque said in Barcelona. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez asked citizens to remain vigilant. COVID-19 has caused over 25,100 deaths in Spain.

The divide in the US between those who want lockdowns to end and those who want to move cautiously extended to Congress. The Republican-majority Senate will reopen Monday, while the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives stays shuttered.

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