Parts of Europe reopen stores, LA sees new curbs

While stores are set to lift their shutters in France and Belgium, Los Angeles county is announcing a temporary ban on gatherings

Paris: Parts of Europe will reopen stores on Saturday in time for the holiday season after progress in containing the coronavirus, but Los Angeles will halt nearly all gatherings with the pandemic surging across the United States.

Most countries hope to ease their virus rules for Christmas and New Year, allowing families a respite before bracing for what the world hopes is one last wave of restrictions until a clutch of promising new vaccines kick in.

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Stores will lift their shutters in France on Saturday, while Poland’s shopping centres will also reopen. Belgium is to allow shops to reopen from December 1, but keep the current semi-lockdown in place possibly until mid-January. The move mirrors similar easing in Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

The Italian government partially lifted restrictions in Lombardy and Piedmont in the north, and Calabria in the south from Sunday, changing their alert levels from red to orange. And Ireland has also announced a staggered easing of restrictions to allow some businesses to reopen and for families to gather ahead of Christmas.

The United States surpassed 13 million total cases on Friday — the world’s highest — and officials were concerned whether gatherings on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday would further worsen the situation in the coming weeks. The virus clouded the traditional “Black Friday” shopping day, but experts were expecting strong online sales.

Worry over the virus’s rapid spread led Los Angeles county to announce a temporary ban on gatherings of people from different households, with religious services and protests exempt. The order affecting the United States’ second-largest city will take effect Monday and last at least three weeks, until December 20, the county’s public health department said. California last week imposed a night-time curfew across much of the state.

Sports was also affected in the United States. The NFL postponed a pivotal matchup between the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens to Tuesday because of a Covid-19 outbreak among Ravens players.