Wearing masks, keeping distance, working and schooling on staggered times, Europeans are restarting their "normal" life -- but in an unfamiliar way after a nearly two-month lockdown to fight the coronavirus, reports Xinhua.
MIXED FEELING ABOUT EASING
Italy, one of the hardest-hit European countries, finally saw the easing of the eight-week national lockdown after the coronavirus infected over 211,000 people and claimed some 29,000 lives across the country.
However, the first day of easing met with a mix of nervousness and optimism among Italians.
"I feel unsafe on the streets even though there's no reason to," Kate Nichols, a British author and homeschool teacher who has lived in Rome for nearly four years, said in an interview. "Everyone has been sensible, but I still felt vulnerable."
Rita Rivelli, the technical director of a restoration studio in Rome, held a complex feeling towards the easing. "I'm very happy to see my co-workers after two months," Rivelli told Xinhua. "But I'm a little scared as well." Restrictions can be removed overnight, but businesses need time to win back customers.
Massimiliano Fabrizio, co-owner of Rome's Bar dei Cerchi, noted a big difference between the government's reopening and economy reopening.