Europe Outbreak in Check But Virus Apps Struggle for Traction

(Bloomberg) --

Europe’s efforts to control the coronavirus have largely held up, but a key tool aimed at keeping the pandemic in check has struggled to gain traction.

Apps to help authorities track contact between people have been slow to take off, with skeptical users balking at downloading the software as daily life returns to normal. Switzerland is the latest country to try its hand, with a new program going live Thursday.

Around 12 million people have downloaded the German app, by far the most in Europe. The take-up has been more tepid elsewhere, with around 3.5 million in Italy, 1.9 million in France, and a mere 30,000 in Hungary. Spain, Ireland and Finland are developing versions, while Greece and Portugal are focusing on other methods to contain the disease. The U.K. abandoned efforts to create its own app and will instead use Apple Inc. and Google technology.

Here is the situation in continental Europe’s major economies:

Germany

Even as infections largely remain under control, there have been worrying localized outbreaks. A spate of cases at a meat plant prompted the restoration of lockdown measures in two municipalities, and there have been isolated outbreaks in other cities, including the capital Berlin.

Still, it appears loosening controls hasn’t backfired on a wider scale, even if Germany’s R value -- the average number of people infected by one person -- remains just above the key threshold of 1.0. Since case numbers are relatively low, local outbreaks have a strong influence on the R value, according to the nation’s public health institute.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet lifted a global travel warning European countries from June 15, the latest move toward a return to normality in Europe’s largest economy.

Germany started easing curbs on April 20, when German shopkeepers were allowed to start resuming business. Schools were partially reactivated from May 4 and a broader easing was announced two days later, including reopening restaurants and hotels. Social-distancing rules remain in force.

France

French data was skewed by a big drop in new infections June 2 after authorities changed their methodology. While the trend to lower infections remains intact, the adjustment underscores the risk of relying exclusively on new cases.

France started to gradually ease its lockdown from May 11, with shops and businesses allowed to reopen under strict hygiene conditions. All pupils returned to school on June 22.

Parks and beaches have reopened, with social-distancing rules in force. Domestic travel restrictions have been lifted while restaurants and cafes are now all operating normally, albeit with hygiene rules and reduced capacity for guests. European tourists have been able to travel to France since June 15.

The Versailles palace and gardens, the country’s third-most visited tourist site, reopened last week, while the Eiffel Tower is following suit on Thursday. Disneyland Paris will reopen under strict hygiene conditions on July 1, and the Louvre Museum plans to do the same on July 6.

Italy

New infections in recent days have been close to the lowest since the start of the pandemic in late February, with a sharp drop in the number of hospitalized patients.

Virus cases in intensive-care units fell to 107 on Wednesday, compared with about 4,000 at the peak of the outbreak in early April. Most regions have been reporting fewer than 10 new cases per day for the past week.

After almost two months, Italy began emerging from lockdown on May 4, when about 4 million people went back to work, citizens were allowed to leave their homes for a run or a walk, and could buy takeout espressos and pizzas. Most shops, bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen from May 18 with distancing rules.

Final restrictions were lifted this month, with free movement inside the country and no requirement for travelers to quarantine when arriving in Italy. Theaters and cinemas reopened from June 15, though schools won’t reopen before September.

Spain

Spain ended its state of emergency on June 21, entering a phase that the government has called a “new normal.”

As the outbreak receded, the central government said May 31 it would hand powers to manage the winding down of lockdown measures to the country’s 17 regional administrations.

Borders are open to all tourists from the Schengen area except Portugal, and also for British citizens. The announcement came as part of a push to revive tourism, which accounts for about 12% of the economy.

Shops, restaurants, bars and hotels can operate with social distancing rules and masks are mandatory in public spaces where social distancing isn’t possible.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.