Coronavirus Economic Recovery: Spain, Austria Reopen Select Areas Amid Signs Of Hope

While many countries debate how best to move forward in reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, Spain and Austria on Tuesday began allowing limited workforces to return to work.

Spain’s decision to reopen select areas of the economy comes after reports that the spread of COVID-19 in the country was beginning to flatten out. The Spanish Health Ministry said Monday that the overnight death toll had also dropped to 517, though it did go back up with 567 more reported deaths entering Tuesday.

The total number of deaths in Spain has reached 18,056.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Monday that the first businesses to reopen would include construction, manufacturing and some transportation. However, retailers and restaurants would remain closed until April 26, at the earliest, or until it is deemed safe enough for large public gatherings.

Some workers expressed optimism at getting back to work.

“We really needed it, just when we were going to run out of food we returned to work,” Barcelona resident and construction worker Roberto Aguayo told Reuters.

Others were not as enthusiastic, fearing that people getting back to work could cause the virus to experience a resurgence.

“I would have preferred to wait 15 more days confined to home or at least one more week and then come back,” civil engineer and Talarrubias resident Carlos Flores told Reuters. Flores said he lives with his parents and sister and he didn’t want to risk possibly exposing them by going back to work.

Austria followed Spain’s lead, but took it a step further by reopening thousands of retail spaces across the country. However, Austria has managed to keep infections and deaths relatively low compared to other countries thanks to early shutdowns of all non-essential spaces in March.

Austria’s death toll from COVID-19 has reached 384 as of Tuesday, lower than the daily death counts coming out of several countries.

Despite the progress in Austria and Spain, most of Europe is still working to contain the spread of coronavirus. This has forced several countries to extend their lockdowns into May and expand lockdowns to help the infection curve flatten.

England, France, and Russia have all extended their lockdowns, with Russian President Vladimir Putin saying Monday he may need to call in the military. He also warned hospitals are beginning to run low on beds and medical supplies.

The U.S. is debating how best to begin reopening the country’s economy, which has expanded the rift between President Trump and state governors.

One of Trump’s most vocal opponents has been New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said Trump did not have “total authority” over reopening the economy. He argued governors could refuse an order to reopen from Trump if there was still a substantial risk of COVID-19 exposure.

Trump, in return, referred to Cuomo and other Democrat governors as “mutineers.”