JUDY WOODRUFF: From Moscow to Milan, and Singapore to Seoul, the watchword these last weeks and
months has been lockdown.
Now many of these places are beginning to loosen COVID-19 restrictions.
But, as Nick Schifrin reports, in this global pandemic, the first steps are made cautiously,
and with no guarantee that there won't be steps back.
NICK SCHIFRIN: After seven weeks of Spanish quarantine, the beach bums are back. Spain's
small businesses also reopened. And following one of the world's strictest lockdowns, a
cafe con leche tastes like heaven.
OLIVIA ORTIZ, Spain (through translator): It tastes so good. It tastes like the glory
of my life.
NICK SCHIFRIN: For the first time in almost two months, Parisians left the house without
government permission. Shoppers filled the Champs Elysees with their boutiques of choice
written on mandatory masks.
VICTORIA BOYARD, France (through translator): Wearing pajamas all day long doesn't help.
I want to go shopping again. It is good for our morale.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In Switzerland, beef is back on the menu, as diners are allowed to return
to restaurants.
Elementary school students are back in the Netherlands, sitting behind plastic shields.
And in Russia, despite a new surge of cases, President Vladimir Putin is also looking to
reopen.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian President (through translator): Starting from May 12, wherever
possible, it is necessary to create conditions for the restoration of work of enterprises
in the basic sectors of the economy.
NICK SCHIFRIN: But there's a rip current under this wave of reopenings. In Seoul, nightclubs
have new posters banning gatherings and bars that were open on Friday night now have padlocks.
A single 29-year-old visited this neighborhood last week to go clubbing, and infected more
than 50 people. The only reason the club-goer had been allowed out, South Korea relaxed
social distancing 10 days ago.
MOON JAE-IN, South Korean President (through translator): It will be a long time before
the COVID-19 outbreak ends completely. We should also brace for the pandemic's second
wave, which many experts are predicting.
DR. REBECCA KATZ, Director, Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security: This
is a virus that has a foothold in human populations and is not going anywhere.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Dr. Rebecca Katz directs Georgetown's Center for Global Health Science and Security.
DR. REBECCA KATZ: I'm not even sure that we have finished the first wave, and already
individuals and decision-makers are trying to move on as if we are over the hump or we're
past this problem. But, in fact, the curves are telling us we are still in the midst of
it.
NICK SCHIFRIN: For months, Singapore used widespread testing and meticulous contact
tracing to prevent an outbreak.
But positive cases have jumped a hundred-fold because authorities admit they failed to consider
these tower blocks. They're full of foreign workers who can't social-distance. The spike
among those foreign workers exposes the danger of overlooking vulnerable populations.
DR. REBECCA KATZ: Often, you're putting people in situations that are kind of perfect for
disease transmission. And then that transmission passes over to the rest of the population.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In Northeast China, state TV showed police setting up new checkpoints,
after warning of a new wave and reclassifying a province as high-risk.
In Wuhan, where COVID-19 began to spread, authorities reported a handful of cases, the
first in more than a month.
BORIS JOHNSON, British Prime Minister: We are taking the first careful steps to modify
our measures.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In London yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled the United
Kingdom's first plan to get workers back on the job.
BORIS JOHNSON: Anyone who can't work from home, for instance, those in construction
or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work.
NICK SCHIFRIN: But, this morning, commuters and the opposition party called the guidance
confusing.
And Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, rejected the plan, out of fear of a second
wave.
NICOLA STURGEON, Scottish First Minister: My judgment right now is that the risk is
still too great. Too many people are still dying.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Countries should lift lockdowns only when they can identify new outbreaks,
World Health Organization's emergencies director Mike Ryan said today.
DR. MICHAEL J. RYAN, World Health Organization: If disease persists in countries at a low
level without, the capacity to investigate clusters, identify clusters, then there is
always the risk that the disease will take off again.
DR. REBECCA KATZ: It's going to require a lot of testing, tracing, isolation, quarantine,
treatment when we possibly can, good, strong case management.
These -- this is resource-intensive. It requires a really robust public health system, which,
to be honest, doesn't really exist in those parts of the world.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Which is why experts say, this isn't the second wave; it's the second inning,
and there is a long, treacherous path home.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.