Schools prepare to reopen for exit classes

Schools reopen in Kenya after a nine-month disruption caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Hand sanitisation stations are in place and staff check the temperature of students before they are allowed into school. Many parents are happy to see their children back in school as it gives them more freedom to work, though they also have concerns about the potential for the virus to spread among students.

Our correspondents take you to the Central African Republic, where a territorial gain by government forces means a vital lifeline for the country with neighbouring Cameroon could soon reopen. We also take you inside the lab that discovered the South African variant of the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus. We end in DR Congo, where a local cheese has become a national staple.

Lawmakers have pushed to accelerate the vaccination of teachers to keep schools open for younger children. The move comes amid rising infections and the threat of a third wave.

Hairdressers in Germany are reopening for business, along with hardware stores and flower shops in certain states. However, a stalled decline in infections means most coronavirus rules will remain in place.

Pubs and restaurants have reopened for the first time in months as England eases another round of public health regulations.

 

The global travel and tourism sector lost $4.5 trillion and 62 million jobs in 2020. Some countries are beginning to reopen their borders to vaccinated foreign tourists and hoping for a strong summer season. Virginia Messina, Managing Director of the World Travel and Tourism Council, believes vaccines will help the industry recover but are not the only solution. "Everyone should be able to travel," she told FRANCE 24, but consumer confidence has been undermined by a lack of consistency in international regulations.

"We are happy to reopen even if it is with a very limited capacity," says the director of the Grévin Museum, a wax museum in Paris. After being closed for more than six months because of the pandemic, staff are carrying out the final touches to the wax statues before reopening to the public on May 19.

French cinemas are once again welcoming moviegoers, with a backlog of 400 unreleased films threatening to saturate the market as the government announces a new round of rescue funding for cultural industries. Also, an African Finance Summit yields progress but leaves more to be done, and Joe Biden throws down the gauntlet to China's electric vehicle industry.

As people in France return to artistic institutions after almost seven months of lockdown, we find out what's on offer at Paris's Musée d'Orsay. In addition to its world-class collection of Impressionist art, we hear from the museum's director, Laurence des Cars, about the temporary exhibitions and events there at the moment. With strict health and safety measures in place, she tells us how limited visitor numbers should allow for a better viewing experience.

Delhi's chief minister says the capital's COVID situation is "under control" but appealed for caution. "It is important to bring the economy back on track," he said.

Revellers crowd the newly reopened dance floor of a club in Washington, DC, as authorities lift all Covid restrictions on bars, nightclubs and entertainment venues in the US capital, allowing them to operate at full capacity. "I just high-fived a stranger," says local resident and partygoer Aimee Bailey, "we're just so excited to be able to be next to each other." Nightclub owner Bill Spieler shares her enthusiasm but also confesses to being "nervous," as his venue hasn't welcomed dancing crowds indoors for over a year until now.