Spain called off the Running of the Bulls in July and Germany canceled Oktoberfest five months away, making it clear the effort to beat back the coronavirus and return to normal could be a long and dispiriting process.
Amid growing impatience over the shutdowns that have thrown tens of millions out of work, European countries continued to reopen in stages, while in the US one state after another outlined plans to gradually get back to business.
All indications are that some businesses won't necessarily spring back to life when they get the all-clear.
With deaths and infections still rising around the world, the push to reopen has set off warnings from health authorities that the crisis that has killed well over 170,000 people globally, including more than 42,000 in the United States.
They argue the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over and that relaxing the stay-at-home orders too quickly could enable the virus to come surging back.
UN leaders called for efforts to ensure that all people have access to testing, medical supplies, drugs and future vaccines, especially in developing countries where virus cases are rising.
Africa's health care systems are especially weak and could become overwhelmed as the continent has recorded more than 1,100 deaths.
In Europe, Denmark, Austria, Spain and Germany began allowing some people back to work, including hairdressers, dentists and construction workers, and some stores were cleared to reopen or will soon get the OK.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the government will be watching carefully and will “pull the emergency brake” if necessary.
Spain, among the worst-hit countries, will also begin allowing children out of their homes for brief periods next week. Denmark's Tivoli Gardens, the Copenhagen amusement park that inspired Walt Disney, will reopen in May.
In an indication that it will be a long time before life returns to normal, Spain canceled its Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, the more than 400-year-old event, it was also called off during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee in the US was canceled the competition has been held since 1925 and was last scrubbed in 1945 during World War II.
“Our hearts go out to the spellers who won’t get their final shot at winning,” said Paige Kimble, executive director.
Germany called off the centuries-old Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, which draws about 6 million visitors each year.
It was previously canceled during the two world wars; during a period of hyperinflation in Germany in 1923; and twice because of cholera outbreaks in the 1800s.
“We agreed that the risk is simply too high,” Bavarian governor Markus Soeder said.
In Italy, Premier Giuseppe Conte confirmed that businesses can start reopening in May but dashed any hopes of a full end to the country's strict lockdown any time soon, saying: ”A decision of that kind would be irresponsible.’’
In the US, some states, including South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Colorado, announced plans to begin reopening in stages in the coming days.
Governors from other states said they first need help from Washington in ramping up testing to help keep the virus in check.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said that governors easing off restrictions had better have the facts on their side or they could trigger a resurgence of the virus beyond their states’ borders.
“If some of these reopenings are done the wrong way, it’s going to affect all of us,” de Blasio said on CNN.
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