COVID-19 Roundup: Western countries embrace festive season changes amid coronavirus
CGTN
A girl poses before colorful light decorations in Florence, November 24, 2020. /CFP

A girl poses before colorful light decorations in Florence, November 24, 2020. /CFP

When traditional family reunion holidays confront the coronavirus pandemic, festivities are bound to be different.

While the second wave of the pandemic has seemingly slowed in many western countries, government leaders are not that anxious to declare a full reopening in case a fast return to normal causes a third wave, at a time when the second wave hasn't receded enough.

British Prime Minister was reported as saying that a strict coronavirus tier system will replace the current national lockdown on December 2 and will not be lifted until Easter Monday in England, so as not to suffer a winter peak in January and February.

Besides caps on social gatherings in many European countries, people in Italy and the Czech Republic will not have a chance to enjoy their beloved traditional Christmas markets as usual.

Happily for many French is that they will be able to travel even between regions to meet loved ones during the season, even though a nationwide curfew from 21:00 to 7:00 will take effect when the second national lockdown ends on December 15.

In Canada, which saw a surge in coronavirus infections after its October Thanksgiving, people have been told not to expect a Christmas festival as usual.

Whatever measures the governments adopt, what is certain is that the festive season will be a different one.

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While social gatherings are clouded by the pandemic, the holiday for businesses is not that bad.

Take "Black Friday" for example. Malls were open for business as usual, but there were early indications the day after America's Thanksgiving that crowds were much more sparse this year as more consumers opt for e-commerce because of the virus.

E-commerce sales on Thanksgiving reached a new record this year, rising 21.5 percent to $5.1 billion, according to data from Adobe, which predicted that the sales volume during the shopping day is expected to surpass $10 billion and more than half of the Americans will choose to shop online.

Lockdown has closed most non-essential shops, but the restrictions will end early or in the middle of December, which somewhat lets the Christmas holiday business recover from losses during earlier closures.

After the United Kingdom ends its newest lockdown on December 2, the sales volume will witness a great increase in comparison to that during the "Black Friday," according to Barclays Bank.

There are also some other things needing attention. For example, in Europe, where ski resorts are thought to bring many infections, countries are divided over the reopening of ski resorts. France and Germany agreed to reopen slopes from early January, while Austria, where skiing is a pillar industry, has shown more eagerness, reopening 10 resorts and announcing the rest will open on December 18.

(With input from agencies)