Around the world, a cautious, mask-clad return to work, school and even fun

Originally published May 18, 2020 at 1:29 pm

Jimena Aballe directs her neighbors as they disinfect their own streets against coronavirus in the Villa 31 neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Natacha Pisarenko / The Associated Press)

Students stand next to cones to mark social distancing as they wait in line before entering the classroom at Les Magnolias primary school in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday. Belgium is taking the next step in its relaxation of the coronavirus lockdown with schools, stores and museums beginning to reopen. (Francisco Seco / The Associated Press)

Passengers in protective gear wait for a humanitarian flight to Italy from El Dorado airport in Bogota, Colombia.
(Fernando Vergara / The Associated Press)

Someone put a mask on a statue of literary great Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Portland, Maine, on Monday. (Robert F. Bukaty / The Associated Press)

A masked resident of the township of Soweto outside Johannesburg, South Africa, walks in front of a closed bar on Monday. The sale of alcohol and cigarettes has been banned since the country went into a strict lockdown to fight the spread of the new coronavirus on March 27. (Jerome Delay / The Associated Press)

A woman sips her coffee from under her facial protection at a cafe with outdoor tables in Rome on Monday. Italy is slowly lifting restrictions after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. (Cecilia Fabiano / The Associated Press)

A man takes a picture next the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill of Athens, on Monday. Greece reopened the Acropolis and other ancient sites Monday, along with high schools, shopping malls, and mainland travel in the latest round of easing pandemic restrictions imposed in late March. (Petros Giannakouris / The Associated Press)

A medical worker in protective clothing helps a woman out of her wheelchair as she leaves after receiving treatment at a hospital for COVID-19 patients in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Monday.
(Dmitri Lovetsky / The Associated Press)

People wearing masks ride on a auto-rickshaw in Kochi, India, on Monday. Some restrictions on movement were eased in India, but the nationwide coronavirus lockdown was extended to May 31. (R S Iyer / The Associated Press)

Atilis Gym co-owner Ian Smith stands outside his Bellmawr, N.J., gym on Monday. Police responded after the gym opened in defiance of a state order that shut down nonessential businesses to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. (Matt Rourke / The Associated Press)

A farmer harvests wheat in Nepal, where a nationwide lockdown is in effect through June 2. (Niranjan Shrestha / The Associated Press)

Dancers of the Ballet Company of Gyor wear protective face masks during a practice session in the National Theatre of Gyor, Hungary, on Monday, their first time back after a long break because of the coronavirus shutdown. (Csaba Krizsan / The Associated Press)

Greenpeace activists demonstrate against the meat industry in front of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Monday. The posters read: ‘Stop cheap meat’ and “Cheap meat are a sick system.” The meat-packing industry in the U.S. and elsewhere has seen clusters of coronavirus cases among employees who work in close quarters. (Kay Nietfeld / The Associated Press)

Government officials wearing protective masks inspect isolation tents being set up as an indoor stadium is converted to a COVID-19 quarantine facility in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Tatan Syuflana / The Associated Press)

A man carries a large plastic container while waiting to cross a street in Pamplona, northern Spain. (Alvaro Barrientos / The Associated Press)

People wear face masks while bicycling around Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday.
(Chiang Ying-ying / The Associated Press)

A man jobs through a Bangkok park with his pet parrots on his shoulders Monday in Thailand, where stores, shopping malls and other businesses are beginning to reopen.
(Gemunu Amarasinghe / The Associated Press)

Passengers wearing masks and sitting at a distance wait for a subway train in Lisbon, Portugal, on Monday. The Portuguese government is gradually easing measures introduced to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. Signs in the station read, “Let’s defeat COVID-19” and “Keep the distance.” (Armando Franca / The Associated Press)

A woman’s temperature is checked as she enters a tea shop in Yangon, Myanmar on Monday. (Thein Zaw / The Associated Press)

A Lebanese youth jumps into the Mediterranean Sea off the corniche, in Beirut on Monday. Lebanon partially reopened its economy Monday after a four-day lockdown that was put in place following a spike in new coronavirus infections. (Hassan Ammar / The Associated Press)

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By

Courtney Riffkin

Seattle Times photo staff

Courtney Riffkin: 206-464-2203 or criffkin@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @SeaTimesPhoto.