Uruguay starts to dance again as pandemic subsides

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — After long months of illness, Uruguay is once again starting to dance. The government last week authorized ballrooms and event halls to open as the country’s COVID-19 death rate has fallen sharply. A few months ago it was among the highest in the world per capita. Seventy percent of Uruguayans have received both doses of vaccines against the virus and once-overstressed hospitals now have empty beds. The government decided to let ballrooms for dancing open five hours a day — though with limited capacity and mandatory 20-minute pauses each hour to air out closed spaces.