Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a roadmap on Tuesday to ease the lockdown. The government hopes that daily life will be “normal” again by the end of June.
The plan of Sánchez and his cabinet consists of four steps, whereby the lockdown is increasingly relaxed. The first measures will be alleviated from 4 May, after which every two weeks an assessment will be made to see whether further relaxations are already possible.
The relaxations do vary per region depending on the circumstances, such as the daily number of new infections and the number of beds available in intensive care (IC).
Nationally, people have to keep their distance from one another to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. With 210,773 confirmed infections and 23,822 deaths, Spain is one of the hardest hit countries in the world.
Due to the widespread spread of the virus, the cabinet placed Spain on 14 March in a heavy lockdown, which therefore continues until 4 May.
No fixed entry dates for subsequent phases
In the first phase, from May 4, for example, restaurants are allowed to open their terraces again, but only at 30 percent capacity. The Spanish government also wants to be flexible with regard to the starting dates of further phases, depending on the circumstances per region.
Until the last phase, which is due to start at the end of June, Spaniards are strongly advised to continue working at home where possible. Beaches may also be fully open again by that time, unless circumstances immediately prevent it.
“We see a glimpse of the outcome that will be a reward for the great collective effort we have all made in recent weeks,” said Prime Minister Sánchez.
The Spanish head of government explained why the relaxation should be done carefully and step by step. “This trip doesn’t have exact directions, we have to keep an eye out for each other. We have to make sure that all the efforts of the past few weeks are not lost.”
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