Some businesses reopen but shops, bars and public spaces to remain closed
People in Spain were being handed masks at transport hubs on Monday as the government relaxed some tough lockdown measures and a few businesses including from the construction and manufacturing sectors tentatively reopened.
With the country entering its second month of lockdown, firms unable to operate remotely were allowed to resume work, sparking criticism from some regional leaders who fear a resurgence of the coronavirus outbreak.
The majority of the population are still stuck in their homes. Shops, bars and public spaces will remain closed until at least 26 April. The prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said on Sunday the country remained firmly in lockdown despite the easing of restrictions on non-essential workers.
The partial relaxation came as Spain’s overnight death toll from the coronavirus fell to 517 on Monday from Sunday’s 619, bringing the total death toll to 17,489, the health ministry said. It was the smallest proportional daily increase since tracking began. Overall cases rose to 169,496 from 166,019.
The interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, told Cadena SER radio station that Spanish police started handing out millions of masks early on Monday morning across regions that were not observing a public holiday. “The health of workers must be guaranteed. If this is minimally affected, the activity cannot restart,” he said.
The number of passengers using Madrid’s public transport system was up about 34% on two weeks ago, according to Ángel Garrido, who is responsible for transport in the Madrid area. He said masks were only available on Monday at about 20% of the city’s metro stations. The government has pledged to hand out 10m masks to the public.
One company reopening, the Burgos-based industrial group Nicolas Correa, said it would take measures to prioritise the health of its staff.
“We will continue to work in shifts, with staggered entries and exits to avoid concentrations of staff,” it said, adding that all workers would be provided with protective equipment.
Only a few commuters could be seen coming in and out of the main entrance of Madrid’s usually bustling Atocha railway station, Reuters reported. Road traffic was light too, with mainly buses passing by, in contrast to the customary morning jams just a month ago.
Sánchez said on Sunday the decision to restart some sectors of the economy had been taken after consulting a committee of scientific experts. Any further winding-down would depend on gains made against the virus, he said. So far 500,000 people have been fined an average of €300 (£260) for breaking lockdown.
Belgium on Monday reported 303 more deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing its death toll from the outbreak to 3,903. Although its absolute numbers seem small compared to other European countries and the US, Belgium’s small population means the impact of the outbreak is proportionally bigger than in Italy.
On Sunday, France reported a slight fall in the daily number of deaths from Covid-19 compared with the previous 24 hours, to 315. The country’s death toll – including fatalities in nursing homes – reached 14,393, the health ministry said.
In other developments:
• China reported 108 new cases, 98 of which were imported from overseas, its highest figure since early March. The country where the disease first emerged has largely brought its domestic outbreak under control, but it faces a fresh battle against imported infections, mostly Chinese nationals returning home.
• Indonesia announced 316 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 4,557, according to data provided by a health ministry official, Achmad Yurianto. Yurianto said there were also 26 new coronavirus-related deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 399.
• Japan said it saw no reason at the moment to extend its state of emergency beyond Tokyo and a handful of other cities. The central government declared a state of emergency last week, giving legal authority to governors in Tokyo and six other potential virus hotspot prefectures to ask people to stay home and businesses to close.
• India and Pakistan are planning to partially open up some parts of the economy, officials in both countries said, as the costs of lockdowns to limit the outbreak of coronavirus mount across the region. Indian officials said the number of cases in the country increased to 9,152 on Monday, including 308 deaths. This is a sharp rise from fewer than 1,000 two weeks ago.
Lebanese Ministry of Information
