Spain’s prime minister announces coronavirus deescalation measures
The transition to a “new normality” will last six to eight weeks, explains Pedro Sánchez, with continuing restrictions on travel to other provinces and Spanish islands
In short, there will be 4 phases... no definite date for each phase. At least 2weeks between each phase, but it might be more..
Phase 0, he said, “is the phase for the preparation of the deescalation, and that is the phase in which we are now.” This phase would involve the reopening of businesses such as restaurants that can offer food to take away. Individual classes will also be allowed in gyms. Individual training for federated sports players and professional leagues will also be allowed.
Phase 1, the prime minister continued, would “allow in each defined territory the partial reopening of small businesses under strict safety measures, apart from in large shopping malls, where big crowds could form.” He added that this also included the opening of hotels and tourist apartments, not including common areas. Mobility within a province will also be permitted under Phase 1.
Phase 2, meanwhile, will see hostelry establishments able to open their dining areas. As for schools, they will not fully reopen until September, but Sánchez explained that they would offer a guarantee that children aged under six can attend classes if their parents have to go to work, and so that students can complete their university application processes and exams.
“Cultural events will be possible with fewer than 50 people in interior spaces, and for open-air events, there will have to be 400 people or fewer, and they will have to be seated,” Sánchez explained.
Cinemas and theaters will also reopen under Phase 2, with a third of their capacity allowed to enter and assigned seating.
Phase 3 will be “the advanced phase,” he continued, “once the required markers have been met,” with cinemas and theaters allowing 50% of their capacity to enter, for example. “General mobility will be relaxed,” he added, and it will still be recommendable to wear masks on public transport.
Under Phase 3, the capacity of stores will be limited to 50%, with an inter-personal distance of two meters. Restrictions will be further relaxed for bars and restaurants.
Each phase will last at least two weeks, he said, which is the incubation period of the coronavirus, and in the best-case scenario, the process will last eight weeks in all of Spain.
“By the end of June, as a country we will be in the new normality if the evolution of the epidemic is under control in all territories,” he said. “This weekend individual physical activity [for adults] will be allowed, as will walks. On May 4, all territories will enter Phase 0, and given the low number of infections and if the progress allows for it, Formentera, the Balearics, Gomera, El Hierro and Graciosa in the Canary Islands will enter Phase 1 shortly after.
“On May 11, all of the provinces that meet the requisites will enter Phase 1, and the Health Ministry will evaluate the markers on a two-weekly basis.
as was meant to leave for my Camino tonight.
