Spain will begin easing restrictions on the blockade starting Monday, the country’s health minister and a principal aide announced Thursday.
“As of Monday, around 70% of the Spanish population, or 32 million people, will be in phase two. About 30% of the population or 15 million people will be in phase one and 45,000 people will be in phase three,” said the minister of Spanish health Salvador Illa said in a press conference.
Earlier this week, just over half of the population was still in the most restrictive phase one.
Parts of the regions of Castile, Valencia, Catalonia, Murcia, Andalusia and Castile and Leon will move on to phase two, which allows meetings for up to 15 people who do not live together, some indoor catering services and the opening of shops, cinemas and museums but with occupancy limits.
Four small islands of the Spanish Balearic and Canary Islands with small populations and low risk of infection will move on to the third phase, with further restrictions on movements and lightened meetings.
“The data is good, we are in a good way, but I have to insist: it is very important to know that this is a very complex phase and to maintain an attitude of individual responsibility because a mistake can jeopardize everything we have done so far,” he said. added Illa.
The Madrid region, which includes the capital of Spain and surrounding cities, will remain in the first phase without changes, explained health officials.
“All this evolution is due to the effort made by the population and the health system to control this epidemic,” said Dr. Fernando Simón, Spanish director of the Center for Health Emergencies.
Simón also told reporters that “small emergencies” were identified very quickly and were carefully monitored by local authorities to “avoid a new outbreak and maintain this favorable trend”.
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