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28TH APRIL - 4TH MAY 2020 - EDITION 836
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Spanish PM considers allowing adults daily walks On the weekend that saw children living in Spain allowed out for the first time in 6 weeks, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez lifted the spirits of the national by announcing the government might allow adults daily walks or exercise from Saturday 2nd May. The Prime Minister however, made it clear that the decision will depend on whether the coronavirus contagion figures keep dropping. Pedro Sánchez of the Socialist Party (PSOE), who leads a coalition government in partnership with the leftist Unidas Podemos, said: “If the evolution of the pandemic keeps moving in a positive manner, starting on May 2 outings will be allowed for individual activity and for walks with the people that we live with.” The specifics of what is and is not allowable will be given following the next cabinet meeting, but it is believed that people will not be able to drive to their favourite beauty spot for a walk but will need to leave the house on foot and only accompanied by the people they live with. The walk or exercise period will be for a maximum of one hour taken near to your home. Meeting friends will be allowed and beaches and parks will remain closed to discourage group gatherings. Flouting of the rules may lead the government to reverse the decision. As with the children’s daily allowance it is thought the '1-1-1-1' rule will apply: a maximum of one walk a day, for a maximum of one hour, within no more than a one-kilometre
radius of home (about two-thirds of a mile), and with just one household at a time. This will be the only change to the restriction rules, bars, restaurants and customer facing businesses will remain closed. Apart from the exercise period people will remain at home in lockdown and can only venture out for food or medical reasons. In a press conference held on Saturday evening, the Prime Minister said that the de-escalation of confinement measures will take place throughout May, “and we will see what happens in the month of June.” “I would like to convey to you the importance of being cautious. This is not a race to see who is the first to reopen a shopping mall or a small business.” Pedro Sánchez explained that the de-escalation will occur at different speeds depending on the situation in each region. “In the de-escalation, we will not all advance at the same speed, but according to the same rules,” he said. "We will do it at different speeds depending on [the situation] of the pandemic in each location, in an asymmetric but coordinated fashion. We will do it as a team.” The Prime Minister added that the central government will be responsible for the de-escalation plan, despite complaints from regional leaders in Catalonia and the Basque Country, who want more control over how the measures are rolled out in their regions. The Spanish Cabinet is set to
approve the de-escalation plan today (Tuesday 28th April). Steady improvement Daily coronavirus deaths have been below 400 for a few days, down from highs of more than 600 in recent weeks. But the pandemic has hit Spain hard: the official death toll at around 23,000 and the number of registered infections at around 224,000 although unreported deaths at senior residences and private homes could mean the real numbers are significantly higher. Recent figures also show that 20 percent of Covid-19 infections are among healthcare workers, much
higher than in other countries, a fact that experts blame on poor planning
and a shortage of protective gear and testing kits.