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MADRID: Spain recorded its lowest daily number of deaths from coronavirus since mid-March on Sunday (May 10), as half the population prepared to alleviate one of the strictest blockades in Europe.
Emergency health chief Fernando Simon said at a press conference that the number of daily deaths from 143 to below 179 on Saturday was the lowest since March 18.
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“We continue with the downward trend reported in recent days,” he said.
Total deaths rose to 26,621 from 26,478 on Saturday and the number of diagnosed coronavirus cases rose to 224,390 from 223,578 the day before, the Health Ministry said.
About 51 percent of the population will advance to Phase 1 of a four-step relaxation plan on Monday after the government decided that the regions they lived in met the necessary criteria.
It will include a significant reduction in measures that will allow gatherings of up to 10 people and allow people to move around their province.
READ: Half of the Spaniards will see that the running of the bulls was eased as of Monday as the death toll falls
In the regions that made the cut, such as the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, bars, restaurants and shops will open at reduced capacity and museums, gyms and hotels will open their doors for the first time in almost two months.
But the two largest cities in Spain, Madrid and Barcelona, currently do not meet the relaxation criteria and will remain in Phase 0.
Regional governments in some areas that have not been allowed to fully move to Phase 1, including Andalusia and Madrid, have openly voiced their criticism.
“It is a hard blow to the economy,” Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso said in an interview with the daily El Mundo on Sunday.
“If everything continues as experts indicate, this virus will be here for one to two years, so since it is a long career for the health service, we have to move to the next phase.”
Cyclists, joggers and walkers, many wearing face masks, filled the bridges and streets around Madrid Río Park on Sunday morning, as the park remained closed.
“Madrid is still in Phase 0, we can’t go to Phase 1 tomorrow and I think that’s the right decision. I don’t think Madrid is ready to go to the next phase,” said David Starton, 53, of Scotland . , who has lived in Madrid for 20 years.
“It is unfortunate, it is quite sad and we will have to endure another week of restrictions and confinement.”
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