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SEVILLE: Facial mask waiters served coffees and sandwiches in sandwiches on cafe terraces in Seville on Monday (May 11) as parts of Spain eased restrictions amid a slowdown in the coronavirus epidemic that reduced the number of new deaths to almost two months. low.
“I am very happy, I really wanted to work. We have been closed for two months,” said Marta Contreras, a waitress in the center of Seville, smiling behind her mask.
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Approximately half of the 47 million Spaniards advanced to the so-called Phase 1 of a four-step plan to relax one of the strictest blockades in Europe on Monday after the government decided that the regions in which they live meet the necessary criteria .
Still, cities like Madrid and Barcelona, which have been particularly affected by the epidemic, have been left behind for now and cafes have remained closed in Puerta del Sol square, in the capital.
READ: From South Korea to Germany, new outbreaks as countries ease COVID-19 blocks
Data from the health ministry showed that the number of daily deaths fell to 123 on Monday from 143 on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths from the pandemic to 26,744 in one of the most affected countries in the world. The daily number, a minimum of seven weeks, has dropped from a record 950 in early April.
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Church services were resumed with limited capacity and chairs, instead of benches, were spaced inside so that the faithful kept a distance of 2 m.
Under the relaxation of the running of the bulls, up to 10 people can gather and people can freely 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
Companies were happy to resume work after the long paralysis, but many said they still accumulated losses.
“We can only open thanks to the owner of the facilities who significantly reduced our rent and the support of our staff who have given up part of their wages to start working,” said José Manuel, owner of a café in Seville. .
Ramon, another cafe owner, added: “The truth is that it has been a pretty hard financial blow. We will see, we will overcome it little by little … I will not be profitable yet, but hey, I run the business so here I am “
In the regions that qualify, including most of Andalusia, the most populated in Spain, as well as the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, bars, restaurants, shops, museums, gyms and hotels were allowed to open, most of them with reduced capacity.
But Madrid, Barcelona and other cities like Valencia, Malaga and Granada will remain in Phase 0, much to the annoyance of regional governments struggling with the economic implications of a prolonged blockade.
Fernando Simon, chief coordinator of health emergencies, called for caution to avoid a rebound in the outbreak.
“We are in a very positive situation, but it is a very delicate phase in which if we do not do things well we could end up in (rebounding) situations like those of South Korea or Germany.”
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