The Spanish government on Friday excluded Madrid and Barcelona from the relaxation of the confinement which allows meetings with family or friends, which will be granted from Monday to 70% of the Spanish.
Cities like Valencia, Granada, Malaga or Toledo will begin on Monday the first of the three phases of a gradual deconfinement planned until the end of June, thus joining the cities of the North and the rural regions where since the beginning of the week the Spanish can meet up with friends or family or sit on the terraces of bars and cafes.
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But after two months of one of the strictest confinements in the world, Madrid and Barcelona will have to wait at least another week to regain the freedom that will have on Monday 32 of the 47 million Spaniards.
The Ministry of Health explained that these urban centers, with very high traffic in public transport, were also "nodes of communication with the rest of Spain and Europe" , were more risky than the less affected areas. They are also the cities most grieving by the pandemic, which has already killed 27,459 people in Spain, including 138 in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health. The number of confirmed cases exceeds 230,000.
Of the 138 new deaths, 89 have been recorded in the Madrid region and in Catalonia, which includes Barcelona, said the director of the ministry's Health Alert Center, Fernando Simon. "The risk of resurgence exists" and in some places it is "very high" he warned. "A city like Madrid if it knew of a renewed contagion, would probably affect all of Spain" .
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The government has however eased the strict measures that remain in force for the Madrid region, Catalonia and the Castile-Leon region (north of the capital).
Thus from Monday the stores will be able to open without appointment, always by limiting number of the customers, the churches will be able to reopen by limiting the reception to a third of their capacity and the social services will be able to resume.
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Meanwhile, Spain began Friday to check foreigners arriving at its airports, taking their temperature and ordering them to observe a quarantine of 14 days to avoid a resurgence of the coronavirus. They can only leave their accommodation for essential purchases and wearing a mask. A video released by the government shows how at Madrid-Barajas airport the temperature of arrivals is taken and they are made to fill out a form.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska explained on the radio that they are asked "where they are going to stay, at home or at the hotel, and a telephone number to be able to locate them" . His ministry extended Friday until June 15 the ban on entry into Spanish territory of any foreigner who does not ordinarily reside in Spain, with the exception of frontier workers, health personnel, diplomats and transporters.