Social meetings of up to 10 people are likely to be permitted from May 11th, after the Spanish government altered it’s four stage plan for leaving the lockdown yesterday.
As part of the initial Phase 1 of the lockdown exit strategy, meetings of up to 10 people will be permitted in private homes, in the open air or in bar and restaurant terraces, under the condition that social distancing measures are observed.
The government also increased the maximum occupancy for outdoor restaurant terraces during Phase 1, allowing one out of two tables to be used instead of one in three, as announced previously. This decision was taken after complaints from restaurant owners that they could not possibly survive with 30% occupancy on terraces.
Phase 1 will also allow open air markets to open at 25 % occupancy and religious services may recommence at 30 % occupancy.
New rules for car use will also apply in Phase 1. These will allow all the seats in a car to be used as long as they are occupied by people from the same household. If not, they are limited to two people in each row, who must wear masks. The government has not yet stated whether the rules on permitted journeys will be relaxed allowing, for example, people to drive to meet family members of friends.
Phase 1 is the initial stage of the lockdown exit process, and is likely to be entered on May 11th by all regions which fulfil the government’s health targets relating to new cases of COVID 19 and their health service’s capacity to deal with them.
There are four exceptions: the Canary islands of La Graciosa, EL Hierro and La Gomera,and the Baleraic isle of Formentera will be permitted to enter Phase 1 tomorrow. No active cases are registered on these islands.
The Canaries and Lanzarote are almost certain to enter Phase 1 on the 11th, as one of the best-performing regions of Spain. Lanzarote currently has just 17 active cases of coronavirus.
As part of the Preparatory Phase O, certain small businesses will be able open to the public from tomorrow. They must be in premises of no greater than 400 square metres, and are only allowed to attend to clients by prior appointment – one assistant per client. These businesses are obliged to establish special times when over-65s can be attended (during the two time-slots available for them) and are subject to strict rules relating to cleaning and disinfection.
Latest statistics*: 2nd May, 20:00
Increase on previous day’s figures in brackets.
Total Canarian Cases: 2221 (+9)
Cases on Lanzarote: 84 (+0)
Deaths (Canaries): 140 (+0)
*As there have been no new cases registered on Lanzarote for over a week, and the amount of new cases on the Canaries has slowed to a trickle, we’ll no longer be printing daily updates for the islands. Instead, we’ll provide occasional relevant updates unless and until the situation worsens again.
