SPAIN'S national government has authorised some industries to restart their activity, subject to certain restrictions, but the general public is not otherwise allowed to leave the house for anything other than the essential.
For most of the country, this means being able to go back to work today (Easter Monday) if they work in industries permitted to start trading again, although residents in the Comunidad Valenciana, the Balearic Islands, Catalunya, Castilla-La Mancha, Cantabria, Navarra, the Basque Country and La Rioja will not begin again until Tuesday, as today is a bank holiday.
In all other regions, Maundy Thursday (April 9) was a public holiday, and Easter Monday is a normal working day.
As yet, no shops are allowed to open except those already authorised to trade during the State of Alarm – supermarkets and other food stores, those selling the press, pharmacies, banks and other financial services, tobacconists', petrol stations, and for emergencies only, opticians'.
Companies whose staff can work from home are still expected to keep to this structure.
Factories, building sites and other firms in the industrial sector which, until now, have been considered 'non-essential', can start their operations again, provided staff keep a distance of at least one to two metres between them.
This may mean staggered shifts to ensure no more than a specific number of people on the premises at any one time.
Employees with any symptoms matching those which occur with Covid-19 – dry cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing or fever, however mild, and even if they feel otherwise well – must not go to work, and will be considered as signed off sick with the corresponding pay due to them.
The same applies to staff who are otherwise at a higher risk if they contract the condition – pregnant women, anyone over 60, or anyone with a pre-existing health condition or respiratory disorder – and to all those who have been in close contact with family members or other people diagnosed with Covid-19.
Employees should, as far as possible, walk, cycle or drive to work, avoiding public transport as much as possible, although the previously-restricted bus and train services have now been increased to enable those who have no other way of getting to their jobs to reach them.
Three main rules apply: Minimum distances between people, proper hygiene in public and private spaces – such as hand-washing – and wearing masks.
The government has not been able to enforce masks as a condition of going to work, since there are not enough available, but they are 'strongly recommended' and will be handed out between 06.00 and 09.00 tomorrow morning – as they were this morning – on public transport networks in Spain's main cities.
For the rest of the population, the same rules apply: Leaving the house is only permitted for the 'essential', such as visiting shops and other businesses authorised to open, to go to a medical centre or hospital, for looking after the elderly, disabled, children or other dependants, to take out the rubbish or walk the dog, although the latter should be for as short a time as possible and within 250 metres of the owner's place of residence.
No contact between people not living in the same household is allowed, and no home visits except for care duties are permitted.
Only one person is allowed out at any time – parents cannot take their children with them unless they would otherwise be home alone without an adult, which is illegal at all times.
Elderly, sick or disabled people, if they have to go out, can have one companion with them.
Exercise out of doors, except in private individual gardens or terraces – not communal ones – is still banned.
Although building sites will now be operating again, the general public is not allowed to have builders in to carry out home renovations – any construction-related work carried out in a private household by an outside professional must be for emergency reasons only, such as if the electricity or water goes off, if the person has no hot water, or has a burst pipe, leaking roof or broken window, for example; effectively, anything that cannot wait until the national quarantine is over.
This is due to continue until at least April 26, although Spain's government is expecting to have to prolong it another fortnight after then, taking the country into May.
