(AFP): Spaniards took to the streets to jog, cycle and rollerskate for the first time following 48 days of strict lockdown as the government cautiously eased restrictions.
Spaniards flocked outdoors as they were allowed to exercise and walk freely after the government eased seven weeks of strict lockdown. Spain has reported one of the highest numbers of fatalities with more than 25,000.
Near the city’s Retiro park, residents were out running, sometimes in groups. Crowds of joggers mingled with cyclists and skateboarders in Barcelona’s seaside neighbourhood.
Spain’s financial advisor Marcos Abeytua said, “After so many weeks in confinement, I badly wanted to go out, run, see the world,” adding, “Yesterday, I was like a child on Christmas Eve.”
Simultaneously, the Spanish government has made masks compulsory on public transport in order to ensure the safety of the people. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the government would distribute 6 million masks, mainly at transport locations, and give another 7 million to local authorities.
With signs the COVID-19 pandemic is slowing, European nations and some parts of the United States have begun to lift restrictions in order to inject life into economies crippled by weeks of closure.
France will lift parts of its lockdown on May 11. However, France had extended a health emergency by two months until late July.
As governments lifting restrictions, US authorities brought some hope by approving an experimental drug for use on coronavirus patients.
So far, coronavirus has claimed lives of more than 242,000 people worldwide, and infected 3.4 million since it first emerged in China late last year.
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