Cristina Hodgson
SPEAKING to regional presidents on Sunday, Pedro Sanchez said ‘if nothing goes wrong,’ some communities will be out of the state of alarm ‘in a few days.’
According to Sanchez, the entire country should be out from the state of alarm by late June or early July.
After Phase 3, regions will enter what the government has referred to as the ‘new normal’, when freedom of movement will return, respecting social distancing measures.
According to the PSOE chief, who was speaking at a weekly video-conference meeting with the country’s regional leaders, although the criterion set is that a territory remains 14 days in a phase before moving to the next, this period can be shortened depending on how the pandemic evolves.
Sanchez also committed to studying whether de-escalation measures included under Phase 3 could be applied to rural areas in Phase 2.
This was confirmed moments later by the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, in a press conference after the online meeting.
Illa announced that, although the criterion set is that a territory remains 14 days in a phase before moving to the next de-escalation level, this period can be shortened depending on how the pandemic evolves.
This could be good news for Malaga and Granada, the two provinces who remain a phase behind the rest of the Andalucia region despite having similar figures.
If they continue to do well, they may be brought back in line with the rest of the region.
The minister reiterated that de-escalation is a ‘gradual, asymmetrical and flexible’ process, which studies the epidemiological rhythm of each territorial province and clarified that most regional presidents have stated that they are in favour of continuing to limit the mobility that governs under the state of alarm.
As of this Monday, the majority of the country will be in Phase 2 of the government’s de-escalation plan.
The extra freedoms awarded in the next stage include the opening of beaches, places of worship and monuments.
Gymnasiums will open in Phase 3 as these establishments share common elements and areas such as changing rooms.
