Alex Trelinski
THE Valencian Community, including the Costa Blanca, will go into Phase Three of lockdown reduction this Monday (June 15).
Spain’s Health Minister, Salvador Illa, confirmed the news on Friday (June 12), after the regional government officially asked him for the go-ahead earlier this week.
Relaxations in Phase Three include no time restrictions for different age groups going outdoors for a walk or to exercise.
The move will also allow free movement between all three provinces across the Community.
Capacity for bars and restaurants will be raised, while playgrounds and sports centres can open at up to 30 per cent of their regular limit.
The State of Alarm ends on June 21, when travel across the whole of Spain will be permitted.
Full list of new privileges includes:
- Zoos, aquariums and other tourist attractions can open as long as they do not exceed 50% capacity.
- Any retail establishment or business can reopen, regardless of size, as long as they keep to a 50% capacity.
- All time slots for outdoor exercise or walks will be eliminated, while people will be permitted to meet up in groups of up to 20, both in their homes and outdoors.
- The BOE has advised that extreme health and safety measures be taken when visiting people belonging to at-risk groups, such as the elderly or immunocompromised.
- Public areas both outdoors and indoors, such as recreational areas in shopping centres or parks, can open up to the public at a 40% capacity.
- Restaurants, hotels and cafes will be able to serve people at the bar once again, but two-metres must be kept between customers, and their terraces can open to a 75% capacity.
- Residents in Phase 3 areas will be free to move around their province, island or ‘unidad territorial’ – a collection of very small and sparsely populated towns which have banded together. In the Valencian Community, residents can travel freely between provinces.
- Wakes and burials can be held in Phase 3 with limits of 50 people if they are held outdoors and 25 if indoors.
