John Culatto
THE curfew in Gibraltar will be relaxed on Sunday and lifted completely on March 25, its government announced today.
From March 14, the curfew will only last from midnight until 5am and there will be no limit to when shops can sell alcohol.
Additionally, the number of people who will be able to book a table will rise from six to eight people from Sunday.
However, the amount of people who can gather in a public place will stay at 12.
The relaxation of the restrictions followed a meeting by the Civil Contingencies strategic coordinating group on March 11.
“It is exactly a year since we first found ourselves forced to impose restrictions on our liberty and our ability to enjoy our hard won constitutional freedoms,” said Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.
“It has been our hardest year in Government and the toughest year for our nation in decades.
“We have lost many loved ones and we have seen our economy severely disrupted.
“In all this time we have constantly kept all restrictions we have had to impose under review.
“We are now able to announce the lifting of many of the outstanding restrictions.
“We will continue to remove further restrictions as soon as we are advised it is safe to do so.
“Rules on the wearing of masks will not be further relaxed at this stage.”
Careful planning
Numbers of active COVID-19 cases rose slightly to 23, although ten of those are visitors.
It comes as two students from Bayside and one from St Paul’s tested positive for the coronavirus.
University students, meanwhile, will now no longer have to self-isolate for five days when they return from the UK.
“In lifting these restrictions I must nonetheless emphasise the need for caution and
continued personal responsibility in ensuring the maintenance of social distancing and hand and respiratory hygiene,” said Picardo.
“As restrictions are relaxed there is a renewed air of normality around us, but things are not quite normal yet and we must all remain both prudent and cautious in our approach to the COVID 19 virus.”
There are now almost 29,000 people who have received at least the first dose of the vaccine.
