The confinement of the Spaniards will end on May 15

USPA NEWS - The Spanish Government plans to end the confinement of the Spaniards on May 15, provided that the evolution of the Coronavirus pandemic follows the trend marked in recent weeks. The Congress of Deputies approved on Wednesday the third extension of the state of alarm, until May 10. The Government won the support of the conservative Popular Party, but found resistance in smaller groups that are beginning to distance themselves from the plans of President Pedro Sánchez.

The permission for children under the age of 14 to go out into the street starting next Monday, April 27 is an advance of the release that the Government plans for next May 15. It will be a gradual release and conditional on compliance with regulations such as social distance and the mandatory use of masks and gloves, but it will not affect everyone equally. The opening of shops is planned, although the Government warned that hotels, bars and restaurants, and leisure centers should wait until the second half of the year to open. Finance Minister Nadia Calviño said on Wednesday that the Government is studying the possibility that some bars may open before summer.

In a country like Spain, where social life is of great importance and takes place in bars and restaurants, the prolonged closure of these establishments is a big problem. The forced confinement is contrary to the Mediterranean character of the Spanish who, however, are complying obediently with the restrictions imposed by the Government. The Spaniards anxiously await his return to the bars.

At the moment, it will be children under 14 years old who take the streets first. Although in principle the Government authorized their departure to accompany their parents to the supermarket, to the pharmacy or to the bank, finally they will be able to take short walks around their homes and families with several children will be able to go for a walk with up to three of them simultaneously. Psychologists support this change because they consider it more appropriate for children to go outside to breathe in the open air and to run and play, rather than to go indoors where the risk of contagion from the Coronavirus is higher. However, the Government has warned that children must comply with the same rules - social distance, use of masks and gloves - as adults.

All the parliamentary groups in the Congress of Deputies supported this measure. And the majority also supported the extension of the state of alarm until May 10. It will be the last, if the Government's forecasts are met. The pandemic is beginning to be under control: cures continue to rise, deaths are declining and infections, although with the extension of controls, are increasing to a lesser extent than during the preceding weeks. A trend that, as pointed out this week by the director of the Center for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, Dr. Fernando Simón, "allows us to be optimistic."