Spain's PM to seek longer, more flexible coronavirus lockdown as rise in death toll slows

MADRID • Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he would ask Parliament for a two-week extension until May 9 of the lockdown imposed in one of the world's worst coronavirus' outbreaks, but said the restrictions would be more flexible.

"We have left behind the most extreme moments," Mr Sanchez said at a press briefing last Saturday. But he added: "These achievements are still insufficient and, above all, fragile. We cannot put them at risk with hasty solutions."

His announcement came as Spain's death toll from the coronavirus rose at a slower pace last Saturday but surpassed 20,000 fatalities. It increased by 565 deaths, down from 585 last Friday.

Yesterday, the country reported the smallest increase in the number of coronavirus deaths in four weeks, with deaths rising by 410 to 20,453, according to Spain's Health Ministry's daily report.

Dr Fernando Simon, the government's top scientific adviser on the pandemic, said at a press conference yesterday: "We regret each death profoundly, but we have had an important decrease in the number of (new) deaths. This is the first time we got below 500 since cases started to spike - this number gives us hope."

In total, 195,944 people had been infected with the corona virus as of yesterday, with 4,218 new cases detected.

Spain began last week to ease a strict lockdown imposed on March 14 by opening up some sectors of the economy, including manufacturing. But most people are still confined to their homes except for essential outings such as food shopping, and not even children are allowed out for exercise.

The country with the third highest coronavirus death toll - after the US and Italy - will move slowly, carefully and progressively towards the "new normality", Mr Sanchez said.

But he warned that it would be a complex task and that the economic consequences of the outbreak will be "very negative".

Asked if citizens would be able to have regular summer holidays, the Socialist leader said he hoped so but that he could not give an answer, signalling the uncertainty of the scope of any de-escalation phase.

As he seeks a third parliamentary extension of the state of emergency, the next lockdown phase could start being "asymmetric" on April 27, meaning it could be more relaxed for some regions or groups, Mr Sanchez said, without specifying.

For instance, children would be allowed out of their homes, though it would be "limited and subject to conditions to avoid contagion", Mr Sanchez said.

The Prime Minister plans to define the criteria in the coming days, including in a meeting set for yesterday with Spain's 17 regional leaders.

Despite stressing an improvement in the figures and defending his government's measures, Mr Sanchez said Western countries "reacted late" to the virus' outbreak. He also admitted Spain could not initially provide all the protective equipment needed for its health workers.

The health ministry plans to announce an order to control and fix the prices of face masks for citizens, Mr Sanchez said.

Spain's Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz said last Friday that her department was planning a two-phase economic resumption, the first for productive sectors up to the summer, and a second for tourism and leisure which would last until the end of the year.

But any final decision would depend on the health authorities, her office said in a statement.

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG