Europe prepares for summer tourists, wary of a second coronavirus wave
- European governments ease restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus
- Number of new infections in the region stays generally low compared with its peak
Coronavirus lockdown measures were finally being eased on Monday for people in Madrid and Barcelona, the two cities worst affected by the coronavirus in Spain, as governments across Europe grappled with how and when to safely let in foreign travellers to salvage the vital summer tourist season.
Residents in the two Spain cities could meet in groups of up to 10 people in their homes or on the terraces of bars and restaurants.
The gates of the capital’s parks were allowed to reopen, and major museums were able to receive a limited number of visitors.
The Madrid and Barcelona regions, the most populated in the country, and a large part of Castile-Leon in the northwest were moving into the first phase of Spain’s four-phase deconfinement programme, following what has been one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.
These regions have been on a slower deconfinement track as they bore the brunt of the pandemic in Spain, which has killed almost 29,000 people to date, one of the world’s highest tolls. Europe has seen over 169,000 dead, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Everyone must continue to wear a mask, which is already compulsory in buildings and on public streets when it is not possible to keep a distance of two metres (six feet).
