MADRID, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The State of Alarm which was imposed on Spain on March 14 to halt the spread of the coronavirus expired at midnight between Saturday and Sunday, allowing the country to progress into what Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the "new normality."
All of Spain (with the exception of the northern regions of Galicia, Cantabria and the Basque Region, all of which moved into the "new normality" earlier this week) now progresses into a condition which will remain in place until a vaccine or a reliable treatment for coronavirus is discovered.
"A new period is starting now...our economy is starting to beat. We are in a situation where we can move forward," said Sanchez in a televised speech to the nation on Saturday.
With the ending of the State of Alarm, Spaniards are now able to move freely around the country for the first time since March 14.
Spain has also reopened its frontiers to travelers from the European Union and Schengen travel regions (although the land border with Portugal will remain closed until July 1 at the request of the Portuguese government) and the first flights from abroad began to land on Sunday morning.
The Spanish government has confirmed that visitors from the UK are also allowed to travel to Spain, despite a 14-day quarantine for travelers to the UK. Meanwhile, visitors from non-EU or non-Schengen countries will be allowed to enter progressively from July 1.
Although frontiers are now open, visitors to Spain will see many changes: the use of face masks remains obligatory in closed areas and in places where it is impossible to maintain a safe social distance of 1.5 meters, while beaches, shopping centers, bars, restaurants, cinemas and swimming pools will continue to open with a limited capacity, to be determined by each regional government.
Meanwhile, Sanchez said that although Spain is winning its battle against the coronavirus, after over 28,000 deaths, Spaniards need to remain vigilant.
"We have an individual and collective responsibility, the virus could return and plunge us once more into a second wave, and we have to avoid that at all costs," he warned. Enditem
