'New normality' could begin on June 21
Government passes 'final' state of emergency 14-day extension
THE SO-CALLED 'new normality' - the end of lockdown restrictions imposed over Covid19 - in Spain could begin on June 21, said the government this week after approving what PM Pedro Sánchez has insisted will be the 'final' 14-day extension of the state of emergency that began on March 14.
The PM said that once it expires on June 21, restrictions of movement within the country imposed by central government will have to be lifted and each regional government will regain its authority in all departments.
Although earlier in the week transport minister Jose Luis Ábalos suggested this could even be earlier (next Monday), health minister Salvador Illa (his senior during the state of emergency) has insisted it will not happen until June 21.
The new extension was approved by a more comfortable majority that the previous one as the PSOE managed to get the support of Basque nationalists and Ciudadanos (who usually vote against legislation supported by nationalist parties) and the abstention of Catalan nationalist ERC.
The extension debate however was not exempt of verbal warfare, with the opposition parties led by Vox and PP accusing the minister for the interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska of interfering with the Guardia Civil following the recent dismissal of its leading Colonel Diego Pérez de Los Cobos.
Phase three requests
Many regions have already requested to go on to the third and final phase of the lockdown exit plan which would, after the set two-week period, see them reach 'new normality' by June 21 - coinciding with the end of the state of emergency.
The regions requesting phase three are: Aragón, Andalucía, Asturias, Baleares, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha (only for Cuenca and Guadalajara), the Basque Country, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Murcia and Navarra.
In the case of Andalucía, the government may leave Granada and Málaga province in phase two as the two areas have only enjoyed phase one status for a week.
Only the Valencia region and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla have not filed a request to enter phase three.
Meanwhile, the regions in phase one that will be requesting the green light for phase two are Madrid, Cataluña and Castilla y León.
Cataluña however will be requesting phase three status for the province of Tarragona and areas of Lérida that have been in phase two for a fortnight now.
The majority of regions have also requested 'fine tuning' of some of the phase requirements, especially those in phase two.
Ministry of health experts are currently considering the requests from all regions and their decision is expected this afternoon (Friday). Updates will appear on our webpage (www.costa-news.com) and our Facebook page.