Joy as Covid curfew ends

EXHILARATED Spaniards danced in streets, chanted “freedom” and partied on beaches overnight as a Covid19 curfew ended across most of the nation.

In scenes akin to New Year’s Eve celebrations, hundreds of mainly young people gathered in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square to applaud the clock striking midnight while in Barcelona revellers headed to the beach with drinks in hand.

Police in Barcelona had the strange task of moving people on after the last curfew began at 10pm, only to let them back at midnight when it ended for good.

Some people wore masks but there was scant physical distancing as friends kissed, hugged, danced and sang.

But social media videos of large groups paying little heed to physical distancing drew criticism from some. “Freedom does not include breaking the rules,” said Madrid’s conservative mayor Jose Luis Martinez-almeida.

PEOPLE celebrate as the state of emergency decreed by the Spanish Government to prevent the spread of Covid-19 gets lifted at Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, Spain, yesterday. | Reuters