Customers shop at the Corte Ingles shopping center after its reopening as part of the loosening of a national lockdown, in Madrid, Spain, on June 8, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Some 25 million Spaniards moved to the last phase of deconfinement plan Monday as the other half of the country saw the further easing of the lockdown rules that have been in place since mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the measures over the weekend as he detailed the transition plan to what he calls the new normality.

The new normal comes with a mandatory requirement for all Spaniards aged six and above, save for those with respiratory problems.

Sanchez announced a 16-billion-euro relief package for the 17 autonomous regions to help limit the damage caused by the pandemic: nine billion will go to the public health service, five will be allocated to the economic recovery, and two to education.

The aid package triggered mixed reactions due to the stark gaps between the regions. In Catalonia, Quim Torra warned the package will strip the region of millions of euros and will likely choke it off, while the president of neighboring Valencia seemed more satisfied with the federal allocation that was resized to fit his region’s needs.

Sanchez also announced that 75,000 households will receive what he called a living minimum wage by the end of the month, scheduled payments that many Spaniards say have been a long time coming, like these furloughed workers who staged a sit-in when they spotted our camera.

Since Spain ordered the first nationwide lockdown in mid-March, the central government has sought the approval of congress to extend the emergency powers six times in a bid to set up a unified plan against the spread of the coronavirus. As of this week, Madrid will be handing back powers to the autonomous regions.

Authorities in Barcelona and Madrid say they are considering to fast-track the passage to phase three of the deconfinement plan if the downward trend of the outbreak is maintained. This means all of Spain would be back to normal, or rather the new normal, in seven days from now. That’s one week ahead of schedule.

SOURCE: PRESS TV