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Spain has allowed some businesses to begin operating again this week, but one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe remains in place despite the country's coronavirus death rate slowing.
What's allowed to reopen?
Some activities, including construction and manufacturing, were allowed to restart.
But Health Minister Salvador Illa stressed that Spain remained in lockdown. Shops, bars and public spaces are set to stay closed until at least April 26.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a halt to all work deemed non-essential on March 29.
Most Spaniards have been confined to their homes since mid-March with only businesses in sectors deemed strategically important allowed to operate normally.
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What are the back-to-work rules?
Under guidelines issued by the Prime Minister's office, companies returning to work must provide appropriate protective equipment and ensure employees have space to be at least two metres apart.
Police handed out face masks to people passing through major transport hubs as they went to work, although only a few commuters were seen using Madrid's usually bustling Atocha train station, and road traffic was mainly public buses.
Has Spain flattened the curve?
Restrictions have helped slow a spiralling death rate that reached its peak in early April.
On Monday, the Health Ministry said confirmed coronavirus cases totalled 169,496, up from 166,019 the previous day.
Spain recorded its smallest proportional daily rise in the number of deaths and new infections since early March, with the toll rising by 517 to 17,489.
'I would have preferred to wait': How do workers feel going back?
Some workers expressed concern that a relaxation could trigger a surge in cases.
Carlos Mogorron is a 27-year-old engineer from western Spain who lives with his house-bound parents. He is planning to return to work this week.
"I would have preferred to wait 15 more days confined to home or at least one more week and then come back," Mr Mogorron said.
"You are always afraid of catching it and even more so knowing that your life may be in danger, or your relatives."
In northern Spain, a factory that makes gearboxes for wind turbines welcomed back workers — but only after they'd shown their temperatures were normal.
Elisa Grana, who works at the Siemens Gamesa plant in Lerma, said she also had to answer questions about potential exposure to the virus. Once inside, she said were "more masks and face screens now" than before.
Business association CEOE warned that many companies, particularly the small firms that make up the bulk of the Spanish economy, do not have access to the protective equipment like gloves and masks needed to guarantee the safety of staff.
Some regional leaders also criticised the moves, fearing a resurgence of the coronavirus outbreak, which is weighing heavily on the Spanish economy, with some 900,000 jobs lost since mid-March.
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Reuters/ABC
Topics: infectious-diseases-other, covid-19, respiratory-diseases, work, government-and-politics, small-business, business-economics-and-finance, spain
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