Laurence Dollimore
IT seems even the prime minister and his government aren’t exactly sure of the rules of their four-step coronavirus plan.
People were delighted to hear that in Phase 1, or from May 11, they would be allowed to visit family and friends after seven weeks of confinement to their homes.
But in announcing the measures this week, PM Pedro Sanchez said those meetings would have to be on the terraces of bars or restaurants, which have been permitted to open at 30% capacity.
“In Phase 0 and 1, you cannot go to a friend or relative’s house, but you can go for a beer or a bermu on a terrace,” the PSOE leader said on Tuesday.
Ministers have now sought to ‘clarify’ that rule after it was pointed out that many bars may not be able to afford to open at 30% capacity and even if they all could, their terraces would likely be overcrowded with people desperate to meet friends and family.
Teresa Ribera, fourth deputy prime minister and coordinator of the government’s deescalation plan, told the Hora 25 show on Ser yesterday that the meetings should not exceed four or five people, although that has yet to be written in stone.
A new ministerial order will regulate the details and how long the meetings can take place, particularly with the elderly or people with pre-existing conditions that make them vulnerable to COVID-19.
But for the most part, she confirmed, people will be permitted to visit family and friends in their respective homes OR on the terraces of bars and restaurants, as long as they are in the same province.
