Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday said that he will ask Parliament next week to extend the State of Alarm that was imposed on March 15 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, for another 15 days when it expires on May 9.
If the request is granted by the Congress, the lower chamber of Spanish Parliament, it would be the fourth extension, according to the media reports.
In a televised speech, Sanchez said, “The State of Alarm has worked in Spain… So we will ask the Congress for another extension for a further 15 days”.
His address came on the same day when majority of Spaniards were allowed outdoors to take exercise for the first time after seven weeks of virtual lockdown
“We are collecting the fruits of the efforts of these seven weeks,” he said, referring to relaxations of the lockdown restrictions.
The Prime Minister pointed to the falling number of new deaths and new cases in Spain, where 276 new deaths and 1,147 new cases were confirmed by the Health Ministry on Saturday, to insist that “we knew that confinement was the way to stop the propagation of the virus”.
Stage 0 is due to begin in most of the country on May 4 and will be a “preparation phase” while stage 1 will allow small businesses and hotels to reopen although without common areas.
Earlier, the government has nonetheless indicated that some economic sectors might not rebound before the end of the year, with tourism the main question mark at the moment.
In April, almost 900,000 Spanish workers have lost their jobs since the country went into lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic, social security data published.
A State of Alarm is the first of three emergency levels a Spanish government can apply under exceptional circumstances.
The country has reported 216,582 coronavirus cases, with 25,100 deaths.
Meanwhile, globally, 3,484,176 people have been infected by coronavirus so far, and the total number of deaths from the disease stands at 244,778.