Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on citizens to maintain vigilance and precaution as approximately half of the country prepares to move into the second stage of a four-phased plan to ease lockdown restrictions which were put in place on March 15 to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Around half of Spain will benefit from the lifting of restrictions, but Sanchez warned in a televised speech on Saturday that “the virus has not disappeared. The fight will continue, and will not end until there is a vaccine”, according to the media reports.

Many areas, including the Basque Region, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia in the north of Spain, will move into Phase 1 (the second stage) on Monday after meeting the criteria set by Spanish health authorities to ease lockdown restrictions.

These areas will be able to open outside terraces, while shops under 400 square metres can also trade and meetings of up to 10 people within provinces can also be held.

Sanchez said Spain has “demonstrated many things, its huge strengths… What has set it apart has been the magnificent response of the people, thanks to exceptional responsibility and social discipline”, adding that Spain had shown itself to be “humane”, with “all of society joined together by bonds of affection and care”.

“We have saved lives, but we have lost many more,” he continued, “each fatality hurts us. These lives that we have lost weigh heavily”, he further added.

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.

According to official data, the COVID-19 death toll currently stands at 26,487 people, with 223,578 confirmed cases

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 274,617 people since the outbreak first emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Saturday.

More than 3,946,130 cases were registered in 195 countries and territories. Of these, at least 1,293,700 are now considered recovered.

(With inputs from agency)