With the Spanish prime minister having announced that the state's full lockdown, applying to everyone except workers in essential activities, will end in practice on 12th April, and with it an end to the recoverable paid leave approved by decree on 29th March, the most urgent matter should be to proceed to a rigorous and orderly lifting of the confinement so that what has been gained is not lost. A realistic calendar that takes into account the criteria of the scientists, if we don't want to find ourselves faced with the virus getting out of control again in the coming weeks. The encouraging trends in the daily numbers of infections and fatalities are largely due to the measures taken, but the virus is still there, circulating freely, while hospitals and ICUs are still running way above their normal capacity.
The second extension of Spain's state of alarm announced on Saturday by Pedro Sánchez to run until Sunday, April 26th and the more than likely third lengthening, until the May 1st long weekend, undoubtedly means that the central theme of the coming weeks will be the way in which the lockdown is released in a context of precariousness of essential materials - such as sufficient tests to carry out generalized diagnosis of those who have contracted the virus, or the most fundamental medical material such as masks for the whole population or the demand for protective equipment from all health sector groups.
Everyone urgently wants to return to normal life and the economy needs to be reactivated as soon as possible. But it must be an 'as soon as possible' based, I have to stress, on medical criteria, not on political needs. Zero risk never exists, and much less so in a pandemic. But we know that the moment of return to our former lives has not arrived and it will not be immediate.
The public authorities, all of them without exception, must say it again and again, and must not frivolously play the game of confronting public health with the economy. And the Spanish prime minister must return as soon as possible to the autonomous communities the powers that were taken by the single command and which have been so harmful to the general population. There will be time to talk about this in the future. In the meantime, let's not fall asleep but nor must we rush in. And, above all, we must prepare for the future. Let's see if, for once, we can avoid everything being improvised. It would be something to be grateful for.