This Tuesday 14th April, in Catalonia, many workers have to return to work, following the Spanish government's decision to ease its lockdown under which, for the last fortnight, only workers in essential services have had permission to go to work. There is great uncertainty as to what the first day of returning to work will be like after two weeks of total confinement, and especially, what the risks might be.
Face masks are to be distributed and frequency of public transport will increase to compensate for expected heavier use. But how will this be done? What are the sectors that will have to go to work?
Masks
- 1.7 million face masks are to be distributed in Catalonia on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- They will be distributed from 6am to 12 noon in cities and towns with more than 30,000 inhabitants, primarily on public transport and at main transport hubs.
- Red Cross and Civil Protection volunteers will carry out the distribution.
- The masks are "exclusively" for those who have to take public transport to work, said Catalan Civil Protection head Isabel Ferrer. On Monday, Ferrer described the initiative to distribute the masks as an "improvisation" by the Spanish government, and commented that she had not been informed as to how the operation would be carried out.
Public transport
- Barcelona's public transport services - metro, trains, and buses - will run more frequently than they have done in recent weeks. Whereas in the last two weeks, many services have run at 33-50% of normal weekday frequency, as of Tuesday this will increase to 40-70% of normal service.
- The aim is to guarantee that users have the necessary safety distance from others in order to prevent further infections.
- The Mossos d'Esquadra police will have a "large" deployment to control movements and ensure that only authorized journeys are made.
Sectors that can reopen
Essential services in Catalonia will continue to operate as they have done so far. Of services regarded as non-essential, those who cannot work at home and who went to work prior to the last two weeks of total lockdown, will need to return to their jobs unless otherwise agreed with the company. Thus, those that will be able to reopen are:
- Construction
- Industry
- Judicial and legal services
- Domestic workers
- Gardening
As an indication of the possible scale of re-opening, the construction and industrial sectors alone employ 24% of the Catalan workforce. What remains to be seen is what proportion of those workers will end up clocking in on Tuesday morning.
Restaurants and leisure establishments are to remain closed. The same goes for small retail businesses, with the same exceptions as before: grocery, beverage, and stores selling essential goods will still be open. See our article based on Catalan Civil Protection's FAQs for further information on what's open under lockdown.