Ana içeriğe atla

Spain to open to foreign tourism from July 1

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will further ease a coronavirus lockdown in its two main cities from Monday, but will not start opening its borders to foreign tourists before July 1 while it seeks a common European stance on safe travel, the government said on Friday.

Health Minister Salvador Illa said some restrictions would be lifted in Madrid and Barcelona, which have so far lagged behind the rest of the country's easing programme.

From Monday, bar and restaurant patrons will be allowed to sit inside rather than exclusively on outdoor terraces, while children will be able to play outside at any time of day.

On Thursday, Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said land borders would reopen from June 22, causing some confusion, as well as criticism in neighbouring Portugal.

"There has been no change in the government's position since day one," government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero told a news briefing, referring to the previously announced July 1 date.

Despite relying heavily on tourism, which generates some 12% of GDP, hard-hit Spain has been reluctant to open its borders without a European Union-wide agreement.

In a joint letter to the European Commission, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italy's Giuseppe Conte called for a reopening plan based on "common, clear and transparent epidemiological criteria", also proposing that EU members agree on infection incidence thresholds for third countries.

In a sign that consumer appetite is beginning to return, data showed bank card spending rose by 16% in May after plunging in April, when industrial output slumped 34% according to a separate data release.

But in a reminder of the devastation wrought by the virus, Spain fell silent for a minute at midday, marking the end of a 10-day mourning period for the 27,134 people who have died. There have been 240,978 cases of the infection.

In Madrid, which accounts for about a third of the deaths, reactions to the easing were not universally positive.

Story continues

"I think it's a bit risky and if there's another outbreak I don't know if we will have enough resources," dental hygienist Noemi Seco told Reuters. "I know lots of people who work in hospitals and we're stretched very thin."

(Reporting by Belén Carreño, Guillermo Rodriguez, Inti Landauro, Clara-Laeila Laudette; Writing by Nathan Allen; Editing by Andrei Khalip)

Etiketler:

Yorumlar

Yorum Gönder

Bu blogdaki popüler yayınlar

Digitalize Your Business and Save Money by Implementing CRM Software

Easily share resources and information with other team members, manage relationships with partners, vendors, and organizations, and create a community of loyal customers with just one software. A CRM software can prevent this by : Managing individual deals on the pipeline entourage reminders and alerts for deadlines Categorizing leads and opportunities based on value, length in the pipeline, and other relevant rubrics Tracking service ticket history Producing reports on production and using those to accurately forecast sales Storing virtual receipts from vendors, shoppers, and organizations, as well as track other forms of interaction Tracking inventory and production schedules Insurance Juggling different accounts is a bane for most insurance reps. With a CRM software, insurance companies can be smarter in managing customer information, converting these into insightful decisions and helpful solutions. Whether you ’re working solo or have a small team, a CRM can help you improve the wa...
2 yorum
Devamı

SF’s top money man grapples with dire forecasts as budget scenarios ‘keep getting worse’

It’s the rare San Franciscan who looks around our troubled city and thinks, “Gosh, our leaders sure do spend my tax money well.” Grime covers our sidewalks. Potholes dot many streets. Buses arrive late. Construction projects continuously get delayed. And, of course, our homeless crisis just gets worse. All that was true when San Francisco was rolling in cash, the economic envy of cities around the world with its $12.3 billion annual budget making it richer than many states. You know, back in early March, all those many eons ago. Now that the COVID-19 public health calamity and the resulting economic crisis have struck like twin disasters, the city budget outlook has grown dire — even more so than the city’s top money man had previously projected. And we can expect our already iffy city services to take a beating. Controller Ben Rosenfield acknowledged in a frank interview that his previously announced worst-case scenario of a $1.7 billion budget hole over the next 26 months isn’t the w...
Yorum Gönder
Devamı

UFC Fight Night May 30th Gambling Odds and DFS Picks

MMA fans can catch some UFC action on Saturday, May 30th with an exciting card that will take place from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. While Sports Illustrated’s gambling analyst Casey Olson correctly predicted the under-dog coming out on top in the last three card’s main event, Olson is instead going with the favorite Tyron Woodley over Gilbert Burns. Woodley is currently a heavy favorite with -182 odds on DraftKings sportsbook. Olson and SI’s Frank Taddeo discuss the odds and make predictions for the best fights of the night in the above video. Read the full transcript from their conversation below: Bill Enright: UFC fight night for May 30th is just a few hours away, and we have the gambling and DFS preview. Let's bring on our MMA and combat expert Casey Olson and our gambling analyst Frank Taddeo. Oh, Frank. I'll start with you. This, from what I understand, you have some sharp action analysis that you're going to share with everybody. Frank Taddeo:  Yeah, Bill, there's...
Yorum Gönder
Devamı