Spanish authorities cautiously prepared further steps to loosen one of Europe’s toughest coronavirus lockdowns on Monday after children were allowed to leave their homes for the first time in six weeks, causing concern about crowds in some areas.

Having suffered one of the world’s deadliest outbreaks of the COVID-19 respiratory disease, Spain has been under strict lockdown since March 14, but recently begun to ease restrictions as it reined in the infection rate.

Daily fatalities from the virus rose by 331 on Monday to a total of 23,521, edging up from 288 the previous day but well below the daily peak of more than 900 recorded in early April. Cumulative cases rose to 209,465 from 207,634 the day before.

In the most significant relaxation of the lockdown yet, on Sunday children under 14 were granted one hour of daily supervised outdoor activity, while adhering to social-distancing guidelines and staying within 1 km of their homes.

But some local authorities complained parents were allowing their kids to flout the rules, and TV footage showed large crowds gathering in parks and on boardwalks across the country.

Source: Reuters