Parks packed, terraces open as Madrid and Barcelona ease curbs

MADRID: Hundreds of Madrid residents flooded to the city’s parks as lockdown measures were finally eased in the Spanish capital and in Barcelona, while beaches reopened in parts of the country after months-long closures.

As well as reopening the gates of the capital’s parks for the first time since mid-March, residents in the two cities can now meet in groups of up to 10 people in homes or on the terraces of bars and restaurants.

The easing measures come as the Madrid region, the city of Barcelona and large parts of Castile-Leon in the northwest, formally enter the first phase of rolling back one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.

These areas have been on a slower track as they bore the brunt of the pandemic in Spain, which has killed more than 28,700 people, one of the world's highest tolls.

In Madrid, hundreds of people turned out to enjoy an early-morning stroll in sun in the city’s famous Retiro Park, with scores of runners jogging down its wide avenues and past the boating lake. “The reopening of Retiro brings me a feeling of serenity, gives me comfort,” said Rosa San Jose, a 50-year-old teacher wearing gym clothes and a mask who was out for a walk before starting the online school day.