Catalonia proposes time slots for leaving home by age and activity

The Catalan government has proposed a detailed plan specifying time slots for different age groups and kinds of activity, in order to "gradually" allow the public to leave home after one and a half months of lockdown. 

On Tuesday, home affairs minister Miquel Buch and health minister Alba Vergés announced they had approved the scheme with the civil protection Procicat committee, which they lead. 

The plan, which doesn't specify the dates for each group to be allowed out, is not binding and will need the go-ahead of Spain for it to be enforced. 

Time slots

The time slots proposed for people to leave home begin at 6am and end at 9pm: 

6 – 8am: doing sport outdoors, such as going for a walk, a run or using individual means of transport (eg. bicycles)

8 – 9am: commuting to work

9 – 11am: elderly people (older than 65) and the disabled who need assistance

11am – 1pm: children under 6

1 – 4pm: time for councils to clean streets and other basic services

4 – 6pm: children between 6 and 13

6 – 8pm: young people aged 14-17 and adults not traveling to work (eg. those that are unemployed, affected by temporary redundancy schemes, or working from home)

7 – 9pm: doing sport outdoors, such as going for a walk, a run or using individual means of transport (eg. bicycles) i.e. the same activities as permitted first thing in the morning

Protect the most vulnerable

The aim is to prevent groups mixing, in order to protect the most vulnerable, said minister Vergés during the daily press conference on Covid-19. "The easing of lockdown must be gradual, and we must get away from simplistic messages."

Yet, the government members said that these time slots should be "adaptable" depending on the territory. 

For Vergés, "the important thing is not only when, but who and where." The minister said the children were top priority, followed by healthy adults wanting to do sport, with elderly people at a later stage.

The plans came as Spain's president was also expected to unveil a plan on Tuesday to relax lockdown – since the state of alarm came into force, Madrid is the final authority for all decisions to do with the health crisis. 

Children 

On April 18, the Catalan government put forward a proposal to allow children out from late April and this already included time slots. 

While Pedro Sánchez's cabinet let under 14s go for a walk with an adult from April 26, it ignored the proposed time slots – images of crowds in certain cities on Sunday around midday led to some criticism.