Concern as easing restrictions sees families flocking to streets

Sunday saw the first day in which children under 14 who were accompanied by an adult were allowed to leave home for an hour to walk and have fun outside.

However, the easing of the quarantine restrictions by the Spanish government came under fire on Monday, as specific areas became crowded with people on Sunday.

Spain's director of health emergencies, Fernando Simón, said he felt "there was a sense of 'We’re on track, let’s celebrate'" among those who had not been able to leave home in over a month, but still urged everyone to comply with safety and social distancing measures.

While there were no large crowds of children and adults in many places in Catalonia, especially early in the morning, certain urban areas did attract large numbers.

Such was the case in pedestrian areas of Barcelona's city center, such as Passeig de Sant Joan, Arc de Triomf, and the seafront, where large concentrations of people were seen.

The Catalan government wants children to go out at different times of the day according to their age, a policy president Quim Torra said was justified by the "alarming" images.

Criticism came in not only from the pro-independence camp, though - Inés Arrimadas of Ciudadanos, for example, expressed "worry" with regards to the fact that, according to her, the Spanish government has been talking about easing lockdown "when people do not yet have access to face masks in many places."

Spanish authorities turn down Catalan proposal 

The proposal by Torra's government, which the Spanish authorities rejected, was for children under five to go out between 11am and 1pm, and older children between 4pm and 6pm. Catalan interior minister Miquel Buch defended this proposal once again on Monday, claiming there would not have been crowding if it had been heeded.

However, the Spanish health minister Salvador Illa insisted that there had been no incidents and he said that the rules would be adjusted "if necessary based on behavior."

Yet, the head of Catalonia's Civil Protection agency, Sergio Delgado, on Monday defended the idea of allotting time slots to avoid breaches of the social distancing measures.

“It’s a percentage, it’s not a majority, but it has a very negative effect on society as a whole,” said Delgado, who added that keeping to time slots would be easier to police.

The Catalan health minister, Alba Vergés, asked for responsibility when going out with children, warning that the possibility of a resurgence in coronavirus is "very high."

The minister admitted that 40 days of confinement "is a great effort and more so with children" but she also pointed out that "the pandemic is not over."

Experts call for more controlled easing of restrictions

The concern about too many people taking their children to the same areas at the same time was shared by medical experts, who called for more control over the easing of restrictions.

Jaume Padrós, the head of COMB, the Barcelona Medical Association, was critical on Monday, saying that "too many people" have not followed the advice and recommendations.

"Easing the restrictions must be done well, today [Sunday] cannot be repeated," he warned in a Twitter message, adding that "we could end up paying dearly for it."

As for, Antoni Trilla, the head of Epidemiology at Barcelona's Hospital Clínic, he said he hopes that permitting children to go outside "will be sorted out a bit" in the coming days,

"This is trial and error," he told Catalunya Ràdio, but he insisted on social distancing, saying: “If the street is full but we're all two meters away it is not the same as grouping together.”