Spain reports 325 new COVID-19 deaths

Madrid, Apr 29 (AP) With 325 new confirmed deaths from coronavirus, Spain on Wednesday witnessed a slight rebound in fatalities for a total of 24,275 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Infections stand over 212,000, although the Health Ministry's figure only includes the cases confirmed by the most reliable laboratory tests that are not being conducted massively.

Authorities want to come out from a near total freeze of social and economic life in stages and at different speeds depending on how its provinces and islands respond to the health crisis.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday announced his plan and called it "a road to a new normal," but one "without a GPS system."

Individual exercise will be allowed from Saturday, as well as haircuts and other personalized services with an appointment. In most places, some shops will open on May 11, and socializing will be permitted in outdoor cafés, bars, as well as services in churches and mosques at one third of their capacity.

Territories that by that point keep the epidemic at bay will be granted further relaxation of restrictions in restaurants, cinemas, theatres and museums by the end of May. Preschools will reopen then but only for parents who need to work, since in-classroom education won't resume until the new school year in September.

Barring any worsening of the outbreak, capacity in venues will be increased toward mid-June and beaches will open before gradually settling into a "new normal" that will allow domestic travel. International travel still needs to be sorted out by the European Union, Spain says. (AP) SCYSCY