Exhilarated Spaniards chanting “freedom” danced in streets and partied on beaches as a COVID-19 curfew ended in most of the country, but others feared it was too soon to let go.
Hundreds of mainly young people gathered in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square to applaud the clock striking midnight while in Barcelona revellers headed to the beach with drinks in hand.
Some wore masks but there was scant social distancing as friends kissed, hugged, danced and sang.
But in the Basque Country, where regional authorities had asked to keep the curfew but were rebuffed by a court last week, some locals were less excited.
The Basque Country has Spain’s highest infection rate at 448 per 100,000 against a national average of 199.
Social media videos of large groups paying little heed to distance drew criticism on Sunday. “Freedom does not include breaking the rules,” said Madrid’s conservative mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, emphasizing that gatherings to drink on the street, known as “botellones”, were prohibited.
One of Europe’s worst-hit nations, Spain has suffered 78,792 coronavirus deaths and 3.6 million cases. But infection rates have fallen and vaccinations are progressing fast, enabling most of the 17 regions to scrap the curfew.
Only four regions were keeping it: the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Navarra, and Valencia.
As impromptu parties sprung up in town centres around the nation, police reminded some revellers that drinking on the street was prohibited.
While the curfew has been lifted, most regions have kept limits on opening hours for bars and restaurants, forcing people onto the streets.
