The Government will decide over the next few days whether it's possible to start de-escalating the coronavirus restrictions after Easter, according to Nadia Calviño, Third Vice President & Minister of Economic Affairs & Digital Transformation.
"During this week we will look at the different indicators and the evolution of the coronavirus and we will listen to expert opinion, then analyse whether it is possible to go to that phase of de-escalation after Easter or whether the restrictions must be maintained," she told La Sexta.
If the restrictions were relaxed, the State of Emergency would stay in place, but people would be allowed to move around more.
Minister Calviño said she has spent weeks collaborating with multidisciplinary experts, businessmen, unions and other economic representatives to prepare for a possible de-escalation, which “could begin as soon as possible” .
Economic recovery is largely dependent on when the transition to normality begins and how it is undertaken and she warned that the impact on the economy may be more significant if the restriction measures are lengthened.
“It is so important to contain the virus's expansion as soon as possible in order to move on to the next phase, which will not be a process in which it will go from zero to one hundred, but which will allow sectors to be reactivated to achieve economic recovery as soon as possible,” she explained.
At the expense of due "prudence" for the time it may take to return to normality, Minister Calviño pointed out that all analysts consider that "economic recovery may be V-shaped, that is, very fast.”
“We must also take into account the dynamic behaviour that the Spanish economy had been showing until February and even mid-March. For this reason it is important to de-escalate the restrictive measures as soon as possible, so that the economy is reactivated," she said.