Some return to normal life after 26 April

In an interview on the Antena 3 TV channel, Montero said that a return to being "on the streets and in the squares" will come with "clear instructions" from the government. She stressed that the only thing that can be "taken for granted" at present is that the state of alarm will last until 26 April.

Prime Minister Sánchez has in fact made clear that the state of alarm will not end then. Nevertheless, Montero suggested that towards the end of this month, people will be able to gradually go about their day-to-day lives. Under what conditions has yet to be determined. "There are different scenarios" for health experts to decide.

These scenarios for "de-escalation", she explained, will draw on data over the next couple of weeks. The data will include the results of tests that the ministry of health is to carry out. These tests will involve some 60,000 people from different regions of the country. Random sampling plus tests of people going to health centres will help to determine who has had the virus and whether they have developed "collective immunity" (or herd immunity). The data will help to show how the disease can develop in the future and guide the "clear instructions" to be given to the public.