With almost

80% of the population already immunized,

Gibraltar is one of the first territories in the world to be able to rehearse a certain return to normality and to leave restrictions behind.

After eliminating the curfew, as of this Sunday it allows walking without a mask.

It is one more step in 'Operation Freedom', as the Government of the British colony has baptized the process that began with the vaccination against Covid-19 and that now allows the British colony, with 34,000 inhabitants, to take steps towards normal.

Since last midnight, the use of

the mask is no longer mandatory in the open spaces

of Calle Real (Main Street), the main road of the Rock, and the rest of the streets of the urban center.

These streets, the busiest and where shops are concentrated, were the only ones that until this Sunday maintained the mandatory use of masks to walk through them, since from March 1 it was allowed that in the rest, with less influx of people, you could circulate with your face uncovered.

The

"liberation" of the use of masks is limited to outdoor spaces,

since their use is still mandatory in closed public spaces, in shops and on public transport.

"Spring of hope"

"We are leaving our deadliest winter behind and welcoming the spring of hope. The global pandemic is not yet fully over and we must continue to move cautiously to safeguard the incredible progress made in the weeks and months to come," the Gibraltar's chief minister,

Fabian Picardo,

last Wednesday when announcing the new relaxations on the Rock, which has recorded 94 deaths during the pandemic.

This first day without masks in Gibraltar, in any case, has not altered the routines of the "llanitos" and the usual tranquility of its main streets on holidays.

The measure also coincides with the beginning of Pesach (the Hebrew Passover) and Holy Week, celebrated by many members of the Gibraltarian community.

The end of the mandatory nature of the mask is the most anticipated measure that has been applied in recent days in the de-escalation that Gibraltar is experiencing, where

on Thursday the curfew was eliminated.

From that day on, restaurants can open until two in the morning.

The Minister for Civil Contingencies,

Samantha Sacramento,

explained that "the success" of the vaccination program in the colony and the community's follow-up of prevention regulations, has allowed Gibraltar to move faster in its fight against the coronavirus.

This Sunday it has been just a week that the Sant Bernard hospital has not had patients admitted for Covid-19.

There are also no infections in homes for the elderly.

Only 10 active cases

As of March 28, official data show that

There were barely 10 active cases in Gibraltar, of which eight correspond to local residents and the other two to people passing through the Rock, such as those belonging to aircraft or boat crews or tourists.

But the main responsible for this relaxation of measures is

the high rate of vaccination.

Of the nearly 34,000 Gibraltarians, 27,662 have received the two doses that are considered to achieve immunity.

Another 3,432 have received the first dose.

Its "floating" population, Gibraltar's nearly 15,000 cross-border workers, of which more than 9,000 are Spanish, is also moving towards immunity.

According to sources from El Peñón, 2,371 of them have already received the two doses and 4,107 only the first.

That almost 80% of immunization already achieved in Gibraltar contrasts with

the 5.3% that the neighboring province of Cádiz has,

according to data from this last Friday from the Junta de Andalucía.

On the other side of the gate, the Minister of Health and Families, Jesús Aguirre, requested a more exhaustive control of the borders.

The eight municipalities of the Cádiz region of Campo de Gibraltar, the closest to the Rock, are at

alert level 2

and maintain capacity and time restrictions, as well as the mandatory use of a mask and a curfew at 11:00 p.m. imposed by the regional health authorities.

According to the figures of the Board, last Friday there were 1,052 active cases in the region.

Unlike its neighbors, Gibraltar is moving towards a normality to which, according to Picardo, the recovery of other freedoms, such as the right of assembly, will soon be added.

"We will do it following public health advice and in a safe and prudent way," he said.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

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