After months of strict containment, Gibraltar, a British enclave in southern Spain, is returning to pre-pandemic life, without a mask and with restaurants open.
The consequences of a flash vaccination strategy, because the inhabitants could be vaccinated quickly, just like the cross-border workers.
Out of 34,000 inhabitants, there are no longer any cases of Covid-19.
REPORTAGE
Slowly but surely, Gibraltar is turning the page on Covid-19.
British territory, located in the far south of Spain, has vaccinated its entire population over 16 years of age.
Out of 34,000 inhabitants, there are no longer any patients with Covid.
So in recent days, restrictions and health measures have almost all been lifted.
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No more mask in the street
A feeling of freedom floats on the rock.
In John Mackintosh Square, at the foot of Gibraltar Town Hall, a Victorian-style building, Gislaine is enjoying the sun on a bench with her three-year-old son and mother.
"It's so nice to find some normalcy after everything that's happened. It's like a dream! I can't believe it. We have no more masks, we can go in the restaurant, we only have positive vibes! ", the 35-year-old woman confides to Europe 1.
Indeed, nobody wears the mask and the atmosphere is relaxed.
This Sunday afternoon is like the ones in my life before.
"But it was hard", remembers Gislaine, "we had a lot of cases and strict confinement".
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"I feel free !"
Like everyone else in Gibraltar, Gislaine is vaccinated: she received the two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
She can kiss her mother Herminia without worry.
But for the 72-year-old grandmother, the Covid was a test: "The most important thing is to be with my grandchildren and my family again. We are very united and we have always had the used to meet at home for lunches. Now we can do it again. I even came to say to myself 'my God, I am going to die without having been able to reunite with my family one last time!' ", says- she does.
If life has resumed on the small British rock, Herminia, like many, sometimes has trouble forgetting the reflexes linked to the pandemic: "Sometimes I say to myself 'thin, I forgot my mask!', And then I myself reminds me that I no longer need to use it! I feel free! ".
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A flash vaccination campaign
By the sea, in the luxurious marina of the small tax haven, the party is in full swing. The terraces are crowded and only the servers are masked, for a few more days. Magid, a 33-year-old Frenchman who works in an online betting company in Gibraltar, came to spend the afternoon there with friends. He lives on the other side of the border, in Andalusia, and yet he too has already received a first dose of the vaccine, on British territory, like around 15,000 cross-border workers of the rock.
"We come here five days a week, and we pay our taxes like everyone else, so it is a little normal that Gibraltar wants to reward its cross-borderers by offering them the possibility of being vaccinated", estimates Magid, who is grateful for the vaccination policy in place in Gibraltar.
He explains that getting the vaccine took him 15 minutes: "It was incredible. We stand in line, we wait two minutes, we go to a waiting room, we receive the dose and we wait 10 minutes to see if ' there are side effects. "
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No new cases registered for a month
To achieve this result, Gibraltar carried out a blitz vaccination campaign, called "Operation Freedom".
But it would not have been possible without the support of London.
Twelve Royal Air Force planes carried the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.
The operation was followed live by the inhabitants who stood at their windows to watch the aircraft land on the airport runway located at the entrance to Gibraltar.
Today, there is no longer a single Covid-19 patient in the hospital and the rock has not registered a new case for more than a month.
Vaccination and collective discipline
Vaccination obviously played a crucial role, but for Joelle, who dines with her family on Main Street, nothing would have been possible without the collective discipline of the locals either. "It's a combination of everything: the government, our health authorities with the vaccine, and the people. We followed the instructions, we stayed at home, we sacrificed ourselves with the children. We are a very small child. territory, the community is very present. We have all been united and I am proud to think that within this community, we helped each other by staying at home. We did it! ", she analyzes for Europe 1.
Despite this return to (almost) normal life, caution is still required.
Gibraltar continues to test and trace possible Covid cases.
Because if there are no more cases among the resident population, some positive tests still appear among non-residents, because cross-border workers, often Spanish, have not yet all been vaccinated.
Gibraltar can hardly live if its border is closed
The lifting of the restrictions was gradual and spread over several weeks.
In addition to the mask, which is still compulsory on buses, nightclubs are not yet allowed to reopen.
On the other hand, controls at Gibraltar's borders have been relaxed. A PCR test is still mandatory for travelers arriving by plane, but not for those arriving by road. This difference is mainly due to the geographical particularity of Gibraltar. The British colony needs its Spanish workers. It is therefore complicated to ask them for a test every morning when they cross the border. And the small territory of 6 square kilometers can hardly live if its border is closed. Now the locals are waiting for the tourists to return.