BOOZED ABROAD
Brits in Benidorm enjoy first pub pint in almost two months – but immediately ditch the facemasks
Some expats took their shirts off as well as they sipped their beers in the midday sun and topped up their tans in temperatures in the mid-20s.
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Bars and cafes in the famous Costa Blanca resort started getting back to business this morning as coronavirus restrictions in large swathes of Spain eased.
The holiday hotspot was left deserted after a mass exodus by British tourists in March, when the coronavirus crisis began.
But people were once again seen sitting outside bars today as the area moved to phase one of a four-stage recovery plan – allowing bar terraces can reopen with a limited number of people.
A maximum of 10 people can sit at each table, which have to be a minimum of 6.5ft apart.
The terraces can open to 11pm under an agreement reached between local trade associations and Benidorm Town Hall.
LAST ORDERS
The last time drink was served in pubs in the resort was the night of March 13, when closure orders affecting bars, restaurants and cafes were announced in Alicante.
But despite restrictions easing on the Costa Blanca, expats on the Costa del Sol further south have been told they must wait for their favourite bars to re-open.
That is because the Spanish government said on Saturday the health situation in Malaga province was not good enough for the area to move onto phase one.
Madrid and Barcelona were also told they had to stay on phase one.
The easing of restrictions also apply to resorts like Magaluf in Majorca and Playa de Las Americas in Tenerife.
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The move comes as Spain recorded its lowest rise in the number of coronavirus deaths for nearly two months.
Health chiefs said 123 people had died in the past 24 hours – 20 less than yesterday.
It was the lowest number of single-day Covid-19 deaths since March 18, when 107 were recorded.
The number of new cases also continues to go down – just 373 today, compared to 621 yesterday.
The official Covid-19 death toll in Spain now stands at 26,744.
QUARANTINE FEARS
Although expats are helping to keep the economy afloat in the Costas, Boris Johnson’s announcement of his two-week quarantine plans for people travelling to the UK this summer has caused more concern among Spanish tourist chiefs.
The quarantine measures, expected to be introduced in early June, will apply to British holidaymakers able to get on planes to Spain this summer when they return to the UK.
Toni Mayor, president of the Benidorm and Costa Blanca hotel association Hosbec, has been among those who have voiced concern.
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He said: “It’s going to be a body blow for UK aviation and for tourism.
“I think we can wave goodbye to any hopes we had of British tourists returning to the Costa Blanca this summer if it’s in place in July and August.
“No one would want to fly, I’m sure of it. No-one would want to holiday in Spain or Greece or anywhere else.
“For places like Benidorm that depends so heavily on UK tourists, it would be a disaster.”
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Eerie ghost town scenes in Benidorm during Spain's coronavirus lockdown
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