Spain has allowed workers in some non-essential industries to return to factories and construction sites, despite a surge in deaths over the weekend.
The outbreak of Covid-19 in Spain has now claimed 17,489 lives, and the partial lifting of restrictions after a jump of 517 deaths on Monday.
On Sunday, 619 deaths were announced, 109 more than on Saturday, when the country reported its lowest daily death count in nearly three weeks.
The total number of confirmed cases has reached 169,496, up from 166,019.
As Spain enters its second month of lockdown, some businesses which cannot operate remotely, including construction and manufacturing, were allowed to reopen on Monday.
The move sparked criticism from some regional leaders who fear a second wave of the outbreak.
In a letter to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Catalonia’s regional president Quim Torra suggested the decision could cause “a rise in infections and a situation of collapse for Catalonia’s health system”.
However, the majority of the country's population are still confined to their homes, and shops, bars and public spaces will remain closed until at least April 26.
Interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Cadena Ser radio station that Spanish police started handing out millions of masks early in the morning across regions which are not observing a public holiday.
"The health of workers must be guaranteed. If this is minimally affected, the activity cannot restart," he said.
But Mr Sanchez said on Sunday the decision to restart some sectors of the economy was taken after consulting a committee of scientific experts and any further winding down would depend on gains made against the virus.
"We are still far from victory, from the moment when we can pick up our normal lives again, but we have made the first decisive steps in the path towards victory," he said.
If the current trends continue, he said there could be a “progressive and very cautious” relaxation of the lockdown “in two weeks’ time at the earliest”.
It comes as Italy announced its lowest number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in more than three weeks.
.png?w=600)
