Back to work for some in Spain as death rate eases

Workers in Spain's construction and manufacturing sectors cautiously returned to work Monday as the daily death toll resumed its downward trend and new infections fell to the lowest level in three weeks. One of the worst-hit countries in the world, Spain saw the daily death rate fall for three consecutive days last week, only to rise again on Sunday. But on Monday it fell again, with 517 deaths in 24 hours, putting the overall death toll at 17,489 with the number of cases now standing at 169,496. Confirmed cases also rose by 3,477 - the lowest daily figure since March 20 - as Spain began reopening parts of its economy after a two-week "economic hibernation" period.

Although health chiefs say the outbreak in Spain has peaked, they have urged the population to keep observing a strict national lockdown imposed on March 14 to slow the spread of the virus. The restrictions were further tightened on March 30 when all non-essential activities were frozen for two weeks - largely targeting the construction and manufacturing sectors. But those restrictions were lifted on Monday despite warnings from some quarters that lifting restrictions too soon could trigger a fresh outbreak.

With workers heading back to their jobs, the government began a huge operation to distribute 10 million masks this week. Some 4,500 police, Red Cross volunteers and security guards handed them out at 1,500 locations across the country, the interior ministry said.