Once-a-day exercise: Time slots, distances and age groups revealed

Health minister Salvador Illa says everyone needs to comply to the letter, since breaking regulations could lead to another spike in Covid-19 cases and undo all the hard work everyone has done since Spain entered into lockdown on March 16.

Outings are permitted between 06.00 and 10.00 and from 20.00 to 23.00, and children under 14 now have a new timetable – from noon to 19.00.

Residents can be accompanied by just one other person, provided it is someone they live with.

For walks, the maximum distance is one kilometre from home, or for other sports such as running or cycling, anywhere within the person's town, village or city.

Dependent persons – elderly, ill or disabled – and anyone over the age of 70 can go out accompanied by pone other person from 10.00 to noon and from 19.00 to 20.00.

The aim is for those in the higher risk brackets due to age – the immune system is less resilient in those aged over approximately 60 to 70, or younger if they already have age-related health problems such as cardiovascular problems – not to come into contact with younger persons who may have been infected with Covid-19 but are either asymptomatic or have such mild symptoms that they have not realised.

Also, keeping children away from the elderly, middle-aged and younger adults is crucial because of the greater risk of kids passing on contagious conditions to others – and the fact that, when the children are outside, there are generally more of them as they will be with their siblings and one parent.

The 'one adult only' rule still applies to taking children out for walks, as does the limit of three children per parent, grandparent, guardian, nanny, or whoever lives with them – the 'two adults only' for walks, runs or bike rides with members of the same household must be without children.

For the purposes of these scheduled outings, 'young adults' are considered to be anyone aged 14 to 69 inclusive, meaning one parent can go for a walk with a child aged 14 or 15 before 10.00 or between 20.00 and 23.00, provided said child lives with them.

Villages with fewer than 5,000 people do not have specific daily time slots they are required to stick to – they can go out once a day at any time between 06.00 and 23.00.

The idea of these much smaller towns not having scheduled outings is that, with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, the likelihood of crowds of any size building up is much more limited than in larger villages, towns and cities.

It is estimated that around 12% of Spain's population lives in villages of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, and a high number of these are not in situations of rural isolation, either – along some of Spain's busiest and most popular coasts, the majority of municipalities often fall into this category, depending upon where in the country they are.

Non-professional outdoor activities, such as harvesting fruit and veg from allotments and orchards, will be permitted after the weekend as long as they are in the same town as the person doing so.

In practice, non-professional harvesting has been allowed in some cases anyway – where a person grows their own produce on a plot not attached to their homes, they are able to collect these for domestic consumption as it is considered to be in line with going to a supermarket to buy them.

Anyone who has Covid-19 symptoms, whether or not they are a confirmed case, and anyone who is in isolation due to recovering from the condition or having been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed, is not permitted to go out for walks or to practice sport.

Minimum distances must be maintained – the requisite is one metre (3'3”) between persons, although it is better to ensure at least two metres (6'6”).

The government has urged everyone to act responsibly, even if they do not think there is much risk to them or others where they live.

Worrying sights of as many as five children playing football together in a town plaza, kids not from the same household meeting up and playing together, parents and dog walkers stopping to chat to each other and standing side by side, have been reported – and if the police see this, they will be booked and warned or even fined up to €601.

Some residents on urbanisations which are largely made up of holiday homes have been spotted going out for walks for non-essential reasons, claiming there are 'only about three in 10 homes occupied' on their streets – and again, warned or fined.

Whilst in areas where there are no known cases, it may seem a little 'over-dramatic' or feel like 'going through the motions' to stay indoors, those who live there should still act as though the problem were equally serious in their streets – all it takes is for one person to become infected and to leave traces of the virus everywhere, by touching walls, fences, or even breathing near fixed elements of another person's property, and an entire neighbourhood could become ill.

Plus, as the health authority recalls, adhering stringently to the rules – however 'silly' you might think they are – is the only guarantee that this potentially deadly virus with no vaccination available can be contained, and will ensure total freedom will come again sooner rather than later.

Carelessness and 'thinking you know best' could lead to the pandemic lasting longer, getting worse again, and to lockdown having to be enforced or even tightened up for a longer period.

Photograph by Strava