As the number of new confirmed cases and deaths continues to decrease, Madrid and Barcelona have been allowed to move onto Phase 1 while other provinces are moving onto Phase 2 in the de-escalation process. In the scope of sports, the Spanish Sports Council (CSD) has outlined what that evolution will look like for each set of provinces.
During Phase 1, training centers allowed to resume include high-performance centers, specialized high-performance centers and technical training centers.
Last Monday, an exception was made for the high-performance centers located in Madrid and Barcelona, considered the two major hotspots for high-performance training.
The High-Performance Centers located in Madrid began welcoming athletes back on campus for training purposes while the residence halls and dining halls remain closed. Athletes must train in reduced groups for a maximum of two hours per day.
Under Phase 1, these sports epicenters will be allowed to receive athletes arriving from other provinces, although they will have to be given notarized permission from the respective training center. Training sessions must be carried out individually, maintaining the 2-meter (6-foot) social distance.
Facilities will only be allowed to house 30 % of their total capacity in order to ensure that social distancing guidelines are met.
While high-level athletes can still train anytime during the day, federated athletes are now allowed to train twice a day so long as they remain within the province – until now they were only allowed to train within a one-kilometer radius from their homes (roughly 0.6 miles).
Phase 1 will allow for high-performance centers to reopen their residence halls, so long they meet the sanitary guidelines established by the Spanish Health Ministry.
During the past 24 hours, according to Spanish outlet El Mundo, the nation’s Health Ministry accounted for 50 new deaths, bringing the toll to 26,834.