After what seems like a lifetime in which we were stuck in some time warp like in Groundhog Day, Valencia might actually be turning the corner. I just hope the downward trend as far as the coronavirus infection rate keeps up as l am ready to resume some sort of normal life, or as close to it as we can hope for.
LATEST VALENCIA SPAIN UPDATE. IS THAT A LIGHT I SEE?
The old measures:
Up until two weeks ago, we had been in a near-complete lockdown with restaurants completely shut again. Co-mingling of households was forbidden, the schools were once again shut for the most part, including mine.
Curfew was at 10 pm nightly and stores had to close by 6 pm except for the ones that are considered essential, and they were at reduced capacities. The Valencia border was completely closed on weekends and even the weekdays had so many different cities closed, you felt like you needed a map just to know where to move :-). It was a real chess game.
Two weeks ago, they loosened the reins just a bit, and allowed the restaurants to open until 6 pm, but only the ones with outside terraces, and there was a maximum number of 4 per table.
If you’ve seen my YouTube video of my first outing with some friends for margaritas and Mexican food, you might have noticed that we were seating 4 and 2 (we did cheat a little and moved the tables as close as we could).
Believe it or not, cops have been known to come around and measure to make sure the rules were being observed. The waitress told us the neighbors usually snitched.
The exuberance from then has since worn off in my opinion, and not as many people are out eating of course. Money is tight with most l assume. Following the fact that Valencia had the highest rate of infection in the whole country after doing so well was alarming to the government.
The new measures for the Valencia province:
We were being watched for two weeks, and as of today, here are the new restrictions.
- Restaurants can open the terraces at 100%, up from 30%
- The inside seating at restaurants is now allowed (previously forbidden, but now at 30% capacity). The closing hour remains at 6 pm which kind of sucks because it rules out the dinner crowd. There is still a maximum of 4 per table.
- Non-essential stores can open till 8 pm ( weird as you would think the restaurants would at least have matching hours.)
- No household mixing is still in effect, which kind of sucks as it stopped the bubble we had going.
- Schools are open again. Yeah… I was really getting to hate my Spanish zoom sessions, and it is great to be inside of a class again, even if only 3 out of the original 18 have come back.
- Gyms, swimming pools and such can open again finally at 30% capacity.
- Ceremonies at 30% of the venue, with a maximum of 20 people outdoors and 15 indoors.
- Masks will continue to be a requirement for all when outside (at this point, l feel naked without one. Everyone is so used to it.) I have to say, l haven’t even had a cold since we started wearing masks, and l notice the same of others, so l might just make it a permanent thing. Even my allergies have not kicked in with the usual severity.
Fallas or the lack of thereof:
In normal times, Fallas festivities would be taking place at this time, and the city would have been full of tourists, but of course, it has been canceled, as have Easter festivities. The borders will also be shut for those periods to prevent people from traveling.
To tell the truth, I don’t care one way or the other. I am thankful that the fireworks and noise are almost non-existent. There is still noise from the kids with the firecrackers, but l can live with that.
The game of vaccine:
They released a new order of vaccinations. I am now scheduled for late summer, while Federico is early summer. Go figure, as l am slightly older. The government insists on the public healthcare system taking care of the vaccinations which are taking quite a bit of time as you can imagine. In the states, you can get the shots at the pharmacy and clinics, etc.
Here, we have to register with the public system even though we have private insurance, and are issued a temporary number. Once your time comes, they will send you a text message and you can go in.
From what l understand, pharmacies and private clinics have volunteered to administer them, like they do the flu shots, but the government says no. We were in group 6 on the old list, and now in groups 8 and 9. Some friends have gone back home to get their shots.
The government has said they are supposed to be getting massive doses in a month or two and have designated the City of Arts and Sciences as the place to administer shots. This is supposed to speed things up a bit more. We shall see.
There is no mention of people under age 46 at this point getting the jab, so who knows when that will happen?. I’m not sure if it was just an oversight.
Can tourists visit Spain?
That would be a no still. We can’t even leave the province without good cause. I am getting the urge to get back to traveling though. Americans are still forbidden from traveling to Spain except for those who have residency.
This is supposed to last till the summer as there are talks of opening up the borders by then. The Spanish consulates are back to processing applications for people who wish to move here, so that’s a good sign.
As expected, all the Brexit hoopla is affecting British people and it looks like rules are being made, but not disseminated properly. People are still complaining but it’s hard to rustle up sympathy for them as they have had so long to prepare and become legal. I’m like welcome to the real world :-). If you would like to know what you need to visit Spain, check out this website.
As for us and the dogs:
We continue to be thankful for our good health. I am getting quite lazy about excercising though via YouTube, so now l just walk around our neighborhood. One of the dogs has Cushing’s Disease, and l am hoping she will be a little fighter and live past the two-year survival time post-diagnosis.
In the meantime, it’s a daily battle with her bugging me for food all the time, her watching the other’s food like a shark. He is a finicky eater too, a few bites at a time, so there is the constant making sure to pick up the bowl as soon as he stops eating.
Driving me absolutely nuts! The quite expensive medicine seems to have worked for a while, then stopped. We are waiting for another test result to see if the dose needs changing.
How is the life where you’re at? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel too?
Hola Kem. I, and all the other teachers at my schools, were initially scheduled for vaccine shots today.. Unforunately, on Monday night the Spanish government suspended all use of AstraZeneca vaccine due to risk of blood clots. It seems it is always two steps forwards, one step back in Spain. But you are right, I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully with the introduction of the vaccine passport people will be able to travel in the summer (I am going to Israel and Petra, Jordan with my extended family).
Hola! Boy, I can’t wait to hear about Petra. I’ve heard so much about it. It might even inspire me to visit. It’s never been on my bucket list. That sucks that you weren’t able to get vaccinated. It is slow as molasses isn’t it? The cases of the blood clot are literally like 1 in a million, but l guess when you’re that one, it doesn’t feel so good :-(. People complain about vaccine passports, but what’s the difference? yellow fever, typhoid and etc. It’s just one more … haha!
Hooray for things starting to open up a little and perhaps soon you will be able to go back to Spanish school. I am surprised your vaccine is not until the end of the summer?? I had mine today and Brian had his last week…he is older than me, lol. I had the Astra Zeneca and really don’t get all the fuss about the blood clots issue, since there are always risks with any type of medication. But the benefits far outweigh the risks and now so many countries in Europe are stopping the vaccination program when clearly that will cost a lot more lives
Here in England we are still in lockdown, but also counting down for things to start opening up by the end of March. I am very sorry to hear about your dog diagnosis, it is hard for your guys. Fingers crossed she will be a fighter.
Yes, it is quite nice to be able to get out to the eateries as opposed to walking around with everything closed and just not exciting in the least. Hopefully, going forward we will be able to keep the downward pace. You must be relieved to have your shot. It is kind of silly the over cautiousness, but l think nobody wants to get sued. You know how people are. Heck… an aspirin can kill you with the side effects. Thanks for the good wishes on the dog. I do think she is a fighter so we will just keep thinking good thoughts. The vet is really good :-).
p.s. The class has started in person again, and so far, I am the sole student who came back…haha! Love it. Really getting to practice my Spanish. :-).
Kemkem,
Wonderful seeing you post on day-to-day life in Valencia and how it’s been affecting you and Federico. It sounds like it’s been very challenging but glad you can now get out and eat in restaurants again. I hope you’ll soon be able to venture further afield when restrictions ease up – Petra should be on your bucket list in my opinion! Here in Colorado, Steven and I have both had our shots and are considered fully vaccinated. we immediately made plans to visit our two new granddaughters for the first time since last summer – one in San Francisco and one in Chicago – so we’re thrilled at giving Max and Clara ‘real’ hugs!
Looking forward to reading more posts.
All the best to you both and your dogs,
Annie
Thanks, Annie, I hope you guys are doing great as well. I know you have been writing about the local travels so good therapy. It would be nice to be able to go a bit outside, but till April 19 l think, they will keep it closed because of the Fallas, the Holy week coming so close together, they’re afraid, and rightfully so. I know how people get… haha! In any way, being able to be 4 outside is better than the previous 2.
It’s great that you have your shots. I’m sure your granddaughters will be thrilled to see you. It must be really sucky to have been so close, and yet so far. Zoom can only go so far… haha! I can’t wait to be able to go home and visit my family again. Can’t wait to get the shots as soon as they are available to us. Enjoy your upcoming trips.
Glad to hear that things are getting back to normal – or at least part normal. It’s crazy how quickly things change – I’m talking about you mentioning the mask wearing. It’s a normal thing to do now, although I still remember the first time I had to wear one and how strange it all felt. Now it’s like wearing the shoes – wouldn’t be able to go out without it.
Let’s see if this time the lowered restrictions last. Hopefully with vaccines, cases won’t go up just as fast. We can only hope.
Slowly, but surely we seem to be headed the right way. I’m not sure if the people are just tired of fighting, or if the government is just being too much, but there seems to be a resigned air to everything about now. Yeah, I don’t even think about the mask anymore, I just grab it on the go. Come summer time, I might feel differently with the heat, but for now, I am actually loving it.
We’re locked till April 19 when the holidays will end, so hopefully, they will open up a bit more. I am just thrilled that our class is back, and so far, I am the only one so l get a private tutor for cents.
And I thought Canada was behind in getting vaccines! More doses are becoming available and timelines are being moved up. I’m now in the late April/May group. We register online or by phone and the vaccines are given at community centers and arenas that are currently closed for normal activities. We’ll get an email when the second shot can be done. Vaccinated or not, we still have to wear masks inside public places. There’s never been a mask requirement for outdoors in BC, though sometimes I see people walking wearing masks. They’re shooting TV shows around my town and the crew are wearing masks even though they’re outside, an industry requirement. The health laws have relaxed a little and groups of less than 10 people are now allowed to gather in outdoor settings. It’s not easy watching our beloved dogs deal with aging.
Oh, we are trailing way behind you, as is much of Europe save for the U.K it seems. It didn’t help that they stopped the administration of the third vaccine because of the blood clotting in a minuscule number of people. It has been deemed safe again, so we´ll see how that goes. Good news that you will get your jab pretty soon. I like the mask requirement here, to be honest. I just don’t see as many people sneezing etc. I’m no scientist, but l think it has cut down a lot of flu and cold transmissions.
The industry seems to be slowly coming back. I bet the shop owners will appreciate the money that trickles in. 10 people would be a dream here. The 4 max rule will last till April 19, and then they will re-assess. Our foodie group is all but defunct as we have had up to 60 people for a lunch, low numbers like 30. Not sure if we will ever recover. Our last dog lived to be 19, blind, deaf, and a host of tumors but he fought hard. Hopefully, she will too. :-).
I read your blog post while back in the States. We came back for a number of to do list reasons, getting vaccine was high on that list. Greece still is working on how to get the insurance number needed to register for the vaccine to expats. We are scheduled for our second jab tomorrow. Greece remains on lockdown, with the reopening of hairdressers and archaeological sites being a first step reopening after a 4.5 month lockdown. The contrast between our Greek life and that in Washington State has never been as night-and-day different as this time of COVID.
You’re still there l assume from your postings, and very much enjoying life outside of the strict lockdown in Greece. Nice that you’re getting vaccinated, because you’re right, it’s going to be a while before we get there over on this side of the pond. I actually thought Spain was the laggard, but it sounds like Greece has us beat. I didn’t realize that your lockdown was still as strict.
You really do notice the difference between countries when faced with something as ginormous as this, don’t you? Glaring differences, some good, and some not so good. Enjoy your time there, and stay safe :-).