News
Spain welcomes tourists back as emergency ends
Spain has lifted its state of emergency, reopening its borders to visitors from most of Europe and allowing British tourists in without having to quarantine.
For three months Spain has been under one of Europe’s toughest lockdowns to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned that hygiene controls must be observed strictly, despite the easing.
Spain’s COVID-19 death toll stands at 28,322 – the third-highest in the European Union (EU).
The state of emergency was decreed on March14, and for several weeks people could not go out to exercise and children were not allowed to leave their homes for any reason.
Spain normally attracts 80 million tourists a year, with tourism providing more than 12 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Opening up the holiday market again before the summer season is over is seen as crucial to the Spanish economy.
Arrivals will have their temperature taken at the airport, state if they have had the virus and provide contact details. Spain is opening up again to the rest of the EU and Schengen zone countries outside the EU.
And now Spaniards can once again enjoy unrestricted travel in their own country.
But social distancing rules remain in place: people have to stay 1.5m (5ft) apart in public, wear masks in shops and on public transport, where that rule cannot always be kept, and clean their hands frequently.
“We must remain on our guard and strictly follow hygiene and protection measures,” said Mr Sánchez.
He warned of the risk of a second coronavirus wave, “which must be avoided at all costs”.
Spain’s land border with Portugal remains shut until July, at Portugal’s request.
Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told the BBC that there would no longer be a two-week quarantine for British tourists. Spain is still in discussions over whether the UK will reciprocate.
But she said Spain’s move was “out of respect for the 400,000 British citizens who have second residences in Spain” and who are “dying to benefit” from them.
In recent weeks Spain has been gradually easing restrictions, like its EU neighbours, reopening businesses and public spaces such as parks.
Guillermo Umbria, a Madrid resident, said ending the state of emergency was “very positive for society in general”. -BBC
News
Swallowed by the Sea! …Keta’s coastal lines, landmarks, efforts to preserve heritage
The Atlantic Ocean is no longer a distant blue horizon for the people of Keta.
It now circles around their doorsteps, uninvited, unrelenting, pulling down walls and other structures, erasing memories, and threatening lives.
Hovering precariously between the restless sea and the Keta Lagoon, this once-thriving coastal town is slowly being obliterated.
Salt water has become both a physical and metaphorical threat, dissolving the town’s past as fast as it claims its future.
Madam Aku Atitso, 62, lives in a crumbling former Prisons Service quarters – one of the few structures still standing on the eroded stretch of Queen Street.
She sits quietly at the entrance, preparing a modest breakfast for herself and her granddaughter.
The air is thick with salt and silence. “The sea took everything,” she says softly. “My husband’s nets, our mattress, our memories all gone overnight.” Her voice trembles. “This place too is dying. But it’s the last place with a roof over my head.”
A few metres away, Aunty Esinam, 79, watches the sea from a low stool beside a wooden shelter. Her eyes do not blink. “That spot,” she points, “used to be someone’s living room, a whole family lived there”.
It’s not just homes that are vanishing. Landmarks that anchored Keta’s cultural identity are disappearing one after another. The once-imposing Fort Prinzenstein, a haunting relic of the transatlantic slave trade is now more of a ruin than a monument.
the encroaching waters along Keta’s
coast.
encroaching waters along Keta’s coast
The colonial-era Bremen factory, the old cinema where generations of children once laughed at flickering black-and-white films is also gone.
Queen Street, once the town’s bustling backbone, is now a watery corridor choked with debris.
Standing atop a section of the sea defence wall, 69-year-old retired teacher Efo Kwasi Agbeko surveys what remains.
“The first police station is mostly gone,” he says, gesturing part of the building stuck in the sea sand, only ruins and a few rooms remain.
“This town is fighting, but the sea is winning,” he said.
Even the Cape St. Paul Lighthouse, Keta’s historic sentinel, leans perilously toward the water, and fishermen say holes in the shore are opening more frequently, sometimes every week.
That leaves a thick cloud of uncertainty hanging around the historic town of Keta.
Once upon a time, it was a vibrant town noted for business but currently left with ruins with a few of the residents watching in awe the sea’s devastation.
From: Geoffrey Kwame Buta, Keta, Volta Region
News
Ghanaians climax Easter with fun-filled activities
Christians around the world and other faith based groups last Monday climaxed the Easter celebration with a number of fun-filled outdoor and indoor activities.
With streets empty, fun seekers stormed church premises where picnics were held while others partied in many ways.
Others spent the day at the various beaches and music and film shows occupying the others.
velleyball competition
at the Laboma Beach
Church in Tema Community 8 engaged
in a number of activities including the
popular draught competition
At the churches, participants engaged in bible reading, football, volleyball, playing cards, table tennis, horse racing, bouncing castles, swimming and oware.
one of the picnic venues
Others played ludo, tag of war, lime and spoon, draught, music competitions among others.
The Spectator captured some of the exciting scenes around Accra-Tema for the benefit of readers.
Story & pictures by Victor A. Buxton
