Spain, one of the countries worst hit by the global coronavirus epidemic, on Monday started to ease tough lockdown restrictions that have kept people confined to their homes for more than a month and put a brake on economic activity.

Spain’s cumulative death toll from the coronavirus rose to 17,489 on Monday, up 517 from 16,972 on Sunday, the health ministry said. Confirmed cases totalled 169,496, up from 166,019 the previous day. However, in a sign that the situation was taking a turn for the better, some businesses, including construction and manufacturing, were allowed to reopen.

But most of the population are still confined to their homes, and shops, bars and public spaces will remain closed until at least April 26.

People at main transport hubs were handed face masks as they went to work on Monday morning.

“The health of workers must be guaranteed. If this is minimally affected, the activity cannot restart,” interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Cadena Ser radio station. Lockdown restrictions have helped slow a spiralling death rate that reached its peak in early April, but they have tested the resolve of people cooped up inside their homes.

Only a few commuters came in and out of the main entrance of Madrid’s usually bustling Atocha train station on Monday morning. Road traffic was light too, with mainly public buses passing by. Police handed out millions of masks early in the morning across regions.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday the decision to restart some sectors of the economy was taken after consulting a committee of scientific experts.