Pandemic issues overshadow Brexit as Gibraltar moves into new era

Backdropped by the Gibraltar rock, people wearing face masks walk along the stalls of a weekly market at the Spanish city of La Linea (Emilio Morenatti/AP)

Fears of disruptions following Britain’s departure from the European Union were replaced by coronavirus-related restrictions on border traffic between Spain and Gibraltar on Monday, the first working day at the United Kingdom’s only land border with the European mainland.

Only a share of essential workers from an average of 15,000 who cross the fence between Spain’s La Linea de la Concepcion and the British territory on a normal day were venturing into Gibraltar, which went into lockdown late on Saturday amid a surge in virus cases that is putting under pressure its limited health infrastructure.