For Kingston Lakefront resident Carmen Garcia Gallo, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's decision to relax coronavirus restrictions came with a mix of relief and apprehension.

From the apartment she shares with her daughter Victoria Cornock and dog Mogwai, the public servant has been in daily contact with her two brothers and two sisters in Spain since lockdown began in early March.

Alongside her elderly mother, Ms Garcia Gallo's siblings live in a north coast city close to the Basque Country, with a population size similar to Canberra's.

There has been more than 27,000 deaths from coronavirus in Spain. Ms Garcia Gallo said while her family had not been affected it had been "very scary" to watch the situation unfold from Australia.

"It's been horrible. They've all been locked in their apartments," she said.

Ms Garcia Gallo shares custody of her 12-year-old daughter with her ex-husband in Canberra. She usually lives between the ACT and a house she shares with her partner in Sydney's Vaucluse.

A chemist, her partner's work has continued unaffected throughout the crisis while Ms Garcia Gallo has been working from home since social-distancing measures were introduced in Australia.

She said coronavirus has transformed the way she works and she imagines working from home will have lasting appeal for many in her team.

Coronavirus has reduced her travel between the two cities and with Victoria home from St Clare's College in term two, Ms Garcia Gallo joined parents around Australia in the new role as education supervisor.

She said an amicable relationship with her former partner has allowed for "business as usual" in terms of taking care of Victoria. With the pair sharing remote learning responsibilities in the last weeks of term one.

Having started high school in January, Victoria said she was just starting to settle in before coronavirus robbed her of weeks with her friends.

She said the teachers had a tough job trying to adjust to an online delivery towards the end of term two.

"You can't really explain things that well," she said. "Lots of people are behind and because there's no bells or anything it's hard to know when you should be working."

Inside the two-bedroom apartment, Victoria has stayed social by "FaceTiming" friends and using the House Party application - a familiar concept for anyone who remembers Chatroulette.

She runs around the lake most days and, while she's a bit too shy to post, she watches videos her friends post to Tiktok.

Victoria said it's been nice spending more time at home but she was looking forward to a return to normal schooling so she could see her friends.

"I miss them," she said.

Ms Garcia Gallo said she doesn't worry for Victoria's safety but she's worried about the affect the coronavirus will have on her socially.

"With this isolation and not being able to go to school and be able to interact with people they are all the times using mobiles," she said. "They need to have face to face interactions."

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Despite the fear and uncertainty of how her family will fair in Europe, Ms Garcia Gallo said she is certain the coronavirus will leave some lasting effects which aren't all bad.

Being separated from them during a time of crisis has increased her daily messaging and video calls with both them and her sister here in the ACT.

Primarily, she said she hopes staying home will help us to slow down and remind us of the importance of family.

"For example, stopping this rush, rush, rush of always being so busy. Now we have time to do less, you know?," Ms Garcia Gallo said.

"There are some good things that are happening with this crises. There is a lot of bad things of course, economically and people losing their jobs, but on the other hand there are also some positives too."

Ms Garcia Gallo said she hopes the sight of bare supermarket shelves in Australia might push us towards a supply chain less reliant on overseas imports.

Part of a community of Spanish women in Canberra, Ms Garcia Gallo has started speaking her native tongue with her girlfriend's once a week on Zoom since the pandemic broke out.

"We try to catch up and check in with how everybody is going," she said. "So far everyone is okay."

Among the group are Canberra Hospital doctors who have spoken candidly about what an outbreak would look like in the ACT. She said it did not offer much comfort throughout March and April.

"They know first hand how hard it has been," she said.

To preserve her mental health Ms Garcia Gallo said she has had to learn when to switch off the news.

"I like to know what's going on so I'm always checking. Recently I chose not to be listening all the time because it's not helpful," she said.

From inside her Lakefront home, the single mum has practiced meditation and yoga so she's "not so scared" for her loved ones abroad.

"There are many things important in life. This time to reflect and pause has been very important for everyone," she said.

"Let's take care of one another more and connect with our local people."

This is the second in an ongoing series featuring several households at the Lakefront apartments in Kingston talking about how coronavirus has affected their lives. The Canberra Times intends to speak with residents again in six months' time to see how things have changed.