Spain To Follow Italy Into Nationwide Lockdown As Coronavirus Cases Soar

Top officials in Spain on Saturday announced that they would declare a nationwide lockdown in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, which has exploded in recent days.

There are now 5,232 confirmed cases in Spain, according to Johns Hopkins. More than 130 people have died there.

“According to a copy of the royal decree seen by The Associated Press, Spain’s government was to announce Saturday that it is placing tight restrictions on movement for the nation of 46 million people while declaring a two-week state of emergency,” the AP reported. “Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was due to address the nation in the afternoon.”

“Residents in Madrid, which has around half the infections, and northeastern Catalonia had already awoken Saturday to shuttered bars and restaurants and other non-essential commercial outlets as ordered by regional authorities. Madrid ordered city parks closed and Seville canceled its Easter Week processions — one of Spain’s most important religious and cultural events,” the AP wrote.

Spain’s coming order follows the total lockdown in Italy, which has also seen an exponential rise in the number of cases, which has hit 17,660 with 1,266 deaths, Johns Hopkins reports. Italy is second only to China, where the virus originated.

In Italy, businesses have shut down and residents are not allowed free movement. Mayors of many Italian cities, including Rome and Milan, shut down public playgrounds and parks.

But Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said production of food and health supplies will continue, and on Saturday, union and industrial leaders in the country reached an agreement on special measures to keep factories running, the AP said.

The coronavirus can cause severe illness, including pneumonia for the elderly or those with pre-existing health conditions. But for most healthy people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and dry cough.

On Friday, the head of the World Health Organization declared that Europe is now the “epicenter” of the global coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged European countries to use aggressive measures, community mobilization and social distancing to save lives.

“Europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China,” he said. “More cases are now being reported every day than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic.”

The doctor said countries must take extreme measures to address the spread of the virus. “Do not just let this fire burn,” he said.

Meanwhile, Denmark and Norway have closed their borders and halted passenger traffic to and from the country until April 13. “I know that the overall list of measures is very extreme and will be seen as very extreme, but I am convinced that it’s worth it,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.

Poland is also set to close its borders starting at midnight Saturday and will turn away all foreigners unless they lived in Poland or had personal ties there. Non-citizens allowed in will be quarantined for 14 days. The Czech Republic and Slovakia took similar action.