Spain declared emergency state due to coronavirus

Spain began its nationwide curfew on Sunday night after the country declared a national emergency state of coronavirus.

According to the Prime Minister Pedro, the free movement of people on streets will be restricted from 11pm to 6am CET.

It’s likely to remain in place in Spain for about six months.

The curfew has few exceptions that includes;

1. Commuting to work

2. Buying medicine

3. Caring for elderly and young family members

The WHO has warned that some countries are on a “dangerous track”.

That have too many witnessing an exponential increase in cases, and called on countries to take further action to curb the spread of the disease.

The WHO has said that the northern hemisphere was at an especially critical juncture with winter looming.

Spain PM on the curfew

Prime Minister said during a nationwide address after meeting with cabinet on Sunday;

“The reality is that Europe and Spain are immersed in a second wave of the pandemic. The situation we are living in is extreme.”

Governments are struggling to balance new restrictions against the need to revive economies.

Economies were already destroyed by the earlier lockdowns after the virus first emerged last year.

But populations weary of social isolation and economic hardship have bristled at the tougher measures.

Augusto D’Alfonsi, who owns the Torricella family-run fish restaurant in Rome, said after the new measures were announced;

“This is going to destroy us.”

There has also been opposition to tighter curbs in Spain, but some said they accepted that there need to be controls.

17-year-old student Juan Pelayo in the town of Valladolid said;

“The curfew is good for those who are drinking in the street a lot lately, because at our age people go out a lot, they are uncontrolled and then what happens, happens.”

The United States remains the hardest-hit country on the planet, and on Saturday it set a daily record for new Covid-19 cases for the second straight day, at nearly 89,000, with a further surge expected as cold weather arrives;

“You can infect your parents, then your parents go to work, they infect everybody, you have to keep in mind that there are elderly people, and elderly people might die.”