Madrid has decreed that all non-vital commerce will stop in the city, the region of Spain worst affected by coronavirus, as of Saturday.
The decree, issued by the regional government, orders the closure of cinemas, discos, restaurants, concert halls, theatres, casinos, gaming centres, amusement parks, gymnasiums and bars.
It permits supermarkets, other food shops, and chemists to remain open, while restaurants will be allowed to deliver to people’s homes.
The move is the most drastic yet in Madrid to enforce social distancing and slow the spread of the virus. Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, announced earlier in the day that the national government would assume special powers under a so-called state of alert on Saturday. This will allow it to take control of factories and other centres of production and to restrict people’s movements. All schools in the country have now been closed.
Spain has registered more than 4,200 cases of coronavirus, with about half the cases coming in Madrid.
Under the state of alert, the government will have powers to restrict people’s movements and to intervene and temporarily occupy factories, workshops, farms or premises of any kind, with the exception of private homes. It will also be able to limit or ration services or basic goods and issue orders to ensure supply and production.
“These decisions are intended to mobilise all the resources of the state to protect the health of all Spaniards,” Sánchez said. He added that the government would seek to deploy “economic and medical resources, both public and private, and civil and military, to protect in particular those who are the most vulnerable to the virus”, whether because of their age or existing illnesses.
“Very difficult weeks are ahead of us,” Sánchez said. “We can’t discount [the possibility] that, sadly, in the next week, more than 10,000 people will be affected . . . We are only in the first stage of a battle the whole world is involved in.” He added that the main focus of the government’s efforts was to stop the virus from spreading too quickly and to stop it with the least possible human cost.
It is only the second time in Spain’s democratic history that a state of alert has been decreed. On the previous occasion it was used to deal with an air traffic controllers’ strike.
Any extension of the state of alert beyond the initial 15-day period must be backed by parliament. Pablo Casado, the leader of Spain’s main opposition People’s party, said he supported the decree and would endorse an extension.
But he called for the government to take more decisive action, highlighting dramatic steps taken by regional authorities — such as the ringfencing of a virus-struck town in Catalonia, the decree to close almost all commerce other than supermarkets and pharmacies in Madrid and restrictions on people’s movements in Murcia.
Madrid’s PP-controlled authorities have issued an SOS to the central government, saying that supplies of respirators and face masks are inadequate in the capital.
Enrique Ruiz Escudero, the region’s top health official, pleaded with the central government for more supplies and begged people to stay at home to reduce the risk of infection. All restaurants and bars in the region will be closed from Saturday.
Ruiz Escudero said the number of cases was expected to rise “very much” in the coming days in Madrid, where officials have warned it could take up to 10 days to see if restrictions have been effective in bringing the virus under control.
On Thursday night Madrid set out an emergency plan to convert hotels to hospitals, install medical staff at old people’s homes and triple the number of intensive care beds.
But Ignacio Aguado, deputy head of the Madrid regional government, said such steps would not be enough and demanded more help from central government. “There is a lack of supply and we urgently need masks and protective equipment,” he said. “It is important that intensive care wards do not collapse.”
Source: Financial Times
