Surge in deaths in Spain leads to government to take more measures as it admits that the situation has changed
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As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise in Spain, authorities in Madrid – one of the main infection points in the country – have ordered all education centers to close for two weeks starting on Wednesday. The measure will affect more than 1.5 million students at all levels of the school system, from early education to universities.
The decision came on Monday evening, shortly after the Basque Country announced that all schools in in the city of Vitoria, another transmission hub, will also remain shut for the next 15 days. If necessary, scheduled surgeries in the Madrid region will also be canceled, along with non-essential medical appointments and tests.
These measures were announced by regional premier Isabel Díaz Ayuso, of the conservative Popular Party (PP), in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the Madrid region.
Also on Monday, Health Minister Salvador Illa recommended that people work from home in Madrid if they can, as well as in the Basque cities of Vitoria and Labastida.
At least 1,204 people had tested positive for the virus by the latest nationwide count on Monday evening, and the death toll had climbed to 30, a significant rise from the 10 deaths officially registered on Saturday.
For the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in Spain, health authorities on Monday admitted that the scenario has changed.
With more than a thousand confirmed cases by Monday afternoon, nearly twice as many as 24 hours earlier, there is “obvious community transmission” in two regions, Madrid and the Basque Country, said Fernando Simón, head of the Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies.
Authorities admit that this requires additional measures to those that have been in force to date, namely isolating ill people and placing their contacts in quarantine. Until recently, the majority of cases could be traced back to specific locations and authorities were confident that the spread could be contained.
