On a day where Spain experienced a record number of deaths related to the new coronavirus, Bloomberg reporter Charlie Devereux reports from Madrid on how the country is coping.
European governments have moved to tighten restrictions to contain the coronavirus outbreak amid an unrelenting rise in infections and deaths.
Spain reported 812 coronavirus fatalities on Monday, a slight decline from the previous day’s figure that took the number of casualties from the pandemic to well past 7,000.
As the country battles Europe’s worst outbreak after Italy, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced plans for even tighter restrictions on public life, ordering those who work in non-essential services to stay home during the Easter period. Austria and Greece followed on Monday by stepping up their own measures.
European leaders are preparing people for a prolonged period of severe disruptions and minimal social contact.
After Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz last week raised prospects of easing restrictions soon, he dashed those hopes on Monday and instead tightened aspects of the lockdown. People will now have to wear face masks while shopping in supermarkets; hotels will be closed completely for tourism; and people that are particularly at risk due to prior illnesses must be relieved from work requirements.
Sebastian Kurz gives a press conference in Vienna, on March 30.
“Many still don’t realize what we’re facing,” Kurz told journalists in Vienna, noting that businesses and stores will eventually open before schools and universities. “The truth is, this is a marathon.”
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