Spain to Extend State of Emergency as Deaths Keep Rising
Spain to Seek 15-day State of Emergency Extension, El Pais Says
(Bloomberg) --
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will seek parliamentary approval to extend a state of emergency to April 11 after almost 400 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours lifted the total number of fatalities to 1,720.
The nation is dealing with Europe’s second-worst outbreak after Italy and the fourth-most severe worldwide. Total confirmed cases climbed to 28,572, from 24,926 the previous day, the Health Ministry said Sunday. While the current 15-day emergency, declared March 14, did not require parliamentary approval, lawmakers are expected to grant Sanchez’s request and he said he’s convinced they will “understand the situation.”
The prime minister said that the crisis is “bringing out the best” in Spaniards and praised citizens who are respecting tough restrictions on public life, while warning that “irresponsibility destroys lives.”
People have been ordered to stay at home, with a handful of exceptions including work, shopping for essentials and walking dogs. The police has powers to fine and arrest people who transgress.
“We applaud all the people who stay at home,” Sanchez told a news conference Sunday. “In these times, staying at home is an example of patriotism and solidarity.”
Sanchez said in a televised address Saturday that “the worst is still to come” and the disease will continue to spread, with more cases and deaths likely over the next few days.
Most Spaniards “have never had to face something as harsh as this” and the government will do whatever it takes to fight the pandemic, he said.
The armed forces will start working to disinfect retirement homes in the Madrid region, the epicenter of the outbreak, and the country will import six million coronavirus tests, Sanchez said, adding that the health and industry ministries are organizing the domestic production of medical materials to guarantee supplies.
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