State of emergency declared for Madrid
Health minister accuses regional government of opting ‘ to do nothing’
THE GOVERNMENT declared a state of emergency in Madrid region on Friday ( October 9).
PM Pedro Sánchez said this was to ‘ protect public health’ due to the Covid19 pandemic.
Residents are not allowed to enter or leave Madrid city and eight other municipalities in the region, amongst other measures.
Minister of the interior Fernando Grande Marlaska said 7,000 police officers have been deployed to guarantee that the measures are observed.
Health minister Salvador Illa accused the Madrid regional government of ‘ deciding to do nothing’ and said the national government had to take action over the high incidence of Covid19 in the area.
“There are high levels of transmission and it is not just isolated outbreaks,” he said.
Sr Illa claimed that the healthcare system was in danger of being overrun in the region if firm action was not taken to crack down on infections.
The state of emergency is due to last for two weeks but Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso has already asked Sr Sánchez to revoke the measure.
She claimed that the situation in the capital has improved and other areas in the country such as Navarra have a higher incidence of the virus per capita.
Sra Díaz Ayuso also lamented that the government had not negotiated the measure.
Sr Sánchez said they hoped that they would be able to get a grip on the situation in 15 days and they would not have to extend the state of emergency for a longer period.
Other regions in Spain are also being forced to take action.
In Cataluña bars and restaurants have been closed by the regional government in a bid to halt the spread of Covid19.