A recent surge in coronavirus cases in some areas in the Spanish capital of Madrid has prompted the government to order a partial lockdown that has been the source of anger from those who say the mandate is extreme and will crush the economy.
Reuters reported the lockdown would target poorer areas in the city where about 850,000 people live. The report said these citizens say they feel abandoned by the government, and the restrictions would make it impossible to earn a living.
“We have to avoid at all costs a state of alert and above all confining people to their homes,” Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the head of Madrid’s regional government, told the Financial Times. She said, “A state of alert and confining people are an economic disaster.”
Diaz Ayuso, a member of the country’s conservative Popular Party, told the paper the new mandate would affect areas where there are more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day span.
El País, one of the country’s top newspapers, reported the new restrictions will be put into place on Monday and span 14 days. Under the mandates for the affected areas, residents will be able to leave home only for essential activities like work or school.
TRENDPOST: It should be noted that Spain was among the early western nations to impose the strictest of lockdowns beginning in March. Yet, totally ignored in this article and most others is the fact that Sweden did not lock down its people nor the economy, and its virus infection rate is minimal compared to Spain. Sweden had 30.3 new cases per 100,000 people in the last two weeks compared to Spain’s 292.2 cases.
Moreover, while there is panic in the Spanish streets as its GDP plummeted and the once tourist-rich destination suffered a tourist-less summer, ignored is the fact that its virus death rate is minor when compared to New York State.
To date, Spain, with 46.758 million people has 30,663 virus deaths or 0.0655 percent of the population. Thus, the devastating socioeconomic cost of closing down an entire nation with such a low overall death rate is barely addressed.
And, while the media champions New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for bravely fighting the COVID War (and getting a major book deal to write about it), with 19.5 million people and 33,182 virus victims, the state’s death rate is 0.1701 percent.
TRENDPOST: Last week, Spain’s central bank forecasted that once there is a COVID vaccine, the economy will not recover to pre-lockdown levels until at least 2023.
The Bank of Spain expects the nation’s GDP to slump between 10.5 percent and 12.6 percent this year and unemployment to hit 22 percent next year if tourist bans are not lifted and the hospitality sector continues its decline.
TRENDPOST: Countries in Europe which have seen a spike in virus cases in recent weeks appear to be uneasy about adhering to another round of lockdowns in an effort to slow the spread during a second wave being felt in the U.K. and Spain.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that despite the new infections, many cases have been recorded in the younger population. Many of these carriers have exhibited no symptoms or mild symptoms.
TRENDPOST: Officials in Spain are not the only ones who see a second lockdown as a surefire way to devastate the economy. Emmanuel Macron, the French leader, promised he would not issue another lockdown order and said he would be willing to just “live” with the pandemic. President Trump has also vowed not to implement another lockdown.
Again, we note new “Freedom” parties with populist/nationalist agendas will grow throughout the world as the “Greatest Depression” worsens and poverty, crime, violence, and government corruption increase.
