Spain, one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is to extend its nationwide lockdown until May 9, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Saturday.
Restrictions on movements would be loosened slightly however to allow children time outside from April 27, he added, reports BSS.
Spain, which has been under lockdown since March 14, has recorded 20,043 deaths from the virus, according to the latest official figures.
“We have done the hardest part through responsibility and social discipline… we are putting the most extreme moments behind us,” Sanchez said.
He nonetheless insisted that Spaniards should not put at risk the fragile and insufficent gains made so far with hasty decisions. The end to the confinement would be “prudent and progressive”, he said.
According to Wikipedia, The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Spain on 31 January 2020, when a German tourist tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in La Gomera, Canary Islands. By 24 February, Spain confirmed multiple cases related to the Italian cluster, originating from a medical doctor from Lombardy, Italy, who was on holiday in Tenerife. Other cases involving individuals who visited Italy were also discovered in Peninsular Spain.
By 13 March, cases had been registered in all 50 provinces of the country. A state of alarm and national lockdown was imposed on 14 March. On 29 March it was announced that, beginning the following day, all non-essential workers were to stay home for the next 14 days.
By late March, the Community of Madrid has recorded the most cases and deaths in the country. Medical professionals and those who live in retirement homes have experienced especially high infection rates. On 25 March 2020, the death toll in Spain surpassed that reported in mainland China and only Italy had a higher death toll globally. On 2 April, 950 people died of the virus in a 24-hour period—at the time, the most by any country in a single day. The next day Spain surpassed Italy in total cases and is now second only to the United States.
As of 18 April 2020, there have been 192,317 confirmed cases with 74,662 recoveries and 20,171 deaths in Spain. The actual number of cases, however, is likely to be much higher, as many people with only mild or no symptoms are unlikely to have been tested. The number of deceased is also believed to be an underestimate due to lack of testing and reporting, perhaps by as much as 10,000 according to excess mortality analysis.
