Sharp virus spread in Madrid leads to new anti-outbreak plan
Madrid, where a second coronavirus wave is expanding by far the fastest in all of Europe, is edging closer to stricter curbs on movement and social gatherings
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Madrid and its suburbs, the region in Europe where a second coronavirus wave is expanding by far the fastest, are edging toward stricter curbs on personal movement and social gatherings after a political dispute that has angered many Spaniards.
Health officials from Spain’s central government and the Madrid region agreed late Tuesday on a set of health metrics that should dictate standardized restrictions in cities with a population of 100,000 or more. The new plan needs to be approved at a meeting with health officials from all Spanish regions later Wednesday.
The deal, outlined by Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa follows weeks of a sour public disagreement on how to tackle uncontrolled virus clusters in Madrid, the Spanish capital.
The central left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was demanding tougher action in Madrid that wouldn’t only target the city’s working-class neighborhoods, while the Madrid government, in the hands of a center-right coalition, resisted a city-wide partial lockdown for fear of damaging the regional economy further.
Madrid is leading the new wave of infections in Spain and Europe.
The Madrid region has a two-week infection rate of 784 cases per 100,000 residents, 2.5 times higher than a national average of 294 cases and seven times more than the average rate in Europe and the U.K., which stood at 94 last week, according to EU statistics.
Spain has seen more than 748,000 infections and has a confirmed virus death toll of over 31,400, but experts say all numbers understate the true toll of the pandemic due to limited testing and other factors.
__
Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak