Spain To Extend Lockdown Into May And Ease Restrictions For Children
Spain News
Published: 20 April 2020 12:25 CET
Updated: 20 April 2020 14:25 CET
Spain will look to extend its Coronavirus lockdown into May in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus which has strangled the country in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will ask lawmakers to extend the current State of Alarm lockdown measures until May 9 instead of lifting them on the previously proposed April 25.
In a televised speech at the weekend, Sanchez said, "Spain has contained the brutal attack of the pandemic. The gains are not enough yet, and they are fragile".
Sanchez also suggested that young children who have been confined to their homes since the initial lockdown on March 14, will be allowed to leave them homes with a relaxing of the measures from April 27.
It comes after parents, teachers and regional governments made calls for the restrictions to be lifted for young children.
Although exact details are yet to be released, it is believed that the outings will be limited to those up to 12 years of age and subject to conditions to minimise the chances of the virus being spread any further.
Sanchez said, "We are aware of the needs of children. There are many families that live in just 40 or 50 square meter homes and need to oxygenate themselves after five or six weeks of confinement".
Any new measures would need to be approved by the Spanish Parliament.
Until now, only adults have been permitted to leave their homes for essential supplies such as food, medicine, medical appoints or in some cases to go to work.
Spain became the second country to report more than 20,000 deaths on Saturday with 565 further fatalities according to Ministry of Health figures. It means that the country now trails only Italy with the number of recorded deaths caused by COVID-19.
Both countries feel that the curve has started to flatten and that they have now reached the peak number of infections.
At the weekend, Italy daily death toll declined further with 482 deaths, the lowest number since April 12 and comes after the country extended its lockdown measures until May 3, despite signs that new infections have decreased.
German which has seen numbers fall in recent weeks will also be lifting its own restrictions this week after a four-week shutdown, in an attempt to get the economy moving again.
The UK is still trying to get to grips with the pandemic with a further 596 deaths reported on Sunday, down from 888 on Friday with a total of 120,000 confirmed cases.
The country has struggled to source enough PPE equipment for NHS staff but is expecting a consignment of 400,000 protective gowns on Monday, which will arrive from Turkey. Another 25 Million gowns have also been procured from China and are said to be arriving 'shortly'.
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