Crown crisis in Spain: back to work, but with a mask

A great experiment begins in Spain on Monday: most stores remain closed, but hundreds of thousands of citizens can return to work, including construction and industrial workers. You will get on the subway and enter streets that are now deserted. In the country one wonders: will this come too soon?

More than 16,000 people have died from Covid-19 in Spain so far. The coronavirus has affected the country more strongly than many other countries. Meanwhile, the curve of the infected dead and the crown flattens. The climax of the pandemic seems to have been overcome. But more than 500 people still die every day. The actual number is likely to be significantly higher. In nursing homes in particular, authorities cannot properly record every case.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez put the entire economy into a “two-week hibernation.” Anyone not working in a business that produces vital products had to stay home.

Sánchez has now withdrawn only the strictest measures. The curfew, ordered by Sánchez on March 14, remains at least until the end of April. It is much stricter than in Germany: most shops and stores are closed. People are only allowed to leave the house in exceptional cases, for example, when they have to go to work, to the doctor or to go shopping. If you can, you should work from home. Police punish rides. Outdoor sports are prohibited. There are severe penalties.

Everyone should wear masks on the subway

To avoid a second wave of infection, Spaniards must also wear protective masks on public transport starting Monday. However, masks should not be mandatory. They’ve been sold out for weeks anyway. The government wants to distribute them on Monday in the subway, at bus stops and in other important places. But it is impossible for every citizen to get a mask by Monday.

The recommended masks are light cloth masks. They do not primarily protect the wearer of the mask from the virus, but the people around him. Experts and governments around the world had long emphasized that a mouth guard was not necessary. Meanwhile, the statements have changed, the masks are now said to offer additional protection against a droplet infection. The Spanish government is also changing.

In Spain, those responsible now emphasize that masks are just one of many measures. On Saturday afternoon, they published a long list of precautions:

• Citizens should avoid the subway and, if possible, ride a bicycle or car.

• They must also maintain a minimum distance of two meters from other people.

• The seats in the subway and the bus must remain empty. The security forces should control that. Only one person per row can sit in a car or taxi.

• Anyone who has contact with the client should wear protective gloves and masks.

• Work clothes should be washed at 60 to 90 degrees every day.

• The offices must be regularly ventilated, the ambient temperature must be between 23 and 26 degrees.

For Prime Minister Sánchez, relaxation is extremely risky politically. It is already controversial. She is too early and “puts the population at risk,” said Catalan Health Minister Alba Vergés. In the region of Catalonia alone, where Monday is still a public holiday, a million people can work again on Tuesday, according to the online newspaper “the newspaper”.

In Catalonia, those responsible even presented their own plan for relaxation. He doesn’t expect some workers to return until the end of April. However, the regional government does not have the competence to decide it. The Minister of Health also prevented the Catalans from explicitly prohibiting them from returning to work next week.

In the crown crisis, the fracture lines of Spanish society come to light. For weeks there has been a heated discussion about whether Sánchez reacted too late. It runs between camps that have been closed for years.

The criticism of the government comes not only from supporters of the independence of Catalonia. Conservatives, particularly in Madrid, are also putting pressure on Sánchez’s left-wing coalition. They hesitate between quick comments and try to be loyal to the crisis.

Madrid’s transport minister Ángel Garrido said the mask plan had been learned from the media over the weekend. In the region alone, more than 6,000 people have died from Covid-19. Garrido said he would like to know when, where and how many masks to distribute. However, its regional government has also reduced the risk of the virus at the start of the pandemic.