Authorities in Spain have imposed new coronavirus restrictions and a partial lockdown in the city of Madrid as the country tries to curb the most severe second wave of infections. However, for essential journeys, only people can travel outside their home districts from this weekend.
Restaurants and bars in the country have been told not to serve anyone after 11 PM, and only a maximum of six people are allowed to gather in any event. The new measures come on the demand of the federal government of Spain and the measure will come into effect in nine towns around the capital.
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However, the local authorities in Madrid have resisted against the new lockdown and tried to block the measures through the courts, maintaining that the new restrictions would cost the economy millions of dollars.
Meanwhile, the signs of the second wave of the outbreak can be seen in Madrid’s hospitals. Local media reported that every hour ambulances arrive with new coronavirus patients. As they arrive at the hospital, some of the patients are helped into wheelchairs, while others already needing oxygen have to be stretchered by the hospital staff.
According to reports, the existing Intensive Care Units are again full of coronavirus patients. Many health experts have described it as a red signal indicating the severity of the second wave. At the height of the pandemic, hospitals in the city are forced to use overflow capacity, including the beds that are usually reserved for burn patients or other critical diseases.
La Paz Hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in Madrid, says that almost all 30 ICU beds are full again. In Spain, each day, nearly 10,000 new infections are being recorded. But on Friday, the health authorities recorded 113 fatalities with 11,325 new infections.
However, infectious disease experts have said that the second wave is likely to be lower than the first one. Moreover, a study conducted earlier suggested that nearly 11 percent of the people in the capital have already been infected. That is likely to provide immunity to help curb any further spread of coronavirus.
