Spain eases virus lockdown, factories reopen

Madrid, April 13

Spain, one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, on Monday started to ease tough lockdown restrictions that have kept people confined to their homes for more than a month and put a brake on economic activity.

Putin tells officials to prepare for the worst as numbers surge

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia is facing a surge in the number of seriously ill patients and needs to prepare for the worst-case scenarios. Putin told officials that they should be ready to move medical personnel and equipment between regions to respond to the rapidly changing situation. Russia had recorded 18,328 coronavirus cases and 148 deaths, as of Monday. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova reported to Putin that Russia has 40,000 hospital beds for Covid patients and plans to increase the number to 95,000.

Spain’s cumulative death toll from the coronavirus rose to 17,489 on Monday, up 517 from 16,972 on Sunday, the Health Ministry said.

With signs indicating the situation was taking a tentative turn for the better, some businesses, including construction and manufacturing, were allowed to reopen.

“The health of workers must be guaranteed. If this is minimally affected, the activity cannot restart,” Interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Cadena Ser radio station.

Lockdown restrictions have helped slow a spiralling death rate that reached its peak in early April, but they have tested the resolve of people cooped up inside their homes. Only a few commuters came in and out of Madrid’s usually bustling Atocha train station on Monday morning. Road traffic was light too, with mainly public buses on the streets.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday the decision to restart some sectors was taken after consulting a committee of experts. Any further winding down would depend on gains made against the virus, he said.

The coronavirus is weighing heavily on the Spanish economy, with some 9,00,000 jobs lost since mid-March. One company reopening, Burgos-based industrial group Nicolas Correa, said it would take measures to prioritise the health of its staff. “We will continue to work in shifts, with staggered entries and exits to avoid concentrations of staff,” it said, adding that all workers would be provided with protective equipment.

Italy, UK still struggling

Elsewhere in Europe, deaths in Italy from the epidemic rose over the weekend to 19,468 and the number of new cases climbed to 4,694 from a previous 3,951. It was the highest daily death toll since April 6.

After easing from peaks around the end of March, Italy’s daily death and infection tallies have declined but are not falling steeply as was hoped by Italians who have been in lockdown for a month. Nor was there any indication the UK would lift restrictions anytime soon as the death toll passed 10,000.

A scientific adviser to the government said Britain risked becoming the worst-hit country in Europe.

In Germany, senior politicians began debating a potential easing of restrictions imposed since mid-March. The number of new infections and deaths has declined in the country, which has weathered the pandemic better than neighbours Italy, Spain and France. — Reuters

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