After having recorded 950 deaths in 24 hours, Spain has just crossed the threshold of 10 000 deaths due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is the second most bereaved country after Italy in the world by the Covid-19.
Spain, which declared a state of emergency by imposing an almost total quarantine on its 46 million inhabitants since March 14, still has 110,000 new cases of patients suffering from coronavirus even if the progression tends to slow down.
Faced with this epidemic, the army was called in to reinforce. The soldiers are present in all regions to transport the dead, build field hospitals or disinfect buildings.
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They took part in the construction of the impressive field hospital installed in the Madrid exhibition center, Ifema, where nearly a thousand patients are hospitalized or in the assembly of fifteen other structures in all of Spain, including Catalonia, despite the initial reluctance of the regional independence authorities. They were also responsible for disinfecting retirement homes, hospitals, metro stations, etc.
The government of Pedro Sanchez criticized
In the country, with this sad record, voices are raised on the management of the central government of Pedro Sanchez. The regions accuse Madrid, despite its full powers, of being completely overwhelmed with numerous failures, in particular for the supply of materials in hospitals. Pablo Casado, the leader of the conservative opposition withdrew his "reasonable support" from Pedro Sanchez and the Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right party Vox demanded "a government of experts" and "the expulsion of the leader socialist ”.
It must be said that the management of this crisis has created a new situation in this country where the 17 regions play an important role. Except that this decentralization is today challenged with decisions that come directly from the central government.
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Until now, health was the responsibility of the regions. However, certain decisions by the central government are not well accepted, such as the decision to limit economic activity to the strict minimum. In terms of health, regions have also decided to go it alone by going to buy equipment directly in China such as the Madrid or Aragon region. They believe that Pedro Sanchez favors several regional capitals over others.
Towards a deep economic crisis
In addition to this health crisis and these criticisms, the country is plunged into a deep economic crisis. In March, Spain registered in March 302,265 new job seekers, because of "the extraordinary impact of the Covid-19 health crisis," the Labor Ministry announced on Thursday.
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According to the Spanish press, this increase is the largest ever observed in unemployment statistics. The service sector is paying the heaviest price, with 206,016 additional unemployed, in a country where tourism accounts for 12% of GDP.