After Madrid on Friday, three other cities in Spain, Leon, Palencia and San Andrés del Rabanedo will be subject from Tuesday to a partial closure in order to slow the progression of the Covid-19 epidemic, local authorities announced on Monday. .
"
The epidemiological situation obliges us to adopt new measures for the protection of health in Leon and Palencia
", tweeted Alfonso Mañueco, president of the region of Castile and Leon (center).
Read also: Spain: start of reconfinement for five million Madrilenians
Leon, Palencia and San Andrés del Rabanedo, cities with respectively 125,000, 79,000 and 30,000 inhabitants, will be partially cordoned off for at least two weeks, as Madrid and nine municipalities of its periphery have been since Friday evening.
Concretely, the more than 4.5 million inhabitants affected by these restrictions in Madrid and in the neighboring towns can come and go freely in their municipality but are only allowed to leave for basic reasons such as going work, study or go to the doctor for example.
They are therefore not confined to their homes as was the case in the spring.
However, this device is difficult to apply, especially since the police are still awaiting the green light from the courts to be able to start fining people who do not comply with these new measures.
"
We remain very concerned, the coming weeks will continue to be difficult, very difficult,
" the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, warned Monday evening.
The number of known cases exceeded 800,000 on Monday in Spain, which has more than 32,000 dead and is one of the countries with the highest number of cases relative to its population in the entire European Union.
Read also: Covid-19: Spain ready to toughen health measures in Madrid and in the most affected areas
But the central government and the region of Madrid have torn apart over the decisions to be taken to curb the pandemic in the capital.
"
In terms of health, you are in charge but you know nothing about it
", were carried away 55 scientific societies representing more than 170,000 nursing staff in a "
manifesto
" addressed to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and to the presidents of the 17 Spanish regions.
They criticize in particular in this text "
the perpetual political confrontation
", "
bureaucratic slowness
" and the absence of "
national protocol
" in a country where health is a competence of the regions.
Calling for an "
increase in resources for research
", these caregivers concluded by asking "
on behalf of more than 47 million Spaniards, including you and your families, (...) to change in the face of so much political and professional inconsistency and human
”.