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Coronavirus in Spain full update (21 April)

Click here for today’s full report: Coronavirus in Spain (4 May)

ALSO READ: Lifting of lockdown in Spain – full details of all phases

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#LATEST During tomorrow’s debate in the Spanish Congress, where the government seeks authorisation for an official extension to the current ‘state of alarm’ lockdown until 9 May, it will also propose that children up to the age of 14 will be allowed to leave home from 27 April only to accompany their parents on activities already permitted. This would include, for example, children being allowed to accompany their parents to the supermarket, food shops, chemists and banks. Click here for the full report on the government’s proposals.

ALSO READ: Spanish government: children can go with adults to supermarkets, but not parks

Report below updated in Spain at 18.30h on Tuesday 21 April.

The latest official figures* released by Spain’s Health Ministry in Madrid at 11.15am on Tuesday 21 April confirm a total of 204,178 known cases of Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Spain, 3,968 more than yesterday.

Monday’s figure had seen an increase of 4,266 new infections compared to Sunday. Sunday’s figure had been an increase of 4,218 over Saturday. Saturday’s figure had been 5,252.

The current peak of recorded infections for a 24-hour period in Spain was on 31 March, when 9,222 new cases were registered.

21,282 people have now died from the pandemic in Spain, up by 430 on yesterday.

Monday had seen an increase of 399 Coronavirus-related deaths over Sunday, which was the lowest daily increase since 22 March. Sunday’s figure had been an increase of 410 over Saturday. Saturday’s figure had been 565.

The current peak of recorded deaths related to Coronavirus in a 24-hour period in Spain was on 2 April, when 950 deaths were registered.

82,514 people have now made a full recovery, an increase of 1,928 over Monday.

Of the official figures released by the Health Ministry today, 57,997 confirmed cases of Coronavirus are known to be in the Madrid region and where 7,460 have died (from the total 21,282 across the country).

There are now 43,112 cases in Catalonia and 4,152 deaths there. In Catalonia, however, there has also recently been a change in the method of collating data, so these figures could be higher (please refer to Health Ministry data and regional discrepancies below).

There are 12,810 known cases in the Basque Country (1,103 deaths), 11,447 in Andalusia (1,017), 17,045 in Castilla La Mancha (2,075) and 10,084 in the Valencia region (1,089).

Figures for those infected with Coronavirus in other regions are as follows: Aragón 4,938 (643 deaths), Asturias 2,365 (202 deaths), Balearic Islands 1,808 (161), Canary Islands 2,085 (120), Cantabria 2,123 (165), Castilla y León 16,259 (1,521), Ceuta 111 (4), Extremadura 3,196 (397), Galicia 8,468 (360), Melilla 105 (2), Murcia 1,681 (120), Navarra 4,781 (397) and La Rioja 3,763 (294).

A full breakdown in Spanish of the data per region, together with age group statistics can be found by clicking here.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (20 April)

Disinfection airport
Spanish military personnel preparing to carry out disinfection tasks at Barcelona El Prat airport on 20 April 2020 against Coronavirus. (Photo courtesy @aena & @UMEgob / Twitter)

*Please see ‘Health Ministry data and discrepancies’ below.

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GLOBAL OVERVIEW

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is going to temporarily suspend all immigration to the USA, due to the current Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. ‘In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States,’ Trump tweeted late on Monday.

The death toll in the USA from Coronavirus has not surpassed 42,000. There are now more than 774,000 infections – an increase of 20,000 just on Monday. In the USA more than 22m people have applied for unemployment benefits in the last month.

US oil prices bounced back into positive territory during Tuesday, a day after crashing below $0 for the first time in history, owing to crippled demand and a storage shortage.

France reported 547 more deaths in hospitals and nursing homes from Covid-19 on Monday, but the number of new hospitalisations continued a slow decline. The country’s two-month-long lockdown is expected to cost the country some €120bn in lost revenue, the state-funded French Economic Observatory reported.

Italy is preparing to ‘reopen the country’ from 4 May, prime minister Giuseppe Conte has announced.

In Germany, smaller shops in some regions have re-opened for the first time in a month after politicians declared Coronavirus ‘under control’. Each of Germany’s 16 states is set to lift restrictions at different stages. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been praised for he handling of the crisis, has warned that Germany’s success remains ‘fragile’.

Virgin Australia airlines collapsed on Tuesday, making it the largest carrier to date to do so from the fallout of the Coronavirus pandemic.

CORONAVIRUS in SPAIN

A new Moncloa Pact?

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has commenced a round of video meetings with the leaders of Spain’s opposition parties, with the aim of creating a new cross-party ‘Moncloa Pact’ – a ‘Board for the Social and Economic Reconstruction’ – to work together on a recovery programme for Spain, following the Coronavirus pandemic.

Sánchez has been holding video meetings with all the opposition groups that have so far agreed to it, as well as with social stakeholders. He also has on-going meetings with the presidents of Spain’s regional governments and the heads of local council authorities.

Pedro Sánchez and Pablo Casado
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez holding a video conference call with the leader of the opposition, Pablo Casado, head of the People’s Party (PP). (Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The original Moncloa Pact of 1977, named after the Spanish prime minister’s official residence, the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, saw political parties, the business community and trade unions agree on a plan to solve Spain’s economic problems and help its transition from a dictatorship under Franco to a modern democracy.

Sánchez is the head of the socialist PSOE party and currently leads a coalition government in Spainwith the left-wing Podemos group.

On Monday he held a video meeting with Pablo Casado, the leader of the opposition and the head of the right-wing People’s Party (PP).

Casado has been very critical of the government’s handling of the crisis. He had previously accused Sánchez of ‘improvising’ and that his handling of the Coronavirus crisis was an ‘explosive cocktail of arrogance, incompetence and lies’. He has since shown at least a willingness to discuss a possible cross-party recovery pact.

In recent days, Sánchez has also held video calls withInés Arrimadas, the head of the Ciudadanos (Cs) party, as well as with spokespersons from the Catalan Esquerra Republicana (ERC) party, the Basque group EH-Bildu, as well as smaller parties such as Teruel Existe and the Canary Coalition.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus Spain: unemployment figures worst on record

Extension to lockdown in Spain

Sánchez is to also seek the approval of the Spanish Congress on Wednesday 22 April to extend the lockdown in Spain until 9 May – although relaxing some of the restrictions to allow children the opportunity to leave the confinement of their homes.

Spain is currently officially in lockdown until Sunday 26 April. The country originally commenced its lockdown for two weeks from 14 March, with measures that confined everyone to their homes apart from leaving to purchase food or medication, or to go to their place of work only if they could not perform their duties from home. These initial measures were then extended until 12 April.

From Monday 30 March, further new measures ordered all non-essential workers in Spain to also remain at home until after Easter. Following the Easter break, industrial and construction workers, as well as non-essential employees in sectors where working from home wasn’t possible, started a gradual return to work.

ALSO READ: ‘Up on the Roof’ – surviving lockdown from above

*Health Ministry data and regional discrepancies

The Spanish Health Ministry has not been giving complete figures for the number of people in intensive care units (ICUs) for over 10 days, because some of Spain’s 17 regions had been using different methods to collate these figures. There had also been discrepancies in how some of the regions had been collating the statistics for the number of deaths from Coronavirus.

In Catalonia, for example, the regional health department had only previously been counting figures for those who had died in hospitals. This was then changed to include data provided by funeral homes, which includes those who have died not only in hospitals but also in nursing homes, social health centres or elderly residences, as well as at home.

Last Friday, following discrepancies in the way that data has been collated, the Spanish government published an order in its Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) to clarify the criteria that must be used.

All regions must now report deaths and ICU admissions in the same way. A victim can only be counted in the death tally if they have tested positive for Covid-19 via a PCR (polymerase chain reaction testing) or rapid test. The same applies to confirmed infections.

The Health Ministry has also requested that each region send in the total number of infections divided into symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. In addition, they also require the number of PCR tests carried out from each region, the total number of people that have required hospital treatment, including intensive care, as well as the number of patients who have been discharged.

Salvador Illa, the Spanish Health Minister, has said that, ‘Spain is following a very strict definition of cases in line with international authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 and then dies is considered a Coronavirus fatality’.

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Below are the numbers to call for each region of Spain for information and assistance in the event of possible cases of Coronavirus – as issued by the Spanish health authorities.

Numbers to call
The numbers to call for each region of Spain.

Click here for further information (in Spanish) regarding Coronavirus from the Spanish Health Ministry.

Up-to-date WHO advice and facts (in English) about the Coronavirus epidemic can be found here: www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance.

Our previous reports on Coronavirus in Spain:

ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez seeks cross-party ‘Moncloa Pact’ for recovery programme

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (20 April)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (19 April)

ALSO READ: Co-Vida: an inspiring community action project

ALSO READ: One day more, one day less

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (18 April)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (17 April)

ALSO READ: ‘Up on the Roof’ – surviving lockdown from above

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (16 April)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (15 April)

ALSO READ: Open Arms refugee NGO helping to combat Coronavirus

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (14 April)

ALSO READ: When can La Liga restart?

ALSO READ: Lockdown in Spain set to be extended until 26 April

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain: unemployment figures worst on record

ALSO READ: FC Barcelona players agree to 70% pay cut, and will ensure staff receive 100%

ALSO READ: Animal rights NGO starts petition against possible state aid for cancelled bullfights

ALSO READ: Spain publishes list of hotels that will remain open

ALSO READ: Video of boy training as goalkeeper in isolation goes viral

ALSO READ: The new restrictions at Spain’s airports, ports and land borders

ALSO READ: Madrid starts receiving patients at IFEMA exhibition centre ‘hospital’

ALSO READ: Walking a goat or a Vietnamese pig is not allowed

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain – full advice for British travellers seeking to return to the UK

ALSO READ: ‘This virus we will stop together’ – video 

ALSO READ: Despite lockdown, Spaniards applaud health workers from balconies every evening

Editor’s note: 

At Spain in English we’re always keen to also publish positive stories and features about life in Spain – not just the current news. With all cultural and sporting events currently on hold, as well as travel and gastronomic excursions, we welcome on-going contributions from all of you who’d like to send us articles for publication. Although we are unable to currently pay for contributions, we will certainly credit you and share the articles across our social media network (if of interest) – and/or also link to your own blogs or other sites. We currently welcome upbeat, positive and fun articles – perhaps how you’re coping with the ‘lockdown’ in your own area of Spain – or how your community is responding, or recommendations of help to others. We have a dedicated ‘Opinion, Blogs & Spanish Experiences‘ section where your articles will appear. We will edit for clarity and length only – and we reserve the right to not publish. Articles should be sent via email to editorial@spainenglish.com (preferably with a photo and credit details), and should be around 500 words (800 to 1,000 max). We will try to respond to everyone, but please be patient with us. We’re a very small team but with big ambitions! Please stay safe. Thank you for reading and following us.

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