Spain ready to send in troops to trace resurging coronavirus

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday that troops would be made available to help regions overcome a resurgence of the coronavirus, following Spain’s worst week for infections since the epidemic’s peak in late March. He also said regional administrations could make decisions themselves on how to handle the fight against the epidemic rather than have the central government take charge.The government would support requests by regional leaders to declare localized states of emergency, Sanchez said.

Spain’s cumulative tally of coronavirus cases – already Western Europe’s highest – hit 412,553 on Tuesday, but new infections, at 2,415 in the past 24 hours, appeared to have ebbed after a surge last week when over 7,000 cases were registered for four days in a row, Health Ministry figures show.

The daily numbers can be updated retroactively. Infections have risen sharply since Spain lifted a three-month state of emergency and lockdown in late June, but daily deaths have been much lower than in March-May. With 10 new deaths logged on Tuesday, Spain’s total toll stands at 28,924.Regional authorities have brought back some restrictions that were lifted along with the national lockdown, butt some regions, including hard-hit Madrid, have complained about a lack of legal measures or concerns about how to use those available. Both Madrid and Catalonia announced they would carry out mass testing of students and hire more staff to ensure smaller class sizes when the new term begins.

Source: Reuters

Author: Tuula Pohjola