Europe's worst infection hotspot heads for lockdown
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Europe's worst infection hotspot Madrid heads for lockdown
Madrid is to go into lockdown in coming days after the region's leader reluctantly agreed on Thursday to obey a central government order to ban non-essential travel in the Spanish capital that is Europe's worst COVID-19 hotspot.
The Madrid region has 859 cases per 100,000 people, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), during a resurgence of the coronavirus in Spain, which was one of the worst-hit countries during the first wave.
Spain's Socialist-led government - which puts cases in Madrid at 735 per 100,000 - decided late on Wednesday to impose a new lockdown on the city of more than 3 million people.
Protesters wearing protective masks shout slogans during a demonstration, in the Vallecas neighborhood, against the measures imposed by the Madrid regional government. Getty
That infuriated the conservative-led local authority worried about the impact on livelihoods in a city famous for its bars, restaurants and bustle of tourists in normal times.
Madrid and nine nearby municipalities will see borders closed to outsiders for non-essential visits, with only travel for work, school, doctors' visits or shopping allowed. A curfew for bars and restaurants moved to 11 p.m. from 1 a.m.
The government dropped a plan to shut parks and playgrounds, though local authorities could do that later.
Madrid's COVID case load is double the national rate in Spain, which has recorded 769,188 cases - the highest in Western Europe - and 31,791 deaths.
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