Spain’s parliament voted on Thursday to extend a nationwide state of emergency until April 25, as the country struggles to contain the coronavirus epidemic, amid some of the highest numbers of infections worldwide.
The vote followed an 11-hour debate and much criticism of the way the government has handled the crisis.
This second extension of the restrictions is necessary to keep the virus under control, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, adding that “even a small mistake could trigger a relapse.”
The Spanish authorities have the outbreak “under control,” Sanchez insisted earlier on Thursday, citing the latest infection figures.
He told parliament that the state of emergency, in place since March 15, has helped quell the spread of the virus.
The country’s 47 million inhabitants have only been allowed to leave their homes to go shopping or in emergencies.
The overall number of cases rose in one day by 6,000 to reach 152,000, the Health Ministry reported, after several days of the new infection rate remaining stable.
Since Wednesday, 683 people have died in Spain of Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, taking the overall death toll to 15,238. That was slightly lower than the 757 registered the day before.
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Some 52,000 people have recovered from the virus, according to official figures.
Sanchez has said that his government is working on a plan to gradually ease the lockdown, but that it is unclear when and how quickly this process would take place.
“We do not know how normality will look. The plan depends on how the pandemic develops,” he said. (dpa)
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