A cheerful country in difficult times: how is life during the crisis of Coronavirus in Spain
It seems now a decade since we welcomed the New Year in Spain. We were all looking forward to starting a new year, and a new decade, with the year 2020. It’s been only 4 months since then, but so much has changed that it seems a long, long way back. During the first weeks of January, we started hearing news about a new virus that was devastating Wuhan, in China. It seemed so distant that we couldn’t even imagine how close it actually was. Some months after we first heard about Covid19, the desease has reached Europe and Spain is no exception. In this post about Coronavirus in Spain, we want to share how the country is living this dreadful times.
Coronavirus in Spain: a catastrophe we didn’t anticipate
The first cases of Covid19 were reported in Spain at the end of February. At the beginning, it was isolated cases imported from other countries. The first patient in Spain was a German tourist that was on holidays in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. As a result, all the tourist group he was part of was quarantined at the hotel where they were staying. Shortly after the first cases, Italy started reporting an uncontrolled outbreak in the North of the country. In the following days, more and more Spanish cities started reporting cases of people who had been in Italy, or with travellers coming from there. Soon after, it was clear that there was an outbreak in our capital city, Madrid. In just a few days, we were over a thousand cases and even some first-line politicians tested positive, including the wife of our President, Pedro Sánchez.
How do Spanish people cope with the quarantine
So, all of a sudden, the disease that had originated on the other side of the world was here. People infected, and dead, are counted in several thousands. In a matter of weeks, the government started putting in place restrictions to freedom of movement. All non-essential activities are banned during the quarantine and we can only leave our homes to go to the supermarket or pharmacy. Hospitals are close to collapse and infected patients can not receive visits of their relatives: they are totally isolated. Spain is a country known for its buzzling street lifestyle, but now the streets are lonely and all the bars and shops are closed. Even Sagrada Família, which is usually packed with thousands of tourists taking selfies, is now lonely.
Health workers: the heroes of Coronavirus in Spain
But it’s not all sadness and despair. Even in the most difficult times, there is always hope and a bright side that helps us to hold on. Health workers are one of the risk groups and near to a 20% of contagions affect nurses and doctors. To thank them for their sacrifice, every day at 20:00 the balconies of the Spanish cities burst in applauses to honor our health force.
Hope is stronger than fear: Resistiré!
Spain is a grey country these days: very different from the Spain the world is used to. But we will stand on our feet, and we will be cheerful again. Hope is stronger than fear, and even in the quarantine we can’t stop dreaming of how life will be when we go back to normal. The curve of Coronavirus in Spain is already changing trends: we’re stronger than Covid19 and we will resist! To make this clear, some of the most famoust Spanish singers have come together with a tribute song called Resistiré (I will resist) that has become a popular anthem these days.
Very soon, our streets will be full of people again. The bars will open again and we will cheerish our delicious food. We will go to our wonderful heritage: Park Güell in Barcelona, El Retiro in Madrid… It’s all there waiting for us. Spain will be the same after this crisis, and Spanish people will be there again to welcome tourists from all over the world.
Once this nightmare is over, Spain will be open for your travels again. When you’re ready to start dreaming about Madrid and Barcelona, find the best tips in our Panda Blog and Facebook! The Touring Pandas are now quiet, but soon we will be ready to start showing you the greatest treasures in our cities. Discover the best of Barcelona and Madrid with us and Use our Panda coupon in your language to get a 10% discount!
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