Madrid Virus Lockdown to Hit over 850,000 People

Parts of Madrid, the Spanish capital, are to be subject to lockdown restrictions to curb a surge in Covid-19, as cases continue to spike across Europe.

From Monday, more than 850,000 people in the area of Madrid will face travel limits and group sizes, reports BBC.

In Europe, Spain has the largest number of cases of coronavirus and Madrid is the worst-hit area again.

Many northern hemisphere countries are now bracing for a second wave of the pandemic as winter approaches.

The World Health Organization has warned of the perils as people move indoors. "There is a lot of work to do in order to avoid amplification events, drive down transmission of this epidemic, protect the opening of schools and protect the most vulnerable in our society," Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO's head of the health emergencies programme, said.

France recorded its highest number of confirmed new daily cases since the start of the pandemic at 13,215 – a leap of almost 3,000 more cases in 24 hours. They included Bruno Le Maire, the finance minister, who confirmed he had tested positive but showed no signs. Several cities are introducing tighter limits, like Marseille and Nice.

The UK reported 4,322 new cases and 27 deaths on Friday-its highest number since May 8, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson cautioned a second wave was "inevitable" now. Significant parts of northern England are now under considerable lockdown measures.

What's going on at Madrid?

According to Johns Hopkins University, Spain currently has 625,651 cases, and rates of infection in the Madrid region are more than double the national average, the Spanish government says.

37 of the region's worst-hit health districts will be subject to lockdown restrictions from Monday.

It will only be feasible for people to leave their neighborhood to go to work , school or seek medical treatment. Social gatherings will be limited to six within their region, public parks will be closed and commercial establishments will have to close by 22:00.

"There are 37 basic areas where the incidence is very high, over 1,000 for every 100,000 people in the last 14 days," said Madrid regional government chief Isabel Diaz Ayuso.

"These areas have particularly high population density and connectivity. We need above all measures to ensure that quarantines are observed."

The affected areas are in some of Madrid's poorest districts and residents feel lost, stigmatized and afraid that the new restrictions will deprive them of income, according to Reuters reports.

One retiree in Vallecas, a southern district with a lower average income, higher immigrant population and one of the highest infection rates in Madrid, told Reuters the health system was paralysed there.

"They have us out here waiting, crowded, queues everywhere," Mari Paz Gonzalez said. "We are abandoned... They left us in the hands of God."

Covid-19 patients currently take up a fifth of the beds in the local hospitals.

In the first wave of diseases, Spain was among the hardest affected countries in Europe and has lost more than 30 000 lives.