(Lérida) Spain reconfigured on Saturday an area of Catalonia with more than 200 000 inhabitants and monitors several dozen foci of coronavirus contagion in other regions, while opening up more widely to foreign visitors.
Laurence BOUTREUX in Madrid and Anahi ARADAS in Lerida
France Media Agency
Spain is one of the countries most affected by the new coronavirus pandemic, responsible for at least 28 385 dead on its soil.
But the authorities believe they have succeeded in controlling the contagion after the severe confinement of the entire population of more than three months, lifted on 21 June.
The country recorded Friday 17 deaths from coronavirus in one day, according to the Ministry of Health, the highest daily number of deaths since 19 June. And the authorities are concerned with more than 50 outbreaks of infection reported in almost all regions.
The President of Catalonia (north-east), Quim Torra, announced on Saturday that an area around the city of Lerida, at 150 km west of Barcelona, was isolated from the rest of the region from midday.
" Difficult decision "
"We have decided to confine the area of Segria [autour de Lerida], on the basis of data which confirm a very significant growth in the number of cases of COVID contagion - 19, "said the Catalan pro-independence leader, referring to" a difficult decision ".
"You can neither enter nor leave" this area, said the regional interior minister.
However, the measure does not apply to workers on the move, such as the many foreign seasonal agricultural workers present for the harvest of fruit.
Traffic is not restricted inside the area itself but it is recommended to "minimize movement" and "use a mask in the street", specifies the Interior .
"It was a surprise", testified Josep Raluy, a retired 63 years old who had gone to spend the day in a secondary house and returned home as a precaution. "It's a new step backwards, it's not good," he sighed, as the summer vacation begins.
In this area, meetings should now be limited to 10 maximum people, and visits to retirement homes are restricted.
The region had informed Friday of 4030 cases of coronavirus in the province of Lerida, namely 60 more than Thursday. A tent has been set up at the gates of Lerida hospital to accommodate all those with symptoms.
The Madrid region, which had been the epicenter of the epidemic, for its part notified on Friday a outbreak of five cases detected in the Spanish capital, in the same professional environment.
" To restore economy "
During a trip to Galicia (north-west) before a regional election, the head of government Pedro Sanchez sent a double message on Saturday: "We must not let our guard down but let ourselves be brought down by the fear ".
"We have to go out on the streets, take advantage of the new normal, revive the economy [...] and be aware that the State is better prepared to fight" against the resumption of the epidemic, a assured the socialist leader.
Only two weeks after the lifting of the general confinement which prevented the Spanish from leaving their province, the isolation of 150 000 inhabitants coincides with the reopening borders to nationals of 12 new countries.
Spain had already admitted on 21 citizens of the EU and the Schengen area as well as the British.
New reinforcements have been deployed at airports to control travelers on arrival: medical personnel record their temperature and collect their personal data.
The number of confirmed cases in Spain reaches at least 250 545 for 47 million inhabitants, according to latest report from the Ministry of Health Friday.
In neighboring Portugal, homes remain, especially in the Lisbon region: 700 000 inhabitants of 19 working-class neighborhoods on the outskirts of the Portuguese capital were reconfigured at home for two weeks on Wednesday, in order to stem the spread of contamination.