Businesses suffer as coronavirus shuts down neighborhoods
CNN
—
Spain plans to extend its state of emergency for another 15 days, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Sunday, as the number of Covid-19 deaths soars in the country.
Sanchez addressed citizens in a televised briefing on Sunday, after meeting with health and security officials.
He said he expected Parliament to approve his request to lengthen the order, which has been in place for over a week.
It comes with the country’s death toll from the virus accelerating. The country’s health ministry said on Sunday that another 394 had died in just the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to 1,720.
But Fernando Simon, director of the Spanish Coordinating Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies, sounded a note of cautious optimism Sunday.
“We are approaching the period in which perhaps, if we are lucky, we will turn the curve, stabilize and it’ll start to go down,” Simon said in a press briefing on Sunday.
“The models indicate that we are not very far away, but relaxing the measures prematurely would mean starting again and we have to be very careful.”
Like many major countries in Europe, Spain is following the path of Italy with cases accelerating and draconian measures put in place to keep citizens away from public places.
Emergency hospitals have been set up across the country, while residents have been ordered to stay indoors apart from for essential trips, and normally busy streets are deserted.
The country’s health ministry said on Sunday that another 394 had died in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to 1,720.
“There are hard days ahead,” Sanchez said in a televised briefing on Saturday. “We have to get ready from a physiological and emotional standpoint. We have to get to the end of next week strong, very strong. The risk is everywhere.”
Almost 25,000 cases have been reported in total, with a drastic spike of 5,000 new cases reported on Saturday.
“Spain is among the most-affected countries in Europe and in the world,” Sanchez said on Saturday, adding that the worst is still to come.
In an effort to strengthen Spain’s response to the health crisis, Sanchez announced the national production of masks, ventilators and tests. Meanwhile, the government has bought 640,000 reliable ratified fast tests, which will soon be 1 million, and within the next few hours 1.3 million masks will be handed to health personnel and patients, Sanchez said.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
David Ramos/Getty Images
A couple in Barcelona, Spain, embraces in Catalunya Square on March 15.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Victor J. Blue/The New York Times/Redux
The Oculus transportation hub in New York was mostly devoid of commuters and tourists on March 15.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/USA Today Network
The University of Texas campus is quiet in Austin on March 29.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
Two police officers in Moscow patrol an almost empty Red Square on March 30.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Mountain goats roam the quiet streets of Llandudno, Wales, on March 31. "They sometimes come to the foot of the Great Orme in March, but this year they are all wandering the streets in town as there are no cars or people," said Mark Richards of the hotel Landsdowne House.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
In Washington, a mostly empty North Capitol Street is seen at dusk on March 31.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Vatican News via AP
Pope Francis delivers his blessing to an empty St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on March 15.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Douglas Magno/AFP/Getty Images
This aerial photo, taken on April 5, shows an empty Guanabara Park in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Jon Gambrell/AP
A lone taxi drives over a typically gridlocked highway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on April 6.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Guy Prives/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
A man prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on April 6.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Mark J. Terrill/AP
Light traffic moves along a freeway in downtown Los Angeles on March 20.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Yui Mok/PA Images/Getty Images
London's Leadenhall Market is seen in March, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a stay-at-home order for the United Kingdom.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Simon Dawson/Reuters
Restaurant seats stand empty in Covent Garden in London on March 13.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters
A monkey crosses the road near India's Presidential Palace in New Delhi on March 22.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images
A delivery worker wearing a face mask walks at a nearly empty shopping mall in Beijing on February 27.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Bandar Aldandani/AFP/Getty Images
The Kaaba in the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, is normally surrounded by people in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. But it was nearly empty on March 6.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
John Locher/AP
People walk along the Las Vegas Strip on March 18 after casinos were ordered to shut down.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Grant Hindsley/The New York Times/Redux
The Seattle Times' newsroom is empty on March 12. Employees have been working remotely.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The parking lot is nearly empty at The Village shopping mall in Corte Madera, California, on March 17.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Loren Elliott/Reuters
A single sunbather remains following the closure of Sydney's Bondi Beach on March 21.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Antonio Masiello/Getty Images
Ancient Roman ruins, normally filled with tourists, are empty on March 10. All of Italy was put on lockdown as coronavirus cases continued to spread in the country.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Jeenah Moon/Reuters
An empty subway train is seen in New York on March 17.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Valentin Flauraud/AFP/Getty Images
A pedestrian looks at a map at the Zermatt ski resort in Switzerland on March 18.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
David A. Lieb/AP
The Missouri Senate chamber sits empty on March 12 after senators adjourned for the day and announced they would not reconvene in a full session until at least March 30.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Gustavo Garello/AP
Alianza Lima and Racing Club play a professional soccer match in an empty stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 12.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
A musician plays the violin on March 17 at a train station in Kiev, Ukraine.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Khalid al-Mousily/Reuters
A cleric prays in an empty mosque in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 20.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Lo Chun Kit/Getty Images
Horses gallop past empty public stands at the Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on February 23.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images
Just a few people are seen inside the Milan Cathedral in Milan, Italy, on March 4. It had reopened to the public after a week of closure.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
A fan watches a professional soccer game in Grodno, Belarus, on April 10. The Belarusian Premier League was one of the few sports organizations that didn't shut down.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Alvaro Barrientos/AP
A teacher walks in an empty public school in Labastida, Spain, on March 11.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images
This aerial photo shows the empty Legend Siam theme park in Pattaya, Thailand, on March 8.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Bernadett Szabo/Reuters
The reflection of conductor Mate Hamori is seen as he conducts the Danubia Orchestra without an audience at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, on March 13.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
John Moore/Getty Images
Amazon's headquarters in Seattle was virtually empty on March 10. Amazon recommended employees there to work from home.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Rajanish Kakade/AP
A road in Mumbai, India, is deserted on March 28.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Seth Wenig/AP
A woman in New York walks through a lightly trafficked Times Square on March 16.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Antonio Masiello/Getty Images
Empty chairs are lined up at the Vatican before the Pope's Sunday Angelus prayer was streamed via video on March 8. He later appeared briefly at the window to bless a small number of people gathered in St. Peter's Square.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images
Stacked furniture is seen inside the closed Cafe de Flore in Paris on March 15.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
A bullfighting arena is empty on March 11 after events were suspended in South Korea's Cheongdo County.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Bernd Thissen/Picture-Alliance/DPA/Getty Images
Music stands are placed in front of empty audience seats at the Konzerthaus in Dortmund, Germany, on March 12.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Getty Images
A hall is empty inside a train station in Jerusalem on March 11.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The rotunda at the US Capitol is empty after the last tour group passed through on March 12. All public tours were suspended until the end of March.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
David W. Cerny/Reuters
The National Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic, on March 10. The Czech government banned events hosting more than 100 people.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Rafael Yaghobzadeh/AP
The Louvre museum in Paris was shut down on March 1.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Sivaram V./Reuters
An empty movie theater in Kochi, India, on March 11.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Andrea Verdelli/Getty Images
A passenger walks in the empty check-in area of the Beijing Daxing International Airport on March 3.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters
Empty chairs are seen on a beach in Phuket, Thailand, on March 11.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
Staff members walk inside the Venetian Macau after it closed its casino on February 5.
Photos: The coronavirus is leaving empty spaces everywhere
Fabian Strauch/Getty Images
Seats are unoccupied at a professional soccer match in Mönchengladbach, Germany, on March 11. The "ghost match" was played without fans.