Spanish hotel turns hospital, fearing next wave

In the middle of summer, it should be full of tourists unpacking their bags. But the Spanish Red Cross was unpacking boxes of PPE on Wednesday (July 22) as it set up a hospital in a hotel in the city of Lleida, one of Catalonia’s coronavirus hot spots. It’s hoped the makeshift medical centre will ease the pressure on local hospitals. Around 160,000 people in Catalonia returned to confinement on Wednesday as the authorities scrambled to control a fresh surge of coronavirus infections in the area, just weeks after a nationwide lockdown was lifted. A judge finally approved the regional government’s stay-at-home order for Lleida residents and six nearby towns on Tuesday night, after several days of legal wrangling and political tensions over the issue. Under the new rules, people may only leave their homes for essential activities like working or buying supplies, while hotels, restaurants and bars will close except for food pick-up or delivery. Following Catalonia’s lead, a number of regions across Spain introduced compulsory mask-use at all times, regardless of whether social-distancing can be guaranteed. In the southern Andalusia region, the restriction even applies to beach-goers.
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World News from Reuters

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