Displaying items by tag: Madrid

A second coronavirus wave is expanding fast, and Madrid is the worst-affected place in Spain and indeed in Europe. A row has erupted over a lockdown there. The regional government did not vote in favour of the restrictions, and questioned the legality of stricter curbs on personal movement and social gatherings. Political disputes have angered many Spaniards. Health officials from Spain’s central government and the Madrid region agreed on a set of health metrics that dictate standardised restrictions in cities with a population of 100,000 or more. There are uncontrolled virus clusters in the Spanish capital. Spain has seen more than 748,000 infections and has a confirmed virus death toll of over 31,400. However, experts say all numbers understate the true toll of the pandemic due to limited testing and other factors.

On 4 December, a bomb squad in Madrid destroyed a grenade which had been thrown over the wall of a migrant centre for children. Police said it was a training grenade containing a small amount of explosives, and no injuries were reported. The centre houses dozens of unaccompanied minors, many of them immigrants. The attack has been widely condemned by Spanish politicians and human rights campaigners, with many linking it to anti-immigrant rhetoric. During a televised election debate in November, the leader of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, accused youths at the centre of causing a spike in crime in the surrounding neighbourhood, where he lives. In the election, Vox more than doubled its seats to become the country's third most-powerful party.