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Despite Strict Lockdown, Spain Sees Sharp COVID-19 Spike

Graham Keeley

   MADRID - Deirdre Carney suspected she might have COVID-19 when her
   temperature began to fluctuate above the normal 37 degrees Celsius.

   "It was a bit of a shock when I was diagnosed. I could not believe that
   I had got it. I had not mixed with that many people," Carney, an
   English teacher from California living in Madrid, told VOA.

   In the Spanish capital, which now has about a third of Spain's
   coronavirus cases, authorities have'Żbeen forced to impose several
   restrictions to try to halt the surge in infections.

   Since imposing one of the most draconian lockdowns in Europe, Spain
   became the first Western European country to report more than 500,000
   cases, health authorities said Monday.

   With the number of infections reaching 525,000 Tuesday, Spain has 255.9
   cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 35.2 in Britain, 125.2 in
   France and 30.6 in Italy, once one of the worst-affected European
   countries at the start of the pandemic.

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