We’re not even 1/4 through 2020 & how can we sum up the year so-far?
Spain implemented a state of alarm just over a week before the UK went into lockdown & then we kept up-to-date via family, friends & conflicting news reports about the situation there. For three weeks, I provided a brief update on Facebook of my trips into town for my UK friends as Spain did seem to be much stricter with self-isolation regulations. Then I decided to keep a diary from the early days until, well when? I’ve no idea, but hope you enjoy the summary below & subsequent still-to-be-published posts.
Monday 10th February 2020
The first death from the Covid19 coronavirus outside of Wuhan in China is recorded.
Thursday 13th February 2020 – Spain
The first death from Covid-19 (diagnosed post-mortem) was recorded in spain, in Valencia, capital city for our province.
Monday 2nd March – UK
After missing 5 Cobra meetings Boris attends his first, but declines a further opportunity to join the European PPE scheme informing the UK that, “We are very, very well prepared.”
Thursday 5th March – UK
The first coronavirus mortality was recorded in the UK & the Government advise people to wash their hands whilst singing Happy Birthday.
Sunday 8th March – Spain
Thousands of women march across Spain in protest at gender inequality & to mark International Women’s Day.
Wednesday 11th March – UK
3,000 Atletico Madrid fans fly to Liverpool.
ednesday 26th February – UK
The UK PM Boris Johnson announces ‘Herd Immunity’ strategy, announcing some people will lose loved ones.
Tuesday 3rd March – UK
Scientists urge UK Government to advise people not to shake hands whilst Boris boasts of shking the hands of coronavirus patients.
Saturday 7th March – UK
Boris joins 82,000 people at the Six Nations match.
10th – 13th March – UK
The Cheltenham Racing Festival controversily went ahead & attracted more than 2,500 visitors.
Saturday 14th March – UK
The Stereophonics play to 5,000 people in Cardiff.
Friday 13th March – Spain & UK
Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish PM announces that from midnight, all bars & restaurants will be closed. The UK is invited to join the European scheme for joint purchase of ventilators but declines.
During the week, we’d moved from the townhouse to a property near the sea. Hearing the lockdown news, we head out to the supermarket on Friday evening. The shelves are empty! No fresh fruit or veg, meat cheese, milk or bread. Stocks of rice & pasta are low & there’s little choice in tinned food. Fortunately we have store cupboard provisions at home. Customers were subdued, but not panicking – it was a really surreal experience.
Sunday 15th March – UK
The UK Government advised everyone to avoid all non-essential travel & work from home, whilst the elderly & vulnerable were recommended to self-isolate. After panic buying toilet rolls & hand sanitiser, by the end of the week, the good weather saw people ignoring isolation advice & driving out to visit the coast & other beauty spots. Therefore, full lockdown was implemented on Monday 23rd.
Monday 16th March – Spain & UK
The Spanish state-of-alarm had been in force over the weekend with all non-essential shops & businesses to close & people to stay home, only allowed out to purchase food & medicines. Basically, just supermarkets, farmacias, herboristorias & tobacconists can open.
In the UK, Boris asks Britons not to go to the pub, but allows pubs to stay open, so people ignore his advice & go for a drink. My son works for Wetherspoons & on Tuesday 17th March, he commented that his head was wrecked seeing a big group of people dining including old people & a newborn baby.
Tuesday 17th March – Spain Shopping Trip
Four days into Spanish lockdown & we’d no idea if Rob’s appointment with the ENT specialist (for his polyps) would happen, hoped-so, but suspected not. We’d arranged for a translator to accompany us (not now possible) & our Spanish was insufficient to call & find out, so off we went to the health centre. Upon entry, we were stopped by a health worker in full PPE who wouldn’t let us further than the foyer. He took Rob’s SIP card, then informed us that his appointment was cancelled.
The atmosphere in Oliva town was subdued with a strong police presence, but not many residents to be seen. It was a damp day & we didn’t need provisions, so feeling definitely out of sorts by the whole situation, we went straight home.
Thursday 19th March – Spain
First death of a Spanish healthcare worker was recorded.
Some healthcare workers are asked to leave their apartments by worried neighbours concerned that they will bring the virus home from the hospital. In the worst cases, workers have had their cars scratched & tyres slashed.
Friday 20th March – Spain Shopping Trip
There were less police to be seen in town than three days ago, but more traffic & more people about. Some now had masks & gloves, some without. I could collect Rob’s two inhalers on an expired prescription so hung about between parked cars on the road, distanced from the other customers also waiting patiently to enter the farmacia. Inside, there were staggered lines taped to the floor 2 metres apart for waiting customers. The staff were behind temporary rough wooden & plexiglass screens & we had to stand 2m back from the counter, then exit through the back door so as not to pass-by those queuing to enter.
Mercadona had hand sanitiser, but no gloves on entry & Aldi no santitiser, but did have compulsory plastic gloves. Hands had to be sanitised outside Consum & then disposable thin plastic gloves put on which was a bloody challenge with damp sticky hands.
Wearing the gloves, it took me ages to open-up the thin plastic bags for my veg, then after weighing, the printed price sticker stuck to my gloves every which way as I attempted to stick it to the veg bag!
All supermarkets had lines marked on the floor at checkout to keep everyone apart & everybody was polite & respectful. At that point in time, apparently Oliva had no virus cases & we hoped to keep it that way.
I had to go to three supermarkets as our dogs like Mercadona’s dog sausages (but they had none), I needed fresh Turmeric root from Consum (to help keep our immune system healthy), but they had no onions so I had to pop to Aldi next door for those. I could buy tissues from Aldi, but they didn’t have toilet or kitchen roll…
Today, Coronovirus deaths in Spain exceeded 1,000.
Friday 20th March – UK
The UK Government state that the PPE shortage crisis is resolved, but 2 weeks later the BMA report an acute shortage of PPE.
Monday 23rd March – Spain & UK
Restrictions are applied to Spain’s airports with only Spanish citizens & residents together with residents of the EU & Schengen Area permitted to return to their place of residence.
The UK implements lockdown.
Sunday 22nd March – Spain
The Spanish PM announced that he’d be seeking approval from Congress to extend the state of alarm by a further 15 days to 11th April. I’m not surprised. Also this week, the IFEMA conference centre is converted into a bed 5.5k bed temporary hospital, whilst the nearby Palacio de Hielo ice rink is used as a morgue.
Deaths in Spain exceeded 2,000, whilst the toll was just under 300 in the UK. Temporary emergency Nightingale Hospitals are likely to be constructed in the main UK cities.
Wednesday 25th March – Spain Shopping Trip
The streets are now being sterilised in Oliva & we were advised to leave our outdoor shoes outside to prevent treading infection indoors. Also to wipe all hard surfaces down after returning from a shopping trip with alcohol-based spray, wipes or soap & water. This means car door handles & steering wheels, food bags & packaging & fresh fruit n veg too.
Shops have sold-out of bottled hand sanitiser & facemasks.
Only one person is allowed out & alone in the car, whilst outdoor exercise is banned. One person only can exercise dogs a few metres from home which for most, means on the roads & pavements in town, so it’s recommended to wash pet paws afterwards in soap & water too. As soon as the dogs have relieved themselves, it’s straight back home.
We are supposed to go to the nearest supermarket & do a big shop all on one. In the event of being stopped by police, we need proof of address & till receipts need to be saved as proof that the provisions in bags have actually been purchased that journey.
Beaches are patrolled & ID, proof of address & pet ownership is checked. Fines have been issued for non-compliance with the state of alarm regulations.
Congress approve a 2 week extension to the state of alarm to 11th April.
From Monday 30th March, all non-essential workers in Spain would need to stay at home for 14 days.
The beach is right at the end of our street so we can walk the dogs there, but no further, not along the shore. We’re fortunate to be able to do this, to get out for 10 minutes & breathe in the sea air. We would have struggled in the town house, but many people with families stuck in apartments are in a much worse situation.
Thursday 26th March – UK
Boris is accused of putting ‘Brexit over Breathing’ by not joining the EU ventilator scheme. The government then state they had not joined the scheme because they had ‘missed the email’
The UK showed their appreciation for carers by mass applause at 8pm. The ‘clap for carers’ would be repeated weekly each Thursday in the UK, but had been taking place in Spain at 8pm every evening since 2 days prior to official lockdown.
Friday 27th March – UK
Boris Johnson contracts Covid-19.
Throughout March 2020, there were varying reports about the UK supplies & deliveries of ventilators & PPE. The Government, the media, the BMA & main nursing colleges all had contradictory accounts of available PPE. There were inadequate supplies, insufficient deliveries, outdated PPE with new date stickers, manufacturers waiting for Government go-ahead to produce ventilators, the PM not attending Cobra meetings & apparently ignoring emails regarding joining the EU joint purchasing initiative & promised supply planes from Turkey not arriving.
Spain also struggled with faulty face masks forcing more than 1,000 healthcare workers into isolation & accused Turkey of seizing ventilators produced in turkey on behalf of a Spanish company.
On 31st March, the UK death toll was 1,789 & in Spain, 8,189.