Europe must save Europe; Spain must be understood with Spain

USPA NEWS - The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, appeared this Saturday, a few hours before the end of the state of alarm that he decreed on March 14, to take stock of the hundred days of confinement in Spain, an "exceptional period", and to an appeal to the Spanish to not let their guard down because the virus continues in Spain, in Europe and in the rest of the world, and may return.

Sánchez said that no one could foresee the impact of the pandemic and congratulated himself for having managed to "resist" the onslaught of the Covid-19 thanks to "social and political" unity, and the civic behavior of the Spanish. "We all ignored it," Sanchez said, "but an unknown virus had quietly entered our lives long ago, from Asia, without prevention systems across the continent being able to detect it."

"Nobody knew that we were on the verge of the greatest health, social and economic shock of the last 80 years," stressed the President of the Spanish Government. "We were all unaware that it was just the beginning of a nightmare" and that the virus would "bait with the busiest nations, like ours." In a state of alarm, it ends in Spain with 245,938 infected people - 240,204 more than when the state of alarm was decreed - and 28,322 deaths, 28,186 more than at the beginning of the state of alarm.

During the hundred days of confinement, the Spanish Police arrested more than 9,000 people for breaching the restrictions of the state of alarm, and imposed almost 1.2 million sanctions for the same reason. Almost half of the sanctions - 48 percent - are distributed between the regions of Andalusia, Madrid and Valencia. These three regions also share the majority of detainees for breaching confinement.

In his appearance this Saturday, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, insisted on the need to comply with the health recommendations because "the virus can return and it can shake us again in a second wave, and it must be avoided at all costs," he said. In his opinion, the state of alarm has made it possible "to save thousands and thousands of lives," 450,000 in Spain and three million in Europe, according to independent studies.

Sánchez asked the opposition parties to "advance unity", especially now that the European Union is going to promote the economic recovery. "Spain must come to an understanding with Spain," he said, adding that "the useful thing is to join forces. The effective thing is to cooperate." In this sense, Sánchez asked to leave "tension" to advance "on the path of understanding", adding that "above differences, we are united by the spirit of coexistence." The President of the Spanish Government framed this appeal in the understanding within the negotiations on EU funds. "A new Europe emerges from the pandemic. This time Europe must save Europe, and not like it has been before," he said.