Spain introduces new measures to provide economic assistance to vulnerable groups

The Spanish government approved on Tuesday (31 March) a fresh package of economic relief measures to mitigate the negative effects of the full suspension of non-essential activities enforced as part of the country’s efforts to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

“What is approved today is a safety net that protects our society,” Nadia Calviño, Economy Minister, told a press conference.

The council of ministers approved a set of measures to provide a “social shield” from the threat of the spread of the virus, said Pablo Iglesias, second deputy prime minister and minister of social rights.

“We must also offer people the security to face this exceptional period, and that is what this decree aims to do,” Iglesias added

Following expert advice to reduce social contact and mobility of people to a minimum the government suspended all non-essential activities from Tuesday until 9 April.

Deferral of social security payments

Among the new measures approved by the cabinet is an aid plan for people who are now unable to meet rental payments, and a deferral of social security payments for the self-employed and for small to medium-sized businesses.

People unable to meet rental payments, such as those who have been temporarily laid off, the unemployed or self-employed persons who have suffered a severe reduction in monthly income as a result of the health crisis will be offered zero-interest loans to tide them over the coming months.

Evictions suspended

People who have a large property portfolio will be asked to give tenants a four-month moratorium on payments, to be paid on a pro-rata basis once the crisis subsides over the course of three years.

All evictions will be suspended from Tuesday until six months after the state of alarm was announced.

“No one can be kicked out of their home,” Iglesias said.

An extension of the mortgage moratorium already in place to include self-employed persons who have been affected by the state of emergency’s strict confinement measures has also been applied.

Temporary subsidies of some €440 a month for domestic workers or temporary workers who have been forced to stop working will be made available.

Amid the suspension of non-essential activities, Calviño said it was necessary to avoid entering a stagnant situation that would extend the period of economic hibernation and lead to a longer and harder recovery.

For this, sectors that cannot grind to an absolute halt have informed the government of the minimum personnel required to avoid stagnation.

Workers who continue to operate will be required to travel with a permission issued by the company.

The largest single-day increase in the number of deaths

“These measures are intended to reduce the mobility of people, not economic activity,” the Economy Minister added.

The decree of 50 measures came as Spain reported the largest single-day increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total to 8,189, with 849 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The previous highest death toll in a single day was the 838 reported on Sunday.

Since the first infections in the country were recorded in late January, the epidemic has rapidly grown to 94,417 cases, María José Sierra, spokesperson of the Coordination Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies, told reporters on Tuesday.

Sierra said the spike in the number of infections and deaths with respect to the previous day was due to “an accumulation of weekend cases that were reported to the ministry last night.”

The surge placed Spain as the second most affected country in the world after Italy, ahead of China, where the virus originated.

Despite the alarming figures, experts are hopeful that the slight slowdown in the number of infections in previous days could mean the peak is within sight.

While some critics have suggested that owing to the higher number of infections recorded on Tuesday the confinement measures should be extended, but Fernando Simón, head of Spain’s centre for Health Emergencies, who tuned into the press conference remotely after having tested positive for COVID-19, did not agree.

“There is no point in proposing more measures now (…) We cannot take new measures without first assessing, even minimally, the impact of those that we are implementing,” Simón said.

Optimistic messages from authorities were marred by complaints from health care workers over lack of material and protective equipment. The sector has been badly hit with more than 12,000 professionals contracting the virus.

Intensive care units are operating at 80% capacity in Barcelona and Madrid and multiple secondary field clinics have been set up in the hotspots and densely populated areas to ease the pressure on hospitals which are close to becoming overwhelmed.


The author: Clémentine FORISSIER

Clémentine Forissier, a youthful journalist hailing from Brussels, has been making waves in the field of media. Despite her relatively young age, she has quickly risen to prominence as a prominent voice in Belgian journalism. Known for her fresh perspective and dynamic reporting, Clémentine has become a recognized figure in the Brussels media scene, offering insightful coverage of various topics.

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