MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2020) Thousands of residents of Spain's Community of Madrid took to the streets on Sunday to protest regional government's handling of the new surge in COVID-19 cases, including localized lockdowns in poorer areas of the community entering in force on Monday, the spokeswoman for the far-left Unidas Podemos political party in Madrid Assembly, Isabel Serra, said.
Earlier in the week, the Madrid regional government announced new restrictions for people living in 37 basic health areas of the Community, 26 of which are located in the city of Madrid. The measures, which mostly apply to lower income and immigration population areas, envisage that people would be allowed to go out only to school, work or for medical appointment, parks and green areas would be closed, and restaurants should limit occupancy to 50 percent.
"Today, thousands of people throughout the Community of Madrid are denouncing the shameful policies of [Madrid regional leader Isabel Diaz] Ayuso and [Deputy Premier of the region Ignacio] Aguado and once again demonstrating the dignity of the south #AyusoAguadoDIMISION," Serra wrote on Twitter.
Protesters are saying that the lockdowns, which would affect about 850,000 people across the community, represent discrimination against poorer residents of the region, and call on the regional leader to immediately resign. However, according to the local authorities, the restrictions are necessary, as the said areas have the highest contagion levels.
Spain is the leader in Western Europe in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases with more than 640,000 cases confirmed since the start of the outbreak. Over 30,000 people across the country have died from the disease.
