A British teacher living under lockdown in Madrid today spoke of the extreme measures being taken to protect against the spread of coronavirus — including €300 fines for people caught jogging in the street.
James Blower, 26, who moved to the Spanish capital from Putney in 2017, said the streets are “swarming” with police after the Government declared a “state of alarm”.
Residents have been ordered to stay inside their homes except to buy essential supplies and medicines, or to go to work or hospital.
Spain has experienced Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak after Italy.
Mr Blower said supermarkets had been emptied of staples including rice and pasta. The freelancer said he was hoping to do tutorials via Skype to keep working, and praised the Government for giving small businesses and the self-employed tax relief.
He told the Standard: “Basically up until Tuesday last week, everything was normal then they shut the schools and it was like ‘this is serious’.”
