The leader of the Spanish opposition, Pablo Casado, of the Popular Party (right), today questioned the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, how it was possible for Portugal, right next door, to have only 700 fatalities while Spain 20,000, due to the new coronavirus.
“How is it possible that Portugal has had [apenas] 700 fatalities and us more than 20,000, if we share a common border? ”Asked Casado to Sánchez during the debate in parliament about the extension of the state of emergency in Spain.
Say that the coronavirus is like an iceberg. And you’re right. Your government is like the Titanic, but do not pretend that we are going to be your orchestra. How to manage the crisis, manage this crisis at once or, at the very least, manage the lifeboats, Captain Sánchez. pic.twitter.com/3lZDyv8eoT
– Pablo Casado Blanco (@pablocasado_) April 22, 2020
The PP leader was very tough in criticizing the way the Head of Government has been managing the fight against the new coronavirus.
Pablo Casado revealed during the debate that he would support the third extension of the state of exception, but urged Sánchez to rule “with firmness and determination”, to resolve the crisis and “take advantage” of the next fifteen days, because “the patience of the Spaniards also has a limit ”.
The allusion to Portugal was not the only one made in the debate, with the parliamentary leader of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers Party), Adriana Lastra, mentioning the letter that the Portuguese opposition leader, Rui Rio, of the PSD, reiterated in a message to the militants of the his party his attitude of collaboration with the socialist government.
▶ @pablocasado_ asks, before starting your intervention on it #Full, that there is a minute of silence in the back of all the victims who have died because of # COVID19. pic.twitter.com/EnHZNYcFaB
– Popular Party (@populares) April 22, 2020
Portugal recorded 785 deaths associated with covid-19, while Spain 21,717, according to official data released today by the respective health authorities.
Spain has about 45 million inhabitants, while Portugal has about 10, a difference that, even so, does not hide the great difference of deaths verified in each of the countries.
Spain is the second country with the most deaths from the pandemic per million inhabitants (464 deaths), after Belgium (540) and before Italy (408) and France (319), in a list in which the United States has 137 and Portugal 77.
The Spanish parliament is expected to approve the proposal made by the Socialist Government to extend the state of emergency in force since March 15, from April 26 to May 9, by the end of the afternoon.
Spain is one of the countries hardest hit by the covid-19 pandemic that, globally, according to an AFP report, has already caused about 178 thousand deaths and infected more than 2.5 million people in 193 countries and territories.
The United States is the country with the most deaths (45,075) and the most confirmed cases of infection (more than 825 thousand).
This is followed by Italy (24,648 deaths, in almost 184 thousand cases), Spain (21,717 deaths, more than 208 thousand cases), France (20,796 deaths, more than 158 thousand cases) and the United Kingdom (17,337 deaths, more than 129 thousand cases) ).
More than 583,000 patients were considered cured.
The disease is transmitted by a new coronavirus detected in late December in Wuhan, a city in central China.
To combat the pandemic, governments sent 4.5 billion people home (more than half the world’s population), ended non-essential trade and drastically reduced air traffic, paralyzing entire sectors of the world economy.
Faced with a decrease in new patients in intensive care and contagion, some countries have meanwhile started to develop plans to reduce confinement and in some cases, such as Denmark, Austria, Spain or Germany, to relieve some of the measures.
–
