Coronavirus Lockdown in Spain: Three Week Update

We’ve been in a nationwide coronavirus lockdown in Spain for nearly three weeks. When I wrote my last post, From Spain, With Love: A Coronavirus Lockdown Cautionary Tale, I was worried about the US. 

I was afraid as I watched the epicenter move from China, to South Korea, to Italy, Spain and now the US. I was frustrated as I watched each country claim the unwanted crown of ‘most cases’ or ‘most deaths’ or ‘quickest growth’, after downplaying the warnings of the country before it. 

Even though the US reported its first case 10 days before Spain. And even after it has taken an egregious lead in coronavirus cases, it still has yet to implement strict restrictions on a nationwide level.

It’s disheartening to see the differences in what Americans can do versus what we (in Spain) can’t. 

Because even with those measures, Spain has suffered. And without those same measures implemented on a nationwide scale, the US is setting itself up for worse. 

I’m happy to follow the countrywide restrictions without complaint. For a portion of the population this is very literally life and death.

Which makes it important for you to see what life is like for us, because from what friends, family, and social media are telling us, it’s far different at home. 

Going Outside

I hate to burst your bubble, but most of you have it good. Which, in turn, is pretty bad for spreading the coronavirus. 

My husband has gone outside for groceries (twice), to the pharmacy (once), and to walk the dog (more on this later). 

We can’t go for a walk or a jog. Beaches, parks, and all outdoor spaces are closed. Kids can’t ride their bicycles around the block or go to the playground. 

Many of us don’t have yards or balconies -including my family. So when I say I haven’t been outside in nearly three weeks, I very literally mean it. 

Unless there is no one else at home, kids are not allowed to accompany a parent, not even to the grocery store. Petitions circulating online are asking the government to allow for regulated outdoor time for kids, stating that they are infringing on the rights of children by forcing them indoors all day. 

I’m on the side of the government. All of our rights are being infringed on. But I refuse to prematurely support the idea of sending people outside, no matter how much we ‘need’ it. And I’m OK with that, because if it prevents one person from catching the virus, then it’s worth it.

Grocery Shopping

The goal is to purchase groceries once a week. 

I make a menu and we triple check our list to make sure we have everything. Our lockdown stipulates that only one family member can leave the house at a time. As we don’t have a car, and my husband can carry more than I can, he’s the one that walks to the grocery store, lugging home a week’s worth of food by himself. 

Businesses have enacted their own safety measures, most of all supermarkets. Only a certain number of people may enter at a time. Everyone else waits in a line -a meter apart- outside. 

Gloves, wipes, and hand sanitizer are available to clean hands and carts.

Certain aisles are closed -like the baby aisle, those items only available by asking an employee.

Social distancing is enforced by having every other checkout lane open and the floor is taped off at one meter intervals indicating where shoppers must stand in line.

Cashiers, wearing gloves and masks, are seated behind plastic partitions. Stores prefer customers to pay with card instead of cash. 

It’s quiet. People are spread out. It’s eerie given how ingrained it is in Spanish culture to quite literally do the opposite. 

Walking the Dog

Our dog, Clark, goes out twice a day. 

Certain municipalities have released stringent measures that require owners to stay within 100 meters of their homes and use a disinfectant spray to clean up after their dog. Dogs can be walked by only one person at a time and they cannot approach or smell any passersby.

We’re not sure if those measures apply to our city. We do know the police are ramping up fines, so we’ve decided it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Clark has a bag of essentials that go out with him every trip. In addition to the usual doggie bags, we’ve packed our dog’s medical records and a disinfectant spray. The usual walk is now down to a quick trip to the closest patch of dirt and back. 

And People Are Being Fined

We see it outside our window. 

Until our lipreading skills get better, I can’t tell you exactly what the fines are for. But since fines can start at 100 euros and increase to thousands of euros, I’m not keen on personally finding out.

The Calm We Feel at Home is Deceiving

I’m sure our apartment building is packed with people staying home. But, it’s shockingly quiet. If it weren’t for the normally busy intersection out our window and the 8PM ode to healthcare workers, I would wonder if we were all alone. 

But the calm and quiet we feel is a lie. Our phones, buzzing with news updates all day, our friends reaching out to us, and the news, show us constant images of hospitals on the verge of collapse. 

Even with all of these measures in place, the health system is still strained. Our local hospital has asked for help from anyone with sewing machines (to sew cloth masks and gowns) and 3D printers (to print parts for makeshift respirators). They’ve asked for donations of everything from snorkeling masks to tablets. 

The full face snorkeling masks, once retrofitted, are successfully being used to fill the respirator shortage. 

Tablets are the only way patients in the hospital, who aren’t allowed visitors, are able to say their final goodbyes to their loved ones. 

Meanwhile, an ice rink in Madrid is being used as the first of two makeshift morgues and the emergency military unit, asked to help in area nursing homes, found the bodies of the elderly lying in their beds. 

The extent of the coronavirus has been horrific and testing has only been afforded to those with severe symptoms, so we don’t really know what the actual number of cases is. 

So, when my friends and family ask how we’re doing. My answer is always “We’re fine.” Because, generally, we are. But the world outside our window is very clearly not. 

Healthcare workers, and every other essential worker, are still out there working for us. So I’m (happily) surprised, that after three weeks, people all over Spain are still clapping at 8PM in appreciation for those very people that get to make us feel like everything is (mostly) ‘fine.’

The number of people clapping hasn’t diminished any. And while our dog nervously barks in the background, our 10-month-old has learned to join in.

Some of These Strict Measures are Happening Back Home

Yet somehow, mindbogglingly, it’s still up to each state and/or county to determine. As if the virus stops at the county line. 

Leaving it to the common person to decide how far they want to take their social distancing or isolation isn’t going to stop the spread enough. My hope is you make it as strict as you possibly can. 

I Keep Looking Forward to the End

Yes, this is hard. I don’t want to take away from the difficulty of the situation. But there are far worse things. 

Your food isn’t rationed, you aren’t being asked to go to war. You have running water, heat, AC, and electricity. You still have internet and cable. Most of you have yards, whether big or small, where you can enjoy the outdoors. You are in your own home. You just need to stay there.

When this is all over, I’m sure our release will be gradual and controlled. But I like to imagine swarms of people running outside, taking over the streets, the few cars that can get by honking in celebration. I will lose my daughter amongst our friends who won’t have seen her for months and will see a toddler instead of a baby. I want to imagine that’s how it will go. A massive, festive end to the weeks of a coordinated countrywide lockdown.