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Diasabra 3 OctOber 2020

Madrid readies for partial lockdown, files legal challenge

where they live. Restau- infection rate falling to 607 chez has refused to budge,
rants must close at 11 p.m. per 100,000 Friday and four saying Friday that Madrid
and shops at 10 p.m., with a consecutive days of fewer faces “a moment of extraor-
restriction of 50% capacity. people being admitted to dinary seriousness.” “The
Similar measures already ap- hospitals. situation in Madrid is critical
ply to more than 1 million because (the region) has 33%
residents, and the region has “The numbers give us rea- of (COVID-19) deaths,” he
limited social gatherings to a son for hope,” he told a news said in Brussels, where he
maximum of six people. conference. was attending a European
Madrid's legal challenge ar- Madrid continued to report Union summit.
gues that restrictions violate the highest number of new Some passengers at Madrid’s
regional self-rule laws. daily cases Friday, with 814 main train station, Atocha,
Madrid is leading the resur- in the previous 24 hours, ac- welcomed the new steps.
gence of the virus in Spain, cording to Health Ministry “I think they need to take
which has Europe’s high- statistics. The second-highest strong measures to control
(AP) — Madrid was set to go an coronavirus hot spot. But est cumulative caseload — was the Basque region, with the epidemic here in Ma-
into partial lockdown on Fri- officials in Madrid, whose 770,000 since the onset of the 393. Nationally, Spain added drid,” said Vicente Mira, a
day night, complying with an regional government is man- pandemic. 11,325 new cases, more than 62-year-old retired teacher.
order from the Spanish gov- aged by the conservative 3,700 of them over the pre- Communication manager
ernment but determined to Popular Party, balked at the The capital had a two-week vious 24 hours. Madrid legal Pablo Torres, 36, wanted of-
fight it in the courts. order, saying it would bring infection rate of 695 cases per chief Enrique López said au- ficials to get tough, saying the
chaos and further the sap the 100,000 residents Thursday, thorities will comply with the current measures are “non-
Measures that ban all nones- economy's health. It filed an more than twice the national national government's order, sense and a sticking plaster
sential trips in and out of the appeal at the National Court average of 274 cases and sev- deploying more police, even on something that is a lot big-
capital and nine of its sub- against the new measures. en times the European aver- though they believe it will ger problem.”
urbs — covering around 4.8 age, which stood at 94 per “create chaos.” He estimated It wasn't immediately clear
million people — were set to Under the national order, 100,000 residents last week, the order will cost the Ma- how the new measures might
be enacted at 10 p.m. (2000 travelers will need to prove according to the European drid economy 8 billion eu- affect the few tourists arriv-
GMT). that they are going to or from Center for Disease Control ros ($9.4 billion). He did not ing in Madrid, but regional
Spain's Socialist prime minis- work, to see a doctor or to and Prevention. But Madrid provide details of how the authorities can't ban foreign
ter, Pedro Sánchez, said there conduct essential administra- regional health chief Enrique amount was calculated. visitors unless Spain closes its
was a “critical” need to take tive or legal errands in order Ruiz Escudero said the situ- borders.
the new steps in the Europe- to leave Madrid or the town ation is improving, with the Prime Minister Pedro Sán-

Belarus, Russia announce retaliatory sanctions against EU

(AP) — Belarusian authori- ing to the statement, such as larus and have strongly criti- to the streets and demanding top associate Maria Kolesn-
ties on Friday announced Belarus pulling out of joint cized Lukashenko and the Lukashenko's resignation. ikova remains in jail on the
they were imposing sanc- programs and projects or re- election. The authorities' brutal re- charges of undermining state
tions against the European vising its diplomatic relations Glaz also said Belarus would sponse to the protests im- security that could bring a
Union, and threatened to with the bloc. impose reductions on diplo- mediately after the vote, with five-year prison term if she is
revise the country's diplo- "Belarus is always, in words matic staff from Canada and police detaining thousands convicted. The West doesn't
matic relations with the bloc, and in deeds, against con- Britain, which earlier this and injuring scores with have much leverage in the
in response to EU sanctions frontation. We are for dia- week announced sanctions truncheons, rubber bul- current crisis in Belarus,
on several dozen Belarus of- logue and understanding. against Lukashenko and oth- lets and stun grenades, elic- Minsk-based political ana-
ficials accused of falsifying But as a sovereign state, we're er officials. ited international outrage. lyst Artyom Shraybman told
presidential election results also determined, albeit not The official results of the The government has scaled The Associated Press: “Lu-
and leading a crackdown on without regret, to respond to Aug. 9 presidential election down on the violence, but kashenko doesn't care about
peaceful protesters. unfriendly actions in order to handed Lukashenko, who kept the pressure on, detain- the West's opinion of his ac-
naturally defend our national has run Belarus for 26 years, a ing hundreds of protesters tions.”
Russia said it would also fol- interests," the statement read. crushing victory with 80% of and prosecuting top activists. Shraybman called the EU
low Belarus' sanctions on the the vote. His main challenger Many prominent members sanctions “meager” and sym-
bloc. Russian Foreign Ministry Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya got of the Coordination Council, bolic. “The EU countries
The EU in the early hours spokeswoman Maria Zakha- only 10%. She and her sup- formed by the opposition to adopt these sanctions solely
of Friday decided to impose rova criticized the EU's move porters refused to recognize push for a transition of pow- for themselves, in order to
sanctions on about 40 offi- and said “the Belarusian re- the results as valid, and mass er, have been either arrested show themselves that they're
cials, with the exception of taliatory sanctions list, com- protests have rocked Belarus of forced to leave the country. not cynics and that human
President Alexander Lukash- ing into effect today, will ever since, with hundreds of Tsikhanouskaya is currently rights matter for them,”
enko, who was re-elected in automatically be used by thousands of people taking in exile in Lithuania. Her Shraybman said.
August in a vote the oppo- Russia.” She said this move
sition sees as rigged. In re- was in line with obligations
sponse, the Foreign Ministry under the union agreement
of Belarus issued a statement between Belarus and Russia.
announcing its own sanc- On Friday, foreign ministry
tions against European of- spokesman Anatoly Glaz told
ficials. “The Belarusian side, reporters that Belarus was re-
starting from today, puts into calling its ambassadors from
effect a retaliatory sanctions Poland and Lithuania and
list,” the statement said. The called on those countries to
ministry didn't reveal the list do the same for their diplo-
and gave no details as to how mats. He also said the minis-
many officials were on it. try wants Lithuania to reduce
its embassy in Belarus from
If the EU further ratchets 25 diplomats to 14 and Po-
up “the sanctions flywheel," land from 50 to 18.
there could be “more seri-
ous consequences,” accord- Both countries neighbor Be-