Spain To Close All Hotels, Help Nursing Homes As Coronavirus Deaths Climb
MADRID – The Spanish government on Thursday ordered the closure of all the country's hotels and promised to implement special measures in nursing homes after a surge in the country's coronavirus cases and deaths. The government decreed all hotels and other tourist accommodation be shut within seven days to "guarantee the containment of the pandemic," a further hit to the country's already ailing tourism sector.
Spain, the second most visited country in the world in 2018, has already closed its land borders to all but its nationals and residents.
Long-term boarding houses were exempted from the closure, but still subjected to a state of emergency imposed by the government almost a week ago that bars people from all but essential outings.
Fiscal Help
Fernando Simon, the head of the health emergency centre, said Spain was "probably slowly approaching the peak of cases."
In downtown Madrid, the Ayre Gran Hotel Colon opened its doors on Thursday after fitting its rooms with medical equipment. Hotels in Madrid have offered 60,000 beds to the health service, authorities said.
The government has promised that no one in a "difficult situation" would have home utility services cut for nonpayment.
