Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addressed rows of empty chairs in the Spanish parliament on Wednesday, as the country’s lockdown kept the majority of lawmakers at home.
Those politicians who did attend, sat a good distance away from their colleagues, as Sanchez said that the measures Spain was taking were to “save in the end our way of life.”
“I am asking, and I know – I am very aware – sacrifices and I am also asking for unity.”
After Sanchez left the podium, a cleaner with a mask and gloves cleaned it, before Popular Party leader Pablo Casado gave his reaction to the speech.
“I tell you, that you are not alone in the battle against this pandemic you can count on the leader of the opposition and the Popular Party,” he said.
“And I say this to you from this empty chamber symbol of the triumph of the institutions even in the worse moments.”
Spain on Wednesday announced 2,538 new cases of new coronavirus infections, bringing the country’s total to 13,716.
Spanish regions where clusters have been identified in elderly nursing homes are showing a higher rate of fatalities and required hospitalization, has said the head of the Spanish health emergency center.
That’s the case of Madrid, where at least 17 people have died only in one nursing home and dozens more have been infected.
