Nearly 1,000 People Have Been Arrested In Spain For Violating Social Distancing Mandates

Brittany M. Hughes | March 25, 2020
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Nearly 1,000 have been arrested in Spain for violating the nation’s rules mandating social distancing amidst the global coronavirus pandemic.

According to Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, 926 persons have been arrested during the outbreak, which has reportedly killed roughly 3,000 people in the country and infected 40,000 more in Spain alone, El Pais reports. A stunning 102,000 police reports have been filed since the disease began spreading across the country, with 20,000 filed yesterday alone. Spaniards have been ordered to shelter in place, essentially being confined to their homes except to get essential services like groceries or medical treatment.

Grande-Marlaska added that one person has already been sentenced to the maximum four months in prison for violating the order “under extreme conditions.” Three Spanish civil guards have already died from COVID-19.

The outbreak has left Spanish hospitals staggering under the influx of COVID-19 as the government hastily erects makeshift hospitals and even turned a public ice rink into a morgue for COVID-19 victims. 

Since spreading from its origin point in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus has left national, state and local governments – including those in the U.S. – scrambling to keep people indoors, even if it means stepping on personal rights. Some state governments have threatening people with arrest and citations if they’re caught violating state or local mandates banning large gatherings, including in private homes and churches.   

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