Cristina Hodgson
AFTER a week of confinement, the Andalucians seem to be perfectly executing the protocol established after the government decreed the state of alarm last week.
Andalucia is, along with Murcia, the community least affected by the Covid-19 for every 100,000 inhabitants.
Andalucia currently has 18 infected patients per 100,000 inhabitants, whereas Madrid has 133 cases per 100,000.
Andalucia is famed for being a colourful, sunny place with great beaches, gastronomy and tapas, fun parties and ferias and a laid back mañana attitude. But when it comes down to it, the Andalucian community has come together and the social distancing measures implemented by the government have been strictly observed.
There is hope that by adhering to the confinement measures, the epidemic phase will come to an end in two or three weeks.
The deserted streets of Andalucia have been picked up by both the BBC and CNN, who put a focus on Cordoba to report on the pandemic.
According to the BBC, Cordoba is described as ‘a historic city always full of tourists, but now there are none left.’
In a short video, the BBC shows footage of the Mosque, the Roman bridge and other areas of the Cordoban Jewish quarter totally deserted. The reporter focuses on the ‘absolute disaster’ caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the city. The usual movement of hundreds of tourists around the Mosque has been transformed into a ghost town.
In addition, the American CNN news channel has also put the spotlight on the province of Cordoba, in this case, Priego de Cordoba.
North American journalist Tim Lister explains that Easter in Andalucia is a time for parades and to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Lister explains that gone are the kisses on both cheeks, the casual street encounters in this very tactile culture. Seeing Andalucians talking to each other from more than a metre away is perhaps the most surprising visual manifestation of the impact of the virus.
