MADRID, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Spain's Health Minister Salvador Illa said Thursday he hoped that the Madrid regional government would propose "drastic measures" to curb the spread of coronavirus, once the state of alarm expires on Saturday.
Illa told the local Onda Cero radio station that emergency measures in the Madrid region, including the perimeter restrictions on people's movement, will come to an end on Saturday.
The Spanish government declared a state of alarm in the Madrid region on Oct. 9 in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus. Under the emergency measures, nine cities -- including the Spanish capital -- were placed under a perimetral lockdown and subject to other restrictions on social gatherings.
The move was opposed by the Madrid regional administration, which claimed the restrictions would hurt business in the region, according to an online story by Spain's best-selling newspaper El Pais.
"We have said that the confinement that expires this Saturday will be lifted, and we are working on a set of measures that must be applied from now on. We have offered our support to the Community of Madrid. The situation has improved, but it continues to be worrying," Illa said.
He said that the incidence rate of coronavirus in the region had fallen from over 750 cases per 100,000 population to around 430 during the confinement.
"We in are in a better situation, but still well above acceptable thresholds. You cannot lower your guard in Madrid," said the minister.
In recent days, the idea of imposing a curfew, similar to that currently in force in major French cities to help control social mixing, has been mooted by several regional authorities in Spain. Illa did not rule out such a move.
"We are in a very worrying situation in our country and in Europe ... In many parts of the country, the situation is not controlled, and therefore drastic measures must be taken.
"In several European cities they have opted for mobility restrictions in certain time slots, and in Spain, some autonomous communities have raised this possibility. It is on the table and we will address it," Illa said.
Spain faces "very tough weeks" ahead, he said, adding that he was optimistic that with the planned arrival of vaccines either at the end of this year or in early 2021, things would improve after "five or six months."
As the world is struggling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, countries including Germany, Italy, China, Russia, Britain and the United States are racing to find a vaccine.
According to the website of the World Health Organization, as of Oct. 19, there were 198 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 44 of them were in clinical trials. Enditem
