Madrid suspends classes at all schools and universities

Tuesday, March 10th 2020 - 18:05 UTC

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The measures come into effect Wednesday 11th March, so parents have at least 24 hours to make alternative arrangements. It will affect well over a million students (Pic Reuters)

Madrid has announced that it will suspend classes at all schools and universities across the capital in an attempt to contain the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The measures come into effect this Wednesday 11th March, so parents have at least 24 hours to make alternative arrangements. It will affect well over a million students and one hundred thousand teachers across Madrid.

The Spanish Government has also advised businesses to allow staff to work from home where possible to help families cope with these extraordinary measures to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The latest raft of measures follows Madrid’s decision to close centers for the elderly last Friday, as well as close the doors to visitors at care and residential homes. In addition, the Government is also advising elderly people and those with chronic health conditions to avoid leaving their homes or residencies until further notice.

Other emergency measures for the city include postponing non-urgent medical procedures and tests across Madrid’s hospitals, and making provision for extra hospital beds to ensure adequate space for emergency treatment. However, less serious cases of COVID-19 will primarily be treated at home, according to Spain’s Ministry of Health.

The Government has also advised Madrid’s population against any travel, unless absolutely necessary. These ‘extraordinary’ measures follow a huge hike in the number of people infected with COVID-19 across the capital today, as well as the death toll doubling in just one day.

Meanwhile in the United States, Harvard University asked its students on Tuesday not to return to campus after Spring Break and said it would begin moving to virtual instruction for graduate and undergraduate classes amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The university’s goal is to complete the transition by March 23, it added in the statement posted on its website. “We are transitioning over the course of the next few days to non-essential gatherings of no more than 25 people,” the university said.