Coronavirus Update: Madrid, Spain – March 20, 2020

It feels a little bit like end times, doesn’t it? A month ago, even though we knew that coronavirus was happening *elsewhere* in the world, we didn’t anticipate its spread to be quite this serious and far-reaching.

My mom came to visit me the last week of February into the first week of March. We traveled down to Sevilla, in Spain’s southernmost region of Andalucía. Spain’s coronavirus cases at that point were around 100. We didn’t notice really any change in daily life; all we did differently was be more vigilant about washing our hands.

Less than 5 days after my mom returned safely home to Kansas City, the Community of Madrid made the decision to cancel school due to coronavirus for a minimum of 15 days. The news went out on a Monday night, and the school cancelation would go into effect on Wednesday. This meant that I had to return to school on Tuesday.

No School

Everything was in chaos. The teachers were struggling to assign 15 days’ worth of learning exercises to the students before they went home. Since I work at one of the top-10 underprivileged schools in the Community of Madrid, many of the children don’t have access to computers or internet, or have parents who know any English to help them with their assignments. Many of my students live in government-funded housing for immigrants. Online classes aren’t really an option for them.

Teachers told the students there was a very probable chance that they would remain out of school until after Semana Santa – holy week – which is the week leading up to Easter. At that point, the students would be out of school for nearly 5 weeks. One second-grader asked her teacher if they’d have to repeat second grade.

Though students wouldn’t be attending classes, teachers were expected to report as normal, more or less. As language assistants, many of us were unsure where this left us. An official message from our program stated that we should look to our individual schools for a decision. My friend (and co-auxilliar) Ellie and I were told that the teachers would be working in “shifts” over the coming weeks, and we were included in that directive. But late last Thursday, I got a voice message from our principal – don’t come back to school until further notice.

Life, Interrupted

My high school friend Nick had been traveling around Europe (UK and Germany) at the beginning of the month and was going to stop in Madrid for the weekend. He arrived last Thursday night, less than 24 hours after Trump’s confusing “travel ban” announcement. Nick had already decided to cancel the remaining legs of his trip to Barcelona, Marrakesh, and Budapest.

We knew the lockdown was coming, and it wasn’t doing him any good to stay cooped up in my apartment with me. So 9 hours after he arrived, he headed back to the airport to fly home to KC. The line for American Airlines check-in was wrapped around the airport; we had to walk five minutes just to reach the end. It was full of study abroad students whose semesters had been canceled and other travelers hoping to get home before Trump’s midnight deadline.

To make matters more comically complicated, I’d applied to renew my passport at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid at the beginning of the month. They were supposed to mail it to my school this past week, but nobody was there to receive the mail. Which means I’m currently without a passport. After several unanswered emails to the Embassy (cool, thanks) I took matters into my own hands and finally tracked it down with the shipping company. Hopefully it arrives later today or early next week. Not that you need a passport to stay in the house… but it’s definitely nice to have in times like these.

Quarantined

Since last weekend, everything has shut down. Spain’s daily coronavirus cases have been increasing at a high rate every day, the majority of cases concentrated in Madrid. On Saturday, all businesses were ordered to close except for grocery stores and pharmacies. (Interestingly, I haven’t seen any animalistic instincts, long checkout lines, or toilet paper shortages at any grocery stores here.) Later that night came the official word: we’re on lockdown for an initial 15-day period. We’re not supposed to leave the house unless we’re going to the grocery store, pharmacy, or hospital.

On Sunday morning, there was a bit of confusion about whether the official lockdown started Sunday or Monday. Ellie told me she went for a solitary jog around the neighborhood and was stopped by police, who told her “está prohibido hacer deportes.” They sent her home with a warning, although I’ve read that huge fines can apply. Ellie also told me that the grocery store near her is regulated by people in hazmat suits, restricting entry to only a few people at a time.

One more valid reason to leave the house: walking the dog! Luckily my roommates have a dog, so I’ve been using Thor the French bulldog as an excuse to get some air. (Am I taking Thor for a walk, or is he taking me for a walk?) While it mostly feels like a post-apocalyptic scene when you go outside, any person you do see on the street takes extreme cares to avoid other people.

At night, the Madrileños and Spanish people throughout the country (and Italy, so I hear) emerge from their confinement onto their balconies at a pre-determined time… to applaud together in unison. We applaud the health care workers who are fighting to keep the disease at bay, and I think we’re applauding each other. It’s a small moment of contact with the outside world as we show our solidarity and appreciation for our neighbors, all of whom make the sacrifice of putting our lives on hold temporarily for the greater good.

I’ve obviously been very bored, and that’s why I wrote this. I have a few more blog posts about Sevilla and other travel that I’ve written, but I’m not going to publish them for a bit. Nobody needs travel tips or information right now. Plus, my upcoming spring break trip has been canceled, so I might be short on content for a while.

Despite the fact that it’s been hard being here alone – far from home, family, and most of my network – I feel lucky to be in a place that gives me access to good, free health care if I need it. I have plenty of food (though its nutritional benefits may be questionable), a nice apartment (and it’s not 100 degrees outside yet), and everything I need to weather the coronavirus pandemic storm.

Thinking of all of you – I know the U.S. timeline is a bit behind the one we’re on here – so stay home and stay safe!

-Cathy

Originally Published on March 20, 2020.