‘You rule but don’t know’: Spanish scientists lash out at politicians amid heavy coronavirus caseload

A group of Spanish scientists are speaking out against the country’s political establishment for its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

This week, more than 50 scientific societies in Spain penned a 10-point manifesto under the headline, “In health, you rule but you don’t know.”

“On behalf of more than 47 million Spaniards, including you and your families, we have to change so much political, professional and human inconsistency,” part of the letter states.

The scientific groups represent close to 200,000 health workers in the country who are disgruntled by what they characterize as a political standstill in the capital of Madrid.

Health officials in the city are struggling to contain an outbreak of the virus. On Tuesday, Salvador Illa, the country’s health minister, said that Madrid, specifically, was key to containing the spread of the virus.

More than 500 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents were reported in the city throughout the month of September, creating one of the most troubling pandemic situations in all of Europe. Restrictions on nonessential travel were placed on residents last week, and similar lockdown measures have been adopted by the northern cities of Leon and Palencia.

Almost 25,000 people were recorded as being infected with the coronavirus in the past three days alone in Spain.

Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries by the virus, with more than 813,000 cases and more than 32,000 deaths, per a count by Johns Hopkins University.

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