The Picturesque Spanish Town With Zero Cases Of COVID-19

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CORDOBA, SPAIN (VINnews) — On a hilltop in Southern Spain overlooking a pretty lake lies the ancient fortress town of Zahara de la Sierra. The Moors and Christians fought over it in medieval times, and it was sacked by the French in 1812. Now its formidable position high above the Andalusian countryside has suddenly become an invaluable asset once more, according to a report by CNN, which was given virtual access to the town.

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On March 14, as soon as the Spanish government declared a “state of alarm” due to the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the mayor of the picturesque town, 40-year-old Santiago Galván, acted swiftly and decided to block all but one of the town’s five entrances to outside visitors, effectively sealing the town off from the outside world. Now, a little over two weeks later, with Spain reeling from over 100,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 10,000 deaths, Galván’s decision could have proved an absolute lifesaver for the town’s 1400 inhabitants. Not a single case of the virus has been recorded among the population.

The mayor’s drastic steps have the full support of the townspeople, and especially the elderly. Nearly a quarter of Zahara’s inhabitants are older than 65; there are more than 30 residents in an old people’s home. Towns and villages nearby have seen infections and several coronavirus fatalities.

The checkpoint on the one access road is run by a single police officer. Two men dressed in the protective clothing normally used for spraying the olive groves nearby wash vehicles that come through with a mix of bleach and water. The vehicles even have to pass through a sort of sheep-dip to ensure their tires are disinfected.

“There is no car that comes through the checkpoint that’s not disinfected,” says Galván.
The mayor admits that such measures could be anywhere from 20% to 80% effective, but says it’s all about reassurance. “We have managed to give tranquility to our neighbors,” he says. “They know no one ‘unknown’ can come in.”
Similar sanitation precautions have been introduced inside Zahara. “Every Monday and Thursday at 5:30 p.m. a group of around 10 people are out in the streets to disinfect the town, all the streets, plazas and outside homes,” Galván says.
A local business is paying two women to make grocery and medical deliveries to reduce the number of people out on the streets, especially those most vulnerable to contracting the virus. They work about 11 hours a day and their order book is growing.
Besides organizing the delivery service, the Zaharilla women’s association looks after the elderly who can’t cook for themselves (by leaving food at their front doors) and arranges basic repairs for them.
The municipality is also playing its part to ease the economic situation of the town’s residents who rely heavily on tourism for income. In the meantime the town is paying electricity, water and taxes for local businesses and hoping that the virus will pass soon to enable locals to return to their businesses, since it cannot continue to bear the brunt of these costs. Residents are also hoping that their luck will hold out and they can continue to maintain their unique status in a country licking its wounds from the deadly pandemic.

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