Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 601 Lockdown Measures
Unlike Spain, which was on high alert to combat the flu, most other European countries were largely indifferent to the outbreak.

After learning of the Spanish government's high-profile implementation of various preventative measures, Spain's previously good reputation was tarnished, replaced by fierce criticism from newspapers and media outlets around the world.

Conservatives believe that Spain's actions are overreacting and that such caution is completely unnecessary for a flu that has already spread to so many people.

Liberals argue that Spain's forced self-isolation or centralized quarantine of people suffering from the flu completely deprives them of their personal freedom.

Governments around the world generally believe that even if the flu has a higher mortality rate than the common cold, so what? Ordinary people have a very high probability of dying from a cold, let alone the flu, which has a very wide spread.

If all governments were as paranoid and easily frightened as the Spanish government, then they wouldn't need to do their daily work.

To prevent the Spanish government's unusual actions from causing panic in other countries, many European countries have expressed their disapproval of the Spanish government's behavior.

Britain and France, in particular, having finally seized the opportunity, naturally wanted to create some trouble for Spain. British and French newspapers and media outlets fiercely criticized the Spanish government's actions, believing that the Spanish government was making a fuss over nothing and had no respect for the will of the Spanish people.

Carlo remained indifferent to the overwhelming public opinion outside of Spain. There was absolutely no need for Spain to respond to these countries; the flu, about to demonstrate its power, was the best punishment for these countries and their people.

In any case, Spain has done its due duty to warn others, but other governments do not respect Spain's warnings, and they deserve any number of casualties they suffer.

Since Spain began implementing relatively strict lockdown measures, the Spanish government has sent numerous letters to the League of Nations and diplomatic representatives of European countries, urging them to take the ongoing flu pandemic seriously and prevent it from causing greater casualties in their respective countries and Europe.

Because the flu had only just begun to show its power, the Spanish government's warning was hardly important news for governments across Europe.

Most European governments would not adjust their policies simply because of Spain's reminder, especially since they are far from being able to implement the lockdown policies set by the Spanish government.

How extreme were the Spanish government's lockdown policies?

According to the latest influenza control measures, the Spanish government's influenza prevention measures can be roughly divided into three types.

Firstly, there are the cities with the mildest cases, meaning those with no reported cases of influenza. Aside from daily disinfection at train stations and ports, most residents in these cities can continue working normally, and their lives are not affected.

Secondly, there are cities with more severe outbreaks of influenza, where cases have already been discovered. Disinfection efforts in these cities must be expanded to the entire city, and factories and businesses where cases have occurred must be temporarily closed.

In other areas where no cases have been reported, people must wear masks when going out, and most public places have been closed.

Third, the most serious scenario involves cities where a large number of flu cases have already emerged. In these cities, all public facilities must be shut down, factories and businesses must cease operations, and schools must close.

Apart from essential institutions such as hospitals, police, and government, all other institutions have ceased operations, and people must stay at home.

For those lacking daily necessities, the local community will make unified purchases, and the Spanish army will continuously transport supplies to various cities to ensure that even in the most severely affected cities under complete lockdown, there will be no shortage of essential supplies.

For those who are extremely poor, or who have lost income due to being unable to work and cannot afford food, the Spanish government and royal family provide relief food.

The good news is that because Carlos donated 5 million pesetas to the government on behalf of the Spanish royal family, the government can easily distribute relief food to the people under lockdown.

Spain's West African colonies could provide a large amount of food to Spain every year. Combined with the strategic grain reserves stored in Spain, this was enough to ensure that all Spaniards would have food to eat even if Spain completely lost its agricultural production in the coming year.

Inside the Spanish government's meeting room, the cabinet ministers attending the meeting all wore rather solemn expressions.

Spain's preventative measures against the flu were formulated under Carlo's forceful orders. Many cabinet ministers were puzzled by Carlo's orders, as the flu at the time did not demonstrate significant lethality.

However, these doubts and questions clearly could not stop the implementation of Carlo's orders. The Spanish government quickly promoted Carlo's various orders and immediately formulated very strict lockdown measures.

For the current Spanish government, this is the first time dealing with a global influenza pandemic. Lacking any prior experience, the Spanish government can only adhere to the principle of being as strict as possible in formulating lockdown measures to minimize the impact of the flu.

Whether this flu will damage Spain's industrial production and economic growth is not something the current Spanish government should be concerned with.

"Your Majesty, according to reports from the state governments, our flu prevention measures have now been fully implemented in all states and cities."

As of today, seven cities have been completely locked down, and approximately 17,000 people are under home quarantine or in centralized quarantine facilities. During the meeting, Spain's newly appointed Prime Minister Orr Acosta respectfully reported to Carlo.

Like other cabinet members, Prime Minister Orr Acosta had some doubts about Carlo's orders. But they all knew that Carlo wouldn't issue orders without any basis.

The fact that the Spanish government has implemented such strict prevention and control measures means that the damage caused by this flu is definitely more severe than the Spanish government and even the governments of other European countries had anticipated.

Furthermore, even if the damage caused by this flu is not so severe, the Spanish people will not have too many complaints about the government.

After all, the government and the royal family did not just talk the talk; they paid a huge price to implement the lockdown measures. The royal family's donation of 5 million pesetas in relief funds was substantial, and that amount alone was enough to shut many people up. Moreover, only a few cities implemented strict lockdown measures; most cities only required daily disinfection and the wearing of masks.

Upon hearing Prime Minister Orr Acosta's report, Carlo nodded and said with a hint of relief, "The fact that the government was able to implement the lockdown measures in such a short time shows that you have truly made an effort. I know that many people don't understand why such strict lockdown measures were implemented, even to the point of restricting the freedom of many people."

My only answer to this is to save as many Spaniards as possible during this pandemic, and I'm willing to pay any price for it.

Take a look, everyone. These are the latest flu data from the UK, France, and the US. According to the latest intelligence, the flu has begun to show signs of becoming lethal, and the number of people dying from it is increasing.

If we don't take the flu seriously, sooner or later the Spanish will die of the flu in endless torment, just like the British, Americans and French, dying mysteriously due to government negligence.

The public's misunderstanding of us is only temporary. Once the enormous damage caused by the flu is revealed, the public will understand our choice.

Before that, all of you must strictly enforce the lockdown measures to ensure that the flu does not spread widely in any city in Spain.

Whether for your own political achievements or for Spain and the Spanish people, I hope you will all give it your all. This is a matter of life and death for all Spaniards, and a major crisis that Spain must take very seriously.” As Carlo spoke, he gestured to the chief of guard beside him to distribute a copy of the latest flu data from various European and American countries to the cabinet members.

This data was collected by the Royal Security Intelligence Service over several days, and some of the information was unknown even to the governments of the countries in which it was collected.

Of course, a large part of the reason is that the governments of these countries didn't pay as much attention to flu news. If they had closely monitored the flu situation, they would have received information much faster than Spain.

As he carefully examined the data handed to him by the chief of guard, Prime Minister Orr Acosta's expression suddenly changed. He then looked at Carlo with disbelief and couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, are these data all true?"
Please forgive me, it's not that I don't believe the data is accurate. It's just that if this data is true, then this flu is absolutely terrifying.

If European countries do not take this flu seriously, the casualties it causes will certainly not be lower than those of a world war.

Good heavens! This will be another punishment for the people of Europe, no less severe than the Black Death. I am so glad that we had already implemented strict risk control measures. Your Majesty, you are the savior of all Spaniards!

The documents distributed to all cabinet members revealed a rather alarming situation: starting in August 1918, the lethality of the flu was no longer at the level of a common cold, but had increased several times over.

If one could tough out the flu with a strong body in the past, nowadays, contracting the flu can cause serious physical damage or even death.

Even more critically, while increasing the mortality rate, the flu is also becoming more contagious.

Based on the current number of flu infections in various European countries, at least several million Europeans have died from this flu.

It should be noted that Europe had just emerged from World War II and was no longer capable of experiencing a pandemic as devastating as World War II.

If this data is accurate, it not only means that the flu will have a significant impact on European countries, but also that post-flu Europe will experience a major setback in both its industrial and economic levels.

Carlo nodded, unconcerned by Prime Minister Orr Acosta's doubts. After all, if Carlo hadn't been familiar with the casualties caused by historical influenza pandemics, he probably wouldn't have readily believed such data.

Seeing Carlo nod, Prime Minister Orr Acosta's expression turned serious, and he said, "If this flu really has such a terrible outcome, then I think we have been too conservative in some of our lockdown policies."

Although we have initially contained the increase in the number of people infected with the flu in Spain, the number of people suffering from the flu will only continue to rise across Europe.

We must guard against the entry of foreign flu patients into Spain. Perhaps from this point on, we need to close our borders and temporarily ban foreign populations from entering Spain.

Although this will affect our immigration data, some losses are entirely acceptable in the interest of all Spaniards.

Immigration has always been a very important source of population for Spain, and tourism is also a very important economic pillar industry for Spain.

Especially given that Spain just hosted the Olympics last year, its international reputation and attractiveness to immigrants are quite good, with a large number of immigrants coming to Spain from all over Europe every day.

Prime Minister Orr Acosta said that Spain's lockdown policy was somewhat conservative because Spain has not completely closed its borders at present, but has only strengthened disinfection work at train stations and ports of entry and exit.

If these tourists and immigrants from all over Europe are carrying the flu virus, it could very likely cause a large-scale spread of the flu in Spain.

This is why Prime Minister Orr Acosta proposed closing the borders; only by closing the borders can we prevent foreign influenza viruses from entering Spain as much as possible.

Upon hearing Prime Minister Orr Acosta's suggestion, Carlo nodded first, then looked at the other cabinet ministers. Seeing that none of the other ministers objected, Carlo smiled and said, "That's what I wanted to say too. Given the confirmed high lethality of this flu, closing the borders is the most effective solution."

Since other European countries are unwilling to heed our advice, we can only consider the interests of the Spanish people and try our best to prevent them from suffering too much harm in this flu.

If the cabinet has no objections, then starting tomorrow, all train stations and ports of entry and exit will be officially closed, allowing only Spaniards to return to their homeland, and temporarily refusing foreign immigrants and tourists.

For tourists stranded in Spain, trains can be arranged to take them out of the country, or they can be temporarily allowed to remain in Spain.

If they choose to remain in Spain, their basic needs for accommodation and food must be guaranteed. Spain is a friendly and civilized country, and we have a responsibility to all tourists who choose to visit Spain.

(End of this chapter)