The coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 7,100 lives and infected more than 182,000 people around the world. In Spain, close to 10,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and the death toll has reached 342 as of writing, forcing the country to employ drastic measures and impose a nationwide lockdown in a desperate attempt to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
Spanish police have turned to technology to counter the sudden explosion in coronavirus infections in the country and ensure that people stay indoors.
Lockdown in Spain
Law enforcement in Spain are taking extreme steps to keep people inside their homes as authorities struggle to contain the coronavirus outbreak in the country, which follows Italy as Europe's worst hit.
Last week, the government declared a state of emergency in the country that prohibits its 47 million-strong population from leaving their homes, allowing them to leave only to buy essential supplies and medicines, for work, for medical treatment or to assist the elderly and children in need, as previously reported.
The country's borders have been closed and all schools, restaurants, bars, sports venues and cultural centres have been ordered to shut down, and social gatherings have been forbidden in the country.
Police using drones to keep people indoors
As a part of their efforts to encourage isolation, the police in Madrid have started deploying drones in public areas, like the Buen Retiro Park, to make sure people return to their homes. Video footage of the Spanish capital show empty streets being patrolled by drones equipped with speakers that relay warnings to the people and order them to stay indoors or to face the consequences.
"We won't hesitate to use all the measures we have at our disposal to look out for your safety and everyone's safety," the city's police department said on Twitter, while announcing the measure. "Although some of you will give us a hard time." People who break quarantine in Spain can be fined up to €600,000 euros and even face prison time.
The law enforcement is working in tandem with Spain's air navigation and the country's Air Force for the drone operation, which the country's air navigation manager says is "to remind the public to stay at home.
