Expat Frustration And Anger As Spain Continues Lockdown

Expats in Spain’s Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol regions are taking to social media to register their anger and frustration over the recently extended lockdown.

According to local media, thousands of British and other expat nationalities in the affected regions are ‘climbing the walls’ due to their local governments’ plans to extend the lockdown for another 14 days. Posts on social media indicate huge numbers are stuck in limbo, with many stating they’re unable to endure another two weeks of almost total isolation.

What’s making the situation far worse for British expatriates is Boris Johnson’s announcement of a new 14-day quarantine ruling for those entering the UK from countries still showing high coronavirus infections. The vast majority of Brits in Malaga have been obeying all necessary regulations, including frequent hand washing, sanitising, wearing masks and socially distancing, and are now being warned a second wave of infections is expected next week.

Even if they wanted to, most expats in the affected region couldn’t afford to return to the UK and support themselves for two weeks in quarantine as well as affording to kennel their pets and paying the vastly increased prices of flights. Others who’ve lost their jobs due to the pandemic are now cash-strapped as a result, unable to pay their rents and other bills. Many believe the lockdown extension is a political rather than a health-motivated decision, as the numbers don’t now justify extreme measures, especially as Valencia and Catalonia aren’t experiencing the same extensions.