Juan Socorro, 65

Juan Socorro, 65, is a psychologist who has studied in Cuba, the United States and Spain. He currently resides in a city along Spain’s southern coast named Marbella, or “beautiful ocean.”

Spain is second in the world in terms of confirmed novel coronavirus cases, only behind the United States. In response to the epidemic, Spain declared a state of emergency just over four weeks ago. Among many things, it included the restriction of travel from one province to another and mandated that only one person be in a vehicle at a time.

“A police officer pulled me over and was about to give me a ticket of 300 Euros for having someone else in my car until I explained to him we were delivering food to elderly people in need at a local nursing home,” he said.

They are under such strict regulations because of the virus’ rapid spread. Spain’s government also demanded private hospitals operate as public ones.

“Within our hospitals, doctors are injecting plasma from cured coronavirus patients into current carriers of the illness in order for them to create anti-bodies against it,” said Socorro. “but this is only being done as a last resort for people who are in critical condition.”

As far as social issues are concerned, people around the country must stand at least two meters away from each other, which is about six feet. The Spanish government also created three different hotlines related to mental health and wellness.

One of them is dedicated to those who have lost a loved one to the virus, another is for healthcare personnel and the third for people seeking any type of advice.

Socorro believes Spain’s leaders have, “handled the epidemic very responsibly and in a timely manner.”

“None of us could have ever predicted something like this,” he added. “But on the bright side, we seem to be trending in a positive direction. Infection rates are decreasing as many of us around the country are listening to the governments’ orders of staying home.”