Spain will send special convoys with the COVID-19 vaccine to areas cut off by Storm Filomena, Interior Minister said.
The government is finding ways to ensure that the country’s weekly shipment of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine can be distributed to local health authorities through the use of police-guided convoys.
Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos said the convoys would also distribute food supplies to those in need.
Storm Filomena brought the heaviest snowfall in decades in the country and four people were killed.
The temperature is expected to drop to around -10 degrees Celsius (14 F) in the coming days, with the prospect of snow turning to ice and damaged trees falling over.
“The danger is not over yet,” said Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Markaska. “A week of extreme cold is coming and it will turn all the snow on the ground into ice and thus increase the risk,” he said. “The storm is bringing a cold wave that could push the temperature to record levels,” he added.
Hundreds stranded
About 20,000 kilometers of roads were affected by the storm throughout central Spain. Transit authorities have urged people to stay indoors and avoid non-essential travel.
Rescue services also helped more than 1,500 people stranded in their vehicles.
About 100 employees and shoppers slept two nights in a shopping mall in the city of Majahaonda, north of Madrid, after being caught by the storm on Friday.
According to officials, one man and a woman drowned in a car after a river burst near Malaga in the south, while two homeless people froze to death in Madrid and Calatayud in the east.
The State Meteorological Agency reported that 20-30 centimeters (7-8 inches) of snow fell in Madrid on Saturday, the most since 1971.
mvb / aw (AP, Reuters)