Real Madrid halt Santiago Bernabeu renovations as Spain announces stricter coronavirus shutdown measures
Renovation works on Real Madrid's new Santiago Bernabeu will be halted until April 9 after the Spanish government announced stricter measures to combat the coronavirus crisis on Saturday.
Figures on Saturday revealed there have been 72,248 tested positive for Covid-19 in Spain and 5,690 deaths as the numbers continue to rise at an alarming rate despite the shutdown for the past two weeks.
In a press conference, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez announced that workers carrying out non-essential jobs will be obliged to stay at home until April 9, with hours to be made up when they return to their posts after that.
That means Real Madrid will be forced to stop renovations to their stadium, which had been ongoing since the outbreak of coronavirus.
The Bernabeu will stay open, though, after Madrid came to an agreement with the government to use the stadium as a centre for medical supplies and storage to help ease the burden on hospitals and clinics.
LaLiga is still suspended until further notice, having been initially postponed for two weeks after a Real Madrid basketball player, Trey Thompkins, tested positive for Covid-19 on March 12.
