Spain will send special convoys carrying the COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday to areas cut by Storm Filomena, the interior minister said.
The government is finding ways to ensure that the country’s weekly transport of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine can be distributed to regional health authorities using police escorted convoys.
Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos said the convoys would also distribute food supplies to those in need.
Storm Filomena brought the heaviest snow in decades to the country, killing four people.
Temperatures are expected to drop to about -10 degrees Celsius (14 F) in the coming days, with the prospect of snow turning to ice and overturning damaged trees.
“The danger is not over,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Markaska said. “There is a week of extreme cold that will turn all the snow on the ground into ice, increasing the risk,” he said. “The storm brings with it a cold wave that could push temperatures down to record levels,” he added.
Hundreds blocked
About 20,000 kilometers of roads were affected by the storm in central Spain. Transit authorities have asked people to stay inside and avoid non-essential journeys.
Rescue services also helped more than 1,500 people stranded in their vehicles.
About 100 employees and shoppers spent two nights sleeping at a mall in the city of Majahaonda, north of Madrid, after being caught in a storm on Friday.
According to officials, a man and a woman in a car drowned after a river broke out near Malaga in the south, while two homeless people froze to death in Madrid and Calatayud in east.
The State Meteorological Agency reported that 20-30 centimeters (7-8 inches) of snow fell on Saturday in Madrid, the largest since 1971.
mvb / aw (AP, Reuters)