The Spain quarantine will bring unexpected knock-on effects – not just economic disruption

The economic models can catch little of what is happening as there is no relevant data – because the world has never had this experience before, writes Hamish McRae

Sunbathers pack onto Barceloneta beach in Catalonia (Reuters)

How was the holiday in Spain then?

The sudden requirement for people coming or returning from Spain to self-quarantine for two weeks is one of those blows that we will have to become used to for several months yet. It might seem arbitrary, for while there are outbreaks of Covid-19 in some parts of Spain, including Barcelona, other regions seem reasonably clear. But this is the reality of the world.

Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, is three weeks into a six-week lockdown after a second wave of the virus broke out. On Saturday, Luxembourg had to tighten its restrictions in the face of another outbreak. In the US, which has adopted a piecemeal and sometimes confusing approach, there has been a shift in policy in different states as cases and deaths have surged and waned.