In a surprising Oviedo case in a northwestern Spanish city, three children, a 10-year-old and twin 8-year-olds were saved on Monday after allegedly being under complete lockdown by their parents since 2021. The children, who were all German nationals, were said to have been living in total lockdown even long after the pandemic came to an end all over the world, based on a New York Post report.
Official said the parents of the children, a 53-year-old German man and a 48-year-old German-American woman, had denied them all contact with the outside world for years. The parents were taken into custody on charges of child abandonment and domestic violence. Police believe the pair were suffering from a psychological disorder known as ‘COVID syndrome’ that caused them to impose excessively long and inordinate safety limits.
“The kids were terrible. It was completely outrageous,” an investigator reported to El Mundo. Another authority revealed to the local press, “The moment we got them out, the three children all started breathing in deeply, like they had never breathed outside air before.
Images taken by Spanish media depicted the children in face masks when they went outside. Witnesses described them as dazed and huddled over to touch the grass, as though interested in the outdoors.
Rescue efforts started after neighbours complained, mentioning that the children had not been observed going to school.
