Spain crosses the threshold of one million cases of Covid-19, a first

Spain crosses the threshold of one million cases of Covid-19, a European first.

-

As restrictions multiply in the country to contain the second wave of the epidemic, the Spanish Ministry of Health has announced 16,973 new cases in the last 24 hours.

This report brings the total to 1,005,295 since the first case detected on January 31 on the island of Goméra, in the Canary archipelago.

A first in the European Union.

Spain, with a population of some 47 million, is the sixth country in the world to cross this threshold of one million cases, after the United States, India, Brazil, Russia, and Argentina.

A second less deadly wave

However, the second wave of Covid-19 killed fewer people in Spain than the first in March and April, at the peak of the pandemic, when the country recorded more than 800 deaths per day.

In addition, the average age of patients has fallen.

Of that total of more than one million cases, the death toll now stands at 34,366, after 156 new deaths were recorded in 24 hours.

But as caregivers fear further saturation of hospitals, Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Tuesday that the government was considering new measures, including the imposition of a curfew, as has already done France, Belgium and Slovenia, as well as two regions in Italy.

"There are going to be very difficult weeks, winter is coming, the second wave is no longer a threat, it is a reality all over Europe," warned Mr. Illa, who added that the government was "Open to all proposals" to curb contagions.

Lack of resources to identify, trace and isolate cases

Country among the most bereaved by the pandemic, Spain had imposed in the spring one of the strictest confinements in the world to curb the spread of the virus.

But cases started to rise again this summer after the end of confinement in June.

The return of nightlife and the lack of resources to identify, trace and isolate cases are the cause, according to many Spanish epidemiologists.

To these problems was added a real standoff between the central government of the left of Pedro Sanchez and certain regions, competent in the field of Health, on the measures to be adopted.

These disagreements have been particularly sharp in the Madrid region, the national epicenter of the epidemic, which is ruled by the right-wing opposition.

“The pandemic has been used as a political weapon to fight its adversaries instead of seeking consensus and the best solution for everyone,” said Salvador Macip, professor of health sciences at the Open University of Catalonia.

Madrid and eight neighboring municipalities are partially cordoned off

Faced with the resurgence of cases, the Spanish authorities had to urgently impose new restrictions.

Thus, the capital, Madrid, and eight neighboring municipalities have been partially sealed off since the beginning of October: you can only enter and leave for essential reasons, essentially going to work, going to study or receiving treatment.

Similar measures have been decided in several dozen other cities, including Salamanca and Zaragoza, but also for entire regions, such as Navarre and since Wednesday Rioja (North), while the region of Cantabria (North West ) called on its inhabitants to “self-confine”.

For its part, Catalonia (North-East) has closed all its bars and restaurants since Thursday and for 15 days.

Near Madrid airport, an army of cranes are working to bring out a "pandemic hospital" which is scheduled to open next month.

"Exhausted and angry"

For Angela Hernandez Puente, doctor and head of the Madrid Doctors Association Amtys, the situation is very worrying, but not comparable to the immense pressure exerted on the health system in March, when the intensive care units were short of beds and of materials.

However, she believes that the gains due to containment have been wasted.

"As the number of cases fell during the summer, it is as if they had thought that 'this is it, it's over', when it was time to prepare" for the second wave, deplores she does.

“The health workers are exhausted and angry,” she says, “because many doctors believe that more should have been done in June, July and August so that the public health system is not overwhelmed as it is. currently ”.

World

Coronavirus in Spain: Navarre region partially sealed off in the face of Covid-19

Health

Coronavirus: Madrid court rejects partial containment measures imposed by Spanish authorities

• Covid 19

• Health

• Coronavirus

• Spain