The Minister of Health wants to "strengthen" the national health system so that it is better prepared for outbreaks, waves or future global pandemics, which he has assured will come, although nobody knows for sure when, or with what intensity. This has been advanced by Salvador Illa in the Congress Commission for Economic and Social Reconstruction, which is holding dozens of appearances during these weeks to make a diagnosis of the situation in Spain after the crisis and make proposals for improvement.

Illa has opted to gradually increase public investment in health until reaching the pre-crisis levels of 2008, that is, 7% of GDP, as calculated. Currently, healthcare spending is 5.9% of GDP.

During the crisis caused by the new coronavirus, the Government has made an "important injection" of resources into the autonomous communities to reinforce the health system, as it has emphasized. But now it has the "firm commitment" to recover the levels of investment prices to the 2008 economic crisis.

Illa has advocated developing "strategic reserves of essential sanitary material" both in the Autonomous Communities and in the Government to guarantee a quick and effective response to a possible new pandemic. In addition, it has opted to continue encouraging the national production of masks, gloves, protective equipment and mechanical respirators so as not to depend on international supply, as has happened during these months.

In response to several spokesmen, Illa has assured that Spain will be better prepared to face a similar crisis, since the outlook that will open in the fall is "uncertain" and it is probable, although not certain, that we will enter a new health emergency situation. However, early detection systems - which have been reduced from a week or 10 days to 48 hours - and the ability to isolate patients and their contacts are now much better than in February and March.

The Minister of Health has advocated developing the General Law on Public Health of 2011 and creating the State Center for Public Health, which would be a "starting point" to reorder and promote part of the functions that must be developed and reinforced from public health, such as surveillance, health impact assessment, or preparing for or supporting response to health emergencies.

Illa has insisted that allocating resources to healthcare is more an investment than "a simple expense". "We are seeing the economic and social impact that the coronavirus is having on our societies. Let's imagine what the already difficult situation would have been like if our system did not have the necessary means," he said.

That is why, during the health crisis, up to 81,000 professionals have been made available to the communities, a reinforcement that according to the Minister, "cannot be punctual."

In any case, the minister has ensured that the health system has sufficient resources to face a possible outbreak of coronavirus and activate contingency plans in a short period of time, not exceeding five days.

Citizens ask for APP and massive tests

On the other hand, Ciudadanos has asked the Government for two measures to ensure control of possible outbreaks of Covid-19 infections without having to resort to the state of alarm again: the extension of the use of mobile tracking applications that are already operating in various countries in Europe and massive testing machines.

The training chaired by Inés Arrimadas considers that new technologies allow the tracking of mobility and contacts with possible infected without violating the rights and privacy of users. And it is committed to taking advantage of them to continue fighting the pandemic.

These two measures have been announced by the deputy spokesman for Citizens in the Congress of Deputies, Edmundo Bal, in an interview on Antena 3.

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