Covid: resurgence in Spain, Italy imposes new rules

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5 mins

Six weeks after having resisted the first assault of the epidemic, Spain finds itself again in a "critical" situation, with the worst contagion figures in Europe. The number of Covid-19 cases has started to rise again since mid-July. Namely an average of nearly 5,000 new cases daily last week. That's more than France, UK, Germany and Italy put together, so more and more countries are taking their precautions and classifying Spain as a country at risk.

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By the admission of the Spanish authorities, the virus is not under control. After Catalonia, the threat of a second wave hangs over the region of Aragon, a new source of contamination. There is an air of déjà vu in Zaragoza hospitals in particular, which are experiencing an influx of patients. As at the height of the epidemic, the army has installed a 400 m² field hospital in the parking lot of the city's university hospital.

The president of the region, Javier Lamban, explains this return of the Covid by an explosive cocktail between “evenings of young people” and “seasonal agricultural workers” who circulate from region to region. According to health authorities, 70% of those infected in Spain are under 30, most of them asymptomatic.

And this upsurge in contamination in Spain worries neighboring countries.

Italy is not immune to a second wave

The health bulletins indicate, in recent days, a rebound in contagions and deaths (+ 481 new cases and 10 deaths announced on August 12) due, in particular, to the return of vacationers who have stayed in places considered at risk of the spread of the coronavirus. Some region presidents have taken measures requiring screening tests, and / or a fortnight to these vacationers. But to avoid the chaos of heterogeneous ordinances, Rome has just decided to apply new ones at the national level, reports our correspondent in Rome, Anne Le Nir.

Indeed, in Italy in recent days it has been very difficult to navigate between the various precautionary measures imposed at the regional level. The Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, in agreement with the scientific committee which supports the government, has therefore signed a new ordinance. This is what will change for all travelers from Croatia, Spain, Greece or Malta: they will be subjected to rapid tests for the coronavirus. The positive will have to quarantine for two weeks and then retest. In addition, health checks will be stepped up at stations, ports and airports.

Finally, in view of the August 15 holidays, and knowing that the average age of new cases of contagion in the peninsula is 34 years, very strict anti-movida rules may be applied. The ministerial order also indicates that Colombia is added to the countries to which Italy has closed its doors since July.

In this upscale neighborhood in the south of the capital, we tend to welcome the compulsory wearing of a mask, as is the case with Julien, sitting on a bench in the shade of a tree. According to him, the heat makes the measure very difficult to apply ...

Report: in Brussels, wearing a mask is now compulsory everywhere

Jeremy Audouard

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