It is a record that Spain would have done well.

The country became on Wednesday October 21 the first member of the European Union to cross the milestone of one million cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, as restrictions multiply in the country to contain the second wave.

The Spanish Ministry of Health announced in the evening 16,973 cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 1,005,295 since the first case detected on January 31 on the island of Gomera, in the Canary archipelago.

Of that total, the death toll now stands at 34,366, after 156 new deaths were recorded in 24 hours.

Spain, with a population of some 47 million, is the sixth country in the world to cross the threshold of one million cases, after the United States, India, Brazil, Russia, and Argentina, according to a census carried out by AFP from official sources.

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.

"Difficult weeks" to come

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

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

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.

New restrictions

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 cordoned off since the beginning of October: you can only enter and leave for essential reasons, in particular to work, study or seek 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 caregivers

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

However, she believes that the gains obtained through confinement have been wasted.

"As the number of cases dropped 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, laments she.

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

With AFP

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