MADRID (AP) – While most of Europe started with previous curfews or house arrest in 2021, authorities in Spain argue that the new coronavirus variant causing havoc elsewhere is not to blame for a strong case resurgence and that the country can avoid a complete lockdown even when the hospitals become full.
The government has tirelessly fended off drastic house-locking, such as the one that paralyzed the economy for nearly three months in the spring of 2020, the last time Spain could claim victory over the stubbornly rising curve of business.
Infection rates fell in October, but have never fully flattened the wave of summer. Things started to climb again before the end of the year. In the past month, 14-day rates have more than doubled, from 188 cases per 100,000 residents on December 10 to 522 per 100,000 on Thursday.
Nearly 39,000 new cases were reported Wednesday and more than 35,000 on Thursday, some of the highest daily increases to date.
The surge again threatens the capacity of the intensive care unit and places a burden on exhausted medical workers. Some facilities have already suspended elective surgery, and the eastern city of Valencia reopened an improvised hospital last year.
In contrast to Portugal, which will be closed for a month on Friday and doubling the fines for those who don’t wear masks, officials in Spain argue that it will be enough to take short, very local measures that limit social gatherings without affecting the entire economy.
“We know what to do and we are doing it,” Health Minister Salvador Illa told a news conference on Wednesday, ruling out a national house arrest warrant and advocating “measures that were a success during the second wave.”
Fernando Simón, the government’s chief virus expert, blames the recent increase in the number of cases over Christmas and New Years celebrations. “The new variant, although it has an impact, it will be a marginal variant, at least in our country,” he said this week.
But many independent experts disagree, saying Spain is unable to conduct the widespread sample sequencing to discover how the new variants have spread, confirming 88 and nearly 200 suspected cases that officials say that they are largely imported from the UK, the real ones are underestimated. consequence.
Dr. Rafael Bengoa, former Director of Healthcare Systems at the World Health Organization, told The Associated Press that the government should immediately implement “a strict but short” four-week detention.
“Doing as little as possible to avoid influencing the economy or for political reasons is not getting us where we need to be,” said Bengoa, who also oversaw a thorough reform of the Basque regional health system.
The situation in Spain contrasts sharply with that in other European countries which also showed similar sharp jumps in cases, with increasing numbers blaming the more contagious variant first discovered in the UK
In the Netherlands, which has been locked for a month, the rate of infections has started to slow. But with 2% to 5% of new COVID-19 cases of the new variant, as of Friday, the country will require air passengers from the UK, Ireland and South Africa to pass a negative PCR test up to 72 hours prior to departure is being taken. but also a quick result of the antigen test just before the start.
France, where a recent study of 100,000 positive tests yielded about 1% of infections with the variant, sets curfew as early as 6 p.m., and Health Secretary Oliver Veran has not ruled out a stay-at-home order if the situation worsens.
Existing lockdowns or the prospect of mandatory incarceration have not been questioned or made a political issue in other European countries.
Ireland implemented a full lockdown after it was found that widespread infections were linked to the new variant. Italy has a color-coded system that activates a strict lock at the top – or red – level, although there are currently no areas.
In the UK, scientific evidence of the new variant has silenced some critics of restrictions, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to impose measures strict but slightly milder than the country’s initial lockdown.. People have been ordered to stay at home except for a limited number of essential travel and exercise, and schools have been closed with a few exceptions.
In Germany, where the 7-day moving average of daily new cases has recently risen to 26 per 100,000 people, many senior officials argue that the existing strict incarceration warrant should be tightened and extended beyond the current end of the period. Due date January.
Nordic countries have completely rejected mandatory lockdowns, but have instead put strict restrictions on meetings and certain activities. Residents have been asked to follow specific recommendations to limit the spread of the virus.
In Sweden, the issue is both legal and political as there is no law that would allow the government to restrict the mobility of the population. While calling on residents not to go to the gym or the library, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said last month, “we don’t believe in a total lockdown,” before adding, “We’re following our strategy.”
Policymakers in Spain appear to be taking a similar approach, although it remains to be seen whether the results will prove them wrong. On Thursday they insisted that the vaccinations will soon be ‘up to cruising speed’.
But Bengoa, the former WHO expert, said vaccinations do not immediately solve the problem.
“If you try to live with the virus and with this data for months, you have to live with a very high mortality rate and with the potential for new variants to be created,” he said, adding that the new variant of the virus is widespread. the UK original version is starting to seem like “a good one”.
Dr. Salvador Macip, a researcher at the University of Leicester and the Open University of Catalonia, says the combination of spiral infections and the uncertainty about the new variants should be enough for a more restrictive approach, but pandemic fatigue makes such decisions more difficult for countries like Spain, with a polarized politics.
“People are tired of making sacrifices that get us nowhere because they see that they will have to repeat them,” Macip said.
—-
Associated Press writers from across Europe contributed.
—-
Follow AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic on:
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus vaccine
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak