A month later, the pandemic threatens Spain again

USPA NEWS - Just a month after recovering normality after almost three months of confinement by COVID-19, Spain has gone from the joy of recovered freedom to concern about the increasingly numerous outbreaks of the disease that are registered throughout the country. Two neighboring regions, Catalonia and Aragon, concern health authorities about the number of new infections, but they are not the only ones: with current data, in Spain there are 201 active outbreaks with 2,289 people affected in all regions. Experts warn that the heat and freedom regained should not lead us to think that the coronavirus has disappeared and stress that the combination of youth and nightlife increases the risk of new infections.

Since the pandemic began, 264,836 people have been affected in Spain, of which 28,422 died as a result of COVID-19. They are official data, but other departments of the administration raise the death toll to more than 40,000. When on June 21 - just a month ago - the state of alarm ended and the Spaniards were able to travel again, meet and go to bars and restaurants without other precautions than keeping the safety distance and wearing a mask when that was not possible, many people thought that the danger had passed. And that despite warnings from the authorities, who called not to let their guard down.

However, the health authorities soon realized that more and more people were forgetting the recommendations and breaching security measures. And especially young people. One month after the alarm state was lifted, the number of cases reported weekly has increased 400%. And the virus, which during confinement mainly affected those over 80 years of age, is now fattening in young people between the ages of 15 and 29. Experts also warn that the greatest danger is asymptomatic patients, people who have the virus but do not develop symptoms and, therefore, interact with other people spreading the coronavirus.

This led regional governments, now responsible for managing the pandemic, to decree the mandatory use of the mask in all places and in all circumstances. It does not matter if the safety distance can be kept or if it is on the street or in a closed space: the use of the mask is mandatory. And some areas in Catalonia, Aragon and Galicia, among other regions, have regressed to phase 2 of confinement, as the pandemic is out of control in their territories.

Experts assure that a high percentage of the newly infected are seasonal, workers from sub-Saharan Africa and, some, from the Maghreb, who come to Spain to work in collecting the fruit and live in inadequate conditions to protect themselves from the coronavirus. As a consequence, the Spanish Government has prohibited the entry of workers from countries that have closed their borders or have high numbers of infections in their territories.

For now, the Spanish Government is ruling out declaring a state of emergency for the second time. Sources from the Moncloa palace recall that the competence in managing the pandemic is, at the moment, of the regional governments and ensure that they have sufficient legislative resources to control the outbreaks. But they do not rule out declaring the state of alarm if the situation overflows. There is concern about what will happen after the holidays, when a second wave of COVID-19 is expected. Spain assures that, on this occasion, it will not be unprepared, as it struggles to contain the new cases that are registered every day throughout the country. Cases that reach figures not seen since last April.