The “Miracle of Madrid”: streets and cafes full, and Covid-19 is withdrawn

It wasn’t long ago that only bad news came from Madrid. In September, 40% of all new infections in Spain still came from the capital. On September 25, the regional government even imposed total isolation in Madrid, and people could leave their neighborhood just to go to work, school or the doctor.

But while the country is now fighting the spread of the infection, the old epicenter of Madrid appears to be returning to normal: people are in the streets and parks in droves, cafes and restaurants are full and the number of infected is decreasing. drastically. How do they do it?

Successes and doubts

According to epidemiologist José Ojeda, the answer lies in antigen testing. Two months ago, the local government bought 5 million of these tests and launched an offensive to mass-test people. “It was the right decision. With these tests, the infection is diagnosed easier, cheaper and faster, and patients are immediately isolated,” said Miguel Rojo, spokesman for the Spanish Union of Epidemiologists. It is true that antigen tests are less accurate than PCR tests, but it is also a fact that undetected infections are more isolated, says José Ojeda. However, his opinion is not shared by leading virologists: according to them, in antigenic tests, asymptomatic cases of Kovid-19 can easily go unnoticed.

In addition to massive tests, Madrid has relied on the complete isolation of those areas where the incidence exceeds certain values. This measure also appears to be working: in 10 of the 32 areas where the measure was imposed, the number of new infections has been cut in half and restrictions have been lifted in the meantime. The responsible attitude of the people is cited as another reason for the “miracle of Madrid”.

However, the optimistic numbers also raise doubts. The Catalan Minister of Health, Marc Ramentol, hinted at an “information blackout” in Madrid. Even more serious are the accusations of the publication eldiario.es, which assures that in Madrid “they falsify the real number of new infections”. New cases of the infection were reported with a delay, significantly distorting the statistics on the incidence, writes the German magazine “Stern”. The number of people who died last Thursday (41 people) does not speak of any “miracle of Madrid”, we read more in “Stern”. The number of newly infected people increased that day: almost 2,400 people.

Embellish the numbers?

As early as September, doctors at 61 Madrid hospitals said the regional government was embellishing the numbers. Authorities at the time claimed that the intensive care unit was 36 percent full, when in fact 95 percent of the beds were occupied, Miguel Hernán, a Spanish professor at the renowned Harvard University, wrote on Twitter.

Doctors also revealed another trick to local authorities: Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s regional government, which in the spring insisted that restrictions be lifted quickly and the economy work, suddenly began to count as intensive all the hospital beds that could have access to a breathing device. In this sense, the professor, who advised the central government in the spring, urged people not to trust the regional government of Madrid.

However, despite doubts, the number of new hospitalized patients is eloquent: if at the beginning of October an average of more than 2,500 patients with coronavirus were admitted per day, last Thursday only 238 people entered for treatment. Perhaps the “miracle of Madrid” really does. In any case, epidemiologist José Ojeda cautions against hasty conclusions.