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“Here everything is much better again”, so a woman from Madrid happily greets her acquaintance, whom she saw for the last time at the end of August. The second wave of corona reached Spain before Germany, and in early November the number of new infections rose to more than 240 per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days.
The authorities reacted with restrictions on public life, but they were never as drastic as those facing Germany now. The numbers fell earlier than in Germany, the seven-day value was a good 98, according to the Health Ministry on Tuesday night, with a slight upward trend again, but in Germany the value is much higher, 174.
Spaniards enjoy relative freedom of movement. Anyone strolling through the city center on the weekends before Christmas cannot believe their eyes. Despite the restrictions in public life with nightlife restrictions and maximum limits on the number of visitors to restaurants, shops, cinemas, theaters and museums, there are crowds on the weekends before Christmas in the city center of Madrid or Barcelona.
In Madrid, people crowd between the Plaza Mayor and the famous Puerta del Sol, almost like in normal times.
Popular tapas bars are packed on weekends.
At the site with the famous clock, an electric police car slowly makes its way through the crowd in close contact with passersby. You call repeatedly through a loud speaker, but keep the safety distance and hygiene rules. Impossible in the crowd. A Christmas market has been set up in the Plaza Mayor, with stalls offering Christmas decorations, sweets and the usual Tinnef.
In front of the famous Reina Sofía Museum, where since November 11 a special exhibition on the group of Dutch artists De Stijl has been exhibited, the most daring Spaniards are walking around a recently built ice rink.
Cafes, restaurants and popular tapas bars are packed on weekends. Only face masks disturb the image. How did Spain manage to go from being a crown hotspot to the country with one of the lowest infection rates in Western Europe?
Countermeasures varied from region to region. While Catalonia at times drastically reduced public life, Madrid, for example, did not have to close shops and restaurants. Travel within the country was also very limited, in some cases people were not even allowed to leave their home community on weekends. The number of people who are allowed to gather in public spaces or at home has also been restricted.
Currently, no more than ten people from two households are required to meet in private. Schools remained open throughout the country.
The people responded responsibly
The question of why the figures have dropped is difficult to answer even for the Professor of Public Health, Ildefonso Harnández, of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche. The experts lacked important data to obtain reliable answers. “We can measure the number of infections, the use of intensive care beds, the mortality rate, but we know almost nothing about how people behave in the private sphere,” he says in a video interview. “Do we know if people at home are taking precautionary measures?” He says.
The behavior of each individual is essential. The number of infections in Madrid began to decline on September 23, coinciding with the first very light restrictions on public life ordered by the regional government. With countermeasures taking about 14 days to be noticed in fewer infections, people apparently reacted to reports of the then dramatic developments of their own free will long before politicians took action.
Hernández can only speculate on why the second corona wave was less violent than the first in spring. At that time there were almost 1000 deaths per day in the country with 47 million inhabitants, people could only leave the house for urgent reasons and schools were closed.
Unfortunately, many of those at particular risk have already passed away.
According to a new study, almost ten percent of Spaniards have been infected with corona since the start of the pandemic. “In many cases, they are probably people who tend to be careless or who work particularly exposed jobs. Now it is slowing down the infection process, ”says Hernández. Also, some of the people most at risk have already died. And the vast majority of Spaniards are very disciplined and now also have experience in dealing with the risks of the crown.
However, the authorities are concerned about the consequences of the current laxity. The regional government of Mallorca has just tightened measures again at Christmas due to the increase in corona infections there.
Health Minister Salvador Illa sent an urgent message to the population despite the “ray of hope on the horizon”: “Stay at home, refrain from traveling and limit your social contacts.”
Otherwise, Spain could be hit again by a third wave earlier, before the approaching vaccines can go into effect.
