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While Germany is entering a difficult blockade, the shops and bars of Madrid and Barcelona are well frequented and the Christmas markets are open. How is that possible? Trying to explain.
“Everything here is much better again”, that’s how a friend from Madrid receives her friend, 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 who walks through the center of Madrid on the weekends before Christmas cannot believe what they see. 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.
Cafes, restaurants, and 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.
A Christmas market in Madrid: Unlike Germany, almost all stores in Spain remain open during the Christmas season. (Source: Susana Vera / Reuters)
In front of the famous Reina Sofía Museum, where a special exhibition on the group of Dutch artists De Stijl has been exhibited since November 11, the particularly daring Spaniards are walking around an ice rink that was installed just before Christmas. 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 can meet in public spaces or at home has also been limited. Currently, no more than ten people from two households are required to meet in private. Schools remained open throughout the country.
“I know almost nothing about how people behave in their private lives”
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.
Very crowded Tortz Corona pandemic: The El Rastro trail in Madrid. (Source: Javier Barbancho / Reuters)
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.
Third wave concerns
According to a new study, almost ten percent of Spaniards have been infected with corona since the start of the pandemic. “In many cases, these are probably people who tend to be careless or who work particularly exposed jobs. Now they are 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. Despite the “ray of hope on the horizon”, the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, sent an urgent message to the population: “Stay home, avoid traveling and limit your social contacts.” Otherwise, Spain could be hit again by a third wave earlier, before the approaching vaccines can take effect.
