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MADRID: Only 5 percent of Spain’s population has been infected by the new coronavirus, although that number increases to more than 10 percent in Madrid and areas in the center of the country, according to a study published by the government on Wednesday ( May 13)
Spain is one of the most affected nations in the global pandemic, with more than 27,000 deaths and around 228,600 confirmed cases through tests since the outbreak began in China late last year.
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The study launched on April 27 relied on serology tests to show exposure to the coronavirus and took samples from 60,000 people.
“The study found that 5 percent of Spaniards have been in contact with the virus, just over two million people,” said Health Minister Salvador Illa.
Some studies have shown that a part of people infected with the virus will not show symptoms, but can still transmit the disease.
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The Spanish study confirmed that the virus circulated more in the center of the country, which paid the highest price in deaths.
In Madrid, the infection rate was 11.3 percent, in Barcelona it was 7.1 percent, but only 2.3 percent in Seville, according to the study.
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So far, the Spanish government has only published the results of a first wave of “rapid tests” to determine the level of antibodies as a way of determining who has been infected.
A similar study published Wednesday in France showed that less than 10 percent of the population had been polluted in the Paris region and in the northeast, the two most affected areas in France. That compares with 4.4 percent nationwide.
The new coronavirus has killed at least 294,199 people since the outbreak first emerged in China last December, according to an official source count compiled by AFP at 1900 GMT on Wednesday.
At least 4,305,340 cases have been reported in 196 countries and territories worldwide. But they are likely only a fraction of the true number of infections due to low levels of evidence.
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