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In Madrid, intensive care beds are filling with Covid 19 patients and the number of infections is increasing in other European cities. Governments tighten their protection measures.
In Spain, the number of corona infections has increased again for weeks. The capital, Madrid, is particularly affected.
Photo: Sergio Perez (Reuters)
In Europe, Spain and especially its capital Madrid are considered the new sources of the corona pandemic. The number of infections there has been rising steadily for weeks, in recent days authorities in autonomous regions regularly reported 10,000 or more new infections and reported cases per day. Madrid is particularly badly affected: on Thursday night, the Spanish Ministry of Health counted 11,291 new people who tested positive, 34 percent of them from Madrid.
Far from collapse, but on a similar path.
According to an investigation by the newspaper “El País”, 64% of beds in intensive care units in Madrid are occupied by Covid patients. This is still a far cry from spring like conditions. At the time, 28,000 people officially died in three months with a Covid infection, and the country’s healthcare system was on the brink of collapse. But doctors warn that we are again on a similar path.
Health workers call for strike
Medical personnel in the capital called for a strike on September 28 to draw attention to the dramatic situation and the savings in the health system. In Spain, it is currently mainly the younger people who are infected with Sars-CoV-2, who can expect milder courses. About half of those who tested positive were asymptomatic, the Health Ministry said.
Due to the high social density in Spain, where many routinely use weekends for meetings with extended families, the virus could soon spread again to older people in this age group. Also, the school year across the country has started again this week and the average age of Spanish teachers this year is over ten.
Intensive care beds in short supply in southern France
In France, the number of new daily corona infections has already passed the 10,000 mark, as in Spain. In cities like Marseille, Bordeaux or Paris the situation is especially serious. However, France, like Spain, is also testing significantly more than in spring. The hospital occupancy rate is viewed with concern, but overall it is still at a comparatively low level across the country. In the south, however, intensive care beds are already in short supply.
Health officials warned Friday that for the first time since exit restrictions ended, deaths had increased. The situation is clearly deteriorating. The doctor and former health director William Dab criticized in the “Journal du Dimanche” that Prime Minister Jean Castex had not recently announced really strong measures, but only adjustments.
Mandatory outdoor mask
In the spring, the center was the centralized state, now the government is holding the regions accountable. The authorities in Bordeaux, Marseille and Nice recently announced stricter measures, such as restrictions on alcohol consumption in some places. In general, in many French cities, such as Spain, it is mandatory to wear a mask outdoors. Also, a mask is mandatory at work.
Other countries are currently tightening the crown measures: in Denmark, guests in restaurants must wear mouth and nose protection from Saturday, and the maximum number of participants for meetings is reduced to 50 people. In Iceland, bars and clubs in the capital Reykjavik are closed for four days. And in the UK, a two-week shutdown is being discussed during the October school holidays.
