Spain officially became on Wednesday the first EU member to cross the milestone of one million cases of the new coronavirus, as restrictions multiply in the country to contain the second wave of the epidemic.
The country, with a population of some 47 million, is the sixth in the world to cross the threshold of one million cases, after the United States, India, Brazil, Russia and Argentina.
The Spanish Ministry of Health announced in the evening 16,973 cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 1,005,295 since the first case detected on January 31 on the island of Gomera, in the Canary Islands.
Of that total, the death toll now stands at 34,366, after 156 new deaths were recorded in 24 hours.
New measures in preparation
While caregivers fear a new saturation of hospitals, the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, indicated on Tuesday that the government was considering new measures, including the imposition of a curfew, as the France, Belgium and Slovenia, as well as two regions in Italy.
"There are going to be some very difficult weeks, winter is coming, the second wave is no longer a threat, it is a reality throughout Europe," warned Illa, who added that the government was "open to all proposals ”to curb contagions.
A "pandemic hospital" under construction in Madrid
Country among the most bereaved by the pandemic, Spain had imposed in the spring one of the strictest confinements in the world to curb the spread of the virus.
But cases started to rise again this summer after the end of confinement in June.
The return of nightlife and the lack of resources to identify, trace and isolate cases are the cause, according to many Spanish epidemiologists.
Faced with the resurgence of cases, the Spanish authorities had to urgently impose new restrictions.
Thus, the capital, Madrid, and eight neighboring municipalities have been partially sealed off since the beginning of October: you can only enter and leave for essential reasons, essentially going to work, going to study or receiving treatment.
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Similar measures have been decided in several dozen other cities, including Salamanca and Zaragoza, but also for entire regions, such as Navarre and since Wednesday Rioja (North), while the region of Cantabria (North West ) called on its inhabitants to “self-confine”.
For its part, Catalonia (North-East) has closed all its bars and restaurants since Thursday and for 15 days.
Near Madrid airport, an army of cranes are working to bring out a "pandemic hospital" which is scheduled to open next month.
Caregivers "exhausted and angry"
For Angela Hernandez Puente, doctor and head of the Madrid Doctors Association Amtys, the situation is very worrying, but not comparable to the immense pressure exerted on the health system in March, when the intensive care units were short of beds and of materials.
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However, she believes that the gains due to containment have been wasted.
"As the number of cases fell during the summer, it is as if they had thought that
it is there, it is finished
, whereas it was the moment to prepare" for the second wave, laments -she.
“The health workers are exhausted and angry,” she says, “because many doctors believe that more should have been done in June, July and August so that the public health system is not overwhelmed as it is. currently ”.