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HEALTH

Spain ‘suspends lower house of parliament’ after far-right MP tests positive for coronavirus

Spain's lower house of parliament was reportedly suspended on Tuesday after an MP from the far-right Vox party tested positive for the coronavirus.

Published: 10 March 2020 13:22 CET
Spain 'suspends lower house of parliament' after far-right MP tests positive for coronavirus
Ortega Smith (L) with party leader Santiago Abascal in Madrid on election night. Photo: AFP

Javier Ortega Smith, the secretary general of the far right party Vox is among those who have tested positive for the coronavirus in Spain two days after he attended a crowded rally in Madrid, the party confirmed on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Ortega attended Vox’s annual rally with thousands of supporters held in Vistalegre where he greeted dozens of party supporters with hugs and kisses, according to footage distributed by the party.

In a statement tweeted by Vox leader Santiago Abascal, the party apologised for holding the event, a move which it admitted now was “a mistake”.

“We understood that it would have been irresponsible to generate panic by suspending a public event while the rest of the country continued to operate as normal,” read the statement.

“That was a mistake for which we apologize,” it continued before laying the blame at the door of the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for not calling off public demonstrations held across Spain for International Woman’s Day on March 8th.

 “We trusted that this government would at least put the health of Spaniards ahead of its propaganda agenda,” the statement continued.

Ortega is the first of Spain’s lawmakers to be diagnosed with the virus which has so far struck more than 1.200 people and caused at least 30 deaths.

Vox said that they would now insist that all its 52 MPs would be working from home.

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HEALTH

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

Danish Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde has warned that, despite increasing activity at hospitals, it will be some time before current waiting lists are reduced.

Published: 10 May 2023 15:09 CEST
Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

The message comes as Løhde was set to meet with officials from regional health authorities on Wednesday to discuss the progress of an acute plan for the Danish health system, launched at the end of last year in an effort to reduce a backlog of waiting times which built up during the coronavirus crisis.

An agreement with regional health authorities on an “acute” spending plan to address the most serious challenges faced by the health services agreed in February, providing 2 billion kroner by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: What exactly is wrong with the Danish health system?

The national organisation for the health authorities, Danske Regioner, said to newspaper Jyllands-Posten earlier this week that progress on clearing the waiting lists was ahead of schedule.

Some 245,300 operations were completed in the first quarter of this year, 10 percent more than in the same period in 2022 and over the agreed number.

Løhde said that the figures show measures from the acute plan are “beginning to work”.

“It’s positive but even though it suggests that the trend is going the right way, we’re far from our goal and it’s important to keep it up so that we get there,” she said.

“I certainly won’t be satisfied until waiting times are brought down,” she said.

“As long as we are in the process of doing postponed operations, we will unfortunately continue to see a further increase [in waiting times],” Løhde said.

“That’s why it’s crucial that we retain a high activity this year and in 2024,” she added.

Although the government set aside 2 billion kroner in total for the plan, the regional authorities expect the portion of that to be spent in 2023 to run out by the end of the summer. They have therefore asked for some of the 2024 spending to be brought forward.

Løhde is so far reluctant to meet that request according to Jyllands-Posten.

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