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MAP: Which areas of Spain are under new Covid-19 restrictions?

New restrictions have been introduced in several parts of Spain in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus. Here's a look at which areas have new rules on daily life.

Published: 6 October 2020 12:04 CEST
Updated: 6 October 2020 15:55 CEST
MAP: Which areas of Spain are under new Covid-19 restrictions?
Photo: AFP

Currently some 5.2 million residents have their movements limited and are confined to their municipalities unable to leave except to go to work, to study or in exceptional circumstances.

The city of Madrid had its perimeter locked down on Friday night as well as nine smaller municipalities on its outskirts placing 4.7 million Madrileños under new restrictions in the region.

But the restrictions have not only been placed on those in the capital. At least 22 other municipalities across Spain have also been restricted including the entire cities of León and Palencia in Castile-León region, which on Monday recorded a cumulative incidence rate above the 500 threshold and met the Ministry of Health's criteria for new restrictions.

In fact authorities in Castile-León have taken the decision to place seven other municipalities under new restrictions despite not having yet reached the threshold introduced by Spain’s government last week.

In the map below the red dots mark municipalities restricted under the new Ministry of Health criteria, while the red dots are restrictions imposed by regional health authorities.

In Aragon, regional authorities have placed the town of La Almunia de Doña Godina under partial confinement after a spike in cases there and have also pushed the cities of Huesxa and Zaragoza back into Phase 2 restrictions ahead of this weekend’s Fiestas del Pilar – the patron saint of the region.

Navarra has placed four of its town under restrictions and neighbouring region of La Rioja has three municipalities under partial lockdown.

Meanwhile in Murcia, four towns – Jumilla, Lorca, Carvaca de la Cruz and Totana –  have restrictions in place.

Andalusia has applied restrictions to just one town, that of Casariche in Seville province after an outbreak that saw a cumulative incidence rate of 4,500 cases per 100,000 in its population of just over 5,000 residents.

In Extremadura, Eljas in Cáceres province has been confined since September 26because of an outbreak affecting its 900 residents.

Other zones, including Beniganim in Valencia, Bolaños de Calatrava in Ciudad Real and four zones in Mallorca’s capital Palma have seen restrictions lifted this week after perimeter confinements were successful in bringing down the number of new cases.

Across regions in Spain health authorities have opted to impose other restrictions which fall short of perimeter confinement. In Galicia for example, those in Ourense are banned from social gatherings outside their household.

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HEALTH

Respiratory infections soar in Spain over Christmas as hospitals struggle

Cases of viral respiratory infections such as flu, Covid and bronchitis have shot up over the past few weeks in Spain, putting an enormous strain on hospitals across the country and causing a severe lack of beds.

Published: 4 January 2024 12:33 CET
Respiratory infections soar in Spain over Christmas as hospitals struggle

Winter colds and flu are common, but this year Spain has seen a spike in cases of three different viruses – flu, Covid and bronchitis at the same time.

This comes after the festive and New Year period with lots of family gatherings and meetings with friends without much thought for social distancing days of the pandemic.

Rise in cases

According to health services, there are 35 percent more cases of these infections than a year ago, a percentage that is expected to continue rising until the third week of January when the epidemic peak will be reached after more gatherings for Three Kings’ Day on January 5th and 6th.

In a period of seven days, the rates of flu have gone from 532 to 908 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The cases of Covid have also grown from 12.6 percent to 13.6 percent.

The Health Minister, Monica García has published a message on social media reminding the public of the importance of getting vaccinated and maintaining prevention measures, such as ventilating rooms, washing hands and wearing a mask.

The head of the Emergency Department at the Reina Sofía University Hospital in Murcia, explained that the profile of these patients ranges “from young people with flu pathologies who go to the emergency room because health centres have delayed their appointments and people over 80 years old with pneumonia due to the flu who end up being admitted”.

Lack of hospital beds

According to the first vice president of the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES), Pascual Piñera, 10 of patients with these infections end up admitted to hospital overnight and one of the biggest problems staff are facing is the severe lack of beds, “They have nowhere to put the sick”, he explained.

The situation is the same all over the country. Red Workers union of the La Paz University Hospital in Madrid has reported that there are 105 patients pending admission and beds in the hallways are in double rows, “which cannot be evacuated if the patient worsens or there is a fire”.

Delays in primary health care 

Acute respiratory infections not only put a strain on hospitals and emergency rooms, but also primary care centres, causing delays and long waiting times for appointments. 

The spokesperson for the Federation of Associations for the Defence of Public Health (FADSP), Marciano Sánchez Bayle, explains that it is generating a “major traffic jam” in the healthcare system “where appointments are made for very late dates”.

Sánchez Bayle cites the case of the Community of Madrid, where he knows that appointments requested in December were not given until the end of January “which further clogs an already saturated system”. 

The need for greater vaccination rates 

Besides the festive period, many health professionals believe that the situation could be improved if more people were getting vaccinated, specifically against the flu. 

Flu vaccination in Spain is far below the WHO recommendations, hovering around 50 percent of the population at risk, when the goal is 75 percent. And the percentage is even lower in the case of children under five.

According to the Ministry of Health, the objectives for vaccination against flu and Covid-19 for the 2023-2024 season are to achieve or exceed vaccination coverage of 75 percent in older people and health workers, as well as 60 percent for pregnant women and people with at-risk conditions.

Amós García Rojas from Spain’s Vaccinology Association believes that after a few years without flu during the Covid pandemic, society has relaxed.

The vaccination campaign has not yet ended, so there’s still time to get yours before the end of the season. The campaign began on October 15th and ends on January 31st. 

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