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UPDATE: Valencia closes bars and restaurants and wants curfew set at 8pm

The Valencia region has introduced strict new measures in an attempt to curb coronavirus infections as hospitals reach crisis point.

Published: 19 January 2021 16:10 CET
UPDATE: Valencia closes bars and restaurants and wants curfew set at 8pm
Photo: AFP

All bars and restaurants will be forced to shut down entirely unless they offer take-away service, while hotel restaurants will be able to serve hotel guests only.

In addition, all non-essential businesses must close by 6pm although supermarkets and pharmacies can remain open until later. Gyms and sporting installations have also been ordered to close, however, schools and universities will continue with classes on site.

Regional president Ximo Puig announced the new rules on Tuesday and said they would come into force from Thursday morning for at least two weeks.

He said that 29 munipalities across the region would have perimetre confinements in place to prevent people coming in an out except for those with justified cause such as work, study or to visit vulnerable dependents. 

The region has already closed its borders until at least January 31st.

 

The announcement came as the latest data revealed that infections had shot up across the eastern region and that more than 50 percent of hospital ICU beds were occupied by coronavirus patients.

Between Monday January 11th and Sunday January 17th, health authorities in the region registered 36,065 new cases (20,510 in the province of Valencia, 11,812 in Alicante and 3,703 in Castellón), representing an increase of 63.16 percent compared to the previous week.

It now has a cumulative incidence rate of 896.12 cases per 100,000 people over the past 14 days, far above Spain's nationwide average of 689.27.

A total of 316 people died last week due to covid (187 in Valencia, 94 in Alicante and 35 in Castellón), which is 60 more than the previous week, an increase of 23.43 percent, and a figure equivalent to the total of death toll during September and October combined. Monday saw a new record of deaths in one day when 95 were registered.

“The virus is killing more than ever and spreading in an extraordinary way, so that calls for extraordinary measures,” Puig said in a televised address on Tuesday.

“We have a few terrible weeks left ahead of us and now is not the time to lower our guard and relax,” he warned. “We must avoid social contact as much as possible.”

To examine the epidemological situation for each municipalitiy as well as discovering which zones are confined, use the interactive map provided by Valencia's Generalitat.

Puig called for the curfew across the region to be brought forward to 8pm, a move that has been requested by other regions in Spain but that was initially rejected by Spain’s government because it didn’t fall into parameters set within the current State of Alarm.

Under nationwide rules, regions have the authority to choose to set the curfew within anestablished window of 10pm to midnight and 5am to 7am.

The region of Castilla y León has unilaterally declared that the curfew begins at 8pm, and Murcia has requested the same.

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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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