Jul 29, 2020
To illustrate what I was saying about Spain yesterday. I do think there is reason to be concerned.
I also think it’s a good illustration of what went wrong in the UK.
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To illustrate what I was saying about Spain yesterday. I do think there is reason to be concerned.
I also think it’s a good illustration of what went wrong in the UK.
Quarantined Italians record messages for "themself from 10 days ago" dur...
A quick note on Spain and Quarantine. This is a very UK centric post, so if you’re reading this from Spain especially, then apologies, and I hope you are able to get things under control as soon as possible.
I have seen a few posts on social media comparing the UK Covid-19 death rate and the Spanish Covid-19 death rate, and using this as a justification against quarantine for people returning from Spain.
But this is stupid. Covid-19 is not something that in general will kill you quickly. People don’t tend to die of Covid-19 until at least 4-6 weeks after catching it, and in many cases longer.
4-6 weeks ago, Spain was in a much better position than us. During the month of July, for some reason that has changed (you can blame British tourists, if you like). Spain is now, arguably, in the start of a second wave. You can query our own case numbers in the UK, but there has definitely been a spike in cases in Spain. There are possibly worrying signs in France and Germany too, but they haven’t seen a jump from <400 new cases a day
And we know, from the first wave, that not everyone who is ill will get tested straight away, and some people may only be mildly ill or asymptomatic. If cases are increasing rapidly, it is really likely there are a lot more undetected cases in the wider population.
I actually think the decision to introduce a quarantine period for returning travellers was sensible, and the decision to do it quickly was also good. It might have economic motivations too, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right decision.
We don’t fully have things under control here. Spain did a much better job initially, and in early June was in a great place compared to the UK. But the fact that we are still finding 500+ new cases a day is all the more reason to not let returning travellers increase the spread of the virus!
But just so you don’t think I haven’t completely lost my mind, here is what the government is getting wrong. They are saying people who are quarantining on return don’t need to be paid, and not offering them any job security. This hugely incentivizes people to lie/break quarantine, especially if their employers encourage them to (and you know some will). We need to make it easy for people to stay at home- the best way to do that is to pay them!
That said, honestly, nobody needs a holiday- the last thing we all should be doing is travelling around and reintroducing Covid-19 to areas where it currently isn’t present. And yes, I do blame the government for giving people the impression that life is normal and travel is safe. But equally, this is one area where I do think people could/should actually take a bit of collective responsibility too. I do think it’s a bit different to lying in a park or even going to a party.
Spain's Coronavirus Death Count Crosses 50,000-Mark, Says Health Ministry
Spain’s Coronavirus Death Count Crosses 50,000-Mark, Says Health Ministry
Spain has the fourth highest death count in western Europe after Italy. (File) Madrid: The number of deaths in Spain caused by the new coronavirus topped 50,000 on Friday, according to an official health ministry count. The country recorded 24,462 new confirmed Covid-19 infections, and 298 fatalities, since the ministry’s last tally was published on Thursday, bringing Spain’s totals to 1,879,413…
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Spain Confirms Four Cases Of British Coronavirus Variant
Spain Confirms Four Cases Of British Coronavirus Variant
There are another three suspected cases of the coronavirus variant, officials said. Madrid: Four cases of a coronavirus variant believed to be particularly infectious that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in Madrid, the regional government said Saturday, the first cases detected in Spain. All four cases involved people who recently arrived from the UK, the Madrid regional…
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