In the middle of Spain's Puríssima holiday weekend, and with under three weeks till Christmas, there is concern among Spanish authorities about public awareness of the need to keep up safety measures to prevent Covid-19 infections during the holidays. Overall, in the Spanish state, the epidemiological situation is improving slightly - it has stabilized in Catalonia - but it's still an unknown quantity what it will be like by the time Christmas arrives. Health minister Salvador Illa has called for responsibility from the public in complying with the measures adopted in the run-up to the holidays, which he admits are very restrictive: "We can't put a policeman in every home," he said.
The minister made the comments while presenting the government's Covid publicity campaign for Christmas on Monday, with the slogan "The best gift is to look after one another". Illa called for caution among the public and reiterated the need to maintain safety measures, even more so during gatherings for Christmas festivities.
The Spanish government's festive season Covid spot: "The best gift this Christmas is to look after one another"
More infections at family level
Illa recalled that most infections occur in the social and family spheres: when we are "more relaxed, we feel safer", he said, affirming that it is when sharing meals without masks that there is the greatest risk of transmission. The health ministry recalls that at Christmas meals it is necessary to maintain distances, wear a mask while you are not eating, avoid sharing dishes, gather in cohabitation groups (that is, households) and avoid contact with others if you have any symptoms, are waiting for a test or have been in contact with someone who has the virus. The Catalan authorities recommend that only two cohabitation groups should come together at the same festive gathering, with a maximum of 10 people present in total.
"Our situation is far from the ideal of fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 inhabitants," insisted the Spanish minister. In Catalonia the current figure is 200 per 100,000 people, in Spain as a whole, it is 240. In view of this, Illa called for measures set down for the festivities to be complied with. Mobility is being monitored this long weekend and at Christmas the same can be expected.
The vaccine
Regarding the vaccination campaign in 2021, and the suggestions that a part of the population will refuse to be vaccinated, the minister stressed that "we will tell people the truth. Vaccines save lives and this vaccine will also save lives. It has been developed quickly because many resources have been poured into it and the testing phases have been overlapped, but this has not been at the cost of sacrificing even the smallest amount of safety”.
Tests in pharmacies
As for the tests that are now starting to be sold in Spanish pharmacies, he recalled that they only detect the presence of antibodies, so “they are not a safety guarantee at all, they are a snapshot at a single point in time and they do not exempt us from taking measures”. In relation to the request from different autonomous communities for pharmacies to be able to carry out antigen tests, he assured that this week the ministry will respond.
Main image, Spanish health minister Salvador Illa in the presentation of the anti-Covid publicity spot / Efe