WHO: Isolated outbreaks were expected but they must be prevented from getting worse
13 July 2020
Spanish specialists publish a study of pregnant women with Covid-19 that does not estimate transmission to the baby
13 July 2020
In his speech at the closing of the 29th Summer School of Social Cohesion, Citizenship and Well-being of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Illa stressed that, until a vaccine or treatment arrives, the population must get used to living with the virus "without fear but with respect."
The Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, predicted this Friday that at some point next year, "most likely in the second quarter", one or more vaccines against the coronavirus will be available "with sufficient guarantee and quality to be administered to the population".
The minister has pointed out that these deadlines could be delayed "or also advanced if the processes go well", but he has placed the time horizon in the spring of 2021 and has assured that the countries of the European Union are coordinating to negotiate jointly and equitably distribute the vaccines.
In his speech at the closing of the 29th Summer School of Social Cohesion, Citizenship and Well-being of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Illa stressed that, until a vaccine or treatment arrives, the population must get used to living with the virus "without fear but with respect." "There are outbreaks and there will continue to be them," insisted the minister, who has emphasized the need to detect them early and act quickly to control them. "As long as we do not have a vaccine or treatment, there will be outbreaks. If we are able to act quickly, we should not worry too much," he stressed.
In addition to speed, a factor that has improved since the beginning of the pandemic, since now the time period between symptoms appearing and the result being notified ranges between 1 and 3 days, while before it took between 10 and 12, The minister has stressed the importance of acting "forcefully" to contain the outbreaks.
"If necessary, confining, as has been done in Segrià (Lleida) or in the health district of A Mariña (Lugo), or restricting permitted activities, as was done in the four regions of Aragon adjacent to Lleida," he said. pointed.
Citing the latest available data, Illa has pointed out that, since the end of the state of alarm, in Spain there have been 146 outbreaks with 2.823 infected, of which 97 are active, with 1.972 cases.
Regarding the latest data on healthcare pressure, he highlighted that while at the peak of the pandemic 47.036 hospitalized patients were registered, more than 5.700 of them in the ICU, there are now 1.011 people hospitalized, of which 139 are in intensive care.
"There has been a very significant drop in pressure in the health system. This has worked because of the confinement, which in our case was strict," said Illa, who insisted that home quarantine has proven to be "the only weapon." that has worked" to control the virus.
The minister recalled that in Spain the confinement was tightened "to avoid the collapse of the ICUs. An objective that was achieved, although there were days of hospital saturation, almost reaching the maximum, especially in Madrid and Barcelona."
Regarding the lessons learned, Illa has stressed the importance of having a public, universal and free health system - "you just have to look at how countries that do not have it are dealing with it," he pointed out - and added: "We must take advantage of what has happened to revalue it and provide it with the necessary resources."
He has recognized that the pandemic has been "a lesson in humility" for all the countries that thought they could control it and has advocated strengthening international multilateral organizations, such as the World Health Organization or the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention: "You cannot combat a global pandemic from the perspective of a single country. Either we all solve it or it is not solved."
