The Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, has said that the large increase in COVID-19 cases that Spain has experienced in recent weeks is due “in part” to the “good detection system” that is in place across the autonomous communities.
At a press conference on Thursday following the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS) focused on going back to school, the minister said that “what is happening in Spain is in line with neighbouring countries” such as Germany or France.
“We are not in the situation that we had back in March,” he pointed out. According to Illa, the rise in cases has been produced by an “increase in mobility” and, in addition, by the intensive detection of new cases. “In part it is due to the good detection system we have. Some days we are carrying out 85,000 PCRs per day, while a month and a half ago we were at around 40,000”, he said.
“In a first phase, the outbreaks were closely linked to fruit and vegetable work and meat companies. We saw that a second outbreak was linked to nightlife and we took measures to close it down. Another focus is the family environment, and it is important that the measures we have introduced are respected”.
The minister insisted that “if things are done as they should be, contagions will be controlled, as has happened in Aragon”, he said.
“Rather than introducing new measures, we must respect those that are already underway. If they are well followed, we guarantee that there will be fewer outbreaks. The really important thing is to comply with the measures taken by the CCAA”, the minister confirmed, reminding the public of the importance of “following the recommendations of the health authorities.”
