ARCHIVED - 589 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Spain: Sunday morning update

Murcia has finally succumbed and has declared its first case on Sunday morning.

All regions of Spain now have confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Spanish National Ministry of Health has confirmed the official figures gathered through its central Emergencies Coordination Centre, although there is a continued discrepancy between the number of cases officially reported by the Spanish National Ministry of Health, from which the figures are drawn listed below, presented by Fernando Simón, head of the Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Centre who quoted 589 confirmed cases and the national media, who are compiling figures from the individual health authorities of the 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain.

The latest figures confirmed are:

Comunidad de Madrid 202

País Vasco; Basque Country (102)

Cataluña (49)

La Rioja (55)

La Comunidad Valenciana which includes Alicante province (37)

Andalucía (35)

Castilla y León (22)

Canary Islands (17)

Castilla-La Mancha (15)

Cantabria (12)

Aragón (13)

Asturias (7)

Balearic Islands (8)

Extremadura (6)

Galicia (5)

Navarra (3)

Murcia (1).

The Spanish health ministry maintains that the majority of the known cases in Spain relate to individuals who have returned to Spain carrying the virus after a trip abroad, cases which they denominate as "imported", for which reason they currently see no need to change the status of the virus as in a "contention phase."

The evolution in the number of cases was "as expected" according to Sr. Simón, who stated that 60% of the cases relate to three focal points, and 70% to four focal points. Containment measures had been implemented in the principal points of contagion and in the majority of identified cases there is no further transmission as all of the patients have been quarantined and work continues to identify known contacts, and place them under quarantine.

The government is reported by Fernando Simón to be considering the various options available to it, and is keen to avoid "committing important errors" by "failing to evaluate all of the information available from various sectors."

When asked by journalists whether major events such as Semana Santa and public gatherings should be cancelled to limit potential transmission to large groups, he explained that the situation is a complex one, "banning an event without closing the metro lines in Madrid would not be logical" he said.

"We can´t react when we have only a partial perception of the situation, "he said, and the government would be working in "close consultation with the health services of the autonomous communities" to make the correct decisions.

The biggest single outbreak is in La Rioja, where "exceptional measures" have been imposed following the diagnosis of 60 cases in the areas of Haro, Casalarreina and Álava. All those diagnosed had attended the same funeral in Vittoria two weeks ago. The Guardia Civíl has been called in to reinforce the compulsory quarantine of the 12,000 residents and will maintain a "discreet vigilance" to impose the quarantine of those who have been placed under compulsory isolation. Information on social media however, points to the vigilance being less than discreet and the national media report that a police chase took place after one of those infected left the house on Thursday. The new measures being enforced by the regional authorities include a minimum fine of 3,000 euros for anyone diagnosed with coronavirus and under quarantine attempting to leave their homes and break the isolation order.

Sr. Simón also called for "public responsibility" and said that the residents of Spain must act according to the instructions of their regional governments and health authorities, who were better placed to identify needs at a  local level and respond accordingly.

Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities, each of which has its own regional and local government structure and manages its own health services at a regional level.

Some communities would be implementing their own local controls, others would be better placed to isolate patients at home rather than bringing them into hospital isolation facilities and some would implement home nursing he said, all of this would be decided by the individual regional governments working in consultation with the national government.

From Monday, the health authorities would also be reporting daily on the number of recovered patients as well as the current cases, he said.

Sensible precautions

The advice being issued to members of the public by medical authorities all over the world coincides on the following points:

1. Wash hands frequently with either soap and water of a sanitiser gel
2. Catch coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues – and throw the tissues away immediately after use before immediately washing your hands!
3. If you don’t have a tissue, use your sleeve – and wash the item of clothing used at the next opportunity
4. AVOID touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
5. AVOID close contact with people who are unwell

6. Don´t panic.

Symptoms

Although over 100,000 cases have been diagnosed worldwide there is still no definitive description for the standard development of symptoms, but they seem to start with a fever and tiredness, followed by a dry cough. After a week or so these lead to shortness of breath and some patients require hospital treatment.

Muscle pain and headaches can also accompany the early symptoms, along with nasal congestion, sore throat or diarrhoea: in short, they are not at all dissimilar to those associated with flu.

These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don't feel unwell. Most people (about 80%) recover from the disease without needing special treatment. Around 1 out of every 6 people who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing, this being most likely in older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes.(WHO says that 81% will develop mild symptoms, 14% severe symptoms and only 5% will become critically ill). At the moment, between 1 and 2% are dying from the disease, but at the moment this figure is difficult to corroborate.

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