ARCHIVED - 5-month-old baby is the second coronavirus case in Murcia

The parents of the infant are awaiting test results after a recent family trip to Madrid

After holding out as the only region of Spain with no confirmed cases of the coronavirus until the weekend, the Region of Murcia now has two patients in hospital in the Virgen de La Arrixaca hospital following positive diagnoses, the second of them being a 5-month-old baby who parents are also being monitored.

The baby’s symptoms are described as being no more than mild and it is reported that the family recently returned from a trip to Madrid, where it is being supposed that the transmission of the virus occurred. This has also been established as the way in which the first victim in Murcia contracted SARS-CoV-2: the 27-year-old woman travelled to the capital of Spain to attend the ARCO contemporary art festival, although it is not known whether she did so on a coach trip from Murcia to Madrid for the event or whether she travelled independently. Certainly there were coaches running from the region to attend this important contemporary arts fair.

Details about the patient are minimal, mainly to protect her identity, although it is known that she is from an outlying district of the Murcia city municipality, specifically La Churra. 

So, during the weekend two cases of the coronavirus have come to light in Murcia, but the reaction of the regional government in terms of specific measures to halt the spread of the virus has been minimal, the official line being that in real terms little has changed: all of the protocols considered necessary in the current circumstances are already activated, people suspecting that they might be affected are urged to call the 112 emergencies line or the special free helpline which has been set up to deal with the epidemic in Murcia (900 121212) rather than risk spreading infection by going directly to hospitals and medical centres, and schools, centres for the elderly and other institutions remain open for business as usual.

On the other hand, events such as trade fairs and medical congresses have been cancelled or postponed on the recommendation of the national and regional governments,

Meanwhile, the latest regional breakdown of the cases confirmed in Spain since 31^st January, as the number of infections in Spain rises towards 700, is as follows:

Madrid – 202 (8 deaths)

Basque Country – 102 (5 deaths)

Catalunya – 78 (1 death)

La Rioja – 70

Comunidad Valenciana – 42 (1 death)

Andalucía - 35

Castilla y León – 30

Canary Islands - 17

Aragón – 17 (1 death)

Castilla-La Mancha - 15

Cantabria – 12

Asturias – 10

Extremadura - 6

Balearics - 8

Navarra - 3

Galicia – 5

Murcia - 2

All of the 17 fatalities reported to date in Spain so far have been elderly people and the national government is considering introducing special protocols for residences for the third age across the nation as a result: limited measures are already in place in the region of Madrid. At the same time, on Monday morning the authorities in the Basque Country have announced the closure of two primary schools in Labastida, in the province of Álava, where 79 cases have already been reported. Labastida is just 6 kilometres from the town of Haro in La Rioja, where one of the most virulent outbreaks so far in Spain has occurred.

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