Date Published: 28/02/2020
ARCHIVED - Coronavirus cases double in Spain with 25 in hospital
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
One woman in Madrid is reported to be in serious condition
The latest data available on Friday morning reveal that the number of people currently in isolated care in Spanish hospitals after testing positive for the coronavirus rose has risen from 12 to 25 since early on Thursday after numerous new cases were detected, many of them in the province of Valencia where the infection is believed to have been contracted while football fans travelled to northern Italy last week to watch the match between Atalanta and Valencia CF.
Most worrying, though, is the only case reported in Sevilla and two of the four in Madrid, due to the patients apparently having been infected while in Spain rather than during trips abroad, and one of those in hospital in the capital city, a 77-year-old woman, is reported to be in serious condition. In geographical terms 7 of those currently in hospital are in the province of Valencia, 1 in Castellón, 3 in Barcelona, 5 in Madrid, 4 in Tenerife and 1 each in La Gomera (also in the Canaries), Sevilla, Segovia, Aragón and Valladolid, while the two people who first tested positive a couple of weeks ago in Palma de Mallorca and La Gomera have made full recoveries.
The most recent cases are reported in Madrid and Aragón on Friday morning although second confirmatory tests have yet to be carried out.
In this context, and with experts forecasting a significant rise over the next few days both in the number of cases confirmed and in the spread of the virus across Spain, the authorities at national and regional levels are beginning to contemplate further-reaching measures to contain Covid-19. These could include restrictions being placed on large sporting and entertainment events, although at present the country remains on the lowest of the three alert levels for epidemics, that of “containment”.
What this has entailed so far is the universal testing of patients admitted to hospital with pneumonia to check whether they are affected by the coronavirus and the strenuous efforts to trace, test and, if necessary, isolate all of those who have come into contact with patients who test positive. In Sevilla, for example, 69 health professionals who had dealings with the patient have been tested, but until there are sufficient grounds for raising the alert to higher levels the message from the health authorities is one of calm caution.
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