Catalonia's first month coping with coronavirus crisis

On February 25, the health department officially announced the first coronavirus case in Catalonia. A month later, the number of people diagnosed with covid-19 has risen to almost 10,000, while over 500 people have died on account of the disease.

Just four weeks ago, people could come and go as they wished, football matches and other sports events were still going on, the music festival season was about to start, classrooms were full every day, and the tourist sector was preparing for the Easter holidays.

Today, all the schools and universities are closed, people are confined to their homes and only allowed out for essential reasons, such as to shop or visit the doctor or pharmacy. At the same time, large gatherings are banned, and the health system is at bursting point.

It may seem a lifetime ago, but the World Health Organization (WHO) only declared the coronavirus pandemic two weeks ago, on March 11, while the Spanish government declared the state of alarm on March 14, with Wednesday seeing that extended for another 15 days.

First confirmed coronavirus case

The first confirmed coronavirus case in Catalonia was a woman who had been in northern Italy. While the original outbreak had been in December in China, Italy became the main focus for the disease in Europe, imposing its first travel restrictions also a month ago.

A second case was announced the next day, on February 26, with a slow but steady stream of cases appearing each day, which were most often traced back to some form of contact with Italy. By March 3, the number had risen to 18, but the day after it jumped to 28.

A few days later came the announcement that everyone had been expecting but dreading: the first death caused by covid-19. On March 6, an 87-year-old woman with previous health problems died, becoming the first victim of the coronavirus epidemic in Catalonia. 

Number of confirmed cases goes over 100

Three days after that, on March 9, another landmark moment came in the development of the epidemic when the number of cases went above 100, with three deaths and 25 health professionals in isolation due to their contact with infected patients.

In fact, it was to be a key week in the ongoing health crisis, as not only did the WHO declare a pandemic on the Wednesday, but on the same day, March 11, the Catalan authorities announced the first restrictions, by banning large public gatherings.

More was to come, and on Friday March 13, the Catalan government ordered the closure of businesses not serving essential needs, such as gyms, bars and restaurants, while 1.8 million students stopped attending classes as schools and universities were closed.

First week under state of alarm

The following week began with Spain under a state of alarm, and with 903 confirmed covid-19 cases in Catalonia and 12 people dead from the disease. Yet, Monday 16 also saw the launch of the first clinical trial to treat the disease, with results promised in 21 days. 

With the state of alarm underway, the first week of restrictions saw streets empty as people stayed at home. Police in Spain also began enforcing the restrictions, and by Tuesday had arrested 926 people and charged another 102,000 for breaking the confinement for the whole of Spain.

With the number of cases continuing to rise, last week saw the first private health centers coming under the control of the health authorities, while retired doctors and newly graduated medical students were encouraged to join the fight against the virus. 

Also last week, the first hotel opened to house coronavirus patients with mild symptoms, while the health department launched an app to monitor possible covid-19 symptoms, and a project got underway to manufacture up to 100 respirators a day with 3D printers.

Available beds to treble over next two weeks

This week began with the authorities predicting another "three or four weeks" of "very tense" situations for the health system, as well as a pledge to double the number of beds in emergency rooms during the week, and then treble them the week after.

During much of this time, four towns in the area of central Catalonia including Igualada have been sealed off in an effort to contain a particularly intense coronavirus outbreak. Igualada was locked down on March 13 and so far has seen 306 confirmed cases and 41 deaths.

Spike leading to Spain surpassing China in death toll

The most recent figures for the whole of Catalonia show a spike of 2,073 new cases on Tuesday, taking the total to 9,937, with 177 deaths raising the number of fatalities to 516. Since the start of the pandemic, 1,274 people have officially recovered from covid-19.

In Spain as a whole, the most recent figures released on Wednesday put the number of confirmed cases at 47,610, with the number of deaths going up by 738 in the previous 24 hours to 3,434, more than the number of deaths due to the disease registered in China.