MADRID – Spain’s strategy to curb a rise in coronavirus infections “is working”, said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez yesterday as he unveiled details of a plan to vaccinate much of the population next year.
The country has recorded fewer than 400 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days, compared with nearly 530 at the start of the month, he told a news conference after a two-day online summit of G20 leaders.
This is proof that the declaration of a state of emergency last month, which allowed regional governments to impose virus restrictions, such as night-time curfews and limitations on inter-regional travel, is having an effect, he said.
“The strategy is working,” he said, adding that Spain has managed to reduce infections without imposing a second lockdown as has been done in several other European nations.
Sanchez on Friday announced ambitious plans to vaccinate “a very substantial part” of the country’s population of 47 million by mid-2021.
Yesterday, he said the campaign will start in January and involve 13,000 vaccination points nationwide.
The prime minister recalled that 14 million people received the flu shot in just eight weeks this year, compared with 10 million last year.
“The capacity which our national health service has to vaccinate in a short amount of time is frankly outstanding and gives us confidence that we can achieve this ambitious goal.
“We still have very difficult months ahead, but the road map has been drawn up.”
More details of the plan, which has been in development since September, will be unveiled after it is approved at tomorrow’s weekly cabinet meeting, he said.
Spain has been badly hit by the pandemic, suffering more than 1.5 million confirmed infections – the European Union’s second-highest number after France.
The virus has also claimed 42,619 lives in Spain, the fourth-highest toll after the UK, Italy and France. – AFP, November 23, 2020
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