Spain's Coronavirus Situation ‘Critical'

BARCELONA (AFP) – Just seven weeks after bringing its first coronavirus wave under control, experts say Spain is once again in a “critical” situation with the worst infection rate in western Europe.

The country reported an average of 4,923 new daily cases of the respiratory disease during the last seven days, a higher amount than that of Britain, France, Germany and Italy combined, according to a tally based on official figures.

Spain counts 95 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 24 in France, 17 in Britain, 13 in Germany and just eight in Italy, the first country outside China to be hit hard by the pandemic.

The spike has led a growing list of countries to impose restrictions on travel to Spain, which has nearly 323,000 confirmed cases of the disease, the highest number in western Europe and 11th highest in the world.

“It’s a critical moment, we are right at a point where things can get better or worse,” said Salvador Macip, an expert in health sciences at Catalonia’s Open University who has written a book called “The Great Modern Plagues.”