Italy was for many days the main reference for Spain in terms of data on infections and deaths from coronavirus. The European country was the first to be hit by the pandemic when, overnight, they detected dozens of cases. At that moment all the alarms went off because, although no one knew it yet, the virus had circulated in the country (and in Europe) since probably the entire month of January. Every day we kept an eye on Italy because, in practice, Spain was only a week or two late.
Experience showed, especially in the first weeks of April, that the curves were indeed similar, despite the fact that Spain’s climbed faster. Later, in the middle of the de-escalation, Spain registered better data on daily infections, perhaps this is what led to opening the borders earlier than expected, that is, June 21 before July 1. However, the curves remained more or less the same throughout June, as notified by the European Center for Infectious Disease Prevention (CDC) and collected by ‘Our World in Data’.
As of July 5 – before the two countries walked with similar rhythms – the curve of Spain is triggered. So much so that in almost a month some 38,000 new positives have been registered, while in Italy barely 5,000 new cases have been reported. This a priori does not have to be problematic; We already know that now there are more tests, more contacts and also the outbreaks are very concentrated. In fact, Fernando Simón himself has already explained why the data for now should not be compared with those of March, despite the fact that they are bad and there is community transmission at some points.
Still, the data for Italy is surprising. It is a country with social characteristics very similar to those of Spain, which previously opened its borders to tourism and which has had a very severe impact from the pandemic. Experts don’t give an unknown reason: contact tracing and compliance with sanitary measures. When Italy began to lift the restrictions, the country registered more than 1,000 infections a day, on July 23 there was again a ‘peak’ of 306 cases, but since then it has remained below 300.
Walter Ricciardi, the Italian ‘Fernando Simón’ and in charge of managing the pandemic in this country, assured in statements to the newspaper ‘The Guardian’ that they simply “have been attentive”, they have not opened schools like in France, they have made an effective search of contacts and they have controlled the outbreaks so that they do not “leave” very specific places. The formula seems simple. It is the doctor himself who also assures that Italy is one of the “most compliant” countries of social and health measures, that is, the mandatory use of masks. In some regions non-compliance carries severe fines of up to 1,000 euros.
But there is another thing that may have contributed to, for example the outbreaks, having had a very effective and fast control: the state of emergency. Giuseppe Conte decided to extend this legal instrument until October 15, which allows the central government to carry out selective confinements very quickly and without further discussion. The configuration of our country, with a state of the autonomies in charge of managing the new normality, means that the confinements have to be more judicial than political. Or simple recommendations.
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