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In Spain, a plan to switch to a different corona approach, one that is in line with that for the flu, is being finalized. That switch will not happen “before the end of the current wave of contamination”, writes The country.
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Eline Debie
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Like the rest of Europe, Spain is in the midst of an omikron wave. It is the sixth wave since the start of the crisis, but restrictions in the country are much less strict than before. According to Prime Minister Sánchez, this is logical, because during the first corona wave the death rate was still 13 percent, while it is now only 1 percent.
The country is therefore preparing to consider corona no longer as a pandemic, but as an endemic disease after two years. In the summer of 2020, a start was made on elaborating a plan to switch to a new approach. That’s pretty much on the table now.
Just like the flu
In this new phase, corona is considered a disease, like the flu. Instead of doing a daily count and report of the number of corona cases, because this is not tenable, the figures of a number of GP posts and hospitals would serve as a sample. Extrapolating their numbers monitors the spread of the disease, just like the flu.
“Due to the high infectivity of the omikron variant, it has become almost impossible to follow current protocols,” said Amparo Larrauri of the Centro Nacional de Epidemiología. As a result, just like in our country, the rules in Spain regarding high-risk contacts have already been relaxed. “Keeping that new reality in mind, we are moving from a universal surveillance phase to a surveillance phase.”
Be carefull
The plan is almost ready. Pilot projects in primary care have already been started in five autonomous communities, and pilot projects in hospitals are already underway in nine communities. “But we have to be careful, do it little by little,” said Prime Minister Sánchez. The new approach would be introduced “not before the end of the current wave of contamination”. Sánchez hopes that it will reach its peak soon. “It is also something we need to discuss with the whole of Europe. Our health minister has already informed her colleagues of our plans.”
According to Adolfo García-Sastre, director of the Global Health & Emerging Pathogens Institut, it is likely that the virus will start to behave more like a flu after this wave. “It looks like the virus is reaching an equilibrium, as happened with the flu virus.” The virologist would currently monitor the infections closely, especially to know when they fall, but then the strict approach that has been maintained for two years could then be released.
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