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The more depopulated, the easier it is for the entire neighborhood to be vaccinated. That is the ironic consequence that is being experienced in a palpable way in the part of “emptied Spain” that corresponds to the province of Guadalajara.
Until recently, the only herds that could be of concern in those municipalities were those of sheep, mainly due to the lack of shepherds that has been suffered for decades. If there is still a win. Now what is being talked about in some conversations is “herd immunity.” They can do it in towns as small as Castilforte, Alique or Tabladillo. They are just three examples, but they illustrate this paradoxical reality.
Almost all the census population are older than they have already received the full dose of vaccination; This means that most of them breathe much calmer, although without lowering their guard.
The daily news is every day less encouraging, everyone overwhelmed by the fifth wave and, although the virus continues to pass by in these small municipalities of La Alcarria, there is still a lot of respect and prudence so that it does not reach homes. Zeal is special for octogenarians, nonagenarians and even centenarians, which there are and who try to keep their distance with the vacationers who arrive these months to spend the summer season.
No-parties in Castilforte
This year there will not be dance-vermouth, nor brass band, nor children’s games, nor popular verbena in the August festivities in Castilforte. Only one open-air concert is planned and with all the security measures required by this pandemic. The barely fifty inhabitants who reside in the town in winter have turned into about 250 this summer and “you have to be careful and be very prudent, especially since there are older people,” says its mayor, Juan Antonio Embid.
In Castilforte they have handled the pandemic well because no case has been registered, as neither in Tabladillo nor Alique. “We are a very small town and security measures are carried out in a different way,” says Embid, alluding precisely to the fact that they have an easier time doing without the mask because there are times when “one cannot find a soul on the street,” he points out. another neighbor.
But neither this summer some grandparents will see their grandchildren, because the vaccine does not give one hundred percent guarantees and there is still fear of infection despite the fact that the entire town is vaccinated.
Ana and «La Bartola»
Ana Embid is the owner of the rural house ‘La Bartola’. Your business has been hit hard by the pandemic. They had to close and after opening it, the tourists who arrive do not meet with the people, he says.
Ana is very clear that if there has not been a single case in Castilforte, it is because “great care is taken for the elderly.”
“In this town there has not been a single case of COVID, but although we are all vaccinated, there is still a little bit of fear. It’s strange but I think some were calmer before getting vaccinated, “says Tanya Georgieva, who has run the only bar in town for five years, which has been reopened after months of closure.
Tanya admits that even though they all know each other, the oldest ones barely go to the bar now. “They do it for health,” he says.
“With this pandemic, lifelong friends and families have distanced themselves,” says María Divina.
Quieter than in Madrid
“We are few and we get along well. There is no fear here because we are like a big family, ”says Julián Andrés, who at 87 tells us that he has never experienced such a thing. “I do not know the result that this will have, but it is what it is,” he tenderly asserts.
At 84, Manuel Embid feels calmer and more comfortable in town than in Madrid, where he spends the winters. «There is no more peace of mind. They bring us bread every two days and I’m fine, “he says shortly before going to the garden, where he spends much of his time.
For Juan José Andrés Embid, who is teleworking in his parents’ town, the fact that all the registered residents are vaccinated “greatly relaxes and stops the fear of spreading the virus.” “The vaccine has been key,” he stresses, although, in his case, he misses the doctor going to town with a little more assiduity.
Outdoors in Tabladillo
In Tabladillo, with just 6 inhabitants in winter and about 40 now, they consider themselves a big family. The fact that all the neighbors are vaccinated makes them feel safer. At 82 years old, Flora Romero comes to the door and assures that she is very well. “I am like a flower, fucking mother, and here you are in glory,” he says. In Guadalajara he barely left home and in Tabladillo, he hardly ever enters. “Fear of what, if we are four,” he says after indicating that they sit every afternoon at the entrance of the houses although “carefully, but calm.”
Antonio Nieto and Isidro del Río are fixing the house they have in the town. “The pandemic here is experienced very differently from Madrid. We are delighted, ”says Isidro. There is no bar, no shops or any kind of business, but for Antonio “this is life.” “I feel in a small bubble with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that we are a big family.” But when people come from outside, they preserve the safety distance, always thinking of the elderly.
He also spends some seasons at Tabladillo Cleofé Fernández. At 92 years old, he lives very quietly in this small town because he is vaccinated and there are no contagion problems because there is hardly any population, he points out.
Masks and outsiders in Alique
Alique is another tiny town where herd immunity has come because all its registered neighbors are vaccinated. In their faces, despite the mask, it is perceived that they breathe much more rested. We are welcomed by the Deputy Mayor, José López. The 15 people who reside in winter have already become more than a hundred. “We are much calmer when we all have the vaccine, but we are cautious because of what we are seeing in the media.”
“When strangers come, we put on the mask. If we are from the people, it is not so necessary, because we are all family, “says Gerardo Martínez, 79 years old. Their wish is that this ends as soon as possible because now they hardly see their grandchildren. Benito Arellano does not remember times as convulsive as this from the health point of view but “here we are calm,” he says.
In all these towns, where a large part of their population is very long-lived, there is a common desire: that this ends as soon as possible and that they be able to reunite with their families without anxiety and fear.
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