Some will say that the archive exposes the shame of everyone in this pandemic. But the reality is that it does not expose everyone equally, far from it. Today we think it is worth re-reading this article which we published 12 months ago, specifically on 5 March 2020. In it, you will see how some of us were already warning of the seriousness of what was coming, while our politicians continued with the mantra that the coronavirus was like normal flu but kills less. The most outrageous thing is that this disinformation did not only come from ignorant half-baked politicians, but from people like the very Minister of Finance and Government Spokesperson, Maria Jesús Montero. And with the aggravating factor that this lady was (and is) not only a double minister but also a doctor and surgeon, with a long history of hospitals under her direction such as the Virgen de Valme University Hospital or the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital. Or, for example, what was said at the time by the very popular and tireless Fernando Simón, a medical epidemiologist no less, who told us that masks did not protect us in any way and that we should not use them because people would make fun of us.
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Given their medical training, we can hardly think that these reckless words of our leaders were the result of ignorance, but obviously of bad faith. As we ourselves have shown in this article, one did not need to be a doctor to see the pandemic coming at the beginning of 2020. Mere common sense and the information published by analysts and prestigious foreign epidemiologists was available to anyone who wanted to be informed beyond our TV news. It is worth re-reading this article from a year ago to recall the shameful statements made by the Spanish authorities. Because not all of us were living in the dark at the time, some of us were unequivocally warning of the seriousness of the situation and of the risk of not even having an economic recovery in the form of a U in Spain if we did not take immediate drastic measures. Rereading it a year later, with more than 100,000 The Spanish dead (68,000 according to official figures), is not to be sniffed at:
«The lies of the Spanish government and health authorities regarding the coronavirus.» (5 March 2020)
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It is regrettable to see the differences in the handling of the emergency situation in the coronavirus pandemic between different countries around the world. But what is worrying is the attitude of the Spanish political and health authorities in the face of this crisis, as they strive time and again to distort the facts and data in order to minimise its stark reality. A mixture of cowardice and misunderstood paternalism that justifies, in the eyes of some, the absence of courageous decisions. The Spanish authorities' determination to deceive the public stands in sad contrast to the realistic and serious warnings of other governments and global health organisations.
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The Minister Spokesperson of the Government, Maria Jesús Montero, has declared in different media, and without any blushes, that Covid-19 is nothing more than a “...a new and unacceptable project".“new flu, similar to normal flu and with an even lower mortality rate than normal flu”.” (for example in minute 10 of the following interview with him on RAC1 last week).
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The unfortunate reality is that the lethality of this virus is much higher than that of seasonal flu. And any well-informed scientist, whose rigour is not contaminated by the political slogans of the government, will admit statistical figures of around 3 or 4 deaths per 100 infected. Some Spanish authorities use mortality figures for normal 2% flu, but for hospital admissions and not for those infected, thus inflating the mortality rate and making it incomparable with that of Covid-19. On the other hand, also maliciously, they proclaim that the mortality of the coronavirus is 0.7%, taking the death figures for those infected just at the beginning of the epidemic in Europe, which means that the sick who are going to die have not yet done so. To further embarrass the minister, here is the official comparison between the mortality rate of the common flu and the US CDC's Covid-19:
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The most statistically reliable figures are found in China, where there are more and older cases of coronavirus. And those figures are now in the 3,75% mortality3012 deaths out of 80409 infected. Unfortunately, a fraction of those infected today will also die, while the number of new infections is already declining, so that this percentage is also tending to increase by about 0.04% per day, as it has done in the last few days. In other words, if the official figures in China are to be believed, mortality is indeed frighteningly close to 4%. And if we don't believe the official figures (I personally do) and think that the Chinese government is making up the mortality, then that's the end of the story. You can follow the daily evolution of the official figures in China at this page from Wikipedia, and the official figures for the rest of the world at this one.
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However, some news which many people dismiss as being tremendist, infodemic or fake news, are in line with what is published in the majority of the world's media. international media with up-to-the-minute timelines of any new developments regarding the coronavirus,and spare no means or adjectives to keep the people of their respective countries on alert and on the lookout for health emergency. Because this state of alert and emergency does indeed punish the economy in the short term, but it saves lives. Thus, countries such as the US, where the spread of the virus is currently still proportionally lower than in Spain, are giving unequivocal instructions to their citizens to be prepared for imminent confinement o emergency situation This is because, mortality rate aside, what is clear is that this coronavirus is highly contagious, and its spread across the planet is unstoppable. Mortality rates aside, what is very clear is that this coronavirus is highly contagious, and its spread across the planet is unstoppable. That is why responsible governments are alerting and preparing their citizens for a massive infection. According to the calculations of Harvard Professor of Epidemiology Marc Lipsitch, Between 20 and 60% of the world's population will be infected by the coronavirus if we do not take drastic measures as China has done and/or an effective and viable drug does not emerge for everyone. And pending such a drug, our only option is to slow the pandemic. That means, even with optimistic mortality rates, millions and millions of deaths across the planet, at a brutal cost at all levels. What a contrast with the happy flowers statements of our ministers and health spokespersons who continue to talk about “new flu that kills less than normal flu”, right?
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It is undeniable that a realistic warning about what is coming makes the population radically modify its usual activity, and with it consumption, productivity and therefore the economy plummets, as has happened in China. But courageous (albeit belated) measures, such as those taken and implemented with martial rigour by Xi Jinping, will save his country's economy in the medium and long term. Because an uncontrolled epidemic, with the mortality rate that this coronavirus entails, would have a far greater impact on the economy in the medium term than the short-term slump. Economically we could see a V-shaped economic downturn and recovery, but without bold measures by the already growth-anemic developed economies, we in the West will not even see a U-shaped recovery.
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In Italy, the epidemic is just a few weeks ahead of us, and yesterday the decision was taken,The government's decision to close all schools and universities in the country, albeit belatedly, was a belated one. In Spain, on the other hand, despite recognise at least 3 infections in children school-age children, the closure of schools is not (yet) being considered. Not only that, but in one case it was the mother who insisted time and time again that her daughter be tested for the coronavirus, while the health authorities kept telling her to find a family member (as both parents had to stay at home because they were infected) to take her to school normally! What a botched job we are doing on such a serious issue in which we all have so much at stake! Because the fact that the vast majority of children and young people overcome the infection with mild or even asymptomatic symptoms does not in any way prevent these children and young people from infecting their parents, grandparents and teachers. These are all groups that will suffer serious consequences and whose mortality is very high, as we have seen above. Moreover, it is absurd to try to contain the epidemic by keeping infected parents at home and letting their children, who are also infected but many of them do not know it, move freely in the streets, buses and other environments with which they usually interact.
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Another example: In Spain, the authorities have gone out of their way to emphasise that the existing infections were not from the EU (local infections) but imported, from Italy, China, etc. They insistently stressed that this was a very important detail, trying to convince the population that Spain was in a perfectly controlled situation since our infections were all imported, ignoring the fact that it is only a matter of time before there are, as there have been, community infections in Spain. However, when faced with infections whose origin is not imported, the Spanish authorities still describe them as of “unknown origin”, without yet recognising that they are already Community infections, i.e. local.
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On the other hand, in the United Kingdom, despite having fewer people infected than in Spain today, there are already clearly warn The population should be made aware that community infections are an imminent reality and that the population needs to be aware of this in order to be better prepared.
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Even in the American universities clearly warns that if students take advantage of spring break (similar to Easter holidays in Spain) to leave the country or visit areas with a high incidence of the virus, they will have problems to be readmitted back, unless they stay in the country for the rest of the year. two-week quarantine in a suitable location before returning to their rooms on campus. Just like here...
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The situation is very serious, because unless a medication emerges within a few days that drastically reduces mortality and is feasible for mass administration, what is happening in Italy will only be the tip of the iceberg in the rest of Europe. And neither the health services (already overstretched in Italy) nor the logistics of essential supplies will be able to cope with a massive contagion. That is why it is vital to take courageous measures of blockade and isolation as China has done, even if it means a short-term economic collapse. However, the first decision the EU took was to take the option of closing intra-European borders off the table, thus paving the way for the free movement of Europeans and Covid-19 from Lisbon to Berlin. Yes, those same intra-European borders they did not hesitate to close instead, unilaterally suspending the agreement on Schengen, The refugees were arriving by the millions in the heart of Germany.
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The paradox that China will now face is that it will have to continue to close its borders (to people, not goods) to prevent, once its domestic epidemic is under control, the virus from infecting them again, now coming from countries like the Europeans where the infection will be out of control due to late and cowardly political decisions. This is why we will see the recovery of the courageous Asian giant sooner than that of the old and cowardly Europe, which represents an extraordinary investment opportunity, as we have already advanced in “Realistic coronavirus figures and the opportunities of an unfortunate crisis“. China begins its path back to business. And it does so having acquired a priceless technological know-how to handle the next health crises, as we can read in this WeekInChina article.
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In short, the handling of information and alerts to the public say a lot about each country. And unfortunately in Spain we have authorities who are more concerned with bread for today than with deaths and hunger for tomorrow. They focus the State's communication efforts on keeping the population in the dark, who consequently live without any foresight in the face of a health emergency, i.e. without stockpiling food and medicines or any family or personal contingency plan whatsoever. Even the Director of the Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Centre, Fernando Simon, has gone so far as to say that wearing a mask in the street is counterproductive because people would laugh at us or think we are infected, insisting over and over again that masks do not protect us from infection in any way.. And then admitting with a small mouth that if the population buys masks, health professionals will not have enough, showing that they are an efficient and necessary element of protection. Let us remember that in countries such as China they are compulsory masks for the entire population in risk areas and punish those who go out on the streets without them. Other governments, such as the French or German directly confiscate or prohibit the export of facemasks so that their health professionals can have them, without treating their citizens as imbeciles by telling them that they are no protection against infection and that they will make fools of themselves if they put one on.
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It is true that some young and healthy readers may dismiss this article as being tremendist, but they should bear in mind that although they would overcome the infection with hardly any symptoms, they would probably fatally infect other less healthy and younger people in their family and professional environment, or simply strangers with whom they share, for example, a simple public transport. In the end, it is better to continue informing ourselves in international media and preparing ourselves for the worst, while we cross our fingers that we will soon have a medication available to everyone that will reduce the real mortality rate to the levels of a simple flu.
So much for what we wrote a year ago. Tremendous, isn't it?
Another example: In Spain, the authorities have gone out of their way to emphasise that the existing infections were not from the EU (local infections) but imported, from Italy, China, etc. They insistently stressed that this was a very important detail, trying to convince the population that Spain was in a perfectly controlled situation since our infections were all imported, ignoring the fact that it is only a matter of time before there are, as there have been, community infections in Spain. However, when faced with infections whose origin is not imported, the Spanish authorities still describe them as of “unknown origin”, without yet recognising that they are already Community infections, i.e. local.
Another example: In Spain, the authorities have gone out of their way to emphasise that the existing infections were not from the EU (local infections) but imported, from Italy, China, etc. They insistently stressed that this was a very important detail, trying to convince the population that Spain was in a perfectly controlled situation since our infections were all imported, ignoring the fact that it is only a matter of time before there are, as there have been, community infections in Spain. However, when faced with infections whose origin is not imported, the Spanish authorities still describe them as of “unknown origin”, without yet recognising that they are already Community infections, i.e. local.