Corona “oasis”: Spain and Portugal keep pandemic in check with vaccinations

Corona “oasis”: Spain and Portugal keep pandemic in check with vaccinations

Almost everywhere in Europe, the corona numbers are skyrocketing. But there is a peninsula of the blissful: Despite full bars, restaurants and shopping streets, the situation in Spain and Portugal is relatively relaxed. What do you do better there?

While the pandemic is again causing alarm in Germany and most other European countries, the coronavirus is giving the minority government in Spain a boost. The opposition politicians who “used to shout like this are now silent”, shouted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez these days in the tourist stronghold of Benidorm. The “imminent triumph” against the pandemic was “a success of the government and the entire Spanish society,” said the socialist in front of cheering supporters “with a puffed chest,” as the media noted. He promised that “maybe in spring” the virus will be defeated for good. “

Indeed: Both Spain and its western neighbor Portugal are currently, as the Spanish newspaper “El Periódico” wrote, a corona “oasis” in Europe. The 7-day incidence has been climbing again for about a month in both countries. In Spain, for example, from the 2021 low of around 18 in mid-October to 55 most recently. In Portugal, the number was around 100. However, these values ​​are still very low compared to those in other countries. Germany recorded a high of just under 337 on Thursday. In the Netherlands it is well over 700, and in Austria the incidence is even approaching the 1000 mark.

High vaccination rate, relaxed situation in the clinics

The few serious cases on the Iberian Peninsula are more relaxing than the relatively low number of infections. The number of Covid intensive care patients in Portugal fell by five to 75 from Tuesday to Wednesday. “The situation in hospitals is very relaxed everywhere,” wrote the renowned newspaper “Público”, citing its own reporters. And in Spain, too, only 3.6 percent of all hospital beds and around 13 percent of all intensive care beds are occupied by Covid patients. 2G or compulsory vaccination are therefore not even an issue for the Iberians.

Hardly anyone believes that it is a coincidence that the relatively relaxed situation is registered in countries whose vaccination rates of 87 (Portugal) and almost 80 percent (Spain) are among the highest in Europe and also worldwide. Opponents of the vaccination can hardly be heard in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​in Lisbon and Porto. “El Mundo” knows why that is so: “The Spaniards have great faith in science and a keen sense of discipline,” commented the paper on Tuesday.

It’s similar in Portugal. “When I see the rallies of conspiracy theorists in Germany, England and other countries on television, I am very proud of my compatriots,” said landlady Fernanda of the German press agency dpa in Lisbon.

Enjoy freedom with caution

But not only high vaccination rates contribute to success in Spain and Portugal. Although there are currently few corona restrictions in both countries and Sánchez sounds, citizens mostly remain cautious. Yes, they enjoy life to the full in the overcrowded restaurants and bars, but they still almost always wear masks on the streets. And even if the numbers rise slightly, the media will warn and the authorities will react. The regions of Valencia and Basque Country want to introduce the Covid pass for nightlife, which so far only the Balearic Islands with Mallorca and Galicia use in Spain. For the expected Christmas run on the shops, the police in Madrid are proposing the reintroduction of the obligation to wear masks outdoors for shopping streets such as Gran Via. And in Portugal the government will meet on Friday to evaluate the situation.

As proud as landlady Fernando, and above all happy, is the State Secretary for Tourism, Rita Marques, who advertised her country in Germany this week. At meetings with airline representatives and tour operators, she repeatedly emphasized that Portugal had “the highest vaccination rate in the world”. “We know that Germans prefer safe holiday destinations, and Portugal has not only fully vaccinated 98 percent of all those eligible for vaccination, but has also introduced the Clean and Safe safety seal as the first holiday destination, with which 22,000 companies across the country have been awarded,” she said in an accounting report Conversation with dpa.

Tourism is recovering

In Benidorm in eastern Spain, where Sánchez basked in success a few days ago, many Germans and, above all, many, very many Brits are enjoying the Corona relaxation and the temperatures are sometimes still over 20 degrees. “Above all, you see a lot of English people here, large groups of older and younger men,” says Sabina from Hamburg. In most bars, all tables are full even during the day.

Fernanda and probably all the hosts in Spain and Portugal rub their hands together. The recovery of the tourism sector is, as Rita Marques pointed out, “in full swing”. But not all are happy about the visitors from the European Corona strongholds. The Portuguese star cartoonist Luis Afonso had his character “Bartoon”, who has graced the last page of “Público” for 28 years, commented ironically on State Secretary Marques’ advertising tour on Wednesday. “Aren’t the Germans the ones with loads of infections?”

Source From: Stern

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