According to the John Hopkins Covid-19 case tracker, there are now over 300,000 Covid-19 cases globally.
And in the 4th place is Spain, the second hardest-hit European country.
When CNA released a report on Spain at 4.08am, they indicate that within a span of a day, Spain’s death toll has increased by over 300 from 1,002 to 1,326 and the number of cases by almost 5,000 (from 19,980 to 24,926).
Close to seven hours later, the number of deaths has increased by 55.
As of the time of writing, Spain has 25,496 confirmed cases and 1,381 deaths.
Spain Now Buying Robots To Do Testing
When it comes to Covid-19, the hardest part about trying to detect the virus in the first place.
Countries all around the world, including Singapore, placed developing test kits or testing people as the utmost priority.
And Spain is no different.
The Spain government announced on 21 Mar that they are looking to increase the testing of people in their country.
They have managed to obtain 640,000 testing kits for use and are looking to boost that number up to 1 million.
But it’s not just test kits that they are looking at.
It was also announced that the Spain government is looking at buying 4 robots that could automate the testing of the coronavirus.
In theory, this will bring up the number of testing done in a single day to 80,000. Currently, Spain is doing 15,000 to 20,000 tests a day, mostly on people in hospitals.
As for why they’re doing so?
There Should Be More Undetected Cases
Spain has 25,496 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 1,381 deaths.
That brings the death rate of Covid-19 in Italy to 5%, which is way higher than what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated.
This indicates that within the country, there are more undetected cases spreading the coronavirus in their community.
Spain has declared a state of emergency within the country for 15 days.
It’s Not Just Test Kits
Besides test kits, Spain is also looking at acquiring more medical equipment.
At some hospitals, the Intensive Care Units (ICU) has filled up and hospitals are now overcrowded.
It was added that some facilities are running out of medical essentials as well.
Spain is looking at buying more medical equipment, including 700 ventilators.
Social Distancing Measures is Key
Currently, the number of Covid-19 patients in ICUs within Spain has hit 1,612.
But the situation isn’t optimistic.
Ricard Ferrer, chairman of Spain’s intensive medicine society, went onto TV to tell members of the public that within 8 to 10 weeks, more than 10,000 people are expected to be warded in ICUs.
Health officials in Spain, however, are hopeful that the government’s implementation of a 15-day emergency nationwide where people are not allowed to leave their homes except for “essential outings”.
“We believe the social distancing measures are going to have an effect.”
Similarly, Ferrer hoped that the confinement measures will start having an impact on the number of cases “soon”.
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Singapore Social Distancing Measures
Meanwhile, in Singapore, the government has drafted out a series of social distancing measures that Singaporeans might want to take.
And businesses are taking the initiative to introduce social distancing measures within their own venues too.
Like Singapore Pools, Maybank Tower, FairPrice and even the SAF.
Remember, it might feel “dumb” to stand so far apart, but like what your mom likes to say, “Better safe than sorry, right?”
If your mom isn’t powderful enough, just imagine Health Minister Gan Kim Yong glaring at you
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Take away the smile and you’d be much more responsible. Or just download the TraceTogether app and you’d automatically become a responsible citizen.
