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ARCHIVED - Spain approves new Covid surveillance system
From next week, people with mild coronavirus symptoms will no longer have to quarantine in Spain
Little more than two years after the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic led the Spanish Government to decree the first state of alarm that forced the country into lockdown, the health experts have declared that the “acute phase” is over and that on Monday March 28, Spain will enter its “transition phase” moving towards the end of the health crisis.
The last stage will consist of a “consolidated surveillance system for acute respiratory infections that must be part of the sentinel surveillance systems,” the Ministry of Health explained in a statement, but this is still a way down the road.
From next week testing requirements will change drastically. Health centres will now focus on vulnerable groups, such as people over 60, those who are immunosupressed and pregnant women, as well as health centres and severe cases. Diagnostic tests will only be carried out on people with mild symptoms in exceptional cases.
This measure goes hand in hand with the amendments to the quarantine rule as from Monday, asymptomatic patients, people with a mild illness and close contacts will no longer have to self-isolate, although the Ministry of Health does still recommend that they socially distance and wear masks.
In high-risk areas, such as health care or nursing homes, “specific isolation and control measures may be implemented”, although these details have yet to be clarified by the Ministry.
After several delays, the Public Health Commission has agreed to the relaxing of Covid measures based on the fact that “the high levels of immunity reached in the Spanish population have determined a change in the epidemiology of Covid-19 that supports the transition towards a different strategy.”
The experts have clarified that the extraordinary surveillance and control structures put in place at the height of the pandemic “will remain operational to monitor key indicators that allow early detection of changes in the situation that may require the re-implementation of control measures.”
The new phase will remain in place as long as hospital and ICU levels remain at low risk and there is no significant change in the trend that would indicate a significant rebound in infections.
Now read: How to get a Covid passport and How to book an appointment for a vaccination or booster jab in Spain
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