2023-09-01 01:00:51
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The coronavirus is once again making a name for itself in Catalonia. The number of cases is climbing and a new variant has been detected. What arouse the concerns of the WHO, while the specialists, them, speak of normality. While advocating the return of some health rules.
It was only a matter of time. Since mid-August, the Covid has returned to Europe and Catalonia. The incidence rate continues to increase in the northern region of Spain. According to government figures, it would reach 290 cases of infectious respiratory diseases per 100,000 inhabitants. 39.6% of them come from the coronavirus. It is much more than across the border, where the number of French people sick with Covid, it amounts to 18.2 per 100,000 population.
However, the virus circulates everywhere, insists Julia Blanco, researcher at the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute in Badalona. In reality, he had never stopped. “The virus has been present throughout the year. We have all had someone in our entourage who contracted the coronavirus this year without necessarily knowing it”, explains the specialist. Because over the months, several variants have surfaced. The first, known as Eris, appeared in late spring and was especially noticeable this summer.
A new variant in the waters of Catalonia
But it is essentially the last that revives concerns: the Pirola. This variant was qualified as urgent, because generator of 40 mutations, underlined theWorld Health Organization (WHO). “We discovered traces of this virus in the waste water of the region”, says Julia Blanco. But nothing to be alarmed about. Only 27 cases have been detected worldwide. And none of them so far have been targeted in Catalonia.
“The resurgence of Covid comes from previous variants”, adds the doctor. But he and the researchers of the Bioscombody issuing health reports for the Catalan government, speak of normal fluctuations. “It’s a typical dynamic of infectious diseases. The causes can be many: air conditioning, social interactions…”, lists Sergio Alonso, of Bioscom. The consequence also of Omicron DNA, known for its strong contagion. and its variants, “each time more transmissible”.
Wearing a mask recommended
But where the Catalans, and generally Europeans, are doing well is on immunity. “The majority of the population is vaccinated and has already had Covid. So she is protected from serious forms”, says Julia Blanco. Only vulnerable people or people over the age of 60 are more affected by the renewed epidemic. For them, a new vaccination campaign will open in the fall, in Catalonia.
While waiting for the new dose, the health sector prefers to be vigilant. In Barcelona, the Hospital Clinic recommends wearing a mask in the emergency department or when visiting. Ditto with people at risk, underlines Julia Blanco, of the Badalona Research Institute. A rule that had ended in health centers and pharmacies, following the Council of Ministers last July. But it was without suspecting that a few weeks later, the famous blue fabric would prove necessary again.
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