Spain mourns 20 per cent of world’s total Covid-19 deaths which could have been avoided with ‘faster action’

SPAIN currently mourns around 10,340 coronavirus (Covid-19) deaths, accounting for over 20 per cent of the world’s total deaths (52,973) from the disease.

On Thursday, the country witnessed its highest daily death toll of 950. It’s the sixth consecutive day that Spain has lost more than 800 lives to Covid-19 (since March 25), and many more deaths are still predicted, despite having reached the peak.

Many in Spain’s opposition parties, as well as health and business experts, believe that with ‘faster action’ many coronavirus-related deaths could have been avoided. Spain’s current government has been blamed for the unnecessary loss of lives, as a result of its “inept and bad handling” of the Covid-19 crisis.

In an interview with El Mundo today, John de Zulueta, Chairman of the Círculo de Empresarios – the Spanish Businessmen’s Association – stated that, “We are losing unnecessary lives as a result of incompetence and bad management of the crisis.” Zulueta, who is also President of the Advisory Board of Europea University in Madrid and Vice-President of the Sanitas Foundation, believes that many lost lives could have been saved had the government taken “faster action.” Many ministers in the opposition party share Zulueta’s view.

“Action could have been taken as far back as February. But the government ignored risks, and did not take action till March 12 when they closed schools,” said Zulueta. “The International Women’s Day was allowed to go ahead. They should have prohibited that march, as well as the football matches in Italy. We lost three weeks, and every week cost lives.”

He also believes that many in Pedro Sanchez’s government are simply not up to the job. “The purchase of faulty tests from China shows the extent of the Ministry of Health’s incompetence,” pointed out Zulueta. “The Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, who was previously mayor of a small town of around 10,500 people, will not save us. He is simply not qualified for the role. Sanchez either needs to change his team, or at least provide some of his Ministers with backup. There are plenty of very qualified people in the regional communities that can help.”