Return to a New Normal: The Six World Health Organisation Guidelines Spain Must Pass Before it Begins the De-Escalation Phase

President Pedro Sanchez has reaffirmed that Spain will only begin the de-escalation phase of the coronavirus crisis once it has reached the guidelines set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

SPAIN must comply with these six guidelines established by the WHO in order for it to begin implementing the de-escalation plan and return to a ‘new normal’ recalled Sanchez.

“We have left behind the most extreme moments and we have contained the most brutal onslaught of the epidemic, with sacrifice, resistance and with victory,” Sanchez stated at a press conference on Saturday.

However, he pointed out that these achievements “are insufficient and above all fragile” so they cannot be “put at risk with hasty decisions: we have to make further progress before entering the second phase, lifting general confinement and starting the de-escalations transition towards a new normality.”

Sanchez went on to list the six guidelines that the WHO highlights must be met in order to begin returning to a new sense of normality.

First, the transmission of the virus must be kept at a “controlled and identified” level and Sanchez admits we are progressing in “the right direction.”

This measure is directly related to the next which is an obligation for the health system to be able “to detect every case of infection with tests” so that each new infection can be isolated, monitored and traced to warn others who may be infected.

In this respect Sanchez has assured that Spain “has carried out almost a million PCR tests,” and “supplied two million rapid tests to the autonomous communities to develop them in those areas where there may be a potential” for a large-scale infection “such as hospitals or nursing homes.” Spain has “doubled the daily tests, from 20,000 to 40,000 a day to achieve this WHO goal,” he reported.

The WHO also notes that Spain should keep the places with the highest risk of infection and maximum vulnerability (hospitals, residences, etc) “under control.”

Fourth, a control system for people travelling from other areas must be implemented to avoid importing new infection, and fifth, it is Spain’s duty to “establish strictly preventative measures in workplaces and training places such as educational centres.”

Lastly the Spanish population must have comprehensive knowledge on the topic of social distancing and hygiene rules as to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Sanchez concluded that Spain “already does this” and that the commitment of Spanish society is “exemplary.” He goes on to say, “I have no doubt that we are going to achieve the objectives set and we are going to continue to comply with social discipline. Today we are on the path of fulfilling these obligations, and it is not possible to simply lift the measures and go to phase two of de-escalation,” Sanchez summarised.