Demand for free Covid-19 tests offered by the Madrid regional government far outstripped the supply on Tuesday (28), with long lines outside pharmacies, while the national number of infections continues to rise with rapid expansion of the Ômicron variant.
The number of coronavirus infections in Spain has reached a new record, rising to 1,360 cases for every 100,000 people recorded in the last 14 days, with 1,206 cases on Monday (27), a fivefold increase since the beginning of December , according to data from the Ministry of Health.
About 250 deaths that happened in the past seven days were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total to 89,253.
But hospitals remain under much less pressure than in previous waves of the pandemic, while the government reported that 80% of the population over 60 had already received a booster dose of the vaccine.
Madrid-based pharmacist Cristina Sánchez said she had received just 20 test kits to distribute on Tuesday as part of a plan to beef up the supply after paid tests at pharmacies run out, but there were already more than 30 people waiting beside her. outside before the establishment opens.
“People who are waiting outside, who are cold, who have been waiting for a long time, we can’t distribute more to them,” the drugmaker told Reuters at her facility in suburban Madrid.
Taxi driver Miguel Jesús Arroyo was one of the lucky ones to secure a test. “You need to get up early, because if you don’t come early, everything ends in a flash”, he said.
Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, also reported an increase in infections and long lines at some drive-in testing centers.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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