To wonder what is happening in Spain with Covid

[Snowrabbit]

I have family links to Spain and the huge, densely populated region where my contacts are living have very, very few restrictions! Bars and restaurants are open (reduced numbers), allowed people in your home etc. Yes there's is a curfew (at 11pm) but life is pretty normal. They have had far less restrictions than us for months. Why on earth are our cases running rampant despite loads of restrictions and their lives are pretty normal and no reports of hospitals struggling (they were struggling a lot in March so it's not that they have huge capacity compared to us) Feel envious(!) and struggle to understand what's happening.

@Saylethewayles

BTW I'm half Spanish and I can categorically tell you that there was plenty of rule breaking.

Why half of MN seems to believe that all of Europe is more compliant than the UK I don't know, but it isn't true.

Yes plenty of rule breaking (and dogs with apparently outrageous urinary frequency early in lockdown since letting the dig out for a pee was a legitimate reasin to go outside) but noticeably more compliance regarding masks in Spain, more chance of being stopped and questioned, roadblocks in place on main roads, I've been stopped in the car. Spanish people in general have never been ones for personal space but they are getting it. Posters everywhere saying "I protect you by wearing a mask, you protect me" and exemptions backed up by medical professionals rather than people just deciding they are exempt.

Also the Spanish celebration of 3 kings (equivalent of Christmas) is not until the 6th of January so come back in a week or so and I expect the cases will have risen quite a bit

PIL are there atm and haven't yet seen anyone without a mask. So no exemptions. Unlike my local Tesco where a quarter of the people going round appear to be exempt for some reason.

most people are pretty frightened of the police.

Policing in Spain is very different from policing in the U.K. In the U.K. we have policing by consent. Although a lot of mumsnetters seem to hate policing by consent and would love it if we had a military police that people were frightened of instead.

@Dugee Yes I agree it's worked as far as compliance with the rules surrounding covid but being frightened of the police is not always a good thing.

I live in Andalucía. Masks have been required absolutely everywhere at all times in public across Spain since the summer. Compliance is generally high. You get fined if you are seen by the police not wearing one. You don't get into shops without one.
All children and teachers wear them at school at all times from 6 years up and most under 6s too.
Even so, rates were high in September /October. So the regional government of andalucia locked us down (nobody allowed out of their municipality and curfews at night, non essential business shut after 6 pm) for 6 weeks. Rates are lower now. But rising again since restrictions were eased mid December. We'll probably have a similar municipal lockdown at the end of January tbh.
But masks at all times and in schools is a big part of it I think.

Their lockdown is irrelevant. They have never come close to eradicating the virus so why has it not grown exponentially despite such lax rules? Same with compliance - when there are SO few rules, compliance to those rules is also irrelevant. To the posters talking about 6 Jan - yes, but they celebrate on 24 Dec (Noche Buena) and 31 December (Noche Vieja) too - besides, they are allowed in each others houses and in bars any day anyway. Not just on those days. The mutant strain has been found in loads of countries. Why hasn't it taken off like it has here? I can't work it out

I don't know where your family are in Spain but I wouldn't call the rules in Andalucía lax.
We must wear masks at all times in all public settings. If you are not in your house basically you must be masked.
We have a curfew, limits on numbers in shops and bars, all appointments are online where possible, we can't leave the borders of Andalucía without justifiable cause...

There are limits on numbers of people who can gather in homes and in public settings. I could go on.

There are so many rules 🙈 @Snowrabbit why do you think we don't have any rules ?

Why half of MN seems to believe that all of Europe is more compliant than the UK I don't know, but it isn't true.

It's baffling!

Although a lot of mumsnetters seem to hate policing by consent and would love it if we had a military police that people were frightened of instead.

This!

@thistooshallpas5 Madrid is allowing house visits and bars and cafes are open. I have family and friends there. This has been the case for months. I think different communidades have different rules?

There are rules and they are pretty clear, not leaving room for doubt or workarounds.

Where I am, home visits and hospitality have been closed for months. In Spain, rules are nothing like the near lockdown we have had and their numbers are MUCH better.

A village in Spain close to where my friend lives has been cut off . Nobody allowed in or out as most residents have Covid . She has been stopped by police coming from the supermarket. They checked her shopping .

Masks. Everywhere. And none of this visor or scarf /bandana shit either.

Madrid is governed by the right wing PP and had v high figures in the summer. There was a good bit of argy bargy with the leftwing national government and Madrid eventually agreed to a lockdown for a while which brought numbers down.

@Snowrabbit Madrid was totally confined no in or out for the first two weeks of December. The police physically stop you in your car to ask where you are going. You have to show documentation or you are turned back.
We have been living with restrictions since March. Bars and restaurants are open but very limited numbers allowed inside. Small shops and businesses one in one out policy masks at all times. Security guards on medium and larger shops checking numbers entering. All appointments over the phone or online. OH been working at home since March as office is closed. Kids are in masks at school as are teachers. No after school or weekend activities. Parks and playgrounds are taped off and not in use. Heavy police presence in general. Have to be in your home for 10.30pm (this has been the case for months). Fines for not wearing masks, breaking curfew crossing town borders and businesses fined for not following rules on numbers closing times etc. Rules on smoking outdoors as-well as indoors. Rules on numbers allowed in your home

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54478320
From October

Yy thistooshallpass, totally agree. Similar in andalucia. We were locked down on November 1 when Madrid was, not lifted until mid December. We weren't allowed out of our municipalities, which in my case is a village. 6 weeks without being allowed out of the village except to work or doctors etc.

@thistooshallpas5 thanks - I do get there are rules but the main stuff - allowing socialising indoors continues in Madrid , whether at home or in hospitality. We have all the other rules too plus a total ban on indoor socialising. Allowing people to mix indoors has been blamed for the cases here and banned for months and months. It's also the thing which most people crave and miss the most. It's been going on in Spain but cases are much better... It doesn't make much sense I feel.

And the recent "lockdown" was just about not letting people leave their areas. But within those areas, life went on. Life has been at pretty much standstill for months here, cases much, much worse.

@Snowrabbit The same could be said for us only being allowed out for essentials while you guys were eating out to help out. The cases were lower in the UK than they were in Spain and Italy when this all started.

Hilaria, is that you?

@Snowrabbit but you do realise that Madrid is only one part of Spain "our area" is basically a village a village that I had to walk around in a mask, not leave my home between the hours of 10pm and 6am and had to prove I had an essential reason to leave to the police