The first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

• Published in: Health policy and technology 2020-12, Vol.9 (4), p.560-574
• Main Authors: Henríquez, Josefa, Gonzalo-Almorox, Eduardo, García-Goñi, Manuel, Paolucci, Francesco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: COVID-19; Policy and technology; Spain
• ISSN: 2211-8837; 2211-8845
• DOI: 10.1016/j.hlpt.2020.08.013

•The COVID-19 outbreak has led to an unprecedented crisis in Spain•This paper examines the spread of COVID-19 and the policies and technologies used•A stringent confinement, paired with substantial reduction in mobility showed positive epidemiological results The COVID-19 outbreak has led to an unprecedented crisis in Spain. After Italy, the spread of the virus was quick, and Spain became the second epicenter in Europe by number of cases and deceased. To tackle the outbreak and contain the spread, the Spanish authorities undertook exceptional measures based on a generalized lockdown by which the majority of the economic activity ceased for several weeks. The goal of this paper is to examine the spread of COVID-19 in Spain from February to May 2020, as well as the public policies and technologies used to contain the evolution of the pandemic. In particular it aims to assess the effectivity of the policies applied within the different autonomous communities. Cases are presented until August as well as the main changes in containment and mitigation measures. Data was collected from various official sources, including government reports, press releases and datasets provided by national and international level institutions. We show that the main measure to contain the spread of the pandemic was a stringent confinement policy enforced through fines. It resulted in a substantial reduction in the mobility and the economic activity. At a regional level, the negative consequences of the crisis affected differently across regions.