Madrid day 4
March 19
Today it's the numbers...and they're not good. Start with 25%. That's the increase in cases as of this morning from prior day. How about 88...that's how many died in Madrid over a 24 hour period 169 is the National number. And the prognosis, of course, is that it's going to get worse before it gets better.
For some context...Spain was rated in last year's Bloomberg Global Survey as the healthiest country in the world. One of the big reasons was its healthcare. Kind of Medicare for all with some private options. We are covered privately. Our premium is about 15% of our US cost of coverage. Yes, really and the coverage is as comprehensive.
During this State of Alarm, the Government has the ability to prioritize and address regional and local needs using both public and private network resources. Final year Med students have joined the effort as well. Testing, though far more widespread than in the US still lags demand but seems headed to properly scale in days. And of course testing will also have a dramatic impact on the numbers. The more you test, well you know the rest.
So what does that mean, really? It means it takes time to flatten the curve even after you've shut it all down and have a strong and well coordinated healthcare infrastructure. We're in Day 5 out of 15 and according the the ministry of health it will still take a few more days to level off.
Today when the State Dept went to level 4 advising US Citizens who are out of country to immediately return or "hold in place" we gulped. It's hard to hear and accept that you can't go back "until further notice"... but for now this will continue to be home. While we can see tough days ahead here, we believe they're doing it right; the plans make sense to us. As importantly the feeling of solidarity, that we're all in this together, the acceptance of restriction and willingness to treat it as a contribution, the commitment to extended family across generations and that again expressed itself at 8pm tonight clapping and cheering out of windows for those working to feed and care for us...a leveling off will happen before too long. #stayhome