Swimming rats and political overreaction

It seemed we had forgotten the pandemic and that the trauma and consequences of those long months of confinement, isolation, and pain were behind us. It seems clear, however, that there are sequelae, many, and that one of the most obvious is the fear of repeating the experience. Only from this irrational anguish can we understand what a sector of its population has staged in the Canary Islands in recent days, and above all, its main political representative. Being generous, one can think that Fernando Clavijo, Canary president for Coalición Canaria, believes that his population is still terrified by the experience of covid and wants to avoid the possibility, however remote, that the ship MV Hondius could be the start of a new pandemic. This, and only this, would humanly explain his overreaction in recent days, in which he has tried in every possible way to prevent the ship from docking or even, as happened, from anchoring in the port for fear that potential rats could swim ashore and infect the population.

Their insistence on denying humanitarian aid, amplified by enormous minute-by-minute media coverage across all outlets, must undoubtedly have further distressed their fellow citizens and led to security measures, which in these cases are always extreme, reaching levels that some experts even considered exaggerated. It is frightening to think what they might have said or done if any of the passengers had shown symptoms and had to be admitted to a hospital on the island for treatment. The choice of Tenerife, as the closest European Union port to the ship when the seriousness of the outbreak became apparent, was precisely aimed at ensuring that a robust health system would be available to respond efficiently to an emergency situation like this. The ship has a European flag and it was logical to seek an EU port, which was also its final destination. The spectacle of denying healthcare would have been shameful, just as it is shameful that it is even being discussed whether the ship can refuel, or that it has been prevented from being disinfected in this port, forcing part of the crew to prolong their agony for five more days.

In the end, however, the disembarkation and evacuation organized by the Spanish government have been carried out efficiently, in collaboration with all involved countries and in coordination with major international health agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Messages have been sent from all these areas to reassure the population, and a control and isolation of those affected and their contacts is being carried out. Many days will still pass before this episode can be considered closed, and it is not ruled out that new cases of this outbreak may appear. It is a known virus and all resources have now been deployed, although it will be necessary to review whether the communication and actions in the initial moments were appropriate on the part of the company. The experience must serve, that is for sure, to strengthen the mechanisms, both legal and operational, to prevent painful situations like those we have seen in the Canary Islands in recent days from recurring.