Masks will be mandatory in health centers in response to the worst flu outbreak in the last fifteen years.
The Health Department is trying to curb the spread of the disease in areas where people are most vulnerable to infection.
BarcelonaCovid-19 aside, Catalonia hasn't experienced a flu epidemic like this year's since 2009. The disease is spreading rapidly; the incidence has increased 2.5 times in the last week, and the transmission level is already very high, according to the latest update from the country's Respiratory Surveillance Information System. For all these reasons, starting this Wednesday, masks will once again be mandatory in primary care centers (CAPs), hospitals, and nursing homes to contain the spread of the disease. "Wearing masks in these settings [hospitals, health centers, and nursing homes], where there are vulnerable people, helps save lives," the Catalan government spokesperson, Silvia Paneque, emphasized this Tuesday. Infections have been rising for six weeks, mainly due to the new K variant, which is now the most prevalent (69%) and more contagious. The flu is the predominant virus, with 308 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double the previous week's figure. Furthermore, diagnoses are exceeding the peak of previous seasons. In fact, according to Clara Prats, a physicist and researcher at the UPC's Biocom, it's necessary to go back to 2009 to find higher incidences, when, with a different case detection system than the current one, 585 cases per 100,000 inhabitants were detected, also coinciding with the emergence of a new variant. "It's very curious that the peak also came much earlier that year," explains the expert. For all these reasons, Paneque has urged the public to get vaccinated, as it is the best protection against the disease. In fact, although the available vaccines were developed before the emergence of the predominant mutation and are therefore not specifically designed against this strain—a phenomenon known as a mismatch—no more severe cases have been observed, and experts expect them to continue providing protection against the more serious and potentially life-threatening forms of the disease. However, hospitalizations continue to rise for influenza, with more than 70% of these being among people over 60.
Room for improvement in vaccination
The impact of the flu on healthcare is noticeable in both primary care centers (CAPs) and hospitals. In primary care, for example, the number of flu diagnoses in the last week reached 24,969 cases, more than double the number from the previous week. Activity in hospital emergency departments has increased by 13% in the last week compared to the daily average for the rest of the year, according to data provided to ACN by the Catalan Health Department (Salut). In Primary Care Emergency Centers (CUAPs), the increase in activity has been 18%. In fact, Salut explained that in the last week (December 1-7), adult emergency room visits increased by 2.8%, and pediatric visits by 17.8%.
There are already 428 people hospitalized due to acute respiratory infections, such as influenza, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), or rhinovirus, almost a hundred more than last week. For all these reasons, health authorities insist that the best way to avoid hospitalizations and minimize the impact of the disease on emergency departments is through vaccination.
In this regard, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that influenza vaccination coverage in older adults and vulnerable groups be 75% or higher. Currently in Catalonia, 66% of people over 80 and 52% of people between 70 and 79 have received the vaccine, which means there is room for improvement. Regarding children between 6 months and 5 years old, vaccination coverage is at 38%, and the Catalan Health Department (Salut) warns that the disease can cause serious complications in this age group and that immunization is the most effective measure to prevent them.
Valid for fifteen days
Starting this Wednesday, the use of face masks will be mandatory for everyone over the age of six, whether professionals, patients, or visitors, in healthcare centers and care homes. The measure, which is currently in effect for fifteen days, is mandatory in primary care centers, hospitals, intermediate care or mental health centers, and care homes for the elderly or people with disabilities. Hospitalized patients will not have to wear masks when they are in their rooms. Only people with respiratory difficulties and those who, due to their disability, cannot put on or take off a mask independently will be exempt. Regarding other viruses currently circulating, the distribution shows that rhinovirus is the second most prevalent after influenza (27.6%), followed by human coronavirus (7.2%) and RSV (6.1%). RSV has been on the rise for the past five weeks, exceeding baseline levels with an estimated incidence of 68 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. It is the cause of hospitalization for 67% of children infected with either of these viruses in hospitals. COVID-19 remains stable at low transmission levels, with an estimated incidence of 18 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.