The resilience of the Spanish health system against the COVID-19 pandemic

Helena Legido-Quigley,José Tomás Mateos-García,Vanesa Regulez Campos,Montserrat Gea-Sánchez,Carles Muntaner,Martin Mckee

doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(20)30060-8

Abstract

Spain, with more than 11 000 cases and 491 deaths as of March 17, 2020, has one of the highest burdens of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide. In response, its government used a royal decree (463/2020)1 to declare a 15-day national emergency, starting on March 15.

Highlights

Spain, with more than 11 000 cases and 491 deaths as of March 17, 2020, has one of the highest burdens of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide
A crisis such as this places pressure on all building blocks of a health system,[2] each of which we consider in turn
The Basque Country declared a public health emergency before any other region, whereas Catalonia requested a complete shutdown of the region, including closure of air, sea, and land ports

Summary

Introduction

With more than 11 000 cases and 491 deaths as of March 17, 2020, has one of the highest burdens of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide. Its government used a royal decree (463/2020)[1] to declare a 15-day national emergency, starting on March 15. The Spanish health system has coped well during the 6 weeks since its first case was diagnosed, it will be tested severely in the coming weeks as there is already widespread community transmission in the most affected regions, Madrid, the Basque Country, and Catalonia.

Results

Conclusion