Under the weather Foodie capital

IF you’ve been feeling under the weather these last days, you are not the only one. Spain is currently suffering one of its longest and most widespread flu epidemics in living memory.

According to the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid, in mid-February there were some 788 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on a national scale. In some areas, such as the North African city of Melilla, the figure was as high as 2,000.

Precautions

As was predicted by healthcare experts, the precautions taken during the Covid-19 pandemic such as mask-wearing, hand-sanitising and social distancing, have likely left the population with low defences against viruses such as the flu. Another explanation for the current situation is that there are a lot of different viruses circulating at the moment, and people may be infected with more than one.

What is for sure is that sales of flu medicines have shot up. In the eighth week of the year pharmacies sold €23 million worth of such remedies, which is practically double the figure for the same date a year previously.

Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are not spiking. There are just 84 patients in intensive care in Spain with Covid-19.