Why live in Andorra: the case of COVID-19
24/04/2020
COVID-19 has shaken the normality and routine of half the world, if not the entire world. By now everyone knows what the symptoms are, the steps to take to prevent themselves, and the keys to getting through quarantine in the best possible way. Andorra is a small country and may seem vulnerable to the virus due to the number of tourists it receives, but during the first month of confinement there have been more congratulations than no attention calls in the Principality. Below you will find 5 reasons why Andorra is managing the coronavirus crisis well.
1. QUICK GOVERNMENT ACTION
According to several interviews with the epidemiologist Oriol Mitjà, advisor to the Andorran Government in the management of this health crisis, Andorra stands out for a quick response to the virus. Many efforts were made to close companies and businesses quickly and begin confinement. The public health system also reacted quickly, looking for cases and contacts, testing and subsequent follow-up. All this has caused a massive detection of active cases and they have been isolated to manage them more safely for the rest of the population.
2. COMMUNICATION DURING THE PANDEMIC
Since the start of the pandemic, the Andorran Government has carried out a constant and tireless communication task to keep the population informed about the evolution of the virus and its effects. It has done it in a very simple way: with two daily press conferences, one at 1:00 p.m., where the Minister of Health, Joan Martínez Benazet, appears, and another at 8:00 p.m., where the Minister, Government Spokesman, Eric Jover, appears. Currently, both ministers appear in a single daily press conference at 5:00 p.m. On time, the Minister of the Presidency, Economy and Business, Jordi Gallardo, also appeared for related issues, and the Head of Government, Xavier Espot.
3. CITIZENS’ SOLIDARITY
Without the need to declare any state of alarm, the citizens of Andorra have understood that in order to overcome the pandemic, they have to stay home and leave only if necessary. Thus, internal mobility was reduced by 70% on the first day of construction stoppage, and until the first phase of lack of confidence on Monday, internal mobility was reduced by more than 80%. In the case of the French and Spanish borders, mobility has been reduced by around 90%.
4. ORGANIZED DECONFINEMENT
Since Thursday, April 16, Andorra has made a small step towards exiting the confinement. As long as there are no symptoms, citizens can go out for an hour every two days at a maximum distance of 2 kilometers from their home at different times to avoid crowds. On the other hand, since Monday, April 20, an organized plan has been presented for the deconfinement, divided into 3 phases, two weeks apart each, where different sectors will gradually reincorporate.
5. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE ENTIRE POPULATION
The Government is working to carry out an epidemiological study with antibody tests on the entire population of Andorra, with which the pandemic will be more easily managed because the degree of immunization of the population will be known. From Saturday, April 18, citizens can already make an appointment to take this test, which is highly sensitive “for the detection of antibodies, not for the detection of the disease”, but with the detection of antibodies, “the reliability and specificity is over 95%”, according to the Minister of Health. The results of these tests will serve to determine the possible next steps for the progressive unconfinement by those who already have antibodies.
