Spain's Response to COVID-19

Updated May 1, 2020

On April 17, 2020, the Spanish government's Ministry of Health authorized the nation's military to take what can only be deemed extreme measures in response to Spain's ongoing issues with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Let's start by looking at Spain's COVID-19 statistics.  Here is a graph showing the total number of cases in Spain:

Here is a graph showing the number of daily new cases showing how the growth in new cases is levelling off:

Here is a graph showing the number of daily deaths:

Here is a table showing us where Spain's COVID-19 statistics fit compared to the rest of the world:

Of the 239,639 active cases, 2,500 cases are considered serious or critical.

Now, let's look at the subject of this posting.  Here is a link to the document in Spanish which announces "a set of essential actions to deal with the situation of the public health emergency":

Here is a translated version of the document:

You will notice that the Spanish government will be using its Armed Forces to use aerial spraying to apply biocides across its major metropolitan areas.  

Here is a key quote:

"Among the most effective disinfection techniques are the use of aerial means because through them, with nebulization, thermonebulization and micronebulization techniques, all surfaces are reached quickly, avoiding reliance on manual application, which is slower, and sometimes it does not reach all surfaces because there are obstacles that prevent them from reaching them."

It is also important to note that this will not be a one-time application.  The document notes that "the measures provided for in this order will be applied during the validity of the state of alarm declared on March 14, 2020 and its possible extensions."  To this point in time, the Spanish government has applied biocides manually, particularly in more than 4000 nursing homes as well as using both snow cannons and drones as means of application.

According to La Razon, the authorization does not refer to aerial means, rather, it refers to aerial procedures which could also use special machines to disperse the substance which would create a biocidal fog/mist.  Th Spainish 43rd Air Force Group could also use Canadair CL-415 aerial firefighting planes with STOL capability that have a liquid payload of up to 6137 litres or 1621 United States gallons.

The public does have a right to appeal this order within two months of the date following the publication of the order (April 17, 2020).