Why did coronavirus hit hard in Italy and Spain? Some blame a lack of social distancing — and a lot of social kissing. 📷: JColonToscano
BARCELONA, Spain — When Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain, a country now in lockdown with over 17,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, took the dais in Parliament in Madrid on Wednesday to announce a $220 billion package to help his country’s tourism-powered economy, warning that “the worst is yet to come,” Micol Maria de Vincenti was appalled.
And the very qualities that make both Spain and Italy so beloved by tourists — the laid-back attitudes, the warm cheek-kissing greetings, the world-famous cathedrals, museums and historical sites, stadiums filled for soccer matches, the terraces where hundreds gather for aperitivos, sangria and meals — may be exactly the things that helped spur the spread of the coronavirus in this part of the world. “The main transmission is through droplets,” says Dr.
So the cheek kissing in Spain continued, along with the soccer matches, the parties and even the tourists, though Americans were leaving, or attempting to leave, in droves after President Trump’s confusing announcement last week about shutting down entry to the U.S. from Europe. Then came news that the Vox party’s leader, Santiago Abascal, was also testing positive — news that did not thrill Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who met with Abascal when he visited the U.S. at the end of February, and was already in self-quarantine after possible exposure to the virus. Abascal attended the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, where Trump spoke and other administration officials and Republican officeholders attended.
This week in Spain, since the lockdown began, doormen, couriers and supermarket cashiers are all wearing masks — a rarity even four days ago. This week, notes Lucie Gutziamanis, who works with a Barcelona legal firm, few are kissing — “everyone looks at each other like they’ve got leprosy.”In Italy, where residents have been locked in now for 10 days, they’re complying but growing weary.
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