A group of senior Catalan doctors have spoken out this Friday calling for urgent measures to prevent a possible second wave of the coronavirus epidemic from taking hold, and have stressed "the need for a serious rethink in the short term".
The doctors' statement, made by the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia (RAMC), was signed by members of a working group coordinated by Dr Maria Àngels Calvo and including doctors Bonaventura Clotet, Antoni Trilla, Josep Maria Gatell, Guillem López Casanovas, Joan Monés, Tomàs Pumarola and Lluís Salleras.
They argue that the lifting of lockdown measures must be tackled "prudently and with maximum safety": it must be a gradual process, they say, depending on the level of risk of each population group and geographical area, and must be in constant evaluation to prevent a potential second wave of the epidemic from breaking out.
They also call for a budget that "will make possible modern, strong and responsive health care, the establishment of a system of prevention adjusted to the new reality, and the encouragement of research that is serious and honest with the scientific evidence."
The RAMC statement affirmed "the absolute dedication of health professionals who, without distinction of specialty or professional category, have helped patients, endangering their own health and even lives."
According to the Catalan health ministry's figures, a total of 7,597 health professionals in Catalonia had been infected with the virus as of Thursday April 23rd. That is 16.3% of the total confirmed cases in Catalonia (46,629) and 5.7% of the total of "confirmed plus suspected" cases (133,861).