From. N332.

? COVID19 tests now available to buy in pharmacies in Spain without prescription 

Before today, if you wanted to buy a self-diagnostic test, it was mandatory to present a prescription at the time of purchase. Now, with the modification of Royal Decree 1662/2000, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, will replace this provision to buy the self-tests without the prescription being necessary.

‼️ The first thing to keep in mind is that, although these tests will be available to everyone in all pharmacies in Spain, these self-diagnostic tests will not have official validity before any body. Therefore, you will not be able to use them as proof that you have had the virus, nor will their results be valid in the case of going on holiday, for example. Overall, they will be for personal monitoring of the virus, nothing else.

Types of tests available:

?? In the case of antigen tests, this type of self-test allows the user “to carry out the tests without the intervention of a healthcare professional", which on the one hand will reduce to a certain extent the pressure in healthcare centres and will allow the rapid identification of positive cases ”, according to the decree. They are intended to be used within seven days of the suspected infection, with the first symptoms.

The test is, broadly speaking, similar to the well-known PCR, and is responsible for detecting at the time the sample is taken, if the person is infected. The protocol of each one will be independent depending on the brand, but they all share the same guideline: a swab of about 3 centimetres that must be inserted to the bottom of a nostril -depending on the brand, sometimes it only works with saliva-, without previous preparation, then stir a couple of times and place it in a small measuring device. In less than 15 minutes, the diagnosis will be ready: if the result is positive, the test (T) and control (C) lines will be marked; if negative, only the control (C). If none appears, the test is faulty.

?? Antibody tests, on the other hand, are carried out to detect if a person has been infected and has developed antibodies or immunity against it.

In addition, it is very useful for monitoring infected people. It can also help to make a first diagnosis of whether the virus is active or not, but in any case the answer will not be as definitive as in the case of antigens.

This antibody self-test, also known as a serological test, works by drawing a small amount of blood from the finger. The results are quite fast and do not take more than five minutes to tell if the person has passed the Covid and developed their immunity, so it is NOT useful to detect if they have the virus at the time of taking the sample.

Prices:

From the General Council of Pharmaceutical Associations they explain that, as it is an over-the-counter health product, the tests do not have an intervened price and it is the manufacturer that establishes at what value each product will be marketed. This means, broadly speaking, that it is impossible to determine a fixed price, but most indicate that the final costs of sale to the public of the antigens will be around 10 euros. A little more for the serological tests.

Thanks for this info from El Español

Arboleas & Region Covid19 Update.as at 21.7.21 

Arboleas has 1 new case. 

Several areas numbers rising. Hospitalisations rising and sadly ICU numbers rising as well.

 This is not good reading and we all need to be aware of this.

From. Informacion Covid19 Almeria.

The Junta de Andalucía, at the proposal of the Regional Committee of High Impact on Public Health (committee of experts), has decided to propose the limitation of mobility at night between 02:00 and 07:00 in those municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants that present a 14-day cumulative incidence of more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.  This proposal will be validated by the territorial committees of high impact in Public Health, once all the epidemiological parameters have been evaluated.  In the case of municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants, a specific evaluation will be made.  This measure must be subsequently ratified by the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia.

 At the meeting of the Committee of experts, held on the afternoon of this Tuesday, the modification of capacity in hotels and nightlife venues has also been agreed based on the level of alert decreed in each health district or municipality.  In hospitality establishments, the interior will have a maximum allowed of 4 people per table, progressively increasing the number of them up to a maximum of 10 people depending on the alert level, being allowed the service and the consumption in the bar outdoors only in the levels 1, 2 and 3.

 In the case of nightlife establishments, an entry record will be requested to control the traceability of possible infections.  In these establishments, the capacity will be 75% maximum indoors on level 1 and 50% on level 2. Bar service will not be allowed indoors and the tables will be occupied by a maximum of 4 people.  Outdoors, only bar service will be allowed on levels 1, 2 and 3, being consumption at tables.

 Similarly, in celebrations it is reduced to 75% of the maximum capacity in level 1, with a maximum of 200 people and 4 diners per table.  At level 2, the maximum capacity allowed will be 75% with a maximum of 150 people.  The bar service will not be allowed inside, while outside the service will only be allowed in levels 1, 2 and 3, being consumption at the table.

 For its part, it has been agreed to propose to the local authorities to strengthen the Public Health and surveillance measures in those populations whose incidence is increasing and, especially, in those that register rates higher than 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.  These measures include the limitation of public areas and spaces, the intensification of control to avoid bottles or the reinforcement of prevention messages.  Likewise, these authorities are urged to close the beaches from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. in those coastal municipalities that are at alert levels 2, 3 and 4, with the exception of this measure for the restaurant services located in said spaces.

 All these proposals have been prepared by the High Impact Regional Committee after analyzing the epidemiological situation and the pressure of care in the autonomous community.  The committee has highlighted "the rapid rise in the indicator of accumulated incidence with special relevance in the young population", according to the Minister of Health and Families, Jesús Aguirre, at the end of the meeting.

 Along these lines, Aguirre has also highlighted "the irruption of the new Delta variant in Andalusia, which entails a greater transmission capacity", to which he added that, "although current vaccination coverage continues to rise, it is not possible to rule out that the greater number of cases may begin to influence the indicators of healthcare pressure ".

 The counselor wanted to point out that "the experts have proposed the recommendation that no parties, festivals, pilgrimages or other popular festive activities be held while the current epidemiological situation continues, in the same way that it is not recommended to hold meetings or private parties in those that are grouped more than 10 people ".  Finally, Aguirre has also insisted on the use of the mask for the entire population "as a fundamental measure to avoid the spread of the virus."

 The proposed measures will come into effect at 00:00 on July 22 and the High Impact territorial committees will be held on Thursday, July 22, 2021. For its part, the Regional Committee for High Impact on Public Health will continue to make continuous evaluation on a daily basis. of all parameters and will meet again in a foreseeable period of two weeks.