Tourism, retail and hairdressing see 'fewest Covid cases' in Spain, says ministry of health

Since the end of lockdown, or about the beginning of June, only 91 cases – linked to 14 'outbreaks' – have been detected in the country in hotels and other holiday accommodation, and all of them affecting workers rather than tourists themselves.

An 'outbreak' is when several people test positive for Covid at once after having caught it in the same place or from the same source, and does not necessarily mean hundreds or even dozens; a group of four friends or immediate family members all catching it at the same time, for example, is considered an 'outbreak'.

In the case of tourism employees, the average between summer and mid-October, or about four-and-a-half months, was 6.5 cases per 'outbreak'.

None have been detected in the tourism industry since around October 8, or before the long bank holiday weekend of October 9 to 12 – only a few isolated cases.

This low incidence is true of national and international tourism – although the latter has been very much reduced this year, around 25% of the usual total of foreign visitors still came to Spain for their holidays, and no known outbreak has occurred as a result.

Tourism is one of the least-affected industries by Covid-19 contagion, beaten only by retail and hairdressing.

Workers in shops and markets, says the ministry of health, were affected by 13 outbreaks, or a total of 74 cases nationwide, whilst hairdressing and beauty salons accounted for just 11 cases, in three outbreaks.

Put into perspective, a total of 8,488 'outbreaks' were registered in the last four-and-a-half months, accounting for 80,924 cases – many more cases overall were reported nationwide, but other than these 80,924, were considered to be 'isolated' or in 'batches' of around two or three people at most.

The workplace was responsible for 13.3% of outbreaks and 18% of cases, whilst 26.4% of cases and 31.4% of outbreaks were of social origin.

These are defined as family or friends meeting up, or members of the public participating in leisure activities – such as non-business travel to other regions (73 outbreaks and 431 cases, or 5.9 cases per outbreak).

A total of five outbreaks, of an average of 6.4 cases each – 32 people in total – were associated with public or private transport, not including airlines, between early June and mid-October, the ministry reveals.

Several restaurateurs and bar-owners have assured that as they take extra-stringent measures to ensure customers' safety – it is in their interests to do so, in order to be able to continue trading – these premises are generally safer than eating, drinking or socialising at home.

Owners of cafés and eateries point out that when family members meet for Sunday lunch or friends gather together in one home for a meal or drinks, they are less likely to socially-distance or wear masks, lulled into a false sense of security because they know each other well, and that this is where contagion is most likely to happen.

Latest scientific research in Spain has found indications that the main culprit may be lack of ventilation in inside spaces, coupled with failure to socially-distance.

Investigators say microscopic particles exhaled when talking, shouting, sneezing, coughing or singing can hover in the air for up to eight hours in an indoor space, and are most concentrated within the first 30 to 60 minutes, meaning it is possible for contagion to occur even after an infected person has left the area.

This does not mean it is impossible to catch it out in the open air – far from it – but researchers believe proper ventilation, where the air in a confined space is renewed completely every few minutes, may be key to reducing the viral load in the atmosphere and increasing safety.

In school classrooms, the health ministry has recommended the windows be opened at least five or six times per lesson for several minutes, since a standard air-conditioning unit will not ventilate the air properly – it merely moves it around and cools it down or heats it.

By contrast, the Spanish Airlines Association (ALA) has stressed that flying is among the safest forms of public transport during the pandemic, since its HEPA filtering system (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) eliminates 99.9% of bacteria, fungi and virii in the atmosphere, replaces the air in the cabin completely every two to three minutes, and that this air is never stagnant, but constantly on the move.

The air on board is a combination between air sucked in from outside the cabin – and no organisms live that far up – and HEPA-purified air, which also flows up and down rather than backwards and forwards, so it does not shift viral particles down the cabin.

HEPA filters on planes, says the ALA, are the same as those used as standard in operating theatres to prevent infection entering patients' bodies when they are cut open.