Second total lockdown needed to fight coronavirus in Spain, says Harvard professor and disease expert

A HARVARD professor has said a total lockdown in Spain is needed to effectively fight coronavirus. 

Elvis Garcia, a doctor in Public Health and professor of Epidemics at Harvard University, made a string of suggestions on Cadena SER radio. 

Garcia said any measure which restricts the movement of people is ‘good’.

However in Spain, stricter measures are needed because the situation has ‘gotten out of hand’, according to Garcia. 

He added that the current situation risks being repeated in April due to a lack of a vaccine. 

“I am of the opinion of imposing a total confinement, but at the same time establishing control strategies,” said Garcia. 

“I mean, tracking and so on. If not, we will be like this all the time… peak, fall, peak, fall… this is not a strategy.”

Garcia said Asian countries have been exemplary in their handling of the pandemic, with many managing to maintain more or less normal living by performing mass testing. 

“Asian countries have shown us that taking tests allows them to lead a fairly normal life,” Garcia said. 

“You don’t need billions of euros for tracking or a mobile app. Why don’t we do it? Because the Government does not know how to do it. 

“It is something very new and the same goes for the regional governments.”

The expert praised the curfew but insisted a second lockdown was needed. 

“The curfew is effective… but it is not enough to control the entire pandemic… categorically not,” he said. 

“These measures are not enough and less so with the diverging policies between each autonomous community.”