The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain has resulted in 13,980,340 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 121,886 deaths.
The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Spain on 31 January 2020, when a German tourist tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in La Gomera, Canary Islands. Post-hoc genetic analysis has shown that at least 15 strains of the virus had been imported, and community transmission began by mid-February. By 13 March, cases had been confirmed in all 50 provinces of the country.
A lockdown was imposed on 14 March 2020. On 29 March, it was announced that, beginning the following day, all non-essential workers were ordered to remain at home for the next 14 days. By late March, the Community of Madrid has recorded the most cases and deaths in the country. Medical professionals and those who live in retirement homes have experienced especially high infection rates. On 25 March, the official death toll in Spain surpassed that of mainland China. On 2 April, 950 people died of the virus in a 24-hour period—at the time, the most by any country in a single day. On 17 May, the daily death toll announced by the Spanish government fell below 100 for the first time, and 1 June was the first day without deaths by COVID-19. The state of alarm ended on 21 June. However, the number of cases increased again in July in a number of cities including Barcelona, Zaragoza and Madrid, which led to reimposition of some restrictions but no national lockdown.
Studies have suggested that the number of infections and deaths may have been underestimated due to lack of testing and reporting, and many people with only mild or no symptoms were not tested. Reports in May suggested that, based on a sample of more than 63,000 people, the number of infections may be ten times higher than the number of confirmed cases by that date, and Madrid and several provinces of Castilla–La Mancha and Castile and León were the most affected areas with a percentage of infection greater than 10%. There may also be as many as 15,815 more deaths according to the Spanish Ministry of Health monitoring system on daily excess mortality (Sistema de Monitorización de la Mortalidad Diaria – MoMo). On 6 July 2020, the results of a Government of Spain nationwide seroprevalence study showed that about two million people, or 5.2% of the population, could have been infected during the pandemic. Spain was the second country in Europe (behind Russia) to record half a million cases. On 21 October, Spain passed 1 million COVID-19 cases, with 1,005,295 infections and 34,366 deaths reported, a third of which occurred in Madrid.
As of September 2021, Spain is one of the countries with the highest percentage of its population vaccinated (76% fully vaccinated and 79% with the first dose), while also being one of the countries more in favor of vaccines against COVID-19 (nearly 94% of its population is already vaccinated or wants to be).
As of 4 February 2023, a total of 112,304,453 vaccine doses have been administered.
Background
On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019.
Timeline
First cases (31 January – 25 February)
On 31 January 2020, Spain confirmed its first COVID-19 case in La Gomera, Canary Islands. A tourist from Germany tested positive and was admitted to University Hospital of the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria. On 9 February, the second case involved a male British tourist in Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, who contracted the disease after coming into contact with someone in France who subsequently tested positive. On 9 February, Fernando Simón, the head of medical emergencies in Madrid, said "Spain will only have a handful of cases." On 13 February, the first death in Spain was recorded involving a 69-year-old man who had been in Nepal. He died in Valencia and was diagnosed post-mortem. On 24 February, following a COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, a medical doctor from Lombardy, Italy, who was on holiday in Tenerife, tested positive at the University Hospital of the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in Spain. The H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife was put on lockdown.
Following these early developments, by 24 February parliamentary opposition, Vox in particular, called for travel restrictions between China and Spain, and Italy and Spain. The idea was rejected and criticised by the Government as alarmist and xenophobic.
On 25 February, four new cases related to the Italian cluster were confirmed in Spain. In Canary Islands, the wife of the medical doctor from Lombardy, who was on holiday in Tenerife, tested positive. In Catalonia, a 36-year-old Italian woman living in Spain, who visited Bergamo and Milan from 12 to 22 February, also tested positive in Barcelona. A 24-year-old man from Madrid, who recently returned from Northern Italy, tested positive and was admitted to Hospital Carlos III. In the Valencian Community, a man from Villarreal, who recently travelled to Milan, tested positive and was admitted to Hospital Universitario De La Plana, Castellón.
A retrospective analysis of 28 complete genetic sequences of the virus showed that by 14–18 February at least two different strains were already circulating in Spain, which means there were multiple introductions of the virus to Spain and not a single patient zero.
On 26 February, the first reported case in Andalusia was confirmed in Seville, the first case of community transmission reported in Spain. The next day, eight cases of Italian origin and one from Iran were reported, in Catalonia, Castile and León, and Valencia. On 28 February, nine more people tested positive in Andalusia and a fifth case was confirmed in Madrid. On 29 February, Asturias and Navarre reported their first cases, one each. On 1 March, in Andalusia, two doctors were confirmed as infected, increasing the number of Andalusian cases to 12. In the Basque Country another four cases were reported, from other parts of Spain. In Castilla–La Mancha the first case of coronavirus was confirmed, and Extremadura announced the first four cases. On 2 March in Cantabria, nine new cases originating from people who travelled to Italy increased the total cases there 10 cases in the community. In Castile and León five new cases in one day brought the total to eight people affected by coronavirus in the region. Catalonia reported three more positive cases, all related to travel from Italy. There were two new positives in Extremadura, bringing the total to 6. Madrid reported that its total had increased to 29. In La Rioja, the first case was confirmed.
On 3 March, the second and third cases in Asturias were reported. In the Balearic Islands a third positive case was confirmed. In the Basque Country three more positives, two in Álava, and the first one in Biscay, raised the total positives to 13 for the region. In Castilla–La Mancha there were four new cases reported, bringing the total up to seven, two in the province of Guadalajara and another two in the province of Toledo. In the Community of Madrid 27 new positive cases of coronavirus brought the total up to 56, with five serious in intensive care. In La Rioja the second case of coronavirus was confirmed. In the Valencian Community, four new cases were confirmed, bringing the number of infected to 19 cases. The first death in Madrid took place on 3 March but was not confirmed until 5 March.
On 8 March, around 120,000 people participated in an International Women's Day march in Madrid and some 60,000 football fans filled one of the city's largest stadiums. Parliamentary opposition speculates that the will to allow for the International Women's Day celebration was one of the primary reasons for the Government to downplay the danger, and delay pandemic response until later.
On 9 March, the Catalan regional government suspended events with more than one thousand attendees under its jurisdiction. The first death in Extremadura was reported. On 12 March, most of the autonomous communities shut down their school systems, leaving more than ten million students (a million in university and nine million in primary and secondary education) at home, initially for two weeks. Two cases of the virus are confirmed in the autonomous city of Melilla, while the first two cases reported in the island of La Palma. Spain's stock index, IBEX 35, fell 14%, in the highest drop in history for one day.
State of alarm (13–27 March)
On 13 March, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez announced a declaration of a nationwide State of Alarm for 15 days, to become effective the following day after the approval of the Council of Ministers. The president of the Audiencia Nacional announced the suspension of all the ordinary functions of this Court for 15 days, keeping only the urgent proceedings and the court on duty. Judicial activity in the Community of Madrid, Basque Country, Igualada and Haro were suspended by an order of the General Council of the Judiciary. Vicepresident of Castile and León, Francisco Igea, announced the suspension of the Holy Week festivities in the region after talks with the regional administration. All provinces of Spain confirmed at least one positive after cases are confirmed in Ávila, Cuenca, Huesca, Palencia and Soria, leaving the Autonomous City of Ceuta and the islands of El Hierro and Formentera as the only territories without cases reported. Catalonia reported 190 new cases in the highest rise in cases in a day. The first two cases were reported in the autonomous city of Melilla.
On 15 March the national lockdown due to the State of Alarm becomes effective. All residents are mandated to remain in their normal residences except to purchase food and medicines, work or attend emergencies. This suppression of the freedom of movement was later (in July 2021) declared unconstitutional under the State of Alarm by the Constitutional Court of Spain in response to the appeal by Vox (submitted in April 2020). Lockdown restrictions also mandated the temporary closure of non-essential shops and businesses, including bars, restaurants, cafes, cinemas and commercial and retail businesses, while also announcing that the government will be able to take over private healthcare providers, if needed. The announcement came following significant increases in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Spain, increasing by 66% from 3,146 cases to 5,232 cases on 13 March 2020. The "extraordinary decision", according to the PM Pedro Sánchez, is necessary as Spain deals with a "health, social and economic crisis". Seville's Seville Fair is postponed to September for the first time in its history. The first case in the autonomous city of Ceuta was diagnosed.
On 17 March, PM Pedro Sánchez announces a support package of more than 200 billion euros, almost 20% of the Spanish GDP, to cushion the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The Royal Decree approved by his government also includes a moratorium on the payment of mortgages for workers and self-employed in economic vulnerability and for those affected by COVID-19, as well as the streamlining of temporary dismissal files (known as ERTE), support for workers and companies affected by downturns, measures to guarantee the liquidity of companies and to promote research to achieve a vaccine. The first death in the province of Tarragona is confirmed in Valls hospital, an 88-year-old woman from Badalona.
On 19 March, the first death of a healthcare worker in the country is reported, a nurse from the Basque Country. On 20 March, Spain exceeds 1,000 deaths. The first case is confirmed on the island of El Hierro. On 21 March, the Ministry of Health announces the purchase of 640,000 rapid tests and reports that more than 350,000 tests for COVID-19 had been conducted. On 22 March, Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez announces that he will take the petition to extend the State of Alarm in the nation until 11 April to the Congress after consultations with regional presidents. The President of the Region of Murcia orders the cessation of all non-essential economic activities, a decision later revoked by the central government. On 23 March, the Spanish Army found elderly people abandoned and dead inside retirement homes, according to Defence Minister Margarita Robles. A criminal investigation is launched. The "Palacio del Hielo", an ice rink in Madrid, begins to be used as a morgue. By this date, 5,400 medical professionals are confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus and sent home, further straining the hospitals, where a lack of protective equipment has put workers at risk.
Halting of all non-essential activity (28 March – 12 April)
On 28 March, the Spanish government banned all non-essential activity, providing affected workers with paid recoverable leave unless they provide an essential service, work remotely, are on sick leave, or have their contracts suspended. The next day, two cases of coronavirus were diagnosed on Formentera, Balearic Islands, leaving the island of La Graciosa (Canary Islands) as the only territory with no cases detected. On 30 March, Fernando Simón, the head of Spain's Centre for Health Emergencies and the public face of the government's response because of his daily briefings, tested positive for the virus and temporarily resigned. On 4 April, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez asked the Congress of Deputies to extend the State of Alarm for another two weeks, until 26 April, a request that was granted on 9 April.
From 3 to 11 April, the number of new cases and deaths in general had a decreasing trend. On 3 April, 950 deaths were reported, the highest number for a single country over a 24-hour interval, on the same day, estimates for the basic reproduction number of the virus indicated a number below 1.0 for the first time, meaning that each case was, on average, infecting less than one other person. On 4, 5, and 6 April, consecutive decreases in number of new cases and deaths were reported, including 637 new deaths on 6 April, the lowest figure in ten days. On 10 April, the number of confirmed deaths dropped to 605, and then on 11 April to 510, the lowest figure in more than a month; the number of confirmed cases increased by only 3%, the lowest amount since the Ministry of Health began collecting data.
Lifting of some restrictions (13 April – 1 May)
On 13 April, workers in some non-essential sectors, such as construction and industry, who cannot work remotely were allowed to return to work; the government began the distribution of millions of face masks in public transportation hubs. On 21 April, the government announced that from 26 or 27 April children under the age of 14 will be able to go out on short walks with their parents or other adults living in the same household. On 23 April, the state of alarm was extended until 9 May, with further extensions envisioned.