41 Overall Score (down 4.8 since Aug 1st.)

Spain

  • 30.6 Public Health
    Directives
  • 41.3 Financial
    Response
  • 80 Fact-Based
    Communication
  • 30.6 Public Health
    Directives
  • 41.3 Financial
    Response
  • 80 Fact-Based
    Communication

Spain's score jumped since January to just over the median, having implemented stricter public health policies, but the country's minimal stimulus support still drags down its overall score.

Pre-COVID Conditions

Spain did well in most subcategories, but its low number of hospital beds likely played a large role in officials struggling with the COVID-19 case spike, bringing its score down.

  • Debt/GDP ratio 97.1%
  • GDP/capita $43,008
  • Gini coefficient (out of 100) 34.7
  • Infant mortality rate (out of 1,000 live births) 3
  • Healthcare access score (out of 100) 89.6
  • Hospital beds/1,000 People 21.2

Government Response

Select a data point for more information
(Data points represent policy level as of Jan 1.)
30.6

Public Health Directives

Spain has relatively weak public health policy, driven by a relaxed stay-at-home policy, few public gathering restrictions, limited testing, and minimal funds allocated for emergency healthcare spending.

  • Stay at home order 2
  • Public gathering restrictions 4
  • School closings 1
  • Public event cancellations 2
  • Testing policy 0
  • Emergency healthcare investments/capita $90.12
  • Travel restrictions 3
  • Tests/1,000 people 467.5
  • Contact tracing 2
41.3

Financial Response

Spain's financial response score is near the median, due to the late implementation of income support and debt forbearance.

  • Financial stimulus as share of GDP 10.7%
  • Income support 2
  • Debt forebearance 2
80

Fact-Based Communication

Spain’s government has been relatively strong in this category, as it has not engaged in misinformation, but it has limited the media’s access to information regarding COVID-19.

  • Reliance on science/fact based information 0
  • Press freedom 1

COVID-19 Status as of Jan 1

Spain scores poorly in country status, as case and death rates are climbing up once again.

  • Total deaths 50,837
  • Death rate per 100K 1087.3
  • Total cases 1,928,265
  • Cases per 100K 41,242
  • Percent of positive tests 7.1
  • Change in positivity rates -3.9
Case Trend Line
Daily cases Level 1 Lockdown Level 2 Lockdown
Date Status New Cases/1M
1 May 26 Schools, theaters, and exhibitions partially reopen 12.90
2 Jun 10 Bars and restaurants reopen 5.97
3 Aug 14 Nightclubs close, outdoor consumption of alcohol is banned, and bars and restaurants must close by 1 am 86.93
4 Sep 21 Begin localized lockdowns in parts of Madrid 237.53
5 Oct 25 New state of emergency declared 334.79
6 Oct 28 Reimpose restrictions on sports events and gatherings 400.90

Differentiating Factors

  • Spain aims for two-thirds vaccination by summer 2021: Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa announced that the country's vaccination program will start in January and aim to reach over two-thirds of the population of 47 million by summer, achieving some level of herd immunity. Read More
  • Negative test required for visitors from high-risk countries: In late November, Spain announced new restrictions for visitors from high-risk countries, which currently include every major European nation except Finland and Norway. Travellers must submit certification of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival. Read More
  • Barcelona charity throws concert to test COVID screenings: The Fight AIDS and Infectious Diseases Foundation threw a concert in partnership with Barcelona's Primavera Sound festival in mid-December to test the effectiveness of rapid screening to hold cultural events safely. Five hundred people were selected to take an antigen screening test and then attend a five-hour concert, wearing facemasks. Read More
  • New outbreak results in lockdown measures reimposed: Healthcare workers in hospitals were infected after gathering for a retirement party, leading to reimposed lockdown measures to curb the spread of the virus. Read More
  • Pandemic-denier arrested: The Spanish police arrested a COVID-19 denier for using fake social media accounts to claim health professionals and the media were behind a "COVID farce" and urging followers to attack politicians. Read More
  • Spain expands testing in bid to understand second wave: The government is overseeing an expanded and randomized testing regime in a bid to understand the country's mounting second wave, which has seen high case incidences but low fatalities and hospitalizations. Doctors believe this may be due to the relatively younger profile of the new wave of COVID sufferers. Read More
  • Spaniards divided over government response: New polling by Pew Research Center finds that Spain is divided over the government's coronavirus response, with 47 percent of respondents saying their country has done a bad job of dealing with the outbreak, and 53 percent saying the response has been good. Read More
Compared with EU Neighbors
  • 80.4
    France 2,697,014
    Cases     41,319
    Per 1M     64,892
    Deaths

    France maintained its improved public health policy from the early fall, keeping its score relatively strong, although poor contact tracing and a relatively small stimulus package kept it from being higher.

  • 52.6
    Germany 1,762,637
    Cases     21,038
    Per 1M     34,145
    Deaths

    Germany has improved its score a bit in the past few months, after a sharp decline in the fall. Its improvements in contact tracing, which are already likely underestimated in the data, and restrictions on public gatherings, have played important roles in this turnaround, although there has been a recent spike in cases, likely due to both recent restriction relaxations and vaccine rollout issues.

  • 43.4
    Italy 2,129,376
    Cases     35,219
    Per 1M     74,621
    Deaths

    While hit hard by COVID-19, Italy’s reliance on facts and improved contact tracing has helped slow the spread and slightly improved its overall score since January.

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New Zealand

Statistics and government response factors available on each country profile include:

Pre-COVID Conditions:

  • Debt to GDP ratio
  • Infant mortality rates
  • Hospital beds per 1,000 people
  • Gini coefficients measuring inequality
  • Health access and quality

COVID-19 Public Health Directives:

  • Stay-at home orders
  • School-closing policy
  • Public-gathering restrictions
  • Cancellation of public events
  • Testing policy and rates per 1,000 people
  • Emergency healthcare spending per capita
  • Travel restrictions
  • Contact tracing

COVID-19 Financial Response:

  • Stimulus package as a share of GDP
  • Income support
  • Debt-forbearance

Public Communications:

  • Instances of misinformation by leadership
  • Limitations on press freedom, censorship

Current/Historic In-Country COVID-19 Status:

  • Death rates per 1 million
  • Case rates per 1 million