August is vacation month in Spain. It is when the whole country shuts down and life grinds to a temporary halt. The administration closes, and the only services available are those required for law enforcement and healthcare emergencies. It is thus a good idea not to sue or file for divorce in August. Nor is it smart to suffer any kind of medical problem ranging from a toothache to hemorrhoids because most dentists and doctors are at the beach. The medical experience of those who might substitute would fit in a thimble with room left over. Consequently, one must avoid falling ill in August, when little or no medical help is available.
However, it is also August for Covid-19, who needs a change of venue, and so, the coronavirus has taken a vacation of sorts. Since nursing homes were boring, the virus has begun hanging out in the discotheques, nightclubs, and cocktail bars along the beaches all over Spain. Young people who are drunk and/or high are almost as easy a mark as the elderly in nursing homes. The only drawback is that they are harder to kill. Nevertheless, even though they do not die (at least not so frequently), they become harbingers of doom because they carry the virus home to family gatherings, where their parents and grandparents are more vulnerable. And so, the deaths go on.
This has made the contagions in Spain skyrocket again. Yesterday, there were 3715 new cases in the last 24 hours, with figures that have been systematically rising by over 1000 cases each day. For all of the skeptics out there, yes, more people are being tested, but now more people are also dying (127 yesterday, when not so long ago, deaths used to be counted in single digits). Hospitals have begun to set up field tents again, and are preparing for the worst because no one can know what will happen in September when school supposedly begins (collective shudder).
And while all of this is happening, where are our courageous leaders? They are, of course, off the radar because August is also vacation time for politicians. President Pedro Sanchez does not play golf but he and his wife have gone to the beach. Since he is young, reasonably fit, and still has all his hair, he does not have to hide from photographers when wearing a swimsuit. He is sufficiently narcissistic to enjoy showing off his suntanned biceps if the occasion arises.
However, even though he does not hide from photographers, he is certainly hiding from something else. He is hiding from responsibility. When things were going well, he appeared on the television screen so frequently that we all became saturated with the twitching muscle in his manly jaw. Now, that the situation has worsened, he has totally disappeared from the spotlight.
The implicit message is that he is not to blame for the bad statistics. The fault lies with the regional governments, who, like the keystone cops, are scrambling to do their own thing. They are desperately trying to shore up the leaking dykes, but they are making a mess. We all know that none of this is going to end well.
The grand plan of our government was for everyone to learn how to amicably live with the virus, but the plan has failed. Co-habitation with Covid-19 has become difficult if not impossible. No one wishes to be in an abusive relationship with a virus (feminism taken to a new level.)
So now at some point, when Pedro Sanchez has acquired a Coppertone suntan and is sufficiently rested, he will return to Madrid and start being president again. No one can hide out at the beach forever. (Or can they?) Perhaps when he at last appears on the radar, he will have a new and hopefully better plan.
