According to reports from the BBC, at least 68 doctors have tested positive for Covid after attending a Christmas party in southern Spain. This was stated by the local authorities. Most of them are doctors and nurses who work in the intensive care unit at Malaga Regional Hospital in Andalusia.

And health authorities said, last Wednesday, that they were all at a party attended by about 170 people. All guests submitted negative antigen tests prior to the event, but more than half are now in isolation. Affected individuals are vaccinated and do not show any symptoms.

The situation created an emergency in the intensive care unit where the staff works, so doctors and nurses from other clinics were called in.

The Omicron variant and the spread of the pandemic have heightened concerns about the risk of Covid spreading at social events over the Christmas period. In fact, to reduce this risk, the Andalusian health authorities advised hospital staff not to participate in the Christmas holidays. The appeal ended in a vacuum, it seems.

Just last Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged people to be very careful during the holidays. “We must not let our guard down,” he told reporters in the capital, Madrid.