Spain to enter new era without isolation for mild COVID-19

MADRID (AP) — Spanish health authorities are moving closer to normalizing life in coexistence with COVID-19, by scrapping mandatory quarantines starting from next week for those infected with the coronavirus but showing no or mild symptoms of the disease. Under current regulations, seven days of isolation are mandatory for anybody who tests positive for the coronavirus. Starting on March 28, free COVID-19 tests will only be conducted on high-risk groups, at health facilities and nursing homes, and on patients with the worse conditions, Spain’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. Since the first case was identified in early 2020, Spain has officially reported 11.3 million infections and just over 100,000 confirmed deaths, although the accuracy of record-keeping has varied during the pandemic.