Malaga marks five years since the dawn of the coronavirus pandemic in the province

Iván Gelibter

Malaga

Monday, 17 February 2025, 11:00

The arrival of Covid-19 in Malaga followed the same pattern as it did elsewhere around the world - at first, it approached quietly, until exploding and surprising a society that did not expect it and that seemed to not have the tools to combat it. The first confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the province were reported on 28 February, the regional Día de Andalucía public holiday, although the expansion of the infection was probably already happening a few weeks earlier.

The first people reported to be affected by the coronavirus were two men and a woman from Marbella, as well as a woman from Fuengirola. At the beginning of the crisis, the Andalusian health authorities said that they were optimistic about stopping the increase in the number of cases, without lowering their guard. Unfortunately, they couldn't have been more wrong, as were health authorities in the rest of the world, starting with epidemiologist and director of Spain's centre for the coordination of health alerts and emergencies, Fernando Simón.

Two weeks after those four initial infections on the Costa del Sol, the situation was out of control and home confinement had been decreed. Covid was present in all hospitals and health centres in Malaga province, where professionals were stretched to breaking point as they faced the virus without protective materials.

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It was in those days that people were talking about 'waves'. The first wave was a nightmare, Malaga included. Since the first two deaths were reported in Malaga on 13 March (two men, 70 and 82), the pandemic was claiming lives on a daily basis. During the first, hardest weeks, from mid-March to the end of April, the Junta's regional health ministry confirmed 253 deaths in the province of Malaga. Although that was the official figure, it was estimated that the real number was at least a third higher, as the statistics did not include those who had died without being tested to determine whether they were infected or not.

Home quarantine led to an improvement from May onwards. With the implementation of a phased de-escalation, restrictive measures were eased and people were back out on the streets. The arrival of summer brought a new wind and the coronavirus seemed to retreat to its winter quarters. However, until the vaccine arrived, the virus continued to mark the lives of Malaga province's residents. It was not until almost 2023 that life returned to something resembling normality.