Pharmacies notice rise of Covid test sales following increase in cases

Pharmacies in Barcelona have started to notice an increase in the number of Covid antigen tests sold in the past three weeks due to a rise in Covid cases, which have now hit winter levels. 

However, pharmacists also confess that they have never stopped selling antigen tests: "Although the numbers right now are lower than in 2022, we still sell a lot to this day," Fran Gil from Andreu Serra pharmacy in Barcelona told Catalan News.

"People come here with different symptoms, which could be a regular cold, and with their mask on because there is still a lot of concern," he added.

Some pharmacy workers also admit to wearing a mask again to talk to customers as they prefer not to expose themselves to the risk of being infected.

Pharmacies point out that an increase in sales does not immediately mean that there are more positive cases.

"The fact that more tests are being sold does not imply there are more infections because we (the pharmacies) do not keep a record of the results as we once did, so we can not know the actual numbers," Mónica Serrano from Farmàcia Pia said to this media outlet. 

"A lot of adult people come here asking for tests, people who usually catch Covid at work or when they are commuting," said a worker at Purificación Alguacil pharmacy.

Catalan health department figures show that there are more positive cases among those younger than 60, although infections have been recorded across different age groups.

From July 24 to 30 there were 4,531 new Covid cases reported, the highest number of diagnoses registered in 2023; 945 more cases than the previous week.

The figures for hospitalized patients with Covid-19 in Catalonia have also increased in the past week, 376 between July 24 to 30, up from 310 the week prior. This increase has been more significant in patients over 60 years, as it went from 228 to 283.