Ex-Andorran Ministers Publish Covid-19 Memoir 'Divendres 13'

Former Andorran health minister Joan Martínez Benazet and ex-finance minister Eric Jover have published *Divendres 13. La pandèmia a Andorra*, a personal account of managing the Covid-19 crisis six years after it began in March 2020.

In an interview on Diari TV's *Parlem-ne* programme, the pair described the book as an effort to preserve memories of an unprecedented emergency, rather than a comprehensive history. "This book aims to tip the balance towards remembrance," Benazet said, emphasising its blend of political decisions, health strategies and raw emotions to prevent the experience fading away.

Both authors spoke of a personal drive to document the period. Benazet felt compelled to write it himself, while Jover noted how the intensity of events had blurred some recollections, requiring them to piece together details before they vanished.

A central theme was national unity amid uncertainty. "If we unite, we are strong and we get through it," Benazet recalled, highlighting how political differences were set aside for the common good. Inside government, this cohesion shone during critical choices, such as the decision to lock down the country. "If we don't close, we'll crash," Benazet warned in a ministers' meeting, receiving unanimous backing without questions.

The management brought intense pressure. Benazet described a near-automatic focus on tasks like securing resources, curbing infections and averting hospital collapse, which left little room for emotions—"the pandemic anaesthetised me." Announcing deaths was particularly harrowing, leaving "a lump in the throat," he said.

Lighter moments offered relief, including Benazet's cat photobombing a public briefing. "It came to say hello," he quipped at the time, a mishap that he said brought him closer to the public.

The book includes thanks alongside pointed criticisms. Benazet condemned those who profited illicitly, spread conspiracy theories or sought political gain from the crisis. He also warned against waning trust in vaccines amid rising denialism elsewhere. "Children are now dying of measles," he noted, citing reversals in once-controlled diseases and policies questioning vaccination in some countries.

Daily briefings provided vital reassurance, with Benazet upfront from the start: "There will be deaths." The authors stressed science's pivotal role and Andorra's vulnerabilities as a small nation reliant on external supplies like vaccines, yet praised its adaptability.

Ultimately, they questioned whether lasting lessons have been learned. "It's an enigma," Benazet concluded.