ARCHIVED - Covid incidence rates across Spain drop minimally despite record vaccination figures: update June 7
Madrid drops below the high risk threshold for the first time since August 2020
Amid the optimism regarding the development of the coronavirus pandemic in Spain, where fatalities are becoming rarer and Covid hospital patient numbers continue to fall as the vaccination campaign progresses rapidly, the latest update published by the national government on Monday evening provides a reminder that the crisis is far from over as yet.
Over the weekend it is reported that the 14-day accumulated incidence rate rose in 7 of the country’s 17 regions (Andalucía, the Balearics, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalunya, the Comunidad Valenciana, Navarra and La Rioja), and that as a result the overall figure dropped only minimally to 115.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. On the other hand, in Madrid the figure at last fell below the “high risk” threshold of 150, leaving only the regions of La Rioja, the Basque Country and Andalucía above that figure, along with the north African enclave of Melilla.
La Rioja now has the highest level of cases in the country, with Andalucía in second position.
At the other end of the scale the lowest rates are still to be found in the Balearics (40.3), the Comunidad Valenciana (40), Galicia (52.2) and Murcia (61), as well as the other African enclave of Ceuta (48.7).
Meanwhile, the number of Covid patients receiving hospital treatment remained steady at just over 4,100, accounting for 3.33 per cent of occupied hospital beds, while the equivalent figure in intensive care units stands at 11.8 per cent although it is still above 25 per cent in the region of Madrid (26.5%): in Galicia this indicator is below 3 per cent.
The Monday bulletin reports a further 40 fatalities, taking the official Ministry of Health death toll since February 2020 up to 80,236.