ARCHIVED - Covid infection rate in Spain returns to extreme risk levels

20 million people are fully vaccinated but contagion among young adults reaches alarming levels

The seriousness of the fifth wave of coronavirus infection in Spain continues to intensify by the day, and the latest Ministry of Health update published on Wednesday evening reported a further 17,384 confirmed cases as the incidence rate rose above the “extreme risk” threshold of 250 for the first time since late February.

The 14-day rate now stands at 252.16 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, higher than at any point during the fourth wave but still well short of the peak of 900 which was reached during the third wave in January. Among Spain’s 17 regions the highest figures are reported in Catalunya (557), Cantabria (373), Navarra (345) and Castilla y León (343), while at the other end of the scale figures of below 100 are reported only in Ceuta (27.3), Castilla-La Mancha (76), Melilla (91) and the Region of Murcia (96).

However, the most revealing aspect of the latest data is arguably the breakdown of cases by age group, showing that infection is far more common in largely unvaccinated younger adults and teenagers. The full breakdown of 14-day rates by age groups in the Wednesday bulletin is as follows, all of them higher than the previous day:

Age 0-11: 114

Age 12-19: 729 (maximum 2,323 in Navarra)

Age 20-29: 814 (maximum 2,009 in Catalunya)

Age 30-39: 308

Age 40-49: 162

Age 50-59: 88

Age 60-69: 76

Age 70-79: 30

Age 80+: 37

At the same time, the 7-day rate is far higher than half of the 14-day rate at 170, indicating that the upward curve is unlikely to be reversed as yet, and the PCR testing positivity rate in the latest figures is 9.75 per cent.

Hospital patients

Amid these grim figures, the only good news is that the strain on public health services remains relatively insignificant in comparison with the third wave in the New Year. The proportion of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients has fallen marginally to 2.35 per cent, while in intensive care units the equivalent figure has also dropped to 6.55 per cent.

At the same time, the number of Covid-related fatalities reported on Tuesday was relatively low at 17, and the official total since early 2020 now stands at 80,969.

Vaccination data

Following the administration of a further 689,000 vaccine doses on Tuesday the number of people in Spain who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus has reached 19,982,080, equivalent to 42.1 per cent of the population.

26,996,373 people have received at least one vaccine dose, equivalent to 56.9 per cent of the population.

However, in the 20-29 age group only 14.4 per cent have received their first jab and the proportion fully immunized has reached only 10.7 per cent.