ARCHIVED - Covid incidence rate rises again in Spain but fewer deaths with 20.5 million fully vaccinated
The average Covid fatality rate has dropped to 17 per day over the last week
As Spain nears the middle of July the fifth wave of coronavirus infection continues to show little or no sign of abating and the latest Ministry of Health update published on Thursday evening reports another significant increase in the 14-day accumulated incidence rate.
A further 17,317 positive diagnoses have been confirmed and the rate now stands at 277.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, having trebled in just 16 days. In addition, the 7-day rate has soared to 179.5, indicating that the peak of this episode of contagion is yet to be reached, and with the number of cases having climbed to 3.91 million it seems certain that the 4-million mark will be reached in the near future.
One of the characteristics of the pandemic in this phase is that those who are most susceptible to infection are the ones yet to be vaccinated against Covid, and this is again borne out in the latest breakdown of rates by age group:
Age 0-11: 123
Age 12-19: 798 (maximum 2,442 in Navarra)
Age 20-29: 911 (maximum 2,166 in Catalunya)
Age 30-39: 340
Age 40-49: 173
Age 50-59: 96
Age 60-69: 84
Age 70-79: 33
Age 80+: 40
Among Spain’s 17 regions the highest rates are reported in Catalunya (603), Cantabria (395), Navarra (377), Castilla y León (418) and Asturias (273), all of them above the extreme risk threshold of 250, while at the other end of the scale figures of below 100 are reported only in the north African enclaves of Ceuta (32) and Melilla (93). The lowest figure among mainland regions is to be found in Murcia at 111.
Hospital patients
However, there is some good news concerning the strain on public health services, which remains relatively insignificant in comparison with the third wave in the New Year. The proportion of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients has risen slightly but is still only 2.42 per cent, while in intensive care units the equivalent figure is 6.64 per cent.
At the same time, the number of Covid-related fatalities reported on Tuesday was relatively low at 28, and the official total since early 2020 now stands at 80,997. However, the death rate has dropped considerably and has been rising at an average rate of 17 per day over the last week, as opposed to 47 a month ago.
Vaccination data
Following the administration of a further 690,000 vaccine doses on Wednesday the number of people in Spain who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus has reached 20,528,505, equivalent to 43.3 per cent of the population.
27,277,127 people have received at least one vaccine dose, equivalent to 57.5 per cent of the population.
However, in the 20-29 age group only 15 per cent have received their first jab and the proportion fully immunized has reached just 11 per cent.