Date Published: 13/01/2022
ARCHIVED - Incidence rate drops in three regions: Spain Covid update January 13
The sixth wave could be slowing down, according to Spain’s Minister for Health
In a week fraught with debate in Spain over whether Covid monitoring should be reduced to treat it more like the common flu, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, has sparked hope, reminding that even though infections continue to grow, the number of people becoming seriously ill is nowhere near what was experienced during the third wave of the pandemic.
Furthermore, Ms Darias has highlighted the fact that “the speed of growth of this epidemic wave has slowed down in the last week,” indicating that Spain may be about to reach its much-anticipated peak.
Coronavirus infections
Despite the encouraging words of the Health Minister, Spain broke yet another new record for daily infections on Wednesday January 12, with 179,125 cases. The previous milestone occurred on December 30, when 161,688 infections were reported.
As many as 78,855 Covid cases were diagnosed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections since the start of the health crisis to 7,771,367.
In the past two weeks, 1,482,165 positives have been diagnosed.
The positivity rate has also risen slightly from 38.31% to 38.89%on January 12.
Cumulative incidence rate
The 14-day figure continues to climb and has jumped more than 500 points in the last two weeks. The cumulative incidence rate now stands at 3,127 cases per 100,000 inhabitants having broken through the 3,000 barrier on Tuesday.
Andalucía has the lowest figure in the country, with just 1,527 cases, while the Region of Murcia is now at 3,479 cases, above the national average, and the Valencian Community’s incidence rate stands at 2,677 cases.
And while a general upward trend can be observed, the incidence rate has dropped in three communities, most notably in Navarra which has been topping the list with more than 7,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Young people between 20 and 29 have the highest incidence of 4,285 cases, while the most vulnerable groups (aged 60+) continue to have the lowest rate, although these populations have also had a higher percentage of the booster vaccines.
Hospitalisations
As the Minister of Health pointed out, hospital pressure is on the rise but at a far slower rate than overall infections, with 17,028 Covid patients now admitted. There are 2,228 people in the ICU which brings the occupancy rate up to 23.77%, however, placing intensive care at high risk.
In the last 24 hours, 2,466 people have been admitted to hospital while a further 2,184 were discharged.
Seven Spanish regions including Murcia are at high risk due to Covid bed occupancy while the ICUs in the Valencian Community are at the highest level, with 26.39%. On the other hand, Andalucía remains at medium risk despite its low incidence rate.
Fatalities
The Ministry of Health reported an additional 125 fatalities on Wednesday January 12 which brings the overall number of Covid-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to 90,508. This is a decrease compared to the 148 deaths reported on the same day last week.
Vaccination data
Some 38,108,556 people have already received their full vaccination schedule in Spain while 92.5% of the population have received one jab.
In addition, 89.55% of the population over the age of 70 have by now received a booster dose.
Image: AEMPS
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