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Date Published: 19/11/2021
ARCHIVED - Spain Covid Update November 18: hospital pressure on the rise
The incidence rate in Spain has surpassed 100 cases for the first time in two months
After weeks of declining infections and being on the cusp of a ‘new normal’ Spain’s coronavirus figures are on the rebound and the country is bracing itself for a dreaded sixth wave. Earlier this week the Minister of Health recommended adjusting the risk levels upwards in anticipation of further outbreaks but the autonomous communities have almost unanimously rejected this idea, instead asking the central government to make a national ruling on the use of Covid passports to access hospitals, bars and restaurants.
Cumulative incidence rate
The 14-day rate has been steadily on the rise and the Ministry of Health in Spain has reported that the figure reached 104.29 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on Thursday November 18. This is the first time the country has exceeded 100 infections since September.
The situation is particularly worrisome for Navarra, which has the highest rate in the country, at 278.59 cases per 100,000 residents, placing it in the high-risk category.
At the other end of the spectrum are Cueta (39.19), Asturias (54.97) and Andalucía (56.25).
The Region of Murcia stays below the national average, with 95.68 cases while Valencia has now exceeded it at 106.76.
In all, there are 14 communities in Spain at medium risk (between 50 and 150 cases).
By age group, those under 12 continue to have the highest Covid incidence are they remain the only population the vaccine is not open to, followed by people aged between 40 and 49.
Transmission among younger children is soaring in Spain and exceeds 593 cases per 100,000 people in Navarra.
Covid infections
The Ministry has registered 6,315 new cases on Thursday, 3,932 of which were diagnosed in the last 24 hours. These figures are higher than the same day last week, when 4,286 positives were reported, unfortunately underscoring the upward trend of the pandemic.
This brings the total number of infections since the beginning of the health crisis to 5,074,027.
Hospitalisations and fatalities
After a relatively stable few weeks, the increase in infections is now beginning to have an impact on hospital pressure, with ICU occupancy rates rising from 4.3% to 5% in just one week.
There are currently 2,308 patients admitted to hospital with Covid compared to 2,260 the previous day, 457 of whom are being treated in intensive care. This is also up from 447 on Wednesday.
In the last 24 hours, 299 people have been admitted to hospital while a further 264 were discharged.
An additional 29 people lost their lives to Covid according to Thursday’s report compared to 30 the previous day. As many as 87,804 people have died since the pandemic began.
In the last 7 days, there have been 157 fatalities in Spain.
Vaccination data
A total of 37,507,587 people, representing 89% of the population, are now double jabbed in Spain while 38,197,655 people have received their first vaccine (90.7%).
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