Health reported 72,000 new positives for covid since last Tuesday, which raise the incidence to 461 and bring the rate back to that of three weeks ago
The disappearance of most of the restrictions to stop the spread of coronavirus in Spain threatens to prolong for weeks or months the end of a sixth wave of covid that began four months ago.
The slight drop (9 points) in the cumulative incidence of cases published on Tuesday, the first to be achieved in a week and a half, was nothing more than a mirage. The intensity of infections has picked up again today and nothing in the official data revealed by the Ministry of Health this afternoon indicates that there will be setbacks in the rate of positives in the coming days.
From Tuesday to today there are 72,000 more infected with coronavirus in Spain, which increases the rate of growth of infections registered a week ago by at least 10%. The accumulated incidence in the last 14 days confirms this rebound in positives. The spread today is 461 infected for every 100,000 Spaniards, 25 more than last Tuesday. The wave has regressed to the situation of three weeks ago, since it is practically the same rate as that of last March 4.
The seven-day cumulative incidence, which allows us to glimpse how the pandemic may evolve in the short term, indicates that in a week the rate of contagion will be similar to the current one. Although it may not speed up, it will not walk towards the end of the wave either. The truth is that Spain continues to be well immersed in the official situation of high risk of contagion, with nine autonomous communities even at extreme risk (more than 500 cumulative incidence).
The highest rate is in Galicia, where 969 cases are close to a thousand infected per 100,000, followed by the Canary Islands (902), Extremadura (899) and La Rioja (628). In contrast, the best data is found in Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia, with less than 300 incidences. They are the only territories in the country in a situation of medium risk.
In line with the above, the number of deaths from the pandemic continues to be very high. In the last three days, 339 more deaths were reported, some less than the 350 last Tuesday, but considerably more than the 287 in the same calculation period a week ago.
Hospitals, almost normal
The only good news is the positive evolution of hospitals, less and less pressured by covid patients, both in the Internal Medicine and Pulmonology services of the floors and in the ICU critical care beds. Only 3.6% of plant beds are occupied by covid patients and in the case of ICUs it is 5.59%, which already places the 5% rate that marks the border between the situation of current low risk of the Spanish health centers and the normality of the epidemic. So much so that 10 of the 17 communities already have their ICUs with occupancy rates due to covid of less than 5%, and therefore under normal conditions. The lowest rate is reported by critical care units in Extremadura, with 1.6% pandemic occupancy, and the highest continues to be that of Catalan ICUs, with 11.3%, still classified as medium risk.
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