Date Published: 02/09/2020
ARCHIVED - 301 new covid cases in Murcia as active total passes 3900 on Wednesday
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Nearly 3,000 PCR tests were undertaken on Wednesday
The number of active covid cases in the Region of Murcia continues to rise and on Wednesday reached 3,903, with 301 new cases.
On 3rd September the region will probably pass 4,000 active cases. On 23rd June when Spain came out of confinement there were only 41 active cases remaining in the region.
The figures published relate to Tuesday and were published on Wednesday.
Of the 301 new cases, 113 correspond to the municipality of Murcia, 61 to Lorca, 22 to Cartagena, 16 to Totana, 10 to Alcantarilla, 8 to Molina de Segura, 8 to Santomera, 7 to Mula, 6 to Fuente Álamo , 6 to Torre Pacheco, 6 to Las Torres de Cotillas and 5 to Cieza. The remainder are distributed in smaller quantities around the region.
The number of patients requiring hospital treatment has fallen by 35, to 207, although the number in intensive care has increased by 2, to 36. This is a welcome fall after the high levels of hospitalisations yesterday, which pushed levels close to those last seen at the end of March/beginning of April.
The remaining 3,696 patients are in home isolation with mild cases.
30 of the patients hospitalised are irregular immigrants who arrived in pateras during the last few days and tested covid positive and their travelling companions are amongst those shown as being in home isolation.
The ICUs have sufficient capacity at the moment to cope with the current levels of cases, apart from the Rafael Méndez in Lorca, where there are already 11 critical patients, and the ICU unit is full.
According to the Ministry of Health, at the moment 7% of the ICU beds available in the Region are occupied by Covid patients.
In Madrid that percentage is 15%, and in Spain as a whole, 6%.
Pressure on the hospitals intensifies as more patients require intensive care treatment, but at the moment the average age of the patients is lower, with the average age of patients requiring hospital treatment currently 52.
During the early months of the covid pandemic the average was 63, highlighting the way in which transmission has changed. This is also contributing to a lower level of ICU admissions and the time spent in ICU is less (8 days instead of 11).
In fact, 51% of patients receiving hospital treatment in the last two weeks have been aged 30-60.
The number of patients cured has increased by 89 during the last 24 hours, to 3,366.
PCR testing
The region continues with an intensive programme of PCR tests and during the last 24 hours has carried out 2,987 PCR tests and 77 antibody tests.
Further death
There has been one fatality in the last 24 hours, a 91 year-old female with pre-existing medical conditions, who died in the Los Arcos Hospital. This brings the total fatalities to 160.
Accumulated incidence
The total of cases per 100,000 clearly shows the municipalities under the greatest pressure, and Fuente Álamo remains at the top of the list with 458 cases per 100,000. Lorquí is second with 420, followed by Lorca with 318, Jumilla 289, Totana 256 and Mula 242.