Date Published: 23/10/2020
ARCHIVED - 20,986 cases of Coronavirus in Spain on Thursday 22nd; a new record
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
For the second day in a row, Spain breaks its record for covid-19 cases
For the second day in a row, Spain broke its record for new infections on Thursday 22nd October: 20,986. This figure exceeded the previous record by just over 4,000 and brings the total number of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 up to 1,026,281.
These are disappointing figures that are also reflected in the cases diagnosed the previous day: 7,953, 1,839 more than the previous day.
The Government admits to there being "a lot of concern" about this data, highlighted by the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, who reiterated, once again, that Spain is facing "very tough weeks" because there are many areas of community transmission in the country.
«These are numbers to reflect on. We are now one of six countries that have exceeded one million infected and another six will do so shortly, "explained the director of the Center for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES), Fernando Simón (on Friday France passed the 1 million mark). “The evolution is not good. The trend will continue to be upward. We do not know if it will be moderate or not, "the Health spokesman acknowledged.
The most populated communities were those reporting the highest incidence of new coronavirus cases; Catalonia added 4,417 new infected to its list; Madrid totals rose by 3,632 and Andalusia by 2,951, passing the barrier of 100,000 cases in the region for the first time.
This rise was reflected in the cumulative incidence (AI or cases diagnosed per 100,000 inhabitants in the last fourteen days). The national average climbed to 348.99 cases, 16 more than the previous day. "It is above all protocols," summarized Dr. Simón.
Several regions are giving cause for concern, with rapidly increasing IA rates, amongst them Aragón, which began a perimeter confinement of Zaragoza, Teruel and Huesca on Thursday and saw its IA rate skyrocket on Thursday by 86.79 points: it went from 542.64 to 629.43 per 100,000 of population. Three other areas of concern are Melilla, La Rioja and Navarra. In Melilla the IA is already at 833.37 (a rise of 47.41 cases); La Rioja exceeded the barrier of 600 cases (601.65) and the Navarra continues with a runaway IA rate: 1,058 cases, with an increase of 37 points.
Hospital occupancy
The occupation of hospital beds increased slowly, up to 11.80%, pushed upwards by communities with a high rate such as Madrid (20.35%) or Castilla y León (19.43%) :"The more cases there are, the greater the homogenization," said Simón.
14,160 people are currently admitted to Spanish hospitals with severe covid cases (462 more than the previous day), a level that "is beginning to be worrying at a national level," acknowledged the director of CCAES. "The system is not going to collapse but we are at risk of limiting the routine activity of hospitals," added Simón.
The number of occupied beds in intensive care units increased by 36 people to 1,966 patients. The national average now stands at 21.85%, although Simón stressed that several communities are above 35%. The high rate of positivity of PCR and antigen tests is now 12.2%, which is four times higher than the level recommended by Europe. Simón also stressed that an average of 1,673 tests per 100,000 inhabitants is carried out per day, "one of the highest averages in Europe."
Fatalities increased by 155, bringing the total number to date up to 34,521. Click here for detailed source data.