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Date Published: 03/01/2023

ARCHIVED - Covid incidence falls 19 points over New Year: Spain pandemic update January 3

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

Daily infections in Spain have also dropped by more than 4,500 in the last week

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Covid incidence falls 19 points over New Year: Spain pandemic update January 3

While countries across the globe are reinstating travel restrictions on Chinese visitors amid fears of another coronavirus wave, Spain has celebrated a victory of sorts over the New Year period. Far from an explosion of infections as has occurred in previous year, the incidence rate among the older age groups fell by almost 20 points in the last few days and hospital pressure is also following this downward trend.

Coronavirus infections

The Ministry of Health registered an additional 14,221 cases of coronavirus in its latest update on Friday December 30, which is 4,577 fewer than the same day the previous week.

Of the total infections, 7,450 were diagnosed in people over the age of 60, which is another good drop of almost 1,900 cases compared to a week ago.

Since last Friday, the regions that have reported the most cases are Madrid (1,262) and Catalonia (840).

This brings the total number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic to 13,684,258.

Cumulative incidence rate

After rising slightly last week, the 14-day cumulative incidence rate has registered a significant 19 point decrease over New Year, falling to 141.47 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In addition, the 7-day figure, standing at 60.48, still remains more than 50% below the two-rate, an excellent indication that the health situation remains relatively stable.

When it comes to the different autonomous communities, Ceuta has knocked Andalucia (46.32) off its perch and now has the lowest incidence rate in the country, standing at 39.54 cases this week. Melilla is currently faring the worst, with 329.43 infections per 100,000 people while the Valencian Community is sticking below the national average, with 126.50 cases.

The highest incidence continues to be recorded in people over the age of 80, with a rate of 232.74 cases this week, followed by those aged between 70 and 79 (138.19) and between 60 and 69 (96.23).

Fatalities and hospitalisations

A further 88 Covid-related fatalities have been reported in the last 7 days, bringing the total number of deaths in Spain up to 117.095. The regions with the most deaths are the Valencian Community (14), Castilla y León (12) and Galicia (11). At the opposite extreme, Cantabria, Madrid and Murcia did not register any fatalities last week.

There are currently 3,717 patients admitted to hospitals across Spain with Covid, which is a huge reduction of 378 people compared to last Friday. At the moment, 236 people are being treated for more serious conditions in the ICU, which is an increase of three.

These figures mean that 2,71% of all intensive care beds are occupied by people with a positive diagnosis.

The highest saturation in the ICU is found in Melilla, where occupancy has reached 18.18%; Catalonia, with 6.02%, and Cantabria, with 5.94%.

Vaccination data

As of January 3, 92.9% of the population (39,202,737 people) are double jabbed. In addition, 39,279,765 people over the age of 12, or 93.1% of the population, have received at least one dose.

Read more: How to book a vaccination appointment to get your Covid jab

Image: Ministerio de Sanidad

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