DomusVi Ciudad de Murcia residential cross content 1200

Date Published: 09/01/2023

ARCHIVED - New Kraken variant causes concern in Spain: Covid update Jan 9

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

The strain has already been detected in more than 25 countries, including Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - New Kraken variant causes concern in Spain: Covid update Jan 9

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the XBB.1.5 coronavirus variant, which is commonly known as the Kraken strain, is the most contagious so far and has expressed "concern" about its rapid spread.

In the US, Kraken is already resulting in the second worst wave of infections of the entire pandemic but it has also been detected in more than 25 other countries, including Spain.

For now though, the evolution of the health crisis in Spain still remains positive, and the country has reported fewer cases this week than before New Year. In addition, the cumulative incidence rate in people over the age of 60 has dropped a further 12 points, according to the latest report published by the Ministry of Health on Friday January 6.

Coronavirus infections

The Ministry of Health registered an additional 9,220 cases of coronavirus on Friday, which is 5,001 fewer than the same day the previous week.

Of the total infections, 6,671 were diagnosed in people over the age of 60, which is another good drop of 779 cases compared to a week ago.

This brings the total number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic to 13,693,478.

The positivity rate stands at 13.46%, up from 13.98% on December 30.

Cumulative incidence rate

The 14-day cumulative incidence rate has registered another significant 12 point decrease since New Year, falling to 129.40 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In addition, the 7-day figure, standing at 63.75, still remains more than 50% below the two-rate, an excellent indication that the health situation remains relatively stable.

In the past two weeks, a total of 15,939 positives have been registered in this age group.

When it comes to the different autonomous communities, Andalucia has regained the best spot and now has the lowest incidence rate in country, with 49.97 cases per 100,000.

Melilla is currently faring the worst, with 378.50 infections per 100,000 people while the Valencian Community is sticking below the national average, with 125.21 cases.

The highest incidence continues to be recorded in people over the age of 80, with a rate of 223.00 cases this week, followed by those aged between 70 and 79 (125.81) and between 60 and 69 (83.16).

Fatalities and hospitalisations

A further 93 Covid-related fatalities have been reported in the last 7 days, bringing the total number of deaths in Spain up to 117,413. The regions with the most deaths are the Valencian Community (25), the Canary Islands (12) and Castilla y León (11). At the opposite extreme, Ceuta, the Basque Country and La Rioja did not register any fatalities last week.

There are currently 3,520 patients admitted to hospitals across Spain with Covid, compared to 3,717 last Friday. At the moment, 231 people are being treated for more serious conditions in the ICU, which is a reduction of 5.

These figures mean that 2.82% of all intensive care beds are occupied by people with a positive diagnosis.

However, of the total number of patients hospitalised, just over half are admitted as a result of Covid complications.

Vaccination data

As of January 9, 92.9% of the population (39,203,153 people) are double jabbed. In addition, 39,280,247 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: Pixabay

Read more about Coronavirus:

Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin to get a comprehensive email with all the week’s news for Spain, Murcia, Alicante and Andalucía.

Get a sneak peek – here are a few of our recent Subscription Bulletins: