ARCHIVED - Spain Covid update 14th July 2021: incidence rate nears double the extreme risk threshold with 26,000 new cases confirmed

1 in 100 people in Catalunya have been infected in the last two weeks

60 per cent of the population of Spain have received at least one vaccine dose

The fifth wave of coronavirus infection in Spain, which has coincided with the relaxation of pandemic restrictions at the start of the summer, continues to intensify and the latest daily update published by the national government on Wednesday evening reports another significant increase in the 14-day accumulated incidence rate.

A further 26,390 positive diagnoses have raised the rate to 469.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, 100 points higher than 48 hours previously, and as the overall figure rises so too does the proportion of PCR tests giving positive results, which in the latest bulletin reached 13.55 per cent.

In addition, the breakdown of incidence rates by age group provided by the Ministry of Health continues to illustrate the extent to which younger adults and teenagers – most of whom have not been vaccinated - are accounting for the majority of new cases:

Age 0-11: 237

Age 12-19: 1,252 (maximum 3,731 in Navarra)

Age 20-29: 1,508 (maximum 3,515 in Castilla y León)

Age 30-39: 613

Age 40-49: 288

Age 50-59: 167

Age 60-69: 155

Age 70-79: 63

Age 80+: 78

All of these figures are continuing to rise alarmingly, but it seems clear that the effectiveness of the vaccines is helping to control the situation to a certain degree among those who have been fully vaccinated.

Among Spain’s 17 regions the highest rates are reported in Catalunya (1,068), Castilla y León (779), Navarra (700), Asturias and Cantabria (both 527), and as many as 14 of Spain’s 17 regions are above the “extreme risk” threshold of 250. The only exceptions are Castilla-La Mancha (137), Murcia (191) and Galicia (244), along with the north African enclaves of Ceuta (70) and Melilla (144).

In response, various regional governments have begun to tighten up some of the restrictions on movement and social gatherings, which have been relaxed in recent months, and the regional governments of both the Comunidad Valenciana and Catalunya have announced the re-introduction of night-time curfews.

Hospital admissions and fatalities

Inevitably, the fifth wave is beginning to increase the strain on public health services although in most regions the upward trend is less exaggerated than in previous surges in infection rates. The proportion of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients has risen to 3.72 per cent while in intensive care units the equivalent figure is 8.75 per cent, but in Catalunya the figures are 6.32% and 23.54% respectively.

At the same time, the number of newly confirmed Covid-related fatalities on Tuesday was just 10 and the official total since early 2020 now stands at 81,043.

Vaccination data

Following the administration of a further 595,000 doses on Tuesday the number of people in Spain who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus has reached 22,511,734, equivalent to 47.4 per cent of the population.

28,475,900 people have received at least one vaccine dose, equivalent to 60 per cent of the population.

However, in the age group with most cases being reported – those between 20 and 29 – the equivalent proportions are just 11.9 per cent fully vaccinated and 20.1 per cent with at least one dose.