Date Published: 25/02/2021
ARCHIVED - Further drop in Covid infection rate in Spain on Wednesday but the crisis is far from over
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Analysts warn that it will be hard to maintain the downward trend and avoid a fourth wave
The third wave of coronavirus contagion continues to subside in Spain this week, the downward trend in the numbers of new cases confirmed continuing in the latest update issued on Wednesday afternoon by the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry report a further 9,212 cases – the second consecutive day with a total of under 10,000 – and a drop in the 14-day accumulated incidence rate to 218.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Among Spain’s 17 regions only two continue to present figures higher than the 250 “extreme risk” threshold - Madrid (339) and the Basque Country (274) - although the situation also remains alarming in the two north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla (311 and 458 respectively).
At the other end of the scale the figures are far closer to being acceptable in regions such as Extremadura, with a rate of 87, the Balearics (101) and the Canaries (111), and in all parts of the country the fact that there have been fewer cases reported in the last 7 days than in the week before underlines the improvement.
As lower case numbers filter through to hospitals throughout Spain the stress on health service resources also continues to ease, and the latest data show that the number of Covid patients receiving hospital treatment has dropped to 13,495, occupying 10.7 per cent of available beds. In intensive care units the equivalent percentage is still high at 30.55 per cent but has been falling steadily for the last ten days.
However, the pandemic continues to claim lives, and the latest bulletin reports another 389 fatalities, bringing the official Ministry total since the first deaths a year ago to 68,468.
In many ways it can be said that the third wave is coming to an end, but with the mass vaccination campaign having started frustratingly slowly (and unlikely to gather significant momentum until April, according to various statements made on Wednesday) the danger of a fourth wave of infection cannot be ignored. Anti-Covid restrictions on socializing and travel are being relaxed all over Spain at present and in consequence it will be difficult to maintain the sharp downward trend in contagion which has been observed during February, and with the daily Covid death count having dipped below 350 on only one occasion since mid-January there is no denying that the pandemic is still affecting the country very seriously indeed.