The latest coronavirus statistics issued on Monday evening by the health service of the Region of Murcia (SMS) brought both good news and bad news, with a decrease in the number of new cases confirmed but the highest figure regarding fatalities so far during the emergency.
9 more deaths related to Covid-19 were reported in Murcia during the day, bringing the total so far up to 34, while on the other hand “only” 35 new cases were confirmed. With the total standing at 974 this could be taken by some as a positive sign in that the figures have begun to slow down over the last few days (there were 70 new cases on Saturday and 67 on Sunday), but as has been pointed out many times the data are severely distorted by the fact that so few potential victims are actually being tested.
On Monday the number of tests performed in Murcia was down to 250 (as opposed to over 400 in previous days) and it continues to be the case that many people are calling the free coronavirus line in the Region to report symptoms and are not being contacted by medical professionals in order for testing in their home. One figure commonly quoted by analysts is that the “real” amount of infection in Spain could be around 10 times higher than the one officially reported, which would equate to some 10,000 cases in Murcia, so while the data issued on Monday evening may seem positive it is difficult to take them at face value.
In addition, many people seem to be confused by the practice of referring to the percentage daily increase in case numbers. At a national level, for example, the number of cases reported on Monday represented an increase of “only” 8 per cent, far lower than the daily rises of the week before, but that was still more than 6,000 new infections: obviously, as the figures for the previous day grow higher and higher increases of this size become smaller in terms of the proportion they represent, but that does not necessarily mean that the numbers are dropping!
Nonetheless, in Murcia another good sign on Monday was that the number of patients in intensive care units due to coronavirus infection rose by only 2 to 59, while the total of those admitted to hospital increased by 18 to 283 and a further twenty patients have now been given the all-clear.
IT IS FAR TOO EARLY TO STATE THAT THE PANDEMIC IS ON THE WANE IN MURCIA, a point reiterated once again by Manuel Villegas, the minister for Health in the regional government on Monday, who maintains that we still have many gruelling days of cases ahead. Obeying the lockdown restrictions is as vital as ever if the situation is to be brought under control sooner rather than later, and while at present there are still sufficient hospital beds for those requiring them saturation point is not far away. The intensive care unit at the Morales Meseguer hospital in Murcia has no room for any more patients and the situation is close to overflow at the Reina Sofía, also in Murcia, and the Santa Lucía in Cartagena.
Meanwhile, the limited testing data compiled show that the municipalities in which most cases have been confirmed are, unsurprisingly, those of Murcia with 332 (almost a third of the population of the region live in the municipality) and Cartagena with 111. There are 40 cases confirmed so far in Molina de Segura, 28 in Yecla, 24 in Alcantarilla, 22 in Cieza, 18 in Lorca and 15 each in Archena and Santomera.
Full list of cases by municipality:
Murcia 332
Cartagena 111
Molina de Segura 40
yecla 28
Alcantarilla 24
Cieza 22
Lorca 18
Archena 15
Santomera 15
Calasparra 13
Jumilla 13
Mazarrón 12
Torre Pacheco 12
Bullas 11
San Javier 10
Abanilla 9
Caravaca de la Cruz 9
Mula 9
San Pedro del Pinatar 9
Las Torres de Cotillas 9
Alguazas 8
Alhama de Murcia 8
Totana 7
Cehegin 5
Fortuna 5
other municipalities with less than 5 case, total number of patients 39
Remember: LOCKDOWN MEANS LOCKDOWN. STAY AT HOME. STAY SAFE AND DO YOUR BIT TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS.
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