Date Published: 03/08/2021
ARCHIVED - Murcia Covid Update August 3: curve of fifth wave of the pandemic has begun to flatten
ARCHIVED ARTICLE New infections have dropped in the Region of Murcia leading experts to believe that the fifth wave has finally peaked
The evolution of the coronavirus pandemic in Murcia has seen a more positive start to August, with 407 new infections registered in the region on Monday, August 2 –
this is a significant 70 fewer than the same day the previous week. Having carried out 5,305 PCR and antigen tests in 24 hours, the positivity rate has also dropped to 7.6 per cent compared to 10 per cent a week ago.
Of the 407 new cases, 91 correspond to the municipality of Murcia, 46 to Cartagena , 37 to Molina de Segura, 25 to Lorca, 17 to Torre Pacheco and 15 to Yecla. The rest of the infections are spread throughout the municipalities. Active cases rose slightly and stood at 5,248 on Monday, with 5,081 patients in home isolation with mild symptoms, up 47 from the previous day.
Crucially, the 14-day
cumulative incidence rate has now fallen to 475.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants from 481 over the weekend, and the Murcia Region still has one of the lowest rates in all of Spain, second only to Castilla La Mancha.
Sadly, the region registered two new Covid-related deaths on Monday, an 84-year-old man from the municipality of Murcia and a 61-year-old from Cartagena. This brings the total death toll since the beginning of the pandemic to 1,620.
Naturally, as infections increase, so does hospital pressure, although at a slower rate than in previous waves, but even though the rate of covid infections is slowing down, the natural lag between detection of cases and a small percentage of cases becoming more serious, causes a delay of around 10 days before the knock-on effects can be seen in hospital admission figures. So for the moment, the admissions are continuing to increase and on Monday, hospitals in Murcia received 19 new admissions, bringing the total to 167. Of these, 32 are being treated in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
Finally, the number of Murcians who have recovered from the virus continues to increase, with a further 339 people given the all-clear from Covid on Monday.
Vaccination Update: Over the weekend, the number of people in the Region of Murcia to have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccines surpassed a million, representing around two thirds of the population. In the Region, a total of 1,704,350 vaccinations have been administered as of Sunday with 780,111 people now fully vaccinated in Murcia.
Data at a glance updated on Tuesday, August 3:
Positives diagnosed in the last 24-hour period: 407
Active cases: 5,248
Total of positive cases to date: 126,602
Patients in home isolation with mild cases: 5,081
Hospitalisations: 167
Patients in intensive care: 32
Total recoveries to date: 119, 734
Total fatalities to date: 1,620
Image: Murcia Salud