ARCHIVED - Spain Covid update July 28: first fall in the incidence rate for over 5 weeks

73 fatalities represent the highest daily death toll in Spain since early June

The latest daily update published by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday evening at last showed a drop, albeit a slight one, in the national 14-day incidence rate, with the confirmation of 27,149 new cases leading to a figure of 699 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (down 2 points from the day before).

This would appear to support the view that the fifth wave of coronavirus infection in Spain may be peaking, and with the 7-day rate well under half the 14-day figure at 323 it seems reasonable to expect further decreases over the next few days. However, the PCR positivity rate of 16.22 per cent is still more than three times the target of 5 per cent set by the WHO as a threshold below which the pandemic can be viewed as being under control.

All of the country’s 17 regions remain significantly above the “extreme risk” threshold of 250 in terms of the 14-day rate, with the highest figures being reported in Catalunya (falling to 1,035), Navarra (954), the Balearics (924) and Aragón (819), while at the other end of the scale are Castilla-La Mancha (388) and Murcia (443).

The majority of the newly reported cases continue to be in teenagers and young adults who have not been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, although as vaccination reaches more and more people in their 20s and 30s the differences are becoming slightly less marked. It is however, equally notable that the incidence in all of the older age groups is up, and in various areas of Spain, outbreaks amongst the elderly who have been double-vaccinated are rising, particularly in care homes.

The Wednesday breakdown of incidence rates by age groups is as follows:

Age 0-11: 544 (up by 14 points)

Age 12-19: 1,618 (down by 19 points)

Age 20-29: 1,823 (down by 26 points)

Age 30-39: 888 (down 12 points)

Age 40-49: 457 (stable over the last 24 hours)

Age 50-59: 337 (up 7 points)

Age 60-69: 328 (up 4 points)

Age 70-79: 188 (up 7 points)

Age 80+: 261 (up 13 points)

Hospital patients and fatalities

Even if the number of new infections is stabilizing, as illness develops the figures regarding hospitalizations make for grim reading. At present there are 9,672 Covid patients receiving hospital treatment in Spain as opposed to 7,255 a week ago, an increase of 33.3 per cent, and in consequence over 8 per cent of hospital beds are occupied by patients with positive test results.

Similarly, the number of intensive care Covid patients has risen by 35 per cent over the last week weekend to 1,593, accounting for 16.6 per cent of available beds, while in Catalunya that proportion remains at over 44 per cent.

At the same time, the Covid-related death toll in Spain rose by 73, the highest daily figure since early June, taking the official Ministry total related to the virus to 81,396.

Vaccination data

Following the administration of another 569,000 doses on Tuesday the number of people in Spain who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus has reached 26,420,097, equivalent to 55.7 per cent of the population.

31,315,140 people have received at least one vaccine dose, equivalent to 66 per cent of the population.

Significant progress is now being made in the age group with most cases being reported – those between 20 and 29. In this group the equivalent proportions are up to 15.5 per cent fully vaccinated and 41.7 per cent with at least one dose: just a week ago the proportions stood at 13.5 per cent and 29.7 per cent.

Image: @MurciaSalud