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Date Published: 19/01/2022

ARCHIVED - Spain Covid update January 19: incidence falls for first time since November

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Hospital pressure and fatalities continue to rise in Spain and are expected to worsen in the coming days

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Spain Covid update January 19: incidence falls for first time since November

On October 14, the accumulated incidence of coronavirus began to rise in Spain after weeks of falling figures and its exponential increase hasn’t slowed down until this week. On Tuesday January 18, the Ministry of Health reported the encouraging information that the 14-day rate has experienced a drop for the first time in the entire sixth wave, and daily infections have likewise shown the lowest jump since December 23.

However, experts have warned that we are not out of the woods yet and as happened with previous waves, the situation could actually get worse before Spain reaches its peak; in fact, daily deaths have reached their worst figure since March and hospital and ICU pressure continues to increase.

Coronavirus infections

A further 94,472 new cases of Covid were registered on January 18, of which 52,078 were diagnosed in the last 24 hours. This is an increase on the number of infections registered on Monday but a significant decrease compared to the 134,942 cases reported on the same day last week. In fact, it’s the lowest daily increase in almost four weeks.

The total number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic is 8,518,975, but it’s important to note that the most recent cases from the Region of Murcia have yet to be added to the overall total by the Ministry.

Cumulative incidence rate

The most promising news is that, as the experts predicted, the 14-day cumulative incidence rate has experienced its first drop in weeks and has fallen to 3,306.52 cases per 100,000 inhabitants – a 91 point decrease compared to the previous day.

Navarra, the community hardest hit by the sixth wave, has reported decreases in the 14-day incidence for more than a week now, after registering 7,254 cases on January 11. On Tuesday, a total of 12 regions have registered a drop in this indicator, many for the first time.

Andalucía remains at the bottom of the list with just 1,416 cases per 100,000 inhabitants while the Valencian Community has fallen slightly to 3,158 cases.

Coinciding with a reduced number of infections, Spain has reported the first decline in the sale and stock of self-diagnosis antigen tests of the sixth wave of the pandemic. In addition, Minister of Inclusion and Social Security, José Luis Escrivá, confirmed on Monday that the amount of sick leave is also “beginning to decline”.

Fatalities and hospitalisations

Despite signs that the sixth wave is beginning to slow in terms of incidence and daily infections, this trend is not reflected in deaths or in hospital pressure. The Ministry of Health reported 284 deaths on Tuesday, which is the highest figure since March 26, when, after the third wave, 590 fatalities were confirmed.

The total death toll since the start of the health crisis in Spain is now 91,277.

Since the sixth wave began, the percentage of beds occupied by Covid patients has gone from 1.52% on October 14 to 15.17% this Tuesday, when 18,918 patients were hospitalised. However, this is still well below the 18.61% registered a year ago when Spain was in the middle of the third wave.

Regarding ICUs, the rate of beds occupied by those infected with coronavirus stands at 23.69%, similar to that of the previous days. With 2,243 admitted to the ICU, this percentage has increased from 4.98% in mid-October, although it is lower than the 32.71% of a year ago.

Health experts believe that as the country nears the end of this wave, hospital and ICU pressure will increase further over the next couple of weeks. According to medics, once a person becomes infected, it may take a few days to test positive. Then, “if they develop a more serious condition, they are admitted to the hospital. If they have severe respiratory failure, they will end up in the ICU. There is a 15-day lag.”

Vaccination data

On Tuesday January 18, a total of 38,188,108 people, representing 90.5% of the population, had been double jabbed while 92.5% of the population over the age of 12 – 39,005,940 people – have already received one dose.

See also: How to obtain a Covid passport and how to book a vaccination appointment in Spain.

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