Coronavirus infection rates rise in Spain due to outbreaks in Aragón, Madrid, Canaries and Catalonia

The data supplied on Sunday by the Spanish Health Ministry covering the progress of the coronavirus epidemic in Spain reveals the effects of the latest outbreaks that have been detected. This is most clearly seen in the information about the Aragón region, which reported 76 new infections over the last three days – including 18 detected on Friday, and another 33 detected on Saturday. 

In the other two regions that have reported most cases, Madrid with 79 and Catalonia with 115, the impact is not so noticeable. Since the beginning of the pandemic, these territories have consistently reported most cases, influenced by the fact that they have the highest population levels in Spain, after Andalusia. 

On the other end of the table, the rest of the country’s regions have reported fewer than 10 new cases. The exception is the Canary Islands, which received a migrant boat that was carrying people infected with the coronavirus on board, and as such registered 12 new cases. 

In terms of the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last seven days, Madrid tops the list, with 7.91, up from 7.04 the day before. Aragón is second, with 6.9, and Catalonia third with 6.57. This parameter has risen in 12 of Spain’s 17 regions, as has the average across the country, going from 3.08 in Saturday’s ministry report to 3.53 on Sunday. In total, there have been 246,272 confirmed infections in Spain since the crisis began. 

With regard to fatalities, just one Covid-19-related death was reported by Spain’s regions as having taken place on Saturday, but a further 28 were added to the list over the last week: Madrid, with 12, and Castilla y León, with 6, reported the most. The Balearic and Canary islands, Cantabria, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia, Navarre and La Rioja did not report any fatalities. The official death toll, which has now been revised by the Health Ministry, stands at 28,323. Excess deaths in Spain, however, according to the Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo) run by the Carlos III health institute, came in at over 46,000 during the crisis. 

Admissions in intensive care units (ICUs) normally reflect the spread of the virus with something of a delay, given that it takes about a week after someone is infected to require such treatment. This figure has fallen, coming in at five admissions over the last seven days, down from six reported on Saturday by the ministry. A total of 11,637 patients have needed ICU treatment during the crisis. 

Hospital admissions have also fallen. Sunday’s report stated that 124,871 coronavirus patients have been admitted during the crisis, with 16 corresponding to the previous 24 hours and 83 allocated to previous dates. The day before, there were 101 total admissions reported, of which 49 corresponded to the previous 24 hours.

English version by Simon Hunter.