Coronavirus cases in Spain officially top two million

The number of coronavirus cases recorded in Spain since the beginning of the pandemic officially exceeded two million on Thursday, amid warnings of difficult weeks ahead. According to the Health Ministry’s latest report, all data points clearly indicate that the pandemic continues to follow an upward trend. Thursday’s report – which also included figures from Wednesday as it was a public holiday (the Health Ministry does not release data on holidays or over the weekend) – registered 42,360 new coronavirus cases. The 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants now stands at 321, up from 296 on Tuesday. The number of Covid-19 patients in hospital and intensive care units (ICUs) rose by 1,514 and 134, respectively. Thursday’s report added 245 Covid-19-related deaths to the official toll.

But the Health Ministry does not believe the rising trend will impact the return to school, which has already happened in some regions, and will begin on Monday in others. When asked about the possibility of closing schools on Thursday, health official María José Sierra replied: “We do not recommend it.”

There are many measures to take before a strict confinement

María José Sierra, from the Health Ministry’s Coordination Center for Health Alerts

“It [schools] is one of the areas that have worked best, where there has been the most control. There were no outbreaks,” said Sierra, from the Health Ministry’s Coordination Center for Health Alerts (CCAES), who was standing in for the center’s director, Fernando Simón. The health official highlighted the enormous social and learning impact of closing schools and said that any new measures would target sectors that are hubs for contagions.

On the question of a new home lockdown, which has been introduced in countries like the United Kingdom, Sierra replied: “There are many measures to take before a strict confinement.” The health official defended the use of partial restrictions, like perimetral lockdowns and limits on social gatherings, which “proved their effectiveness” during the second wave of the pandemic. On November 9, Spain recorded its highest incidence rate when the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants reached 529. The incidence rate began to fall after that date until rising again at the beginning of December.

It is important to note that Thursday’s report recorded a 25-point rise in Spain’s incidence rate even though the 14-day cumulative number includes three public holidays (Christmas, New Year’s Day, King’s Day), when there is typically underreporting. What’s more, fewer PCR and antigen tests have been carried out: while 140,000 tests were being done every day in the middle of December, between December 28 and January 3 – the last week with complete data – only 110,000 tests were administered in the entire week.

With fewer tests being done – most of which are carried out on patients with symptoms –, the positivity rate i.e. the percentage of tests that come back positive out of the total, has also risen. While 20 days ago this figure stood at 8%, it rose to 13.5% last week and to 15.6% on January 4. But experts warn the rise suggests that many chains of transmission are going undetected.

Health officials confirmed that nearly 50 cases of the new strain of coronavirus have been detected

“It is a trend that is worrying us,” said Sierra on Thursday, who added that the weekly positivity rate exceeded 15% in five regions and 20% in three. “Among suspected cases diagnosed in primary healthcare centers, [the positivity rate] is already close to 30%,” she added.

According to Thursday’s report, Extremadura has the highest incidence rate in Spain, recording a 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants of 717. It is followed by the Balearic Islands (529) and Madrid (452). Asturias, Andalusia and the Canary Islands are the only regions where the incidence rate is below 200.

Hospital and ICU admissions – considered one of the most objective indicators of the pandemic – also rose significantly since Tuesday. A total of 14,543 Covid-19 patients are currently admitted to hospital, occupying 11.9% of all hospital beds. The occupancy rate in ICUs is 24%, with 2,307 patients in intensive care.

Sierra confirmed that Spain has detected nearly 50 cases of the new, more contagious strain of the coronavirus that was discovered in the United Kingdom, while many more cases are being studied.

English version by Melissa Kitson.