Fifth wave of coronavirus in Spain registers highest daily fatality rate so far, with 190 deaths added to toll

The fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Spain set a new daily high on Tuesday: 190 Covid-19 fatalities were added to the overall death toll. That’s according to the latest Health Ministry report, which was released yesterday. Two weeks after the number of coronavirus patients hit a high for this latest spike in infections, with 2,031 intensive care unit (ICU) patients on August 9, the number of deaths continues to grow.

The week began with a considerable uptick in fatalities compared to the week before, which had already set new highs since May. Eight days ago, Monday’s report – which includes data from the weekend – saw 125 Covid-19 deaths reported, with the figure oscillating between 121 and 144 in the subsequent days. This Monday’s report saw fatalities as high as 201.

Just as the number of deaths is the last indicator that starts to rise with each new wave, as is happening now, it is also the last to start to fall. The first indicator to come down when a wave is subsiding are the new cases, then some days later the hospitalizations, and finally the deaths.

Some indicators suggest that the fifth wave could now be peaking in terms of mortality, or could at least have plateaued

On Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported 10,072 new infections, bringing the overall total since the pandemic began above 4.8 million. The 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants fell yet again, this time by 11 points to 305. The number of people hospitalized is also falling, and now stands at 7,959 – 371 fewer than on Monday. Of these, 1,769 are in the ICU, a fall of 70 compared to the day before.

Some indicators suggest that the fifth wave could now be peaking in terms of mortality, or could at least have plateaued and the fatalities being reported now actually took place earlier in the month and have not been notified until now. Another indicator that would suggest this trend is the fall in ICU admissions over the last 15 days.

The other indicator that points in this direction is that of cases “with date of death in the last seven days,” which also includes the daily total. These figures can also be affected by delays in notification, but serve to better reflect the more recent trend. After more than a month of sharp rises, this indicator hit a high on Wednesday with a total of 404 deaths in a week and since then has been oscillating without any major changes – on Tuesday it came in at 367, which is 52 Covid-19 fatalities a day.

Despite the magnitude of these figures, the cost of the fifth wave in terms of lives is far from that seen in the previous ones, thanks to the protection offered by the vaccines. During the first wave, there were weeks when more than 800 daily deaths were registered. During the second, 300 people lost their lives each day during the two weeks closest to the peak, a number that rose as high as 500. Even in the fourth wave, which was the smallest seen until now, 237 people on average died each day during the week with the most fatalities.

English version by Simon Hunter.