Coronavirus incidence sets new high in Spain, rising to 1,360 cases per 100,000 inhabitants

The sixth wave of the coronavirus in Spain continues to set new records in terms of daily infections and cumulative incidence. The Health Ministry reported 99,671 cases on Tuesday, a new high, and added 114 fatalities to the overall death toll. The cumulative incidence rose 154 points from the day before to an unprecedented 1,360 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days, according to the report. The region with the worst case rate is still Navarre, with 2,717 points, followed by La Rioja with 2,385 and the Basque Country with 2,105.

In terms of hospital occupation, there are currently 9,852 patients being treated for Covid-19, 322 more than on Monday. The pressure on intensive care units is still rising, with 19% of beds occupied by coronavirus patients compared to 18% the day before. In total, 6,032,297 official infections have been registered and 89,253 people have died after testing positive for Covid-19 since the pandemic hit Spain.

On Monday, the incidence saw its biggest rise of the health crisis so far, jumping 295 points and adding nearly 215,000 infections since the previous Thursday (no data was released on Friday, which was Christmas Eve, nor over the weekend). Monday’s report, which covered Friday to 7pm on Monday, saw the 14-day incidence reach 1,206 – Spain had not previously broken the 1,000-case barrier since March 2020, when the pandemic first hit.

In terms of vaccination, Spain administered 364,129 Covid-19 vaccine doses on Monday, of which 43,446 shots were destined for the five- to 12-year-old group – the latest to be included in the ongoing campaign. Of this age range, 24.6% of children have already received their first dose.

What’s more, 311,281 booster shots were also given. Among the over-70s, 87% have been given a third shot, while among the over-60s the figure is 72%. For the over-50s the percentage falls to 24%, and for the 40-49 group it is 14%. Also, 59% of citizens who were initially given the single-shot Janssen vaccine have received a booster of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

Since the vaccination campaign began, 85,808,023 vaccine doses have been administered in Spain, with 92% of the over-12s having had at least one dose, and 89.9% having got the full two.

Omicron spread

The explosion of cases caused by the omicron variant, and the fact that many vaccinated people are either experiencing asymptomatic infections or at least suffering very mild symptoms, has prompted many experts to question whether a change of strategy is needed on the part of the Health Ministry and the regions. The Public Health Commission last week agreed that close contacts of positive cases who are fully vaccinated do not need to quarantine. Today, the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS), which brings together the central Health Ministry and the regions, will debate whether the isolation time for people with confirmed infections should be reduced from 10 days to five.

“A change in the approach of mass diagnosis is needed because we are overwhelming healthcare centers, emergency rooms and microbiology services when this is unacceptable and unnecessary,” argues Jesús Rodríguez Baño, the head of infectious diseases at the Hospital Virgen de la Macarena in Seville. “With the current levels of transmission and the mildness of the majority of cases among vaccinated people, it would be better to make some general recommendations to citizens, use monitoring centers to follow the epidemiological development and focus our efforts on the population that is at greatest risk of suffering serious cases.”

José Luis Alfonso, the head of preventive medicine at the Hospital General in Valencia, believes that “a change is underway in the epidemiological panorama given the new variant, which is more adapted to human beings and milder.” He adds: “This and the greater protection that the population has thanks to vaccines and infections they’ve already had requires an adaptation of the measures adopted against the pandemic. Shortening the isolation period is a step in the right direction that all countries will be taking.”