Spain surpasses 200 fresh COVID-19 outbreaks with 60% of cases being asymptomatic as health bosses urge young people to social distance in nightclubs

THERE are now at least 201 new outbreaks of COVID-19 across Spain, Monday’s figures have revealed. 

According to the Health Ministry, that’s an increase of 15 compared to the day before and brings the total number of confirmed new cases to 2,289. 

“We are especially concerned about Aragon and Catalunya,” said health minister Salvador Illa, “but we think the authorities have taken the right steps and we will wait to see the evolution of the outbreaks over the next few days.”

Illa said the new cases are mostly associated with ‘temporary jobs and areas where there has been a relaxation of measures.’ 

He called on everyone to be extra careful and respect safety distances at family events and particularly at nightlife venues, appealing explicitly to young people to maintain social distaning in these spaces. 

In the past two weeks the rate of the virus in Spain has jumped from eight to 27 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but there is a big difference between the regions. 

Deputy director for the centre of health emergencies Maria Jose Sierra said that around 60% of the new registered cases are asymptomatic and much younger than compared to the start of the pandemic. 

But it represents a danger as there is immense difficulty in carrying out contact tracing for young people who have partied in bars and nightclubs. 

However, the recent outbreaks has not led to a rush of hospitalisations, with the exception of Lerida in Catalunya. 

“In the rest of the affected areas, the impact on hospitals is low, there is little to no pressure, and while there is an increase in ICU patients, the numbers are still very low,” added Sierra. 

In the past 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 infections has increased by 685. 

It’s a 400% increase on the 164 increase registered last Monday. 

Of the new 685 cases, some 325 occurred in Aragon, while 80 were in Catalunya and 78 in the Basque region. 

Meanwhile, the number of deaths increased by two, bringing the total death toll to 28,422. 

That figure excludes deaths from nursing homes and those who had symptoms of COVID-19 but did not undergo a test.