Coronavirus patients in hardest hit provinces in Spain’s Andalucia to be sent to better-performing Malaga if hospital pressure continues to grow

MALAGA could soon begin receiving coronavirus patients from other provinces if they become too overwhelmed. 

Regional health minister Jesus Aguirre admitted today that if hospitalisations reach more than 4,500, plans are in place to begin redistributing patients – specifically from Granada.

With an infection rate of 1,200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Granada is currently the hardest hit province in Andalucia.

Malaga and Almeria are both able to receive more COVID-19 patients as their hospital pressure is lower than the regional average. 

Malaga, under the contingency plan, will have around 2,506 conventional beds and 441 ICU beds spare. 

There are also another 926 beds in the field hospital in Carranque and the Marbella leisure centre. 

The plan would be to transfer patients from Sevilla and Granada to the likes of Malaga and Almeria. 

It comes after the virus has hit the eight provinces in an uneven manner. 

Malaga currently has 367 people hospitalised with the virus, well below Granada (843) and Sevilla (857). 

Meanwhile the other provinces also have relatively low corona patient numbers, with Almeria counting just 121, Cadiz 326, Cordoba 319, Huelva 161 and Jaen 341.

There are currently around 3,400 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in Andalucia.