Fiona Govan
SPAIN has been in the grip of the sixth wave of coronavirus infections with the number of cases soaring in the run up to Christmas and over the festive period.
But for the first time in two-and-a-half months, the data shows a drop in new infections suggesting that the current wave of infections has plateaued and will begin its downward trend.
The latest report from Spain’s Health Ministry showed that the 14-day cumulative rate fell by 91 points to 3,306 cases per 100,000 people.
It reached a peak on Monday when the incidence rate across Spain was recorded at 3,397 cases per 100,000 people.
However, experts warn that the data can be unreliable thanks to the prevalence of home testing and the failure by many to report positive cases to local health authorities or for them to be included in the official count.
In terms of the number of COVID-19 patients being admitted to hospital, the figures are a lot lower than in previous waves.
The latest report shows that there are currently 18,918 COVID patients hospitalised across Spain, representing a 15.17% occupation of hospital beds across Spain.
Of those, 2,243 are in intensive care occupying 23.69% of ICU beds. Hospital admissions are at thieir highest in Catalunya where 42% of ICU beds are occupied by COVID patients followed by 30% in Navarra.
Official data shows that more than a quarter of Spain’s population has had COVID since the pandemic began.
On January 14th, Spain’s Health Ministry racked up an official count of 8 million infections out of a population of 47 million.
But official sources said that the true number of infections would be far higher.
La Vanguardia reported that estimates from the Health Ministry put the figure closer at 12 million cases, meaning a quarter of the population of Spain has been infected.
More than 90% of Spaniards have now been fully vaccinated with a booster programme now being rolled out to the over 40s.
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