The second wave continues to hit Spain.
Although at a slower pace, the drip of cases does not stop: the Ministry of Health has reported 15,318 new infections this Wednesday and, although the cumulative incidence falls to 14 days (452.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), the care pressure persists in most communities.
There are not so many new cases every day, but this ray of light in the middle of the epidemic wave is not yet reflected in the last link in the chain: deaths.
In fact, after the highest number of deaths reported in one day in this second wave (435 deaths) was recorded on Tuesday (435 deaths), Spain once again broke the record for accumulated deaths with 1,346 people killed in the last seven days (351 reported in the last 24 hours).
Only Asturias and Cantabria have an incidence of the coronavirus greater than that of Friday
Health reports 435 deaths, the maximum in a day in the second wave
The incidence of cases falls in almost all the autonomous communities, except in Asturias, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla y León and the Valencian Community.
The most worrying case, however, is that of Asturias, whose incidence has grown by almost 22% in just one week.
With a rate of 648 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the regional government has once again extended the perimeter closure of Avilés, Gijón and Oviedo, in force since October 24, and plans to also confine the municipalities of Langreo, Laviana and San Martín del Rey. Aurelio, which has about 70,000 inhabitants.
Another autonomy with triggered infections is Castilla y León, which reaches 800 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and has a quarter of its hospital beds and 43% of its intensive care places (ICU) occupied by patients with covid-19.
The regional Executive keeps the city of Burgos under scrutiny, which doubles the average incidence of the community.
In fact, the Governing Council of the Junta de Castilla y León has agreed this Wednesday to close, from Friday until December 3, the leisure, cultural and sports activities in the city.
The Consistory has warned of the risk of collapse of its hospital.
"The rhythm is downward stable, but the situation is very worrying because we have very high incidence rates.
We still have a long way to go for improvement and this occurs at the beginning of winter, when respiratory viruses find a favorable habitat to be infected ”, said the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, after the meeting of the Interterritorial Council with the communities.
There are 11 communities with a cumulative incidence above 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
One of them is the Basque Country, although it maintains a downward trend.
The Minister of Health, Gotzone Sagardui, assured this Wednesday that the Basque Country "has entered a phase of decline in infections", but the incidence is still very high and "you cannot lower your guard", he pointed out.
In fact, Sagardui considers that it is "early" to lift the social restrictions that weigh on the community: "We must not relax at all and the measures must be maintained over time."
"We are doing well, but we are bad," insisted his deputy counselor, Iñaki Berraondo.
More than 3,000 patients in the ICU
Where a clear improvement in the data is not yet visible is in the hospital setting.
Income falls timidly (there are 600 fewer people hospitalized for covid-19), but the pressure on care persists: 15.5% of hospital beds -19,403- are occupied by patients with coronavirus infection, although this percentage is very heterogeneous among the autonomous communities and much higher when it comes to ICU beds: almost a third of the critical places (3,120 patients) are occupied by people with covid-19.
According to Health records, since the start of the pandemic, 180,594 people have had to be hospitalized due to covid-19.
15,153 have entered the ICU.
Experts insist on not lowering their guard despite the slight improvement in the incidence of some territories.
“Cases are decreasing, but we continue with high hospital pressure in many communities and we must not relax in any case because the number of cases falls.
In addition, we must be attentive to the drop in temperatures that are expected soon ”, warns Guadalupe Fontán, a nurse specialist in public health.
Information about the coronavirus
- Here you can follow the last hour on the evolution of the pandemic
- This is how the coronavirus curve evolves in the world
- Download the tracking application for Spain
- Guide to action against the disease
