Spain closes the week with a rebound in hospitalizations and more pressure on ICUs

Spain has left behind the peak of new infections of the third wave.

The increase in new diagnoses reported daily by the Ministry of Health stopped on January 21 and the incidence at 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants registered a slight decrease this Friday for the second day to 887.

But the situation, "critical" in some communities, as described in recent days by the director of health emergencies, Fernando Simón, is still far from normalizing.

The number of people hospitalized today grew by 78 people after two days declining and, what worries health officials most, the ICUs are not giving up.

This Friday there are 4,723 admitted to the critical units, 115 more than yesterday, an increase higher than in recent days.

If being the last day of the week can affect the balance of hospitalizations - admissions follow the pace set by the pandemic, while some discharges may be delayed due to the arrival of the weekend - in ICU admissions it is life in risk of the patient the only variable to take into account.

Only in two communities, Extremadura and the Balearic Islands, can there be a certain downward trend in occupied critical positions, and in the Canary Islands and Catalonia a certain stabilization is observed.

Throughout the rest of Spain, the occupation continues to grow, with several communities seeing percentages that did not register even in the worst of the first wave.

The Valencian Community, with 63% of occupied ICU places, is the one that suffers the most tension in its hospitals.

It must be borne in mind that this percentage only refers to coronavirus patients, so if those with other pathologies are taken into account, the conclusion is that a system that has expanded its capacity as far as possible —converting spaces such as ICUs operating rooms and resuscitation rooms - you are simply on the edge.

La Rioja (60%), Castilla-La Mancha (55%), Madrid (52%), Catalonia (51%), Castilla y León (50%) and Extremadura (49%) are the rest of the communities closest to the collapse , while in others such as Andalusia the trend continues to be very strong upward despite the fact that the best starting situation allows them to have these services somewhat more relieved (37% occupancy).

To overcome a wave like the one that Spain has suffered this January, four peaks have to be left behind.

The first, contagion, has already done so.

The data seem to reflect that, with ups and downs, the evolution approaches the peak of hospitalizations.

For the ICU, the key that can make the system collapse, it still seems that it has a few days of upward travel.

And finally, the last to change the trend and about which unfortunately little can be done, is the death.

This Friday Health has notified 513, two less than yesterday.

But this week is by far the deadliest of the third wave.

The deaths reported in the last five days amounted to 2,111, while in the previous week they were 1,672.

An upward trend that, according to what is seen during the pandemic, may still last much longer.

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