Latest: Coronavirus in Spain figures (13 August)
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Report below updated in Spain at 17h on Friday 17 July
CORONAVIRUS in SPAIN – latest Health Ministry figures
The latest official figure* released by the Spanish Health Ministry on Friday 17 July for the number of people who have tested positive for Coronavirus (Covid-19) is now 260,255. This is an overall increase of 1,400 against the figure released on Thursday – but with the ministry stating that 628 of these infections have occurred in the past 24 hours. The difference is because the ministry claims that it is still verifying and updating historical data.
Thursday had shown an increase of 580 infections in 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry data – but an overall increase of 1,361 over the figures released on Wednesday.
Wednesday had been 390 new infections in 24 hours (but 875 over the figures released on Tuesday).
Of the 628 new infections registered in the past 24 hours by the central Health Ministry in Spain, 252 are in Aragón (with 1,297 new cases there in the past 14 days), 121 are in Catalonia (with 4,836 new cases in past 14 days), 40 are in Madrid, 39 in Andalusia, 39 in the Basque Country, 34 in Navarra, 26 in Extremadura, 20 in the Valencia region, 18 in Castilla La Mancha and 15 in Murcia.
The current peak of recorded infections for a 24-hour period in Spain was on 31 March, when 9,222 new cases were registered.
The Ministry of Health’s official figures* for Friday 17 July also now show that there have been a total of 28,420 Coronavirus-related deaths in Spain – an increase of 4 over Thursday.
The current known peak of recorded deaths related to Coronavirus in a 24-hour period in Spain was on 2 April, when 950 deaths were registered.
A full breakdown in Spanish of the data per region, together with age group statistics can be found by clicking here.
New restrictions in Catalonia
The Catalan government has announced new measures to avoid the spread of Coronavirus, in a new attempt to avoid the possibility of another ‘total lockdown’.
Confinement measures such as a 50% capacity limit for bars and restaurants, as well as the closure of cinemas, theatres, and other areas normally open to the public, will now be extended to the city of Barcelona and its metropolitan area, as well as the Segrià and Noguera counties in Lleida.
Appointments will also be needed to shop at stores providing non-essential goods. Libraries and museums will remain open for now and children’s summer camps will still be running.
The measures will come into effect for 15 days as soon as they are published in the official gazette, although they will also be subject to judicial approval. This week the courts finally agreed upon a number of regulations in Segrià county and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, yet rejected others.
In the Barcelona area, new restrictions will be applicable in El Prat de Llobregat, Sant Joan Despí, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Cornellà, Viladecans, Esplugues, L’Hospitalet, Montcada i Reixac, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Sant Adrià del Besòs, Badalona, and the city of Barcelona itself.
The Catalan government has also called on people living in these areas to avoid leaving home unless necessary, and to not travel to any second homes.
Catalan regional health minister Alba Vergés also announced a ban on social gatherings of more than 10 people.
At a press conference on Friday, Miquel Buch, in charge of home affairs for the Catalan government, said that ‘the PROCICAT civil protection committee is proposing the adoption of special public health measures to contain the Covid-19 outbreak in the city of Barcelona and the surrounding area, and in Segrià and Noguera [counties in Lleida].’
Catalan government spokeswoman Meritxell Budó said, ‘If the pandemic continues on this track, we’ll have to take more drastic steps. The end of the state of alarm doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. People must comply with all the measures in place and follow instructions issued by health authorities.’
‘We have no choice but to take a step backwards to avoid the need for a population lockdown under a stay-at-home order,’ added Budó.
Independently of the way that Spain’s Health Ministry presents its figures (above), the regional health department in Catalonia has released its own data on Friday showing that a further 1,111 new cases of Coronavirus have been registered there in the past 24 hours.
Also see the section ‘More restrictions in Catalonia’ in yesterday’s report: Coronavirus in Spain figures (15 July).
*Discrepancies in figures
Although the Health Ministry updated its official Coronavirus mortality figures on 19 June following on-going discrepancies with the data released by some of the country’s regional health authorities – there are still huge differences in the ‘excess mortality’ figures published for this period in Spain.
Click here for full report: Spain’s ‘excess mortality’ during Coronavirus pandemic is over 43,000
Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) published figures showing that the number of deaths for the first 21 weeks of 2020 have been 24% higher than for the same period in 2019 – based on information received from the country’s civil registries (1 January to 24 May). The number of deaths during this period for 2020 is 43,945 higher than in 2019.
Spain has started its ‘New Normality’
After three months under a ‘state of alarm’ (since 14 March), Spain entered its ‘New Normality’ phase on Monday 22 June, following on from the government’s four phased plan to relax the country’s lockdown restrictions. CLICK HERE for all details: Spain’s ‘New Normality’ – key points
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