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Coronavirus in Spain (29 Dec) – highest increase in cases for over 5 weeks

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Also read: Restrictions in Spain for Christmas and New Year period

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Report below updated in Spain at 18.45h on Tues 29 Dec

CORONAVIRUS in SPAIN – latest Health Ministry figures

The latest official figure* released by the Spanish Health Ministry on Tuesday 29 December for the number of people who have tested positive for Coronavirus (Covid-19) since the start of the pandemic is now 1,893,502. This is an overall increase of 14,089 against the figure released on Monday – the highest overall increase since Friday 20 November. The ministry claims that 7,848 of these infections have occurred in the past 24 hours (last Tuesday it had been 5,637 for a 24 hour period).

Figures released on Monday had shown an overall increase of 24,462 against the figure released last Thursday (Christmas Eve), with the ministry claiming that 2,822 had occurred in a 24-hour period.

Thursday had seen an overall increase of 25,048 over Wednesday, yet 6,733 in a 24-hour period. The ministry has not released figures during the weekends since Friday 3 July.

The overall accumulated incidence rate for Spain is now 255,55 per 100,000 inhabitants for the past 14 days (yesterday’s figure was 246.19 and last Tuesday had been 236.27). It is over 300 in six regions: the Balearic Islands (522,85), Castilla La Mancha (302.82), Catalonia (330.79), the Valencia region (363.99), Extremadura (422.59) and Madrid (349.88).

The peak of recorded infections for a 24-hour period during this ‘second wave’ in Spain was on 30 October, when 9,723 cases were registered. During the ‘first wave’, it was on 31 March when 9,222 cases were registered.

There have now been 120,176 cases of Coronavirus detected in the past 14 days – out of the total 1,893,502. The figure for the past 7 days is 53,956.

There are currently 12,032 people requiring hospital treatment for Covid-19 in Spain, of which 2,005 are in intensive care. This represents a 21.05% occupation of intensive care beds by Covid-19 patients.

The official figure* for the total number of Coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday 29 December is now 50,442 – an increase of 320 since Monday. It is now a total of 554 deaths in the past 7 days.

The highest increase of deaths to date for a 24-hour period during this ‘second wave’ in Spain was on 24 November when 537 were registered. The peak of recorded deaths for a 24-hour period during the ‘first wave’ was on 2 April when 950 were registered.

Increase in infections per region

Of the 7,848 new infections claimed by the Health Ministry to have only been registered in the past 24 hours on Tuesday 29 December, the numbers per region are as follows:

A full breakdown of the data per region, together with age group statistics can be found by clicking here.

Benilde Domingo, aged 86, receives the first Covid-19 vaccine in the province of Castellón, Valencia, on 27 December 2020. (GVA.es)

Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy in Spain

On Sunday 27 December, Spain started to administer its first vaccinations against Covid-19, with the  Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The country is scheduled to receive 350,000 doses of this vaccine per week over the next three months. Announcing Spain’s Vaccination Strategy at the end of November, it was also confirmed by the health ministry that there are advance purchase agreements for Covid-19 vaccines with a total of five pharmaceutical companies: AstraZeneca/Oxford, Sanofi-GSK, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen and Curevac, in addition to Pfizer/BioNTech. Negotiations also continue with Moderna and Novavax.

You can click here for all our reports specifically related to the Coronavirus vaccines. The health ministry has also released a list to summarise how it has divided the entire Spanish population into 15 groups in order to administer the vaccine (full report: Spain’s Health Ministry divides the population into 15 groups for vaccination). You can also click here for further details (in English) of the key points of Spain’s Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy.

Current ‘State of Alarm’ – restrictions across Spain

The Spanish Congress voted to extend the new State of Alarm until 9 May 2021. The State of Alarm was declared on Sunday 25 October to combat further cases of Coronavirus, initially for a period of 15 days. The key purpose is to enable the regional governments of Spain the legal requirements to impose and enforce nighttime curfews and other restrictions, where required. Full details here: New ‘State of Alarm’ in Spain.

In a separate report and being regularly updated, we have detailed all the curfew times and key restrictions in place for each region of Spain. Most regions have issued border closures and there are many municipality confinements. Many regions have also restricted the opening hours of bars and restaurants, or ordered their closure. Our full, on-going report is here: Details of curfews & restrictions for all regions of Spain during ‘State of Alarm’ – Also read our report on: Restrictions for Christmas and New Year period in Spain.

Spain changes Covid-19 test requirements for travellers

Also read: Spain suspends flight arrivals from UK, except for Spanish citizens and residents

Spain changed the Covid-19 test requirements for travellers arriving to the country from Thursday 10 December, via airports or ports. Since Monday 23 November, travellers arriving in Spain from high-risk countries had had to show proof of a negative PCR test done within 72 hours of arrival. Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to €6,000. However, a negative result from a TMA (Transcription-Mediated Amplification test) is now also valid, ‘and other tests based on equivalent molecular techniques’. Spain has also removed the obligation to present any negative test for children under the age of sixFull report here: Spain changes Covid-19 test requirements for travellers.

*Discrepancies in figures

Although the Health Ministry updated its official Coronavirus mortality figures on 19 June following discrepancies with the data released by some of the country’s regional health authorities – there are still differences in the ‘excess mortality’ figures published for Spain during at least the first half of this year.

Click here for all previous reports on: Coronavirus in Spain

ALSO READ: Restrictions for Christmas and New Year period in Spain

ALSO READ: Details of curfews & restrictions for all regions of Spain during ‘State of Alarm’

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