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Coronavirus in Spain (4 Jan) – over 30,000 more cases since New Year’s Eve

Latest: Coronavirus in Spain figures (22 Jan)

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Report below updated in Spain at 18.30h on Mon 4 Jan 

CORONAVIRUS in SPAIN – latest Health Ministry figures

The latest official figure* released by the Spanish Health Ministry on Monday 4 January for the number of people who have tested positive for Coronavirus (Covid-19) since the start of the pandemic is now 1,958,844. This is an overall increase of 30,579 against the figure released on Thursday (New Year’s Eve). The ministry claims that 4,420 of these infections have occurred in the past 24 hours.

The current peak of recorded infections for a 24-hour period during this ‘second wave’ in Spain was on Thursday (New Year’s Eve), when 10,217 cases were registered. During the ‘first wave’, it was on 31 March when 9,222 cases were registered.

Wednesday had seen an overall increase of 24,462 against Tuesday, yet 9,860 in a 24-hour period. The ministry has not released figures during the weekends or on national holidays since Friday 3 July.

The overall accumulated incidence rate for Spain is now 272.22 per 100,000 inhabitants for the past 14 days (the figure on New Year’s Eve was 279.51 and last Monday had been 246.19). It is over 300 in six regions: the Balearic Islands (529.90), Castilla La Mancha (356.20), Catalonia (337.40), the Valencia region (322.62), Extremadura (604), Madrid (375.35) and La Rioja (330.81).

There have now been 128,017 cases of Coronavirus detected in the past 14 days – out of the total 1,958,844. The figure for the past 7 days is 66,572.

There are currently 13,458 people requiring hospital treatment for Covid-19 in Spain, of which 2,192 are in intensive care. This represents a 23% occupation of intensive care beds by Covid-19 patients.

The official figure* for the total number of Coronavirus-related deaths on Monday 4 January is now 51,078 – an increase of 241 since Thursday (New Year’s Eve). It is now a total of 397 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.

Vaccinations given

At the press briefing to analyse the Coronavirus figures today, Health Minister Salvador Illa said that 718,535 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have now been distributed across Spain, and that to date 82,834 people have received a first jab.

Increase in infections per region

Of the 4,420 new infections claimed by the Health Ministry to have only been registered in the past 24 hours on Monday 4 January, the numbers per region are as follows:

  • 836 in Catalonia (last 24 hour increase was 2,375)
  • 695 in Madrid (3,194)
  • 504 in Extremadura (828)
  • 413 in Galicia (538)
  • 370 in Castilla y León (514)
  • 301 in the Basque Country (428)
  • 244 in Andalusia (415)
  • 217 in Aragón (446)
  • 165 in the Balearic Islands (176)
  • 153 in the Canary Islands (3)
  • 135 in Asturias (122)
  • 88 in Navarra (139)
  • 86 in Cantabria (105)
  • 84 in Castilla La Mancha (223)
  • 84 in La Rioja (175)
  • 9 in Murcia (206)
  • in the Valencia Region (288)
  • 14 in Ceuta (16)
  • 20 in Melilla (26)

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

A health worker at care home in Rafelbunyol, Valencia
A health worker at a care home in Rafelbunyol, Valencia, preparing to administer Covid-19 vaccinations on 27 December 2020. (GVA.es)

Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy in Spain

On 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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1 comment

Michele Davis 5th January 2021 at 4:52 pm

Hi I’m a retired Nurse Practitioner from England and live in Alicante region. I am more than happy to volunteer to give the Covid vaccines. Who should I contact.
Thank you

Reply

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