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Coronavirus in Spain (8 Jan) – incidence rate now above 350

Latest: Coronavirus in Spain figures (22 Jan)

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

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Report below updated in Spain at 18.30h on Fri 8 Jan 

CORONAVIRUS in SPAIN – latest Health Ministry figures

The latest official figure* released by the Spanish Health Ministry on Friday 8 January for the number of people who have tested positive for Coronavirus (Covid-19) since the start of the pandemic is now 2,050,360. This is an overall increase of 25,456 against the figure released on Thursday. The ministry claims that 12,327 of these infections have occurred in the past 24 hours – the new highest increase for a 24-hour period since the start of the pandemic.

The previous peak of recorded infections for a 24-hour period during this ‘second wave’ in Spain was on 5 January, when 10,877 cases were registered. During the ‘first wave’, it was on 31 March when 9,222 cases were registered.

Thursday had seen an overall increase of 42,360 cases against Tuesday (no figures were released on Wednesday due the Epiphany national holiday), with the ministry claiming that 6,498 had occurred in a 24-hour period.

Tuesday had seen an overall increase of 23,700 cases against Monday, yet 10,877 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 350.48 per 100,000 inhabitants for the past 14 days (yesterday was 321.01). It is over 400 in six regions: the Balearic Islands (546.52), Castilla La Mancha (453.50), Catalonia (434.88), Extremadura (799), Madrid (507.64) and La Rioja (424.56).

There have now been 164,816 cases of Coronavirus detected in the past 14 days – out of the total 2,050,360. The figure for the past 7 days is 86,533.

There are currently 14,951 people requiring hospital treatment for Covid-19 in Spain, of which 2,318 are in intensive care. This represents a 24.05% occupation of intensive care beds by Covid-19 patients.

The official figure* for the total number of Coronavirus-related deaths on Friday 8 January is now 51,874 – an increase of 199 since Thursday. It is now a total of 590 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

Latest figures (up to 8 Jan) have shown that Spain has now received 743,925 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and that 277,976 people have received a first jab. This is 37.4% of the vaccines received. In a separate report, we have published the amount of vaccines received and administered for each region in Spain. Latest: Covid-19 Vaccinations in Spain

Increase in infections per region

Of the 12,327 new infections claimed by the Health Ministry to have only been registered in the past 24 hours on Friday 8 January, the numbers per region are as follows:

  • 3,659 in Madrid (last 24 hour increase was 1,045)
  • 2,943 in Catalonia (794)
  • 1,101 in Extremadura (631)
  • 1,020 in Castilla y León (649)
  • 709 in Galicia (753)
  • 436 in Aragón (408)
  • 424 in the Basque Country (433)
  • 385 in Andalusia (626)
  • 317 in the Balearic Islands (180)
  • 228 in Castilla La Mancha (162)
  • 201 in the Valencia Region (1)
  • 190 in the Canary Islands (197)
  • 182 in Navarra (139)
  • 176 in La Rioja (104)
  • 148 in Asturias (177)
  • 136 in Cantabria (141)
  • 33 in Murcia (4)
  • 22 in Ceuta (10)
  • 17 in Melilla (9)

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

Mass testing for Covid-19 being carried out
Mass testing for Covid-19 being carried out in Sa Pobla, Mallorca, in December 2020. (Balearic Islands Government)

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.

For the latest data on the number of vaccines received and administered per region in Spain, click here: Covid-19 Vaccinations in Spain

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

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