9th December 2024
Photo courtesy of the Valencian government health department.
Barcelona News Catalonia News Madrid News Main News

Coronavirus in Spain (15 Jan) – highest incidence rate since start of pandemic

Latest: Coronavirus in Spain figures (9 Feb)

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

Please support Spain in English with a donation.

Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY

Report below updated in Spain at 18.45h on Fri 15 Jan 

CORONAVIRUS in SPAIN – latest Health Ministry figures

The latest official figure* released by the Spanish Health Ministry on Friday 15 January for the number of people who have tested positive for Coronavirus (Covid-19) since the start of the pandemic is now 2,252,164. This is an overall increase of 40,197 against the figure released on Thursday. The ministry claims that 17,039 of these infections have occurred in the past 24 hours yet again a new record in the daily increase.

The previous peak of recorded infections for a 24-hour period during what is now being referred to as the ‘third wave’ in Spain was on 14 January, when 16,676 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 35,878 cases against Wednesday, with the ministry claiming that 16,676 had occurred in a 24-hour period. Wednesday had seen an overall increase of 38,869 over Tuesday, yet 16,033 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 575,10 per 100,000 inhabitants for the past 14 days – the highest figure it has been throughout the pandemic. Yesterday it was 522 and last Friday it had been 350. It is over 600 in eight regions: the Balearic Islands (637), Castilla La Mancha (780), Castilla y León (696), the Valencia region (760), Extremadura (1,220), Madrid (698), Murcia (889) and La Rioja (738).

There have now been 270,449 cases of Coronavirus detected in the past 14 days – out of the total 2,252,164. The figure for the past 7 days is 158,942.

There are currently 19,657 people requiring hospital treatment for Covid-19 in Spain, of which 2,953 are in intensive care. This now represents a 29.56% occupation of intensive care beds by Covid-19 patients.

The official figure* for the total number of Coronavirus-related deaths on Friday 15 January is now 53,314 – an increase of 235 since Thursday. It is now a total of 828 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 15 Jan) show that Spain has now received 1,139,400 doses of Covid-19 vaccines (from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna), and that 768,950 people have received a jab. This is 67.5% of total vaccines received. To date, no-one in Spain has received a second jab. 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 17,039 new infections claimed by the Health Ministry to have only been registered in the past 24 hours on Friday 15 January, the numbers per region are as follows:

  • 4,604 in Madrid (last 24 hour increase was 4,633)
  • 2,310 in Castilla y León (2,109)
  • 2,192 in Catalonia (2,288)
  • 1,202 in Galicia (1,183)
  • 1,090 in Andalusia (932)
  • 987 in Extremadura (1,179)
  • 836 in Aragón (891)
  • 654 in Murcia (377)
  • 631 in the Basque Country (623)
  • 552 in Castilla La Mancha (466)
  • 370 in the Valencia Region (234)
  • 348 in the Canary Islands (326)
  • 328 in Asturias (273)
  • 311 in the Balearic Islands (310)
  • 228 in Navarra (213)
  • 197 in La Rioja (368)
  • 136 in Cantabria (181)
  • 20 in Ceuta (37)
  • 43 in Melilla (53)

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

Photo courtesy of the Valencian government health department.
Photo courtesy of the Valencian government health department.

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. On 13 January, supplies of Moderna vaccine also arrived in Spain. 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 AstraZeneca/Oxford, Sanofi-GSK, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen and Curevac, in addition to Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

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). 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’

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’

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English

Please support Spain in English with a donation.

Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY

Recent Posts

Spanish Police arrest 36 and dismantle gang dedicated to trafficking Cuban migrants

News Desk

Spanish PM hails ‘historic’ trade deal between EU & Mercosur bloc

News Desk

Spanish government unveils 3-year strategy to boost ties with Africa

News Desk

Felipe VI and Letizia to attend memorial service in Valencia for flood victims

News Desk

After floods at the end of October, Spain records its warmest November ever

News Desk

EU countries to allow more wolf hunting after protection status lowered

News Desk

Leave a Comment