MADRID – Spain qualifies as a ‘low-risk area’ according to epidemiological indicators. The number of positive tests fell below 50 per 100,000 inhabitants on Thursday. However, despite this milestone, the Spanish government is striving for a lower incidence in order to end all restrictions
For months, Spain has seen a downward trend in the number of positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants over the past 14 days, one of the key indicators of how well a country is managing the pandemic. With an incidence of 48.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Spain is now officially classified as a country with a low risk of infection.
Spanish government seeks lower incidence for ‘new normal’
Furthermore, this new qualification of Spain brings the country a lot closer to ‘the new normal’. The Spanish news site La Sexta wrote that the government is aiming for an incidence below 25 in order to basically let go of all measures.
Low risk area in most regions
While the risk is low in almost all Spanish regions, Asturias and Galicia have already reached the new normal in epidemiological indicators with an incidence of 15.1 and 19 per 100,000 inhabitants respectively. The only regions where there is still an average risk are Cantabria (79.4), Basque Country (55.7), Madrid (52.7), Aragon (73.3), Catalonia (76.5), Balearic Islands (65 .5), and Murcia (52.1).
Children largest risk group for infection
Such a low incidence of under 50 has not occurred in Spain since July 2020. The infection rates of each age group are still falling and getting closer and closer together. The group where the most positive tests are registered are children under 12 years of age. The corona incidence of this group turned out to be 82 cases per 100,000 children on Thursday. The main reason for this is that children under the age of 12 are not yet vaccinated in Spain.
The groups that also exceed the limit of 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants are Spaniards between the ages of 30 and 49 with an incidence of 51.6 over the past two weeks.
IC occupation Spain under control
The low-risk indicator also applies to the occupancy of intensive care beds with covid patients. Currently, 6.02% of ICU beds are occupied by these patients. Only in Madrid is there an average risk with a saturation of slightly above 10%.
Vaccination in Spain is progressing but slowing down. However, nearly 94% of the over 40s in Spain have now been fully vaccinated. Moreover, the vaccination rate of Hispanic youth is increasing rapidly; nearly 79% of Hispanic teens are already fully vaccinated.
