Covid-19 indicators for Spain continue to show rapid rises. This Thursday, the Spanish health ministry announced that 368 deaths had been registered since yesterday's update, the highest one-day figure since the end of April. In total, 1,002 coronavirus deaths have been reported in the last week, bringing the total number of coronavirus deaths in Spain since the pandemic began to 38,486.
Covid-19 Spain: daily deaths in the last 30 days.
The ministry's daily update also records 21,908 new cases of coronavirus, 9,606 of which have been diagnosed in the last 24 hours. This increase compared to the 8,924 recorded on Wednesday, bringing the overall number of people infected since March to 1,306,316.
Covid-19 Spain: daily new confirmed cases in the last 30 days.
Madrid, at the epicentre of the second wave
The situation varies around the different territories of the Spanish state, and the Community of Madrid continues to be one of the main focuses of this second wave. According to the latest data from the central government, 2,075 new Covid-19 positives have been detected in the last 24 hours in the region.
Covid-19 Spain: total confirmed cases by autonomous communities.
The statistics from Catalonia are not positive either, and in recent weeks, it has occupied second place in the number of infections in the state. In the latest Spanish health ministry report, Catalonia is registered as having 1,238 new infections in the last 24 hours.
Although Madrid and Catalonia, along with other territories, have reported significant positive falls in the Rt index of the virus transmission rate, the continued high figures for new cases show the difficulty in reducing the scale of the outbreak once it has spread.
The impact of the second wave on hospitals
The continued increase in new infections in Spain is also making serious impact on hospitals across the state. In fact, the occupancy of intensive care places by Covid patients is close to 30% overall. "The health system will continue to suffer for a few more days," warned epidemiologist Fernando Simón, during a press conference on Thursday.
Covid-19 Spain: total confirmed cases (blue), total deaths (black).