Alex Trelinski
COVID-19 cases in Spain have quadrupled in mid-May despite the warmer weather, but infection rates are still much lower than a year ago.
The latest figures from the Carlos III Health Institute analyse data between May 13 and 19.
They estimate that the coronavirus is prevalent in 27.8 cases per 100,000 people, while the ratio is much lower in hospitals with 1.86 cases per 100,000.
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The Institute states that positivity to Covid-19 in Spain stands at 6.5% which means out of every 100 rapid detection tests that area carried out, between six and seven people test positive for the coronavirus.
The figures are four times higher than in mid-April where there were 7.7 cases per 100,000 people and the positivity rate was 1. 6%.
The conclusion from experts is that coronavirus is not seasonal but- as was discussed at length during the pandemic- spreads through social interaction.
The president of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology, Oscar Zurriaga, put the figures into context.
“Yes, Covid cases are going up but from virtually zero and the current rate is lower than last year when nobody was talking about a pandemic.”
Zurriaga said that the coronavirus doesn’t behave like a seasonal flu virus and with the university and school years soon to end, there will be more interaction including the season of music festivals and concerts.
“All this makes people move around a lot and this leads us to socialise differently from winter but it does mean a little more spread of viruses,” he added.
Zurriaga stressed that the current Covid case figures do not indicate that ‘we are in a moment of increased problems’.
