Covid incidence rate drops by a third in ten days

The sixth wave of the health crisis is continuing to slow down, as the evolution of most key pandemic metrics shows. 

The two-week incidence rate has fallen from a record high of 6,048.88 on January 26 to 4,011.54 in the latest data provided by health authorities daily on this website.

While this most recent figure is still higher than anything seen in any previous wave of the health crisis, it represents a 33% drop in the last ten days.

This is born out as well in the R number - the average number of times the virus passes from one person to another. As of February 6, the transmission rate stands at 0.63. 

This is actually the lowest value for the R number Catalonia has seen since the beginning of the pandemic. The previous low was recorded as 0.64 across May 6-8, 2020, immediately after the first wave.

The highest transmission rate seen during the sixth wave was 1.88 on December 30, 2021. 

Some 54% of all coronavirus infections that Catalonia has seen since the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 have come since December 1, 2021. That equates to 1,232,971 infections from December 1 to February 6, 2022, of the total 2,279,197 transmissions seen since February 2020.

Hospitals

Hospitals and medical centers have been under intense pressure during this latest wave of the virus. 

January 30 saw the record-high number of people hospitalized with Covid-19, a total of 3,042 patients. This number has steadily been declining ever since. 

However, the situation in intensive care units hasn’t been quite as drastic, despite being quite serious. A peak of 529 ICU admissions was seen on January 17, and this figure has been lowering ever since. This peak was close to that seen during the mild Easter 2021 wave, when 518 patients were in ICU, but is still some distance off the peaks of other waves. 

February 2, 2021, had the highest number of people requiring intensive care, with 731.

Measures loosening

This week will see some of the biggest measures still in place to curb the spread of the virus be lifted in Catalonia. 

The Spanish government has already announced that the obligation to wear face masks outdoors will end this week. That change is expected to take effect from Thursday. Catalan health authorities believe the measure has become somewhat redundant in the current phase of the pandemic.

Nightclubs will be able to open their doors again on Friday for the first time in months. The restriction forcing nightlife to remain shut will finish on midnight Thursday. 

Clubs, bars, and late night businesses will be allowed to open without any restrictive measures in place. There will be no requirement to show proof of vaccination, with the government justifying the lifting of that measure as it is in line with the changes made on Friday, 28 January for other establishments.

Overall, since the start of the pandemic, the nightlife sector has been closed for over 600 days, 20 out of the 23 last months. But now, after the government news, owners of these establishments believe that cases will not increase as social interaction also happens somewhere else.

"We hope this is the last time we have to close," Ramon Mas, secretary-general at Barcelona’s nightclubs association, told the Catana News Agency (ACN).

Vaccination campaign

The vaccine rollout began in Catalonia on December 27, 2020. As of February 6, 2022, 6,467,479 residents have been given the first dose of the vaccine, 81.6% of the total population. Out of those, 5,681,386 have also been administered a second dose (71.8% of the total population). 6,192,450 residents are considered to be fully immunized (77.7%). 

Catalonia has also administered 3,086,416 third doses (39.3%). Official data show that 43.5% of residents have received a booster shot (which includes those who had a third jab plus people who only got one jab in the initial vaccination series and then received a booster, their second shot). 

Overall number of Covid-related deaths (in hospitals and total)

Number of people diagnosed per day 

Hospitalized patients and ICU patients from July 29, 2020

Number of confirmed and suspected Covid-19 deaths per day (at hospitals until May 19, 2020, hospitals and other health centers from May 20, 2020, and elsewhere since August 5, 2020)

Outbreak risk (over 100 is high) and transmission rate (over 1 concerns authorities)

Number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants in last 14 days

Percentage of population vaccinated