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COVID-19

Spain’s coronavirus cases soar by 20,000 over weekend

The latest data released by Spain’s Ministry of Health revealed that the figure for those who had tested positive to the virus had risen by 20,000 cases since Friday.

Published: 24 August 2020 19:20 CEST
Spain's coronavirus cases soar by 20,000 over weekend
Photo: AFP

The new data published on Monday afternoon brings the total of those who have tested positive to coronavirus since the start of the pandemic to 405,436 across Spain.

In the last 24 hours alone, some 2,060 new infections have been detected, with 413 in the Basque Country and 409 in Madrid.

The total in the last 24 hours for other regions was reported as 292 in Andalusia, 216 in Aragon, 150 in Galicia, 115 in the Canary Islands, 95 in Navarra, 84 in Catalonia, 78 in La Rioja, 42 in Extremadura, 38 in Castilla La Mancha, 37 in Cantabria, 33 in Castilla y Leon, 25 in Melilla, 19 in Asturias, 6 in the Balearic isles, 5 in Murcia, 2 in Valencia and just one in Ceuta.

But the data shows the rising trend with 78,148 new positive cases over the last fortnight representing an accumulated incidence over the last 14 days of 166.18 per 100,000 people.

The data also reveals that 498 people have been hospitalized with Covid-19 since Friday with 38 in intensive care units.  The Health Ministry reported that the death toll had risen by 34 since Friday bringing the official total to 28,872 – although that only includes the deceased who tested positive to tests before they died.

Earlier in the day, several regions across Spain announced new measures in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.

Catalan premier Quim Torra announced a new limit on social gatherings with no more than 10 people allowed to meet socially at a time.

In Murcia, the regional government went even further and capped the figure at six people per gathering.

Meanwhile, authorities in Madrid, which is at the epicentre of the latest surge rejected introducing a formal limit on gatherings but did urge people to “avoid unnecessary social interaction”.

However, the regional government has shut down bars and restaurants for a period of 14 days in the municipality of Tielmes after an outbreak in which 45 people have so far tested positive and advised its 2,700 residents to “stay at home”.

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

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People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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