The region will this Christmas have more than double the number of COVID-19 infections than in 2020
The current incidence rate in the province of Alicante is 500.8 cases per one hundred thousand inhabitants. Last Chrismas, the rate of infections per one hundred thousand inhabitants stood at 206.2. What this means is that the area is at a high-risk level.
Today, we have many more infections and fewer restrictions than a year ago. This is the reality of the pandemic in the province just before Christmas 2021 compared to the exact dates last year. According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Health, the Alicante region is stuck in the most challenging part of the sixth wave, with 9,169 active cases. During the same period in 2020, there were 3,845 registered cases of COVID-19 in the province.
On the bright side, thanks to an aggressive vaccination rollout, we are seeing far fewer deaths. Nationally, the impact has not been as hard on hospitals this year as last, thanks to 90% of the population being vaccinated. Having said that, hospitalizations in Spain due to COVID-19 have nearly tripled in the last month, and there are 1,306 patients in intensive care.
The big worry at the moment is the Omicron variant and whether or not restrictions need to be put in place to stop it from spreading. And while the situation in Spain is not as bad as in other European countries, the government may insist on new measures. On Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is meeting with all the leaders of the Autonomous Communities to decide what to do. The worry is that if the virus continues to spread unabated crucial workers could become infected, leading to a strain and the possible collapse of the Spanish health system.
