The coronavirus pandemic continues to alternate between positive and negative data during this plateau phase of the third wave of Covid-19.

One more daily death has been reported in the Malaga province making 148 so far in March but the number of new infections continues at a low level, with just 79 cases reported in the last 24 hours while the pressure on hospitals continues to stabilise.

This Monday, 29 March, there are 130 patients admitted to provincial hospitals with the disease - two more than Sunday - but a third of the 365 that were admitted at the beginning of this month and far from the 915 that were reached at the peak on 9 February.

There are currently 32 patients in intensive care units in the province, the same number as Sunday.

However, the cumulative incidence rate has witnessed a slight increase standing at 85.9 cases per one hundred thousand inhabitants compared to the 83.2 in the last update on Friday.

The Costa del Sol health district is the only one in the province in which the rate decreased compared to Friday (104.1 versus 110). In all the others it has risen.

The highest incidence rate is in the Axarquía health district, with 116.4 positives for every one hundred thousand inhabitants, mainly driven by the rebound that Casabermeja has been experiencing in recent days (from 716 to 936). The situation in neighbouring Colmenar is also complicated, and it is the only town in the province forced to close its non-essential activity since last Friday for at least a week.

Montecorto is also a concern in Malaga province, with an incidence rate of 1,194 - the highest in the region ahead of the 974 in Pujerra - although it was not closed because it is a municipality of less than 1,500 inhabitants.

The rest of the health district areas in the province are below a rate of one hundred despite the increases registered after the weekend: Malaga (from 66.3 to 71.5), Valle del Guadalhorce (from 65.3 to 71.7), Serranía de Ronda (from 65 to 72.7) and the Vega de Antequera (from 39 to 49.9).

At the regional level 13 deaths have been reported in Andalucía (six in Cadiz; three in Granada; two in Seville; and one each in Malaga and Jaén). There have been a total of 9,274 deaths due to Covid-19 in Andalucía since the start of the pandemic.

The number of coronavirus patients admitted to Andalusian hospitals has risen lightly and stands at 985 patients and, of those, 247 are in an intensive care unit.