Covid case rate continues to fall but indoor masks stay for now

The national Covid-19 case rate in Spain continued its downward trend this week. On Thursday (24 February), the rolling positive case rate per 100,000 people was 649, down 28 points in a day.

In Andalucía, the rolling case rate per 100,000 was 424 on Thursday. While this was up 19 points on the day, it was down on the 488 a week earlier.

On the same day, the Covid case rate per 100,000 was 483 in Malaga province including the Costa del Sol.

In terms of the key indicator of how many patients were in hospital with Covid-19 this week, there were 203 in Malaga hospitals on Thursday, down from 247 a week earlier. Of these, 19 were in Intensive Care, down from 21.

The highest incidence of Covid in Spain remains in the north, just as it has for much of the pandemic. This week over a fifth of beds in Intensive Care in the Catalonia and Aragon regions had patients with Covid-19. In Andalucía it was seven per cent.

Galicia was the last region of Spain to end the use of a Covid-19 passport in bars and restaurants this week.

The use of masks in indoor public places remains the main restriction nationally. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that scrapping the rule, "would be a good move welcomed by Spanish society. We hope it is sooner rather than later". However he would not be drawn on a fixed date.