Spain proposes changes to make the Covid 'traffic light' system more flexible

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the pandemic maintained its upward trend in the country. The 14-day incidence rate rose by 11 to 82.02 cases of coronavirus per 100,000 inhabitants

ÁLVARO SOTO

Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 09:50

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The Ministry of Health in Spain wants to make the Covid ‘traffic light' system more flexible to adapt it to the high percentage of the population that is vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The department proposes that the ‘low risk’ threshold for the disease will be below 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and not the 50 that marked the barrier until now.

The Alerts Report committee has suggested the change that could be approved as early as this Tuesday (16 November) when the Public Health Commission meets.

There would also be variations to the rest of the limits: the average risk would be reached if an incidence of 100 cases is exceeded; the high risk would be above 300 and the very high risk, above 500.

With regards to hospital pressure, below 2% of the total beds and 5% in intensive care units occupied would be considered a 'new normal'. But two new indicators are proposed: the number of new admissions and the number of patients in intensive care units in seven days per 100,000 population. If they exceed five and one per cent, respectively, the 'new normal' will be left to enter low risk.

Upward trend

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the pandemic maintained its upward trend in Spain. The 14-day incidence rate rose by 11 to 82.02 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a level not seen since 20 September. The seven-day incidence rate, the main indicator for the future, is 48.67 cases per 100,000, more than double the two-week rate. The number of infections also registered a notable increase.

During Saturday and Sunday, the Ministry of Health added 9,798 Covid-19 positives, well above the 6,461 reported on Monday of last week. Additionally, the nearly 10,000 positives represent the highest number on a Monday since 30 August. The total number of coronavirus infections in Spain during the pandemic, according to official statistics, rises to 5,056,954.

Some 43 deaths were notified in the last 48 hours. Since March of last year, 87,716 deaths from Covid-19 have been counted, according to Ministry of Health records.

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