ARCHIVED - Covid Update July 6: Incidence rate in Valencia region up 70 per cent in a week

President of the Valencia region, Ximo Puig, warns restrictions may be tightened in light of "concerning" rebound.

The cumulative incidence has soared by almost 70 per cent since July 1 in the Valencia region, jumping from 120.97 per 100,000 people in the last 14 days to 203.13 plunging it into 'high risk'.

The region has gone from having the lowest incidence six weeks ago to being amongst the top five autonomous communities with the highest rate, behind Catalonia, Cantabria, Castilla y León and Navarra.

And the surge in cases, with 998 cases confirmed today, is being felt in hospitals, with healthcare pressure also rising by 61 per cent. There are now 95 more admissions than on July 1, with five more serious patients being treated in ICU.

A breakdown of the new cases in the last 24 hours shows there are: 239 new positives in Alicante province (150,817 in total); 643 in Valencia (216,818 in total); and 115 in Castellón (150,817).

Hospitals: Last Thursday, there were 151 people in Valencian hospitals, of which 17 were in ICU, but this has risen to 244 patients being treated on wards, 24 in a critical condition. 

By provinces: 24 in the province of Alicante, four of them in the ICU; 209 in Valencia, 19 in ICU; 11 in the province of Castellón, one in ICU.

Recoveries: 291 have been given the all clear, meaning 402,957 have recovered from Covid in the region since the start of the pandemic: 150,155 in Alicante; 210,607 in Valencia; and 42,138 in Castellón.

Fatalities: There have been three deaths in the last seven days, bringing the total to 7,461: 2,848 in Alicante province, 3,805 in Valencia; and 808 in Castellón.

Active cases: 10,901, which represents 2.59 per cent of the total positives.

Vaccinations: A total of 2,729,450 people have received at least one dose and 2,025,282 are fully immunised. By provinces: 728,176 in Alicante; 1,056,697 in Valencia; and 240,409 in Castellón.

There are now fears the worrying situation could lead to a tightening of restrictions across the three provinces, Alicante, Valencia and Castellon, with president of the regional government, Ximo Puig, warning that "new limitations will not be ruled out if the impact on hospitals continues to increase" and that "decisions will be made with conviction and determination."

The current Covid restrictions are in force until July 15, after the government extended them for a further two weeks, and Puig will meet with Minister of Health, Ana Barcelo, tomorrow to analyse new data.

IMAGE: GVA