ARCHIVED - Covid situation worsens in Andalusia with highest number of new coronavirus cases in 5 months

As incidence rates start to rise again, Málaga province is currently the worst-affected of the eight provinces in Andalusia, accounting for almost a third of all new Covid cases in the region.

The latest Covid-19 figures for Andalusia, released by the regional statistics institute (IECA) on Thursday, 15 July, have revealed that things are once again looking rather grim.

There were 3,561 new coronavirus cases reported in the region on Wednesday, and although luckily the vaccination campaign has drastically reduced the virus’s mortality, three deaths were still attributed to the virus. 

The number of new cases was the highest in a 24-hour period since 7 February, and up considerably from the 2,901 reported on Wednesday and the 2,906 reported on Tuesday.

The most popular tourist destinations are also appearing to be the worst affected areas, as Málaga province accounted for almost a third of the total with 1,114 cases, and Cádiz reported 641. Seville was in third place with 489 new cases, followed by Granada with 413, Córdoba with 413, Huelva and Jaen with 212 each and Almería with 176. 

The 14-day accumulated incidence rate for the region as a whole is at 334.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, up 20.5 points in just 24 hours and a whopping 109.9 in a week. However, it remains below the national average rate of 469, for the time being at least.

While the Andalusian Health Department has so far refrained from implementing measures such as perimeter closures, it has now proposed certain restrictions such as closing beaches and postponing large-scale events in municipalities with rates of over 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. 

Moreover, the regional president Juanma Moreno expressed his concern regarding the situation on Thursday morning and said that his government hasn’t ruled out making drastic decisions and bringing in stricter measures at next week’s meeting of the so-called ‘committee of experts’ if things continue to worsen.