Spain returns to high risk level for coronavirus

Madrid, Mar 31 (efe-epa).- Spain passed the threshold of 150 cases per 100,000 people on Wednesday, placing the Iberian nation under the highest level of risk as numbers of coronavirus infections in the country start to trend upwards once again.

The Spanish health ministry reported 8,534 coronavirus infections and 154 deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative incidence to 152.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for the first time since early March.

The intensive care units’ occupation rate is at 18.4 percent, while hospitals are still at 6.5 percent capacity, according to the official figures.

Spanish authorities have called on the regional governments to “rigorously and strictly” apply the restrictions during the ongoing Holy Week.

The spokesperson for the Spanish government María Jesús Montero on Wednesday urged the citizens to show “responsibility and caution”, to avoid contacts that are not strictly necessary, and to limit their movement.

At a press conference, Montero avoided questions about a fourth wave of coronavirus infections in Spain, but she did speak about a “rise we hope does not consolidate”.

 “What we want is to consolidate the decreasing trend that we had before these recent days and for us to be able to definitively leave this pandemic behind through mass vaccination,” she said.

A total of 2,721,084 people have been vaccinated, according to the health ministry’s most recent data, just five percent of the Spanish population. EFE-EPA

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