The current wave of coronavirus cases, associated with the rise of the omicron variant, still not remitting and has exceeded the barrier of two million global infections, according to provisional figures published this Thursday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The national health networks reported to this body 2.29 million cases on January 5, And since the one million daily cases was surpassed for the first time on December 29, that barrier has been exceeded for seven days (until then, the peak of the pandemic was 900,000 daily cases, in April 2021).
Despite the strong increase in cases, which double or even triple the peaks of previous waves, the number of deaths from the disease remains stable, with 7,000 global deaths registered on January 5, a figure that falls within the average observed for three months.
In the accumulated of a pandemic that is now entering its third year, the infections of 293 million people with Covid-19 have been confirmed in the world, of which 5.4 million died, 1.8% of the total.
The circulation of Covid-19 is already similar to that of the first wave in Spain
With more than 137,000 infections in 24 hours and an incidence that now exceeds 2,500 cases, one can speak of uncontrolled transmission. And is that the circulation of the virus in our country is similar to that of the first, although there are important differences.
During the first weeks of the pandemic, the maximum accumulated incidence data that was reached was 250 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but at that time fewer tests were carried out and only 10% of infections were detected. In other words, the incidence at that point would be greater than 2,500 cases per 1,000 inhabitants.
We did not know as much about the virus and we could not protect ourselves, as we do now with the vaccine. The consequence was the saturation of the hospitals, because during a week in March, from 21 to 27, there were more than 30,000 Covid patients admitted to Spanish hospitals. On the other hand, in April there were several days in which 500 people were admitted in a single day to the ICU. However, now, despite the fact that the incidence is skyrocketing, the number of critically ill patients is lower and there are about 2,000 people throughout Spain.
During Three Kings Day, Health has not communicated daily data on the evolution of the pandemic in our country, but 10 communities have, whose sum of infections is almost 90,000 new positives. At the top are Catalonia, with more than 30,000 cases, followed by the Basque Country and Andalusia. In communities like Aragon, today the number of infections is record.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
