32 new infections in Xàbia as virus continues to spread in the region

Friday 18th December 2020 | MIKE SMITH

This is the latest information on the status of the health situation in Xàbia, the Marina Alta, the Comunidad Valenciana and across Spain.

For more information, please refer to the links given at the bottom of the page as our report is based on the official figures given in these sources.

Xàbia

Xàbia has recorded 32 new infections confirmed by PCR test since the last update with the total number of infections rising to 329 since the crisis began. The 14-day cumulative rate (IA)¹ has risen substantially, now standing at 275.32 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest it has ever been, and significantly higher than the national figure. Thankfully, the death toll remains at 3.

Almost a quarter of all positive cases recorded in Xàbia since the health crisis began have been in the past 14 days, more than three times more than Dénia.

CD Jávea has postponed all matches and training indefinitely as the virus accelerates through the region. They have also called on the people of the town to be responsible and respect all the measures being put in place to try and contain the spread of the virus. “The most important thing right now is to be able to enjoy our families and enjoy this holiday season.”

A gym instructor was found by the Guardia Civil to have been giving classes in a closed facility when she should have been in self-isolation after her room-mate tested positive for COVID-19. No further details are available.

Xàbia Council has launched a campaign to encourage people to enjoy Christmas responsibly. An emotional video – subtitled in English – reminds everyone that this festive period has to be different, that we can’t gather together as we normally do as we need to protect our loved ones, especially those most vulnerable to the disease. It concludes with mayor José Chulvi wishing everyone season’s greetings with a message that we can get through this by working together to protect each other.

Marina Alta

The Dénia Health Authority, which covers the Marina Alta region, has recorded a whopping 181 new infections since the last update, bringing the total to 2,401 positive cases since the crisis began. As a consequence, the 14-day IA rate has risen to 194.48 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, a 68% rise on Tuesday’s figures and it has been rising since the end of November.

The death toll in the Marina Alta remains at 38.

The 181 new infections have been recorded in the following municipalities:

• Dénia – 35
• El Vergel – 32
• Xàbia – 32
• Teulada – 21
• Calp – 14
• Pego – 13
• Benissa – 10
• Ondara – 7
• Gata de Gorgos – 6
• Pedreguer – 5
• Beniarbeig – 2
• Orba – 2
• Els Poblets – 1
• Poble Nou de Benitatxell – 1

Comunidad Valenciana

Ximo Puig, president of the Generalitat Valencia, announced modifications to restrictions for the festive period after an alarming rise in infections over the past few days. These include bringing forward the night curfew to 11.00pm (except December 24th and December 25th) and restrictions of social gatherings of those who don’t live together. Read more about this here.

The 14-day IA rate for the Comunidad Valenciana has risen to 254.77, an increase of some 32% this week, and it is now one of the highest rates in the country. Every one of the region’s 24 health authorities have seen big rises in their rates this week, not least in Vinarós, where the infection rate has increased by over 85% over the past few days, whilst both Dénia and Manises health authorities has seen their rates more than double this week.

The positivity rate² for the Comunidad Valenciana has risen to 15.82%, almost double the national average and beyond the level above which the situation can be considered as being “extreme risk”.

Spain

It is now clear that the virus is spreading again through the country. And it’s likely to get worse as the impact of the long holiday weekend at the beginning of the month starts to show in the figures. The Ministry of Health has admitted that it expects things to get worse over the festive period when people start travelling to visit family and friends.

Fernando Simón, the director of the Ministry’s Coordination Centre for Health Alerts (CCAES) added that he expects the increase in infections to continue until at least mid-January 2021, possibly even the end of the month, but added that Christmas will continue, albeit in a different manner to before. “Christmas will not be cancelled, but rather how we celebrate it [will be different], if we decide to do so.”

The national 14-day IA rate is 207.26, the fourth day in a row that the rate has increased and the highest figure for over a week; yesterday the country reported over 12,100 infections, the highest single day figure since the end of November.

The worst affected region is the Balearic Islands, where the IA rate has risen 60% in two weeks to 322.41. Madrid has also suffered a significant increase, reaching 262.13, a rise of 17% over the past 14 days whilst the Basque Country, Castilla-La Mancha and the Comunidad Valenciana find themselves above the 250 mark and are considered to be at “extreme risk” of the infection spread.

Prime Minister forced into self-isolation

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been forced to self-isolate after French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for coronavirus. Both men were attending the 60th anniversary of the signing of the OECD convention in Paris on Monday. Sánchez will self-isolate until December 24th, forcing the cancellation of some events.

References

¹ The IA rate is the number of new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 inhabitants over the past 14 days. It is considered the most accurate measure of the spread of the virus. The aim of the Spanish government is to lower this rate to 25.

² The positivity rate refers to the percentage of all COVID-19 tests carried out which have come back positive. A high figure means that it doesn’t take many tests to come across a positive result.

Resource Links

COVID-19 C.Valenciana: Monitorage de la Situació
Ministero de Sanidad: Actualización nº 273 (17/12/2020)
El Pais

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