The Murcia Region has broken its record for the third time in a week with 1,444 new cases in 24 hours
The Region has once again beaten the record for coronavirus infections detected by rapid test or PCR in the last 24 hours, for the third time in less than a week.
After the holiday on Thursday, the day after the Three Kings, in which fewer tests were carried out, the incidence has continued to rise to levels never seen before. The Ministry of Health on Saturday registered 1,444 new cases of coronavirus in one day, which brings the total number of cases currently active in the Region of Murcia to 8,004.
In addition, there were 47 new hospital admissions in just 24 hours and the number of ICU patients rose to 81 after 6 new admissions. The number of people fighting the virus from a hospital bed is now 370. There were also 6 new deaths from covid, 3 men and 3 women aged 93, 93, 91, 90, 88 and 59 years from Murcia, Cartagena, San Javier, Jumilla and Mazarrón, according to the Ministry of Health.
Of the 1,444 new cases detected, 471 are in the municipality of Murcia, 160 in Cartagena, 78 are in Lorca, 71 Caravaca de la Cruz, 66 Yecla, 60 Jumilla, 42 Molina de Segura, and 36 are in La Unión.
These new cases add up to 5,886 new infections in just one week, when possible infections from New Year’s Eve and Three Kings Day have still to be registered.
The dramatic increase in the contagion has caused many groups and some political parties to consider that the new restrictions that came into force yesterday are an insufficient measure. The perimeter confinement of 22 municipalities, bringing forward the curfew to 10:00 p.m. as well as the closure of internal areas of the hotel industry, is not enough for institutions such as the College of Physicians or the Podemos party in the Region.
College of Physicians
“The third wave will be awful and of great severity. The only way to prevent a fourth and a fifth wave from arriving is by confinement, leaving open only what is absolutely essential, and taking immediate measures rather than delaying them which only causes suffering and deaths”, said the president of the College of Physicians in the Region, Francisco Miralles. He emphasised that “we must confine the population because it is the only way to control this pandemic, at least until the vaccine starts to take effect.”
The spokeswoman for Podemos in the Region, María Marín, joined Francisco Miralles in saying that “the measures taken so far by López Miras are not helping, they are erratic and do not seem to follow any sanitary criteria.” She too demanded that Central Government take immediate steps to to establish home confinement, as was done last March.
Meanwhile, Health reported yesterday that with Friday’s vaccinations, 12,027 people have now received their first dose in the Region, inmates and staff in nursing homes and centres for the disabled, as well as hospital health workers and on Saturday 1,080 more people were expected to be reached.
