EVERY single one of Spain's 19 regions is now out of 'extreme risk' for Covid, and four of them are considered practically 'back to normal' as their case numbers are negligible.
Masks are still compulsory even in the open air, but in four regions - which include coastal holiday hotspots - Covid case numbers are now negligible
These data, released on Wednesday evening, showed that the national incidence was 111.91 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, or 0.11% of the population.
Madrid was the last of the 15 mainland and four offshore regions to lose its 'extreme risk' classification, with all the others having ditched this dubious label some time ago – many of them, several months back.
This means normal levels of intensive care occupation – rates seen before the pandemic – have been reported in most regions, and even in those where numbers are higher than usual, the level of pressure is manageable.
The north-African coastal enclave of Ceuta, directly across the water from Gibraltar, and the Comunidad Valenciana on the east coast of the mainland were the first regions to report that they were almost back to normal, followed swiftly by the Balearic Islands, and now, the north-western region of Galicia.
All four currently show a rate of fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, or less than 0.05% of their population.
In the Comunidad Valenciana, only the biggest cities are showing numbers of Covid cases in three figures, the biggest towns range from approximately 10 to 50, a majority of medium-sized towns are showing single figures – several of these having had no cases at all for weeks – and the overwhelming majority of villages have been Covid-free for around two months.
This is despite the region being slightly behind the majority of the others in terms of vaccination, still working through those in their 50s and not due to start on the 40-somethings for another 10 days or so – partly due to its being one of the most densely-populated regions outside those with the two largest cities.
In the 16 months since the first Covid-19 cases were being detected in almost every region in Spain, a total of 3,715,454 have been reported – if each patient only contracted the virus once, it means 7.9% of the population have been affected, although in the past year, an average of 60-75% have been asymptomatic.
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