The incidence of respiratory viruses in the Basque Country has fallen for the first time since early November. The latest bulletin from the Ministry of Health on Wednesday showed that there were 562 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a 22% decrease from the previous week. At that time, the Basque Country had 717 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. This means that the mandatory use of mouth and nose protectors is likely to be reduced next week in Basque health centers and outpatient clinics, as communities will be able to withdraw the mandatory use of mouth and nose protectors for 14 consecutive days if virus numbers fall, according to the Ministry of Health order, if there is a knock-on effect.
Castile and León and Castilla-La Mancha are already in this situation, and since yesterday, Madrid and Cantabria are also in this situation. On the other side of the coin are Catalonia and Asturias, which have decided to extend the use of masks despite a cumulative half-month decline in the incidence of the virus. Currently, Bascardi is one week away from saying goodbye to masks.
The situation in the Basque Country is as follows. By age group, the incidence rate is highest in the 0 to 4 year old group, with 1947.2 cases per 100,000 people, followed by the 5 to 14 year old group, with 754.6 cases per 100,000 people. Respiratory infection cases continue to rise only among those under 15 years of age, with the rest of the population showing declines compared with previous weeks.
One thing won’t change. The province of Guipuzcoa once again has the highest incidence rate in the Basque Country, with 614 acute respiratory patients per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 783 in the previous week). In Bizkaia, the incidence dropped to 567 cases and in Álava to 436 cases.
In terms of diseases, the main novelty is that influenza in the Basque Country is decreasing after five consecutive weeks of increases and currently stands at 54.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This suggests that the Basque Country has passed the peak of this seasonal disease, although this must be confirmed in the coming days.
Regarding the coronavirus, the incidence curve is also downward. The seven-day cumulative incidence rate of Covid-19 among people aged 60 and over is 23.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The number of infections last week was 29.3.
The information released on Wednesday also reflects that the pressure on health care caused by respiratory viruses is beginning to ease. The hospitalization rate due to these pathogens was 21.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with 24.5 per 100,000 inhabitants the previous week.
By age group, the highest incidence rate is among people over 64 years old, with 65.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by children under 5 years old, with 25.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Incidence rates fell among children under 5 and over 44 years old compared with the previous week.