Alicante and Castellon are at high risk due to the occupation of ICUs

With the current increase in COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Health has warned that Alicante and Castellon provinces are at high risk due to the occupation of ICUs. The warning comes in the weekly assessment by the Ministry of the incidence of the virus and its impact on health services.
The level of virus circulation for the last 14 days is much the same throughout the Valencia region, high risk. Worryingly though that level jumps to extreme risk for those over the age of 65 for the last seven days.
Data for seven to 14 days is incomplete in the provinces of Castellon and Valencia making it difficult to fully assess the risk level.
Importantly 90% of Valencians over the age of 12 have been vaccinated, which has led the Ministry to underplay the risk and therefore not to decree an alert situation. Recently the level at which a decree would be issued was made more lax and more in line with the current level of vaccinations.
Despite the high level of vaccinations the number of ICU beds being occupied is rising and although the number of patients being admitted with the virus is still at a low level, the number of ICU beds occupied by Covid-19 patients is at level three.
Currently 19.7% of the total available ICU beds in Castellón hospitals are occupied and in Alicante the number if 15%. The threshold set by the Ministry is 15%.
The Ministry has said that the region has been saved from further restrictions because of the low level of ICU beds occupied. Should this situation change as it has in Marina Baixa, where they have been transferring patients to other hospitals, then the regional government could be forced to act.
The high incidence of cases throughout the region is once again affecting those areas most affected in previous waves with 77 municipalities at extreme risk levels. A further 93 towns are at high risk and 263 of the 542 towns and villages in the region have reported a positive case in the last few days.
The level of hospitalisations this year is less than half of what it was this time last year so although Alicante and Castelló are at high risk due to the occupation of ICUs, the situation is looking far more manageable.

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