Extremadura becomes first autonomous community to stop reporting daily COVID cases

Extremadura has become the first autonomous community to adopt the plan that is currently being finalised by the central government, as it has decided to stop reporting daily numbers of COVID cases.
From this week, Extremadura has become the first autonomous community to stop reporting daily numbers of COVID cases. The regional health system has eliminated the section on the number of infections recorded over the last 24 hours from its daily report on the evolution of the virus, a modification that will be permanent.
It will, however, continue to report the 7-day and 14-day cumulative incidence in each of its municipalities, which will be shared each Thursday in a press release.
The minister of Health and Social Services, José María Vergeles, explained that the objective, now that it has been confirmed that the sixth wave of coronavirus has caused the numbers of infections to spike but reduced pressure on hospitals, is simply to focus all attention on the seriously ill.
“Is it necessary to continue measuring the incidence? Yes, but is it necessary to continue measuring the incidence case by case, person by person, instead of focusing on surveillance networks that detect serious illness, that detect the variants that are circulating and that detect the global incidence? I don’t think so,” said Vergeles, who believes that it is not helpful to be “obsessed” with daily data.
The decision has been made in parallel with the central government’s plan to treat COVID as a seasonal illness similar to the flu, something that has sparked criticism from the European Medicines Agency and some doctors, who believe that it is still too early for such measures.
The World Health Organisation also initially rejected the idea, but on January 24 they announced that they planned to have a “transition plan” by the end of February.
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