The ‘Minister’ of Health of the Generalitat, Josep Maria Argimon, has assured this Tuesday that they have registered “some cases “of the omicron variant of covid-19 in Catalonia and that has also been detected in sewage water. Catalunya yesterday detected two suspects of the omicron variant, but all indications suggest that they will end up being confirmed predictably this Friday. Argimon has admitted that this variant is a element of concern and he explained that they have begun to screen 20% of the samples: “And it will appear, it will be a variant that it will probably be imposed “, has said questioned in the plenary of the Parlament de Catalunya by the socialist Assumpta Escarp.
After criticism from Escarp for having postponed the obligation to have the covid certificate to access the interior of the restoration, gyms and residences due to computer problems, Argimon has said: “If we have needed more time, we need more time, and if we have to rectify , I have rectified, I already do it, I have no problem “.
And has called to “put in your just measure what is the digital certificate, which is one more measure, not the “only measure to combat the pandemic, since it must be faced with a set of measures, according to the minister.
The two suspected cases
The preliminary results of the microbiological study of the two travelers from South Africa what they gave covid positive indicate that they are infected with the omicron variant, which would make them the first two detected in Catalonia in full growth of the sixth wave.
“It still cannot be 100% confirmed that the two suspected positive cases of the new omicron variant of covid-19 detected in Catalonia are of this variant, but the preliminary results indicate that they could be,” the Department of Health reported this Tuesday.
Regardless of whether it is confirmed whether or not they are of the new variant, the two people must comply with the corresponding isolation, having tested positive, he points out.
The new variant, of which many aspects are still unknown but which is more contagious than the delta (the currently dominant one), is an element that can worsen a sixth wave of coronavirus, at the gates of a bridge of the Constitution in which The covid certificate for restaurants, gyms and residences will be in force -from Friday.
Ambulatory to the limit
The Government rules out “in the short term” to further expand the compulsory nature of the covid passport or implement restrictions to stop the pandemic, the spokeswoman for the Catalan executive, Patrícia Plaja, said at a press conference this Tuesday. However, he admitted that “it is very difficult to make medium and long-term forecasts” because “everything depends” on the evolution of epidemiological data.
The outpatient clinics begin to be saturated, Well, they treated 14,721 covid patients yesterday, 4,200 more than on Monday of last week, a number of visits in outpatient clinics that had not occurred since the beginning of August.
In the last week there have been 11,298 diagnosed by PCR or antigen test (TA), with an average of 1,614 per day, almost triple the number two weeks ago.
In hospitals today there are 660 people hospitalized for covid, four more than yesterday, of which 141, two less than the day before, are in the ICU, of them 80 intubated and 6 connected to ECMO (extracorporeal respiration).
More vaccination requests
The positive note is that the announcement of the implementation of the covid certificate in restaurants, gyms and residences has promoted vaccination: the inoculation of first doses has grown by 55% between this last week and the previous one, and the second, by 44%. 75% of the Catalan population has the complete regimen -84.1% counting only those aged 12 or over-, while 602,534 third doses have already been injected.
Vaccination is key to reducing mortality, which however is growing little by little in this sixth wave: In the last seven days there have been 32 deaths from the disease, more than four deaths a day on average, which has not occurred since mid September.
The cumulative incidence of cases confirmed by PCR or 7-day antigen test per 100,000 inhabitants (IA7) is 144 cases, nine more than yesterday, while the cumulative incidence at 14 days (IA14) stands at 245 cases, sixteen more.
Risk of regrowth at 325 points
Related news
The risk of regrowth (EPG) has been located at 325 points and the speed of spread of the virus (Rt) is 1.35, that is, every 100 infected infect an average of 135 people.
The positivity -the percentage of CRP and TA with a positive result- is 6.04%, 17 hundredths more than yesterday, a sustained growth for weeks, which is far from the maximum percentage established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider an epidemic under control, which is 5%.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com