The Catalan city of Lleida has registered the first death linked to the coronavirus resurgence that has forced lockdown measures on the entire county of Segrià, in the west of Catalonia. The patient who died was admitted less than a week ago to the critical care unit of one of the hospital centres in the health region, the Catalan health ministry reported this Thursday.
More Covid-19 cases and over 80 hospitalised
With this death, the Segrià county has registered 46 new confirmed cases in the last day and has accumulated 2,694 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, 341 of them in residences. Before today, the Segrià had not recorded any deaths from Covid-19 since 22nd June. Of the total of 137 deaths in the county, 76 have been in hospitals or health centres, 54 in senior citizens' residences, four in own homes and three are not unclassified.
There are currently eleven coronavirus patients in the intensive care units of Lleida's hospitals, out of a total of 82 virus cases who are hospitalised, according to the health authorities. Of these patients, 6 are in the ICU of the main Arnau de Vilanova centre, where 44 more patients have been admitted to the ward, and 5 in the ICU of the Santa Maria Hospital. In other centres in the region there are 27 more people admitted with coronavirus. On the other hand, since July 1st, the number of patients discharged from the Arnau de Vilanova hospital is 30, while in Santa Maria there have been none.
Since the perimeter confinement of the county was decreed last Saturday, a total of 220 new Covid-19 cases have been registered. The peak days for reported cases were last Thursday, July 2nd, when there were 112 new cases confirmed, and Friday, July 3, with 134. Figures for recent days are lower, but may still increase as late data is added.
As of today there are 341 confirmed Covid-19 cases among those living in senior care residences in Segrià. The last new cases detected in these centres were on Saturday, July 4th, when nine cases were added.
Large jump in new cases in Catalonia
The increase in cases since yesterday is especially notable in the Segrià region. Although Lleida is the Catalan health region with the third highest increase in cases - behind Barcelona city and the southern metropolitan area - its increases are the most significant when measured by head of population.
In fact, the daily figure for new infections in Catalonia has increased by almost 70% in 24 hours. If yesterday the total confirmed cases since the pandemic numbered 73,885 (with 288 new cases), this Thursday the health ministry has reported a total of 74,367, which represents an increase of 482. Of these, half were registered in Barcelona city (212 positives cases).
Again, though, it should be noted that this rise of 482 new cases will be spread across the data series according to the actual date on which they were diagnosed: thus, of the 482 confirmed cases included in the latest update, 79 are part of the figure for Wednesday, 187 add to the Tuesday total, and 152 are added to Monday.