Javier Arranz, the spokesperson for the regional infectious diseases committee in the Balearics, is warning that the number of Covid cases will rise further, there having been record daily numbers in recent days
"They are going to increase. Two factors are influencing the fact that we now have such a significant number of cases. One was the Constitution holiday, which increased contact between people. Another is that many people are taking tests, partly because of the holidays."
But because of the holiday period, he says that the number of tests will decrease and then be followed by a rise as controls are as they normally would be. In addition, there is the possible effect of New Year's Eve parties. "We will probably have a significant increase in cases in the first half of January."
A combination of Omicron and the holidays has produced the record numbers of daily cases - 1,216 reported on Christmas Eve and 1,159 on Christmas Day. While the positivity test rate for a seven-day period was 13.53% on Saturday, the daily rate was 16.21%. The 14-day cumulative incidence for the Balearics was 904, but it can be anticipated that this will rise.
While admissions to intensive care have been going up slightly - 55 in the Balearics on Friday with a high risk Covid occupancy rate of 16.13% - the number of patients on wards has been coming down. There were 218 in total in the Balearics on Friday, 43 fewer than on Monday.