Covid-19 outbreak risk increases and remains very high as transmission rate grows slightly

Catalonia's latest epidemiological data show the risk of future outbreaks is very high having increased four points compared to the day prior.

The outbreak risk (or iEPG, calculated by multiplying the average spread of the virus over the past seven days by the cumulative incidence over the past two weeks) is considered to be low at 30, moderate at 70 and high at 100 – right now, Catalonia is at 160.24, up from 155.87 a day earlier.

Per health region, however, this rate varies significantly, from 381.46 in Lleida, 239.33 in the southern metropolitan area, or 190.11 in the Catalan capital to as relatively low as 33.91 in the western Catalan Pyrenees.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 transmission rate in Catalonia as a whole has increased slightly from 1 to 1.01.

Another 758 PCR positives were recorded on August 4, bringing the total number of PCR diagnoses since the beginning of the pandemic up to 82,271 and the overall total including other diagnostic tests to 102,245.

That same day, funeral homes reported 10 more coronavirus-related deaths, meaning the current death toll stands at 12,791.

The number of hospitalized patients has gone down from 632 to 607, but there are now a total of 111 people in ICUs, up from 108.

This week the Catalan health department maintained that mass screening will be carried out to keep cases at bay in lieu of further restrictive measures.