Dénia triples the new infections a year ago: is this worse than the third wave?
Dénia is registering its worst contagion data of the entire pandemic these days. Christmas has once again been decisive, demonstrating once again that social gatherings in areas that we believe to be safe, in homes, are the situations that cause the greatest contagion. But we can no longer say that it is our first time.
In 2021, just one year ago, we experienced the worst of the pandemic, or at least to date. The famous third wave was catastrophic. A hard blow that caught us completely off guard because we had not experienced the worst of the coronavirus in our own flesh. The first wave, in the spring of 2020, was counteracted with a harsh general lockdown before we had a worrying incidence in our area. The second wave was also quickly stopped with strict measures and was stopped thanks to the fact that the summer did not last long after the rise in cases. But Christmas changed everything.
On January 12, 2021 Dénia registered the highest number of new coronavirus infections in a single batch: 238. It was a record figure that was imitated throughout the country's geography. It led to new harsh restrictions, leaving us in a situation of false confinement with early curfews and the hospitality industry completely closed. Hospitals were once again on the verge of saturation, the death toll was shocking, and vaccination was only just beginning.
Now, on January 12, 2022, a year later, Dénia has had 375 new infections. But the thing does not stop there, but during the three days it has added 676. Not only does it double the data of the previous update, but it triples that of a year ago. But the restrictions are few, finding ourselves in a situation of relative normality, limiting only the capacity, the distances and forcing the use of a mask. What is the reason for this light response? What is the difference between that third wave and the current one?
It's simple, the hospital situation. Vaccination has completely changed the game board. Symptoms are milder in most cases and the death toll has fallen. In the same way, the hospital pressure in the region is lower in terms of admissions. There is no saturation of beds nor is the ICU overwhelmed. In fact, when these lines are being written we only know of three patients who are in intensive care for coronavirus, and another 16 are admitted to the ward. It should be noted that three out of four admitted to the Dénia Hospital are unvaccinated patients or elderly people with serious pathologies.
Therefore, the biggest change of all from one year to the next is the reference that is taken into account to determine the severity of the pandemic situation. The number of new cases is worse, the incidence of the coronavirus is worse, but, despite this, the situation is undeniably better than that of 2021.