(Reuters) – The vast majority of new COVID-19 cases in Spain in the past five weeks were detected among non-vaccinated people, Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Monday, as new infections rose by 27,286.
Just 5.5% of new cases within the period were detected among people who had been fully vaccinated, Darias said, adding 11.4% were partially vaccinated and 83.1% were unvaccinated.
“We must keep up the rhythm of vaccination we have reached,” the minister told a news conference. “This will give us an important level of protection to allow us to enjoy the summer.”
The number of new COVID-19 cases per day in Spain has been steadily rising since late June, with the 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants rising to 622.4 on Tuesday. The country of 46.9 million people has so far reported a total of just under 4.2 million cases and 81,148 deaths.
Spain is the third fastest country at vaccinating its population, according to database Our World In Data, lagging behind only Canada and the U.K. with 51.3% of Spaniards fully vaccinated and 62.1% at least partially vaccinated.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee)
