Despite The Canary Islands having been the most successful region in Spain at tackling COVID-19, Gran Canaria has seen a worrying upturn in new positives over recent weeks, having detected 736 new cases so far in August, which is 73 more than the 663 previously detected since the beginning of the pandemic until July 31. Gran Canaria has more than doubled Coronavirus infections in three short weeks.

The latest data published by the Ministry of Health at 2:00 p.m. yesterday, confirms the island has detected a cumulative total of 1,399 cases, of which 718 are now active, 640 have recovered and received medical discharge and 41 have died.

Canary Islands coronavirus infections double

COVID-19-testing-CC2.0-by-Dean-Calma-IAEA

Of the 718 active patients on Gran Canaria, the majority, 677 people, remain in home isolation, with 36 having had to be hospitalised and five people are in the Incentive Care Unit.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has 520 active cases, nearly half, 47%, of all the 1,113 patients currently in the Canary Islands; significantly more than six times the 78 positives from La Laguna (Tenerife), or the 68 in Telde (Gran Canaria) or the 57 from Santa Cruz de Tenerife .

Coronavirus infections have doubled in August

Colony PCR CC2.0 David Kochman by-nc-nd

Of the total number of active coronavirus infections in the archipelago (1,113), 1,042 are quarantined in home isolation, 63 hospitalised on the ward and 8 in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) – five of these on Gran Canaria and three on Tenerife.

To date The Canary Islands have carried out 212,025 PCR tests and have doubled their rate of testing to nearly 2,000 tests a day.

Source: La Provincia with extra reporting by The Canary
Feature Image: Tests to detect COVID19 CC2.0 by Agencia Senado