Spain surpasses China in coronavirus deaths
Spain has now recorded the second highest number of deaths in the world after Italy, according to the lastest figures published the Spanish health ministry.
Spain has now surpassed China in the number of deaths due to coronavirus.
In the latest figures published by Spain’s Ministry of Health, 738 people died in the latest 24-hour period, while there was a daily increase of 7,937 confirmed cases.This means Spain now has 47,610 confirmed cases and 3,434 deaths. China, in comparison, has registered 81,218 cases and 3,281 deaths.
Spain’s health ministry also confirmed that there are a total of 3,166 people in ICU, while 5,367 people have now recovered from the disease. Madrid and Barcelona are the two cities that have been the most affected. The Community of Madrid has recorded 2,245 new cases and 290 deaths in the past 24 hours; while Catalonia registered 2,073 new cases and 234 deaths over the same period.
Spain has now recorded the second highest number of deaths behind Italy, where, in the latest official count, 6,820 had died from COVID-19.
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Government expects lockdown measures to take effect by end of the week
The Spanish government introduced strict lockdown measures on Saturday, March 14, but the effect of those measures has yet to be felt as the numbers continue to rise.
The government, led by president Pedro Sanchez, is hopeful the impact of the lockdown will start to take hold on the numbers by the end of the week.
Last Sunday, President Sanchez announced that the original 15-day lockdown period would be extended until April 11. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said he was confident of "being able to lift some of the measures" by that date, but also acknowledged that it is still "premature” to discuss any particular “scenario”.