Spain Virus Deaths Rise by the Fewest in Almost a Month
Spain Virus Deaths Rise by the Fewest in Almost a Month
(Bloomberg) --
Spain reported the smallest increase in the number of coronavirus deaths in four weeks on Sunday, while new infections slowed compared with previous days.
Coronavirus deaths rose by 410 to 20,453 on Sunday, the smallest one-day increase since March 22, when 394 people died, according to Spain’s Health Ministry daily report.
In total 195,944 people have been infected with the coronavirus in Spain, with 4,218 new cases detected in the past 24 hours. That’s a decline after four consecutive days with new cases above 5,000, although numbers typically slow over the weekend due to reporting delays that later adjust during the week. The number of people cured rose to 77,357, authorities reported.
“We regret each death profoundly, but we have had an important decrease in the number of deaths,” Fernando Simon, the government’s top scientific adviser on the pandemic, said in a press conference on Sunday. “This is the first time we got below 500 since cases started to spike -this number gives us hope.”
The lockdown, which has been in place since mid-March, could continue well into May. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised speech on Saturday that he would ask lawmakers to extend it from the current end-date of April 25 to May 9.
Spain Saturday became the second European country after Italy to report more than 20,000 deaths linked to the virus. Still, officials say the outbreak is cresting.
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