Spanish Coronavirus Infections Increase by the Most in a Week

(Bloomberg) --

Spain reported the biggest increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in a week, while the death toll rose compared with the previous day.

There were 5,183 new infections in the 24 hours through Thursday, pushing the total above 180,000, according to Health Ministry data. The number of fatalities rose by 551, compared to Wednesday’s increase of 523, to 19,130.

The government said this week that Spain has already overcome the peak of the virus, in what is the world’s second-most extensive outbreak. It’s starting to focus more on how to relax restrictions imposed under a national state of emergency. The measures have kept people mostly restricted to their homes or jobs for weeks and have wrecked the economy.

The current state of emergency runs through April 25 and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he will seek to extend it. Spain has the second-highest number of cases behind the U.S., and the second-highest death toll in Europe behind Italy.

Any easing of restrictions will probably happen “in phases, by sectors and maybe even geographies,” Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva said Thursday in an interview with Cadena Ser radio.

As the government studies how to reignite the economy, it’s also trying to improve methods of detecting the disease. The health ministry this week took greater control over private clinics, banning them from testing paying customers who are not sick enough under government criteria to merit a test. The clinics were also ordered to feed the results back to regional health authorities, who gather data for nationwide statistics.

The government’s compiling of data on infections and fatalities has came under increasing scrutiny from regions and the media for failing to capture the full picture at nursing homes, from autopsies or in asymptomatic people.

Officials have hinted at a shortage of tests. The health ministry, which doesn’t disclose an exact number of tests performed daily, has a goal to increase them, which can be done “as soon as more are available,” Fernando Simon, the government’s top scientific adviser on the pandemic, said Wednesday.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.