The novel Coronavirus claimed 832 lives in a single day in Spain, bringing the cumulative death toll in the country to 5,690, according to the latest official tally on Saturday.
With the exception of Thursday, when there was a slight slowdown, the Covid-19 death toll has been increasing daily in the country, which has the second highest number of fatalities after Italy. On Friday, there had been 769 deaths.
The number of people infected with the virus increased by over 8,000 in 24 hours, reaching 72,248 as the authorities decided to ramp up testing, and thus better assess the extent of the pandemic in the country.
However, the rhythm at which the infection and death rates have been increasing has slowed down in recent days, and the Government has said repeatedly that the epidemic should be close to peaking in Spain.
The more than 46 million Spaniards have been under strict lockdown since 14 March. This week the confinement measure was extended to 11 April.
Madrid is the country’s worst affected region, with 2,757 deaths, close to half of the national death toll, and 21,520 cases of infection.
Faced with the upsurge in fatalities, Madrid’s authorities have decided to begin setting up a second temporary morgue on Monday in an unused public building on the outskirts of the capital. The first was established on a skating rink in a shopping mall.
The Brussels Times
