Daily coronavirus death rate in Spain rises slightly once more, to 551 The rate of new infections is holding steady at around 3%, a rise that the health authorities have attributed to more widespread testing
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Spain saw 551 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, according to figures supplied on Thursday morning by the Spanish Health Ministry. This was a slight increase on yesterday’s figure, which came in at 523.
So far during the coronavirus epidemic in Spain, there have been a total of 19,130 official fatalities due to the Covid-19 disease, with 182,816 confirmed infections and nearly 75,000 patients who have recovered and have been discharged from hospital.
The rise in cases was 2.9% today in Spain, when two weeks ago the rate was 7%
HEALTH MINISTER SALVADOR ILLA
Despite today’s slight rise in daily fatalities, the data shows a continuing downward trend for registered deaths related to Covid-19, a result of the nearly five weeks of near-total lockdown that has been in place in Spain since a state of alarm was implemented by the Spanish government on March 14.
The number of daily fatalities came in at 567 on Tuesday, 517 on Monday and 619 on Sunday. Reporting delays due to the Easter weekend are thought to have contributed to these fluctuations.
The peak of daily deaths was seen on April 2, when there were 950 Covid-19-related fatalities.
The rise in registered infections rose slightly on Wednesday, however, to 3% of the total, a phenomenon that was attributed yesterday by Fernando Simón, the director of the Health Ministry’s Coordination Center for Health Alerts, to the testing kits that are now being widely distributed across Spain. Until recently, only patients with more severe symptoms were being tested.
A similar rise was seen in Thursday’s new infection rate, which came in at 2.9%
Speaking at a weekly congressional commission to provide information about the coronavirus crisis, Health Minister Salvador Illa began his appearance by “recognizing the boys and girls who are behaving in an exemplary manner. We are aware that the confinement is affecting their health, but we are following the progress of the epidemic so that they can get out on the street when it is possible in an ordered manner.”
We have reached the peak and we must flatten the curveFERNANDO SIMÓN, THE DIRECTOR OF THE HEALTH MINISTRY’S COORDINATION CENTER FOR HEALTH ALERTS
Illa also referred to the infection rate. “The rise in cases was 2.9% today in Spain, when two weeks ago the rate was 7%,” he explained. “So far 40.5% of patients have been discharged from hospital,” he continued. “With a huge effort on everyone’s part, the adequate response for patients has been guaranteed and cases are falling. We must maintain the capacity that has been installed until now and there are difficult weeks ahead, for which the health system must be on alert. We have to be very prudent.”
Meanwhile, while Illa was speaking in Congress, Fernando Simón was holding the government’s daily coronavirus press conference. He also addressed the higher infection rate than that seen earlier in the week. “Increasing testing is making the number of cases rise, but in some cases they are people who had the disease some time ago and others are asymptomatic,” he explained. “While this poses a challenge from a communication point of view, it is good news.”
Simón explained that at least 1,312 infections had been detected thanks to serological tests, which detect the antibodies for the virus in a blood sample and can be used to identify people who have overcome the disease or not showing symptoms. The PCR test, in contrast, detects if the virus is currently active.
Simón said that while “there is still a large number of fatalities, the number of patients in hospital and ICUs [intensive care units] continues to fall.” Simón explained that there were only 1,003 hospital admissions on Wednesday, and 79 patients taken into ICUs, both of which represented a 1% increase.
He added that “the measures in place are allowing us to achieve our objective. We have reached the peak and we must flatten the curve. We are facing the biggest challenge of our recent and not that recent history. For a transition to a new normality, we need to take note of the lessons we have learned.”
Political consensus
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will today begin a round of virtual meetings with opposition parties, in a bid to start laying the foundation for what are being dubbed the “new Moncloa Pacts,” in reference to a sweeping cross-party deal in 1977 that produced a national socioeconomic recovery program and shored up Spain’s transition to democracy after the death of Francisco Franco.
