Spain reports slight rise in Covid-19 cases, deaths

Anti-government protest gaining momentum in one of Spain’s wealthiest neighbourhoods

PARIS/ OVIEDO, SPAIN: Spain on Thursday registered a slight rise in the coronavirus cases and deaths in the country.

According to health authorities, there were 217 new deaths from the coronavirus and 506 new cases in the country.

In the past three days, Spain had seen less than 450 new infections and under 200 deaths.

In total, the country reports nearly 230,000 cases and 27,321 deaths. More than 124,225 people have been hospitalised, while 143,300 people are counted as recovered.

Preliminary results from a government antibody study suggest that around 5% of Spain’s population – 2.3 million people – have been infected. That would mean that 95% of Spain’s population is still vulnerable to contracting the disease.



Spain has been under a strict lockdown since mid-March, but restrictions have been relaxed in recent weeks.

In half of the country, outdoor terraces and small shops opened on Monday. Throughout Spain, children and adults have been allowed to go out for exercise and some non-essential businesses have also opened.

According to official statistics, the reproduction rate of the virus in Spain is currently at 0.77, meaning each infected person on average infects less than one other person.

For the fourth night in a row, anti-government protesters took to the streets in Madrid’s Salamanca district – one of the country’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.

Defying measures to stem the spread of Covid-19, around 100 people gathered to call for freedom and denounce the Spanish government’s handling of the pandemic.

Madrid remains under a stricter lockdown than other parts of the country.

Covid-19: France sees dramatic drop in fatalities

Wednesday proved a day of progress for France in the battle against the coronavirus as the death toll dropped significantly.

According to the Health Ministry, a total of 120 fatalities were registered on Wednesday, a dramatic change from 359 cases registered on Tuesday.

Deaths in hospitals stand at 105 people with only 15 people were reported to have succumbed to the disease in nursing homes. The total number of fatalities in hospitals is 17,101 and the total fatalities in nursing homes is 9,973.

Since the start of the outbreak, the death toll in France stands at 27,074 with cases of infection registered at 140,734.

The number of hospitalizations dropped sharply on Wednesday, with cases standing now at 21,071, a large drop of 524 patients over Tuesday. The number of those in intensive care fell to 2,428, down by 114 patients.



Despite the severity of the virus, most people experience mild symptoms and recover. Since the beginning of record-keeping for the disease, 58,673 people have recovered in France from the epidemic and have returned home.

After originating in China last December, Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has spread to 188 countries and regions across the world. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed almost 295,000 people, with total infections have reached just over 4.31 million, while just over 1.52 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.