Spain records 2nd most coronavirus deaths in a day for any country as 832 die

The death toll due to coronavirus in Spain has leapt by 832 to 5,690 in 24 hours, marking the highest one-day toll for the country. Further, it is the second highest single-day toll for any country, behind Italy's 919, which was registered on Friday.

Spain’s coronavirus death toll rose by 832 cases overnight to 5,690, the health ministry said on Saturday, marking a new high in the daily rise in fatalities. The total number of those infected rose to 72,248 from 64,059 on Friday.

Spain has been in almost total lockdown for two weeks, with citizens confined to their homes, except for essential activities such as buying food and medicine, in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus. Health minister Salvador Illa warned on Friday that the pandemic has yet to reach its peak in Spain. The outbreak is stretching Spain’s health-care system, with doctors sometimes having to choose who should live or die. Madrid, the epicenter of the outbreak in the country, has set up a temporary hospital in the Spanish capital’s main conference center and is preparing a second space to accommodate the flood of patients needing treatment, El Pais reported on Saturday.

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide has topped 600,000 as new cases stacked up quickly in Europe and the United States. The latest landmark came only two days after the world passed half a million infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, showing that much work remains to be done to slow the spread of the virus. It showed more than 607,000 cases and over 28,000 deaths. While the US now leads the world in reported infections — with more than 104,000 cases — five countries exceed its roughly 1,700 deaths: Italy, Spain, China, Iran and France.