Spain records drop in daily virus death toll, but number of new cases rises

MADRID — Spain records 523 deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, a decline from yesterday, but the number of new daily confirmed cases was the highest in six days.

The new deaths reported by the health ministry take the total number of fatalities to 18,579 — officially third in the world behind the United States and Italy.

Spain recorded 567 deaths from COVID-19 yesterday.

The number of new confirmed infections rises by 5,092, or three percent, to 177,633, the biggest daily increase in the number of cases since April 9.

Health authorities say Spain has overcome the peak of the coronavirus, after registering its highest daily death toll of 950 people on April 2, but warn against relaxing restrictions on the movement of people to curb the spread of the virus.

Spain on March 14 imposed one of the tightest lockdowns in Europe, with people in the nation of around 47 million people allowed outside only to go to work when they can’t do so from home, buy food, seek medical care and briefly walk their dog.

The government tightened the restrictions on March 30 by freezing all non-essential activities like construction and manufacturing for two weeks in a so-called “economic hibernation” — a measure that was lifted on Monday.

— AFP