Coronavirus: Spain death toll surges to 767, cases up 25%

OVIEDO, Spain

Spain’s death toll from coronavirus has surged to 767 amid more than 17,000 confirmed cases, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

On mid-day Wednesday, the government reported 558 deaths, showing a record one-day increase of 208 deaths.

The numbers suggest that approximately one person died every seven minutes in Spain of COVID-19 on average.

“We hope Spain will reach its peak of deaths in a few days,” said Fernando Simon, Spain’s emergency services director, in a televised press conference on Thursday, adding that the rise in numbers “does not mean we’re doing badly.”

The country also registered another 3,431 cases on Thursday -- a 25% jump on Wednesday’s numbers.

At the moment, Spain is only testing people with severe respiratory infection who need to be hospitalized or essential workers with less severe symptoms.

Nearly 1,000 people are in Spain’s intensive care units.

One of the people who died on Wednesday was a 39-year-old police officer who, according to Spanish media, had no known underlying health conditions. Simon said he was one of three confirmed cases of healthy people under 65-year-old dying so far.

Spain has been on full lockdown since Saturday night. No one is allowed to leave their homes unless it is essential. Police officials report that around 100 people have been arrested for disobeying the emergency law, but that no major incidents have occurred.

Every night, people across the country have been meeting on their balconies or at their windows to applaud the healthcare staff and all the country’s essential workers.

Last night, as King Felipe VI gave a rare televised speech about the virus, there was also a countrywide protest, with neighborhoods filling up with the sound of people banging pots and pans.

Last weekend, it was revealed that Felipe’s father, Juan Carlos, held approximately $72 million in funds in an offshore account said to have come from the king of Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this week, Spain announced an economic stimulus package of up to €200 billion ($219 billion) to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic.