New Delhi: The number of coronavirus cases in Spain rose to 8,744 on Monday and the number of fatalities went up to 297, according to reports. Spain is suffering Europe’s second-worst outbreak after Italy.
The previous tally was 7,753 cases on Sunday, with 288 fatalities. The government is also considering closing borders.
Spanish ministers said earlier on Monday that a state of emergency which has shut down much of the country will have to be extended beyond an initial 15-day period.
According to officials, the infected in Spain include nearly 4,000 health workers — more than one in ten of total confirmed cases.
Like in other countries hit hard by the virus, nurses, doctors and other health workers have said they are not getting enough protective kits. Authorities and companies are scrambling to manufacture, buy and distribute more of them.
Madrid region has suffered the brunt of the epidemic with 12,352 infections — just under a third of the total — and 1,535 deaths, or 57 percent of the national figure
The Spanish capital has also transformed part of a giant exhibition centre into a temporary field hospital with 1,500 beds and an intensive care unit which could be expanded take in up to 5,500 patients.
Government figures show there has also been an increase in people recovering, with the number reaching 3,794 on Tuesday after 439 were declared virus-free. Around 60 percent of the recoveries are in Madrid.
