Germany's COVID-19 death toll passes 100,000

FRANKFURT—Germany announced record coronavirus fatalities and infections Thursday as its total death toll passed 100,000, with its most severe virus wave yet breaking just as a new government prepares to take the reins.

Germany weathered earlier bouts of the pandemic better than many other European countries, but has seen a recent resurgence, with intensive care beds rapidly filling up. 

Europe's largest economy recorded 351 fatalities in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll since the start of the pandemic to 100,119, according to figures from the Robert Koch Institute, a public health agency. 

The weekly incidence rate also hit an all-time high of 419.7 new infections per 100,000 people, RKI announced. 

The escalating health crisis poses an immediate challenge to the new coalition government set to take over from Angela Merkel's cabinet next month. 

The spike in Germany comes as Europe has re-emerged as the pandemic's epicenter, with the continent battling sluggish vaccine uptake in some nations, the highly contagious Delta variant, colder weather moving people indoors and the easing of restrictions. 

Last week, more than 2.5 million cases and almost 30,000 COVID-related deaths were recorded in Europe, making it by far the region currently worst hit by the virus, according to AFP's tally. 

'ACUTE OVERLOAD'

In a sign of the severity of the virus wave hitting Germany, its health sector has had to call on hospitals elsewhere in the EU for help.

Some hospitals are already facing an "acute overload" that has made it necessary to transfer COVID-19 patients abroad, according to Gernot Marx, head of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine.

Germany last week announced tougher restrictions, including requiring people to prove they are vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 or have recently tested negative for the virus before they can travel on public transport or enter workplaces. 

Several of the worst-hit areas have gone further, cancelling large events like Christmas markets and barring the unvaccinated from bars, gyms and leisure facilities.

The spike has ignited a fierce debate about whether to follow Austria's example and make vaccination mandatory for all citizens.

Incoming chancellor Olaf Scholz has voiced support for compulsory vaccinations for health staff, and said that his government would "do everything necessary to bring our country safely through this time". 

"The situation is serious," said Scholz's Social Democrats after announcing a coalition agreement with the Greens and the FDP liberals on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, outgoing Chancellor Merkel, who is retiring from politics after 4 terms, summoned the new center-left-led alliance's top brass for pandemic talks. 

Scholz said his new government would invest one billion euros in bonuses for health-care workers on the frontlines of the pandemic. 

But his critics accused him of lacking the urgency needed to tackle the national catastrophe. 

"It sounded like he wanted to be the leader of the Hamburg health authorities," snapped Spiegel online. 

Germany's COVID-19 crisis has in part been blamed on its relatively low vaccination rate of about 69 percent, compared to other Western European countries such as France, where it is 75 percent.

The country has urged all inoculated adults to get a booster to combat waning efficacy after 6 months.

Agence France-Presse

More than 4.5 million dead, 216 million infected with COVID-19 worldwide

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 4,500,620 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1000 GMT (6 p.m. Philippine time) on Monday. 

At least 216,344,180 cases of coronavirus have been registered. 

The vast majority have recovered, though some have continued to experience symptoms weeks or even months later. The figures are based on daily reports provided by health authorities in each country. They exclude revisions made by other statistical organizations, which show that the number of deaths is much higher. 

The World Health Organization estimates that the pandemic's overall toll could be two to three times higher than official records, due to the excess mortality that is directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19. 

A large number of the less severe or asymptomatic cases also remain undetected, despite intensified testing in many countries. 

On Sunday, 6,952 new deaths and 446,872 new cases were recorded worldwide. 

Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were Russia with 792 new deaths, followed by Iran with 669 and Indonesia with 568. 

The United States is the worst-affected country with 637,539 deaths from 38,798,963 cases. 

After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 579,308 deaths from 20,741,815 cases, India with 438,210 deaths from 32,737,939 cases, Mexico with 258,165 deaths from 3,335,700 cases, and Peru with 198,167 deaths from 2,148,419 cases. 

The country with the highest number of deaths compared to its population is Peru with 601 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Hungary with 311, Bosnia-Herzegovina with 298, Czech Republic with 284, Republic of North Macedonia with 282 and Montenegro with 273. 

Latin America and the Caribbean overall has 1,436,155 deaths from 43,158,763 cases, Europe 1,246,809 deaths from 62,896,600 infections, and Asia 775,755 deaths from 49,951,809 cases. 

The United States and Canada has reported 664,439 deaths from 40,288,517 cases, Africa 194,830 deaths from 7,748,732 cases, Middle East 180,936 deaths from 12,181,513 cases, and Oceania 1,696 deaths from 118,249 cases. 

As a result of corrections by national authorities or late publication of data, the figures updated over the past 24 hours may not correspond exactly to the previous day's tallies. 

Agence France-Presse

Mexico passes 200,000 COVID deaths

MEXICO CITY - Mexico on Thursday became the world's third country to surpass 200,000 coronavirus deaths, as fears grew of another wave of infections after Easter.

The nation's COVID-19 fatality toll now stands at 200,211, the health ministry said in its daily update.

The bleak milestone comes despite a decline in new cases and deaths in recent weeks, following a surge in January that pushed many hospitals to the breaking point.

The country's coronavirus czar, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, has warned of the risk of a new wave of infections as millions of Mexicans prepare for the Easter holidays around the start of April.

That prospect also worries epidemiologist Alejandro Macias, although he thinks that it is possible that Mexico has now gained some degree of immunity.

"The world is in a third wave. Perhaps few countries had it as intensely as Mexico in the second, so the virus would have fewer people to infect," he told AFP.

Mexico's death toll is far worse than the government's "catastrophic" scenario of 60,000 deaths.

"I imagined it was going to be worse than they were assuming," said Macias, who led the country's fight against the swine flu pandemic in 2009.

"But it was much more lethal," he said.

Excess mortality data suggests the real COVID-19 death toll is much higher than the official figure, due to limited testing.

 'PART OF THE STATISTICS'

It was on March 18, 2020 that a man named Carlos Hernandez became Mexico's first known COVID-19 victim, at a time when doctors were facing an adversary they knew little about.

When Hernandez complained of joint pain, his wife Adriana Meneses assumed it was because they had spent hours on their feet during a heavy metal concert.

A private doctor diagnosed him with pneumonia, but the symptoms worsened.

"We never thought what happened would happen," said Hernandez's sister Ana, who begged him not to agree to be intubated in a public hospital.

Three days later, due to what the family calls "negligence" and a lack of medical supplies, the news came that they had feared the most.

Hernandez, who suffered from diabetes and was overweight, died a week before his 42nd birthday.

His doctor told the family that it was a new virus and they did not know how to treat it.

"We were harassed by the neighbors and on social networks. They threatened to burn down our house," said his widow. "Today, unfortunately, we are part of the statistics."

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has himself recovered from the virus, was accused of being slow to impose a lockdown and has worn a mask only on rare occasions.

The left-wing populist, who continues to enjoy high public approval ratings, points out that the Mexican government was 1 of the first in Latin America to start vaccinations, on Dec. 24.

But Mexico desperately needs more vaccines.

So far roughly 6.1 million doses have been applied in the country of 126 million people.

"For there to be a true mass vaccination, we need to have 10 million vaccinations a month," Macias said.

Agence France-Presse

For 1st time, Brazil records over 3,000 COVID deaths in one day

BRASILIA - Brazil's daily Covid-19 death toll soared past 3,000 for the first time Tuesday as the hard-hit country struggled to contain a surge of cases that has pushed many hospitals to breaking point.

The health ministry registered a record 3,251 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing Brazil's overall death toll to nearly 299,000 -- second only to the United States.

Supplies of medical oxygen for Covid-19 patients have fallen to "worrying" levels in six of Brazil's 27 states, officials said Tuesday amid a deadly explosion of cases.

The prosecutor general's office said the health ministry had warned about oxygen levels in the six states during a crisis response meeting with suppliers.

One of Brazil's main oxygen suppliers, the company White Martins, said it was racing to keep up with an "exponential increase" in demand of up to 300 percent in some regions, prosecutors said in a statement.

The situation has raised fears of a repeat of horrific scenes in the northern city of Manaus in January, when oxygen shortages left dozens of Covid-19 patients to suffocate to death when hospitals ran out.

Other states are now showing warning signs.

Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous state and industrial hub, said Monday it would set up an emergency oxygen plant within 10 days with brewing company Ambev to supply overstretched hospitals.

The state, population 46 million, has been hit hard by the new wave of Covid-19.

Globo TV reported last week that at least 135 people had died in Sao Paulo waiting in line for intensive care beds with confirmed or suspected cases of the virus.

In Brasilia, more than 400 people are currently waiting in line for ICU beds. Videos circulating online show bodies piled in hospital corridors awaiting transfer to the capital's overflowing morgues.

The six states whose oxygen supplies are the most critical are Acre and Rondonia in the northwest, Mato Grosso in the center-west, Amapa in the north, and Ceara and Rio Grande do Norte in the northeast, prosecutors said.

Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who has defied expert advice on containing the virus, is facing mounting pressure to revamp his response to the crisis.

Brazil's average daily Covid-19 death toll has more than tripled since the start of the year, to 2,306, currently the highest worldwide.

Experts say the surge is being fueled by a local variant of the virus that is suspected to be more contagious.

Agence France-Presse

Brazil's Sao Paulo reports record 1,021 COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours

SAO PAULO - The Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, the country's most populous, registered 1,021 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, a new daily record, state authorities said on Tuesday.

Sao Paulo's death toll is a worrisome sign that Brazil's total death toll for the day, which will only be released on Tuesday night, could also be a new record.

In Sao Paulo, the previous highest number of daily deaths was 679 last Tuesday.

The spike in the COVID-19 death toll in Sao Paulo comes as Brazil has become the latest epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with overwhelmed hospitals and a shortage of oxygen and drugs in many cities.

Brazil, with a population of 211 million, has recorded roughly 12 million cases of COVID-19 and 295,425 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

-reuters-

Greece shuts down all schools as COVID-19 deaths cross 1,000

ATHENS – Greece on Saturday announced the closure of primary schools, kindergartens and daycare centres as coronavirus deaths crossed a thousand.

Authorities reported  2,835 new coronavirus cases, taking the total to 72,510, and 38 new deaths, raising the toll to 1,035.

Since late October, the daily number of deaths in this country of nearly 11 million has quadrupled while the number of infections has doubled to around 3,000.

Out of the 533 total COVID-19 intensive care unit beds nationwide, 366 were occupied, authorities said Saturday.

The most hard-hit area is Thessaloniki in the north, the second largest city in Greece.

Earlier on Saturday, the government announced the closure of primary schools until the end of this month.

“Closing elementary schools was the last thing we wanted to do. This is a measure of how serious the situation is,” Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said.

Secondary schools have already closed and all lessons have taken place remotely since Monday.

Most European countries have kept schools open during the second waves of cases that has hit the continent since September, unlike in March and April when they were shuttered during the first lockdowns.

The World Health Organization recommends that schools only be shut as a last resort.

“The coming weeks will be extremely critical”, Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Thursday.

The current restrictions started on November 7 and will last until November 30, although experts suggest it might be extended.

Since Friday night a curfew is in place from 9 pm to 5am all over Greece.

Agence France-Presse 

UK coronavirus toll over 40,000; 10,000 deaths in care homes

LONDON - Britain's official coronavirus death toll is now over 40,000 with almost 10,000 dead in care homes in England and Wales alone, according to a statistical update released on Tuesday.

Some 40,902 deaths from coronavirus were registered by May 8, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), meaning the true toll will be even higher when deaths registered over the last 10 days are taken into account.

The ONS figures include deaths where COVID-19 is suspected or mentioned on the death certificate.

The government's official rolling tally, which was 34,796 as of Monday, only records deaths after positive tests.

Either way, Britain is the worst-hit country in Europe, and the government has been criticized heavily for its response to the outbreak.

The ONS figures show a sharp fall in coronavirus deaths in the week up to May 8, reinforcing ministers' claims that the country is past the peak.

Numbers in England and Wales fell from 6,035 to 3,930. Care home deaths accounted for 42.4 percent of the total -- up from 40.4 percent the week before.

Deaths in care homes fell at a slower rate than the population at large, and the total number of deaths in care homes in England and Wales now stands at 9,975.

A cross-party parliamentary committee looking into the government's handling of the crisis on Tuesday said testing had been "inadequate" in a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"The decision to pursue an approach of initially concentrating testing in a limited number of laboratories and to expand them gradually... is one of the most consequential made during this crisis," they said.

"From it followed the decision on March 12 to cease testing in the community and retreat to testing principally within hospitals."

The decision meant residents in care homes could not get tests when the virus was at its most potent stage, they added.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told parliament he was encouraged that care home deaths were falling.

A total of 62 percent of care homes in England had no reported cases of COVID-19 at all, he added.

Just over a quarter (27 percent) of all deaths in England from the virus were in such places, compared with a European average of about half, he told MPs.

"We will not rest from doing whatever is humanly possible to protect our care homes from this appalling virus," he said. 

Agence France-Presse

Indonesia's gravediggers battle virus fears, stigma

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Gravedigger Junaidi Hakim shouts "hurry up" as he summons his weary colleagues in a never-ending race to bury novel coronavirus victims at a Jakarta cemetery.

The team switches quickly from digging fresh graves to burying the bodies -- aiming to get the task done in under 10 minutes to lessen the chance of getting infected themselves.

"The most worrying part is when we're unloading a coffin because we have to touch it," said 42-year-old Hakim, a father of four.

"We feel a bit relieved after it's buried."

Some 50 gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery -- one of two earmarked for COVID-19 victims in the Indonesian capital -- are working up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, for monthly wages of 4.2 million rupiah ($290).

They dig at least 20 fresh graves daily, marked with white wooden poles that list the name, birthdate and day the occupant died.

But they can hardly keep up with the influx of confirmed and suspected virus victims.

"The ambulances never stop bringing us bodies," said Hakim.

'HEART BREAKS'

The team struggles to keep up in the searing tropical heat, with sobbing relatives never far away.

Families are urged not to linger, robbing them of the chance to perform prayers for loved ones.

"My heart breaks seeing those crying families," said Minar, 54, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"I've been digging graves for 33 years now and I've never been this tired before. This is probably a test from God," he added.

The challenges are compounded in the fasting month of Ramadan when many in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim majority nation, don't eat or drink during daylight hours.

Naman Suherman said he is able to overcome gnawing thirst and hunger in the belief he's doing something "noble" for victims whose covered burial pits are sprinkled with pink flowers.

"What strengthens my faith on this job is knowing that I can help take the deceased to their final resting place," the 55-year-old gravedigger said.

How many people the virus has claimed across the Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 260 million is unclear.

An official death toll of 1,191 as of Monday is widely believed to be well below reality, and Indonesia has one of the world's lowest testing rates.

Government officials acknowledge data are patchy and incomplete.

At least 2,107 people have been buried under COVID-19 safety protocols in epicenter Jakarta alone -- nearly double the reported national toll.

Other cities have also seen unusually high burial figures in recent months, suggesting even more victims.

Volunteer database KawalCovid-19, which was created by health and technology professionals, has estimated there have been more than 3,000 virus deaths in just 16 of the country's 34 provinces.

'AFRAID OF ME'

That would be no surprise for the gravediggers at Pondok Ranggon cemetery who have seen their workload soar.

But most didn't know the risks, at first burying virus victims without protective equipment.

"Initially, none of us knew about coronavirus," said Minar.

"We didn't know what this disease was like until I learned from the television news that it was infectious.

"The next day I rushed to buy my own facemask. Several days later, we started getting personal protective equipment."

Despite those precautions, gravedigger Hakim says neighbors suddenly started keeping a wide berth since the first cases appeared in March.

"Although they don't say it out loud, I can feel they're keeping a distance," he said.

"Like they're afraid of me."

Agence Franc-Presse

More than 2,200 Indonesians have died with coronavirus symptoms, data shows

More than 2,200 Indonesians have died with acute symptoms of COVID-19 but were not recorded as victims of the disease, a Reuters review of data from 16 of the country's 34 provinces showed.

Three medical experts said the figures indicated the national death toll was likely to be much higher than the official figure of 765.

Indonesia has one of the lowest testing rates in the world and some epidemiologists say that has made it harder to get an accurate picture of the extent of infections in the world's fourth most populous country.

The most current data from the 16 provinces shows there were 2,212 deaths of patients under supervision because they have acute coronavirus symptoms. Indonesia's health ministry uses the acronym PDP to classify these patients when there is no other clinical explanation for their symptoms.

The data is collated by provincial agencies daily or weekly from figures supplied by hospitals, clinics and officials overseeing burials. It was obtained by Reuters by checking websites, talking to provincial officials and reviewing World Health Organization (WHO) reports.

The 2,212 deaths were in addition to the deaths of 693 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 in those provinces and were officially recorded as victims of the disease.

The 16 provinces account for more than three quarters of the country's 260 million population.

A senior member of the government's COVID-19 taskforce, Wiku Adisasmito, did not dispute the Reuters findings but declined to comment on the number of coronavirus victims he believed were to be found among the patients classified as PDP.

He said many of the 19,897 suspected coronavirus sufferers in Indonesia had not been tested because of long queues of specimens awaiting processing at under-staffed laboratories. Some people had died before their sample was analyzed, he said.

"If they have thousands or hundreds of samples they need to test, which one will they give the priority? They will give the priority to the people that are still alive," he told Reuters.

Adisasmito is the most senior public health expert on Indonesia's COVID-19 taskforce and the press office of President Joko Widodo typically refers queries to the taskforce.

According to the Ministry of Health's most recent COVID-19 guidelines, patients classified as PDP are those with acute respiratory illnesses for which there is no clinical explanation other than the new coronavirus.

To be classified as PDP, patients must also have travelled to a country, or an area in Indonesia, where the coronavirus has taken hold within 14 days of becoming sick.

"I believe the vast majority of PDP deaths were caused by COVID-19," said Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, citing their COVID-19 symptoms and that there was no other identified cause of death.

Some senior government members played down the risk of an outbreak in January and February with some suggesting that prayer, herbal remedies and hot weather would help ward off the virus. The death toll is now the highest in Asia after China, according to a Reuters tally.

BURIALS

The provincial data follows a report by Reuters this month that burials in the capital Jakarta in March were up by 40 percent on any month since at least January 2018. The city's governor told Reuters that coronavirus was the only likely explanation.

Indonesia had officially recorded 9,096 coronavirus infections as of April 27. It has conducted 210 tests per million people. Neighboring Australia has tested 100 times more per capita, while Vietnam's testing is about 10 times higher.

"The true infection and death rate are higher than the officially reported data because our tests are still a very low number compared to the population," said Dr Iwan Ariawan, an epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia.

President Joko Widodo's government has been accused by activists and his political opponents of a lack of transparency in handling the epidemic.

The government says it has taken appropriate measures, but Widodo said last month that some information had been withheld from the public to prevent panic.

Widodo said last week he had told his ministers to report COVID-19 data truthfully. His government announced a new transparency initiative two weeks ago but a promised new website with all the data has yet to be launched.

Daeng Faqih, chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association, the country's pre-eminent grouping of doctors, has urged the government to reveal the national number of suspected COVID-19 patients who had died but were not tested.

The WHO representative office in Indonesia also said over the weekend that deaths of suspected coronavirus sufferers should be disclosed.

Adisasmito said the government was not hiding data and that he was unaware the WHO had called for suspected COVID-19 death statistics to be made public.

On Tuesday, the WHO declined to offer any comment beyond its weekend advice, made in its latest situation report on Indonesia.

-reuters-

With over 21,300 coronavirus deaths, US spends Easter Sunday on lockdown

Americans spent Sunday on lockdown as the U.S. toll from the novel coronavirus pandemic surpassed 21,300 deaths and more than half a million confirmed cases over the Easter weekend.

With almost all the country under stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of the disease, many turned to online church services to mark the holiest day in the Christian calendar.

"Future generations will look back on this as the long Lent of 2020, a time when disease and death suddenly darkened the whole earth," Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles wrote to priests and parishioners nationwide, urging them to hold steadfast. "Our churches may be closed but Christ is not quarantined and his Gospel is not in chains."

The United States has recorded more fatalities from the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus than any other country in the world. Roughly 2,000 deaths a day were reported for the last four days in a row, the largest number in and around New York City. Even that is viewed as understated, as New York is still figuring out how best to include a surge in deaths at home in its official statistics. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T)

As the death toll has mounted, President Donald Trump mulled over when the country might begin to see a return to normality.

The sweeping restrictions on non-essential movement that were imposed in recent weeks across 42 states have taken a huge toll on commerce and raised questions over how long business closures and travel curbs can be sustained.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits in the last three weeks surpassed 16 million.

The Trump administration sees May 1 as a target date for relaxing the stay-at-home restrictions, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn, said on Sunday. But he cautioned that it was still too early to say whether that goal would be met.

"We see light at the end of the tunnel," Hahn told ABC's "This Week," adding, "Public safety and the welfare of the American people has to come first. That has to ultimately drive these decisions"

SUNDAY SERVICES

Most states have issued broad stay-at-home orders that prohibit any large gatherings. In some states, that has sparked legal battles over whether there should be exceptions to attend Easter services in person.

On Saturday, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld an executive order barring more than 10 people from gathering for religious and funeral services. The decision, a victory for Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, followed an attempt by a Republican-led legislative body to overturn the order.

Some religious leaders plan to defy coronavirus bans, saying their right to worship outweighed the warnings.

Reverend Tony Spell told Reuters he expected more than 2,000 to congregate for services on Sunday at his evangelical Life Tabernacle megachurch near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr will be monitoring the regulation of religious services, Department of Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupac wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

"While social distancing policies are appropriate during this emergency, they must be applied evenhandedly & not single out religious orgs," Kupac wrote. "Expect action from DOJ next week!"

In recent days, U.S. public health experts and some governors have pointed to signs that the country is starting to see a turnaround in the fight against the outbreak.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top U.S. infectious disease expert, said he was cautiously optimistic and pointed to the New York metropolitan area, which had its highest daily death toll last week but also saw a decrease in hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and the need to intubate critically ill patients.

"Once you turn that corner, hopefully you'll see a very sharp decline and then you can start thinking about how we can keep it that way," Fauci said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"If all of a sudden we decide 'OK, it's May whatever,' and we just turn the switch on, that could be a real problem."

Fauci and other public health experts say widespread testing will be key to efforts to reopen the economy, including antibody tests to find out who has already had the disease and could be safe to return to work.

The FDA's Hahn said he was concerned that some antibody tests on the market that had not gone through the FDA scientific review process "may not be as accurate as we'd like them to be."

"I can assure the American people that what we're doing is using data and science to look at those tests to make sure that they're valid, they're accurate and they're reproducible," he said.

New government data shows a summer surge in infections if stay-at-home orders are lifted after only 30 days, according to projections first reported by the New York Times and confirmed by a Department of Homeland Security official.

Tracking the novel coronavirus in the U.S.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg, Doina Chiacu, Ross Colvin, Noeleen Walder, Christopher Bing and Lisa Shumaker; Writing by Daniel Wallis; editing by Diane Craft)

-reuters-

Spain announces record 838 virus deaths in 24 hours

MADRID - Spain confirmed another 838 deaths in 24 hours from coronavirus on Sunday, a new daily record bringing the total number of deaths to 6,528, according to health ministry figures.

The number of confirmed cases in Spain has now reached 78,797 -- after the one-day increase of 9.1 percent -- as the country battles the world's second most deadly outbreak after Italy.

Except for a brief lull recorded on Thursday, Spain's death toll has been rising daily.

However, officials have pointed to a slower growth rate for both deaths and confirmed cases and expressed hope that the peak of the outbreak was approaching.

"The spread (of the pandemic) appears to be stabilizing. It even appears to be in retreat, but we have to remember that our fundamental problem at the moment is to ensure the intensive care units are not saturated," said Fernando Simon, the health ministry's emergencies coordinator. 

Simon said that 6 out of a total 17 regions "have reached their capacity limit and three more are fast approaching that stage." 

The toughening of the current lockdown conditions should help the situation, he added 

Spain also reported Sunday that 14,709 people had been cured of COVID-19, a rise of 19.7 percent in 24 hours.

Like Italy, Spain on Saturday tightened measures to contain the outbreak, ordering a halt to all "non-essential" activities.

Currently, people in Spain are authorized to leave home for work if remote work is not possible, to buy food, get medical care or briefly walk their dog.

"All workers in non-essential economic activities must stay at home for two weeks," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.

The health, food and energy sectors are among areas considered to be essential.

An emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday decided on the details of the new measures.

From Monday only essential services will be allowed to function until at least Thursday April 4, the meeting decided.

That means other sectors, including construction and most office work will be halted

Agence France-Presse