Spain Sees Lowest Overnight COVID Death Toll Since Late March

L´HOSPITALET DEL LLOBREGAT, SPAIN - APRIL 09: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Healthcare staff in protective suits disinfect as they leave a section of the ICU of the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge on April 09, 2020 in L´... L´HOSPITALET DEL LLOBREGAT, SPAIN - APRIL 09: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Healthcare staff in protective suits disinfect as they leave a section of the ICU of the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge on April 09, 2020 in L´Hospitalet del Llobregat, near Barcelona, Spain. More than 7,000 people are being treated in Intensive Care Units (ICU) across Spain, the Autonomous region of Catalonia is the worst affected with more than 2,500 patients. The national death toll has passed 15,000 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, although the country has reported a decline in the daily number of deaths. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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MADRID — The coronavirus has claimed at least 15,843 lives in Spain and has officially infected 152,446 people, although both the rate of contagion and mortality are dropping, official health ministry data shows Friday.

The 605 new deaths recorded overnight were the lowest increase since March 24. There were 4,576 more recorded infections than a day earlier, bringing down the daily rate of contagion to 3%.

The Spanish government is meeting Friday to establish a 20 billion-euro ($21.9 billion) fund to help small businesses and the self-employed cope with the economic fallout of the outbreak, but it’s also discussing what comes next for 47 million Spaniards who have been quarantined for four weeks.

After a two-week freeze of all nonessential economic activity, factories and construction sites are set to resume work on Monday. Schools, most shops and offices will remain closed, with people encouraged to work from home.

Experts have warned that the return of certain activity will increase contagion and that health authorities need to scrutinize any new cases.

A three-week survey of 30,000 households should help understand how many people are or have been infected and guide future “de-escalation” of the confinement measures, the government has said.

The state of emergency has been extended to April 26 for now, although Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said that he will most likely be asking parliament for further extensions.

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