An ambulance arrives at the IFEMA Exhibition center in Madrid, Spain, March 23, 2020. SPAIN OUT. LATIN AMERICA OUT. (EFE/Handout via Xinhua)
A total of 6,023 new infections were registered between Saturday and Sunday, fewer than the 7,026 new cases in the previous 24 hours and 7,472 between Thursday and Friday, bringing the country's total infection cases to 130,759.
MADRID, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The number of new cases of the coronavirus infection and new deaths continued to fall in Spain, according to the daily data published by the Spanish Ministry for Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Services on Sunday.
A total of 6,023 new infections were registered between Saturday and Sunday, fewer than the 7,026 new cases in the previous 24 hours and 7,472 between Thursday and Friday, bringing the country's total infection cases to 130,759.
The number of deaths from the virus in Spain rose by 674 to 12,418 on Saturday, 135 fewer than 809 deaths seen in the previous 24 hours. This means the country has seen the new daily deaths fall for three consecutive days.
Meanwhile, 58,744 patients have needed hospital treatment in Spain, 1,132 more than Saturday, with 6,861 requiring intensive care -- an increase of 329 in the last 24 hours.
Madrid and the Catalan Region continued to be the two hardest hit parts of Spain. Madrid has reported 4,941 deaths from a total number of 37,584 confirmed cases, while the Catalan Region has registered 2,637 deaths from 26,032 cases.
Meanwhile the number of patients who have now recovered from COVID-19, a disease caused by the coronavirus, increased by 3,861 to 38,080 on Sunday.
On Saturday Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gave a televised press conference in which he said he would ask the Spanish Parliament to extend the State of Alarm, which was imposed on the country on March 14 and due to expire on April 12, until "24 hours on April 25."
The field hospital set up at the IFEMA Exhibition center in Madrid, Spain March 21, 2020. SPAIN OUT. LATIN AMERICA OUT. (EFE/Handout via Xinhua)
Sanchez said the continued fall in the number of new cases showed that the lockdown imposed on Spain and other measures were "giving their reward but that Spain needed "to maintain the same discipline and the same tenacity."
The prime minister explained that measures would remain in place after the State of Alarm was lifted and their duration would depend "on their efficiency and on how much the Spanish people respect them."
Sanchez's request to extend the State of Alarm is certain to be approved after the opposition parties (People's Party and Ciudadanos) both said they would support his proposal.
Spanish TV network RTVE reported on Sunday morning that Sanchez held a video conference with the leaders of Spain's 17 Autonomous Communities in which he promised his government would distribute a million tests for the coronavirus during the coming week.
A State of Alarm is the first of three emergency levels a Spanish government can apply under exceptional circumstances, with the others being "A State of Exception" and "Martial Law" (Estado de Sitio). A State of Alarm grants the government special powers to limit the movement of citizens, control the means of production and use private assets if needed and also use the military to carry out essential logistical and supply jobs. ■
