29th March 2024
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Coronavirus in Spain full update (3 April)

Report updated in Spain at 17h on Friday 3 April.

Official figures released by the Spanish Health Ministry at 11.45am on Friday 3 April confirm 117,710 known cases of Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Spain, 7,472 more than yesterday.

10,935 people have died from the pandemic (up by 932 from yesterday). Yesterday’s figure was an increase of 950. For the seventh day in a row, the increase in the number of Coronavirus deaths for a 24-hour period in Spain have been above 800.

There are now 6,416 people in intensive care. 30,513 people have now made a full recovery, which is 3,770 more than yesterday.

Of the official figures announced, 34,188 confirmed cases are known to be in the Madrid region, and where 4,483 have died (from the total 10,935 across the country).

There are now 23,460 cases in Catalonia (2,335 deaths), 7,827 in the Basque Country (444 deaths), 7,374 in Andalusia (376), 8,523 in Castilla La Mancha (916) and 6,624 in Valencia (511).

Figures for those infected with Coronavirus in other regions are as follows: Aragón 2,889 (224 deaths), Asturias 1,433 (70 deaths), Balearic Islands 1,257 (69), Canary Islands 1,490 (73), Cantabria 1,321 (64), Castilla y León 7,875 (723), Ceuta 62 (1), Extremadura 1,893 (200), Galicia 5,219 (138), Melilla 70 (2), Murcia 1,145 (46), Navarra 2,836 (151) and La Rioja 2,224 (109).

It is also being reported that the current lockdown in Spain could be extended until 26 April. Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Thursday that any extension decision would be made on the advice of medical experts and ‘on a scientific basis’.

The Spanish government initially declared a lockdown for two weeks commencing from 14 March, with measures that confined everyone to their homes apart from leaving to purchase food or medication, or to go to their place of work only if they could not perform their duties from home. After the first week was completed, however, the measures were already extended by the Spanish Congress until 12 April.

As of Monday 30 March, the new measures ordered non-essential workers in Spain to also remain at home until Thursday 9 April inclusive, thereby only returning to work after the Easter weekend (Friday 10 and Monday 13 April are holidays in most regions of Spain).

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (2 April)

IFEMA hospital Coronavirus
Healthworkers at Madrid’s IFEMA exhibition centre hospital receiving new patients. (Photo Comunidad de Madrid / comunidad.madrid)

GLOBAL OVERVIEW

Confirmed Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases around the world have risen above one million and deaths are more than 50,000 as the USA reported the highest daily death toll of any country to date on Thursday. The USA now accounts for around a quarter of all known infections around the globe. Over 6,000 people have died in the USA from the outbreak, according to the Johns Hopkins University, with more than 1,100 of them in the past 24 hours.

With more than half the world’s population on some form of lockdown, Coronavirus continues to spread – with the UK also seeing its worst day on Thursday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to ‘massively increase testing’ as his health minister Matt Hancock said the aim was 100,000 tests a day within weeks.

Johnson has been criticised for his government’s failure to provide widespread screening, particularly for NHS health workers. The UK has also been rushing to build field hospitals, with the government saying on Friday that it would erect two new facilities to cope with 1,500 extra patients. The new Nightingale Hospital constructed at the Excel exhibition centre in London is to be opened ‘remotely’ by Prince Charles during Friday.

A video shared online by the NHS on Thursday showed stars from film, TV, music and sport holding up signs to thank the UK’s health workers. Elton John, Paul McCartney, David Beckham, Kate Winslet, Daniel Craig and Ricky Gervais were just some of the stars saying thank you. The video was shared a few hours before the UK saluted key workers for a second successive Thursday by clapping and cheering from doorsteps and windows.

ALSO READ: FC Barcelona players agree to 70% pay cut, and will ensure staff receive 100%

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin has extended paid non-working days until the end of April as confirmed cases of Coronavirus rose by more than a quarter to 3,500 on Thursday.

The global economic impact of the pandemic is also getting worse, with an extra 6.65m Americans registering for unemployment benefit last week, taking the number of people in the USA who have lost their jobs in the last two weeks of March to 10m.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain: unemployment figures worst on record

Economists warn that the crisis is set to get much worse. The Asian Development Bank has said that the global economy might take a $4.1 trillion hit from the virus – which is 5% of worldwide output. Global leaders have announced huge financial aid packages to deal with the crisis and the World Bank on Thursday approved a plan to roll out $160bn in emergency cash over 15 months.

Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa
Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa on 2 April 2020. (Pool Moncloa)

CORONAVIRUS in SPAIN 

Testing kits

Spain’s Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Thursday that his department’s goal was ‘to increase Coronavirus diagnostic testing as much as possible for people with symptoms’.

He said that Spain had ‘received one million rapid test [kits] this week with a sensitivity rate of 80% when the person has been infected for seven days or more. According to the analyses conducted by the Carlos III Health Institute, the sensitivity rate stands at 64% in patients who began showing symptoms more recently.’

The rapid tests allow testing to be done in locations where there is a high likelihood of contagion, such as hospitals or care homes, and to identify which people have been infected if they give a positive result. If the result is negative, they will need ‘polymerase chain reaction’ (PCR) testing.

IFEMA hospital applause
Healthcare workers from Madrid’s IFEMA hospital joining in the applause that takes place every evening across Spain to thank those helping to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. (Photo Comunidad de Madrid / comunidad.madrid)

‘The quick tests detect a significant number of positives but those who show negative require a PCR test to rule out the possibility of a false negative,’ said Salvador Illa.

Illa said that ‘the Carlos III Health Institute [in Madrid] has been working since the outbreak of this pandemic with all Spanish PCR companies to jointly validate the techniques and this has enabled healthcare centres to be conducting between 15,000 and 20,000 tests per day in Spain.’

He went on to add that ‘this figure puts us among the countries performing the most tests and we continue to work on increasing our domestic production capacity so that Spain can eventually supply itself with this material if necessary.’

Respirators

Spain’s Health Minister Salvador Illa also announced that 50 respirators were arriving from the German government on Thursday, and 40 more from the Draeger company. He said that on Friday, the company Hersill in Móstoles (in the Madrid region) would also start producing respirators on an industrial level – up to a total of 5,000 units over the coming weeks.

‘All indications are that SEAT [the car manufacturer] with scientific support from the Hospital Clínic i Can Ruti in Catalonia, would be able to start mass production of some 300 respirators per day in the coming hours, which it has produced and designed itself,’ said Illa.

It was also announced that a total of 16,554,815 surgical masks, 16,373,100 nitrile gloves, 92,624 disposable and waterproof gowns, 83,938 suits, 135,191 safety goggles and many other materials have already been distributed across Spain.

Salvador Illa also said that many measures were being introduced to quickly reinforce the healthcare workforce across Spain, including the exceptional recruitment of many medical students still in their last year of training.

The measures enable the regional governments of Spain to hire a total of 17,560 advanced technicians in Auxiliary Nursing Care, as well as second year students on Intermediate Vocational Training healthcare courses who have completed their studies. It also includes over 9,500 professionals with various specialised healthcare training qualifications.

Below are the numbers to call for each region of Spain for information and assistance in the event of possible cases of Coronavirus – as issued by the Spanish health authorities.

Numbers to call
The numbers to call for each region of Spain.

Click here for further information (in Spanish) regarding Coronavirus from the Spanish Health Ministry.

Up-to-date WHO advice and facts (in English) about the Coronavirus epidemic can be found here: www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance.

Our previous reports on Coronavirus in Spain:

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain: unemployment figures worst on record

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (2 April)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (1 April)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (31 March)

ALSO READ: FC Barcelona players agree to 70% pay cut, and will ensure staff receive 100%

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (30 March)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (29 March)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (28 March)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (27 March)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (26 March)

ALSO READ: Animal rights NGO starts petition against possible state aid for cancelled bullfights

ALSO READ: Spain publishes list of hotels that will remain open

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (25 March)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (24 March)

ALSO READ: Video of boy training as goalkeeper in isolation goes viral

ALSO READ: The new restrictions at Spain’s airports, ports and land borders

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (23 March)

ALSO READ: Madrid starts receiving patients at IFEMA exhibition centre ‘hospital’

ALSO READ: Confirmed: lockdown extended until at least 11 April

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (22 March)

ALSO READ: Walking a goat or a Vietnamese pig is not allowed

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain – full advice for British travellers seeking to return to the UK

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (21 March)

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (20 March)

ALSO READ: ‘This virus we will stop together’ – video 

ALSO READ: Coronavirus in Spain full update (19 March)

ALSO READ: Despite lockdown, Spaniards applaud health workers from balconies every evening

Editor’s note: 

At Spain in English we’re always keen to also publish positive stories and features about life in Spain – not just the current news. With all cultural and sporting events currently on hold, as well as travel and gastronomic excursions, we welcome on-going contributions from all of you who’d like to send us articles for publication. Although we are unable to currently pay for contributions, we will certainly credit you and share the articles across our social media network (if of interest) – and/or also link to your own blogs or other sites. We currently welcome upbeat, positive and fun articles – perhaps how you’re coping with the ‘lockdown’ in your own area of Spain – or how your community is responding, or recommendations of help to others. We have a dedicated ‘Opinion, Blogs & Spanish Experiences‘ section where your articles will appear. We will edit for clarity and length only – and we reserve the right to not publish. Articles should be sent via email to editorial@spainenglish.com (preferably with a photo and credit details), and should be around 500 words (800 to 1,000 max). We will try to respond to everyone, but please be patient with us. We’re a very small team but with big ambitions! Please stay safe. Thank you for reading and following us.

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