Spain: COVID-19 cases over 100,000, deaths reach 9,053

OVIEDO, Spain

In total, Spain has confirmed 102,136 cases of COVID-19, and 9,053 fatalities, according to data released by the Spanish Health Ministry on Wednesday.

Over the last 24-hour period, 864 people lost their lives -- the highest number yet. For five straight days, the country has registered over 800 deaths.

Also, 7,719 more people were confirmed to have the disease, and 3,388 have recovered. In total, over 22,000 people have recovered from the disease so far in Spain.

Salvador Illa, Spain’s health minister, said on Tuesday that the government has seen a “stabilization” of new cases. While in mid-March, 20% more cases were being reported each day, the number has now come down to an average of less than 10%. Still, Spain’s testing capacity remains limited to 15,000-20,000 tests per day.

The CSIF (Central Independent and Public Employees' Trade Union), Spain’s largest union of public workers, filed a legal complaint against the health minister on Tuesday. The union alleges that the government’s inability to protect healthcare workers violates laws related to workplace safety.

“They’re sending us to war without weapons,” said Miguel Bora, the head of the union’s health sector, in a statement.

At least six healthcare workers have died in Spain from COVID-19 and, as of Monday, over 12,200 had been diagnosed with the disease.

In terms of total fatalities, Spain is the second-worst affected country in the world.

After originating in Wuhan last December, the virus known as COVID-19 has spread to at least 180 countries and regions across the world, with its epicenter shifting to Europe, while China has largely come out of the crisis.

The virus has killed more than 42,400 people and infected over 862,200 globally, while some 178,800 people recovered from the disease, according to figures collated by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.