Spain is first country in West Europe to cross 500k cases

MADRID • Spain has become the first country in Western Europe to register 500,000 coronavirus infections, after a second surge in cases that coincided with the reopening of schools.

Health Ministry data showed a total of 525,549 cases on Monday, up from 498,989 last Friday, with 2,440 infections registered over 24 hours.

Spain updates its data retroactively, so the latest numbers could be revised. Recent infections have been more common among younger people who often develop no symptoms thanks to their stronger immune systems, and the death rate remains far below the March-April peak when daily fatalities routinely exceeded 800.

Despite the unwanted milestone, unlike then, hospitals have enough beds to treat Covid-19 patients. After a first wave in spring that ravaged Spain's elderly population and overwhelmed the hospital system, the authorities brought the outbreak under control with the help of one of the world's toughest lockdowns.

But as restrictions on movement were lifted and mass testing began in late June, infections rose from a few hundred a day to a new peak of over 10,000 around 10 days ago, outstripping other hard-hit nations such as France, Britain and Italy. The overall mortality rate since the pandemic first struck is around 6 per cent in Spain, lower than in Italy, Britain and France.

Spain reported eight new deaths on Monday, bringing the total to 29,516.

While discounting the need for a new nationwide lockdown, Dr Rafael Bengoa, co-founder of Spain's Institute for Health and Strategy, said localised confinements of city neighbourhoods could become increasingly useful to control transmission. Some Spaniards think current restrictions are insufficient.

REUTERS