The death toll from the Covid-19 illness in Spain leaped to 1,720 on Sunday, an increase of nearly 400 in just one day, as the number of infected people soared over 28,000.
The Spanish health ministry announced that the number of Covid-19 cases in the Iberian country had climbed to 28,572 on Sunday, an increase of over 3,600 from Saturday’s 24,926 figure.
The shocking statistics come as the coronavirus tightens its grip on Europe, with Italy recording its worst day for deaths on Saturday and Germany reporting nearly 2,000 fresh cases on Sunday morning.
Spanish health emergencies chief, Fernando Simon, said earlier this week that the number of infected people could actually be higher than reported as the test laboratories are “overwhelmed” and unable to process all of the samples.
Spain is Europe’s second-worst hit country after Italy and it’s fourth-worst in the world. The government closed its land borders and ordered the shutdown of all hotels in a bid to curtail the spread of the illness.
The military has been deployed in several cities in order to maintain public order and to assist with cleaning efforts.
