Spain sees sharp cases rise just as schools reopen

Fuelled by a sharp surge of coronavirus contagion just as the school year opens, Spain has now officially more than half a million confirmed coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

The health ministry on Monday reported 26,560 new infections since its last report on Friday, or an average of 8,800 daily, bringing the total since February to 525,549.

These varied across regions and the spike is so far not overwhelming hospitals.

But with more than eight million undergraduate students heading to school starting from Monday, Fernando Simon, Director of the Coordination Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies, said the country needed to be "alert and vigilant".

29,516 people have died in Spain as a result of the virus, according to official figures, although the real death toll is believed to be much higher.