Spain reports more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases in less than 24 hours

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Spain has surged to 8,794 and the death toll has reached 294. According to reports, the number of cases in Spain's economic and political capital doubled to 469 in the period between March 15 to March 16.

Towns under lockdown

As per reports, Spanish ministers have been called for an emergency meeting on Monday 16 in order to discuss the course of action going forward. Other regions that have been severely affected are the wine-producing region of La Rioja where schools and universities have been shut down in an effort to prevent further transmission.

The town of Haro was put on full lockdown after several people who attended the same funeral tested positive. According to reports, those trying to leave the town could face fines up to €600,000 ($686,000). On March 16 the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez held a press conference where he said that the people should remain calm and that he would soon announce a plan that would offset the virus's economic damage.

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The death toll from the deadly coronavirus globally has crossed 6,500. According to sources, there was a recent spike in deaths in Spain that pushed the death toll past the 6,000 mark. Over 1,69,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide. Italy that has become the epicentre of the virus in Europe has reported a total of 24,747 cases.

On March 15, Italy recorded 368 new deaths from the novel coronavirus. According to reports, this was the highest single-day increase to date taking the death toll in Italy to 1,809. This is the highest death count outside China as per official data. The majority of cases of deaths are from the northern region of Lombardy around Milan which has reported 1,218 deaths, which accounts for 67 per cent of the country's total.

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