Parents and pupils queue to enter a school after the summer holidays at Colegio Pureza de Maria school in Bilbao, Spain
MADRID, Sept 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain became the first country in Western Europe to register 500,000 coronavirus infections, after a second surge in cases that coincided with schools reopening.
Health Ministry data on Monday showed a total of 525,549 cases, up from 498,989 on Friday, and 2,440 infections registered in the last 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 to 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, 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.
Schools reopened in six regions including the Basque Country on Monday and others will resume classes over the next 10 days.
“We demand a safe, face-to-face return to class and more resources to guarantee public education and make our schools safe,” said student union leader Coral Latorre, who took part in a rally by teachers and students in Madrid on Saturday. — NNN-AGENCIES
