In Spain, 523 people died from a coronavirus infection within 24 hours, compared to 567 the day before. A total of 18,579 people had died so far, the Ministry of Health said today. The number of infections increased by 5,092 to 177,633. The number of coronavirus patients who are considered to have recovered rose by more than 3,300 to around 71,000.
The growth rates have been relatively stable for days. Across the country, the almost 47 million inhabitants have had a strict curfew since mid-March. This should last at least until midnight on April 25th. The government has yet to decide whether there will be gradual easing afterwards.
Fewer intensive care patients in Lombardy
The Italian region of Lombardy, meanwhile, is pleased to see a decline in the number of Covid 19 patients who need treatment in intensive care units. „The decisions of the Lombardy region and the efforts of the citizens have severely restricted the spread of the virus,“ said Giulio Gallera, the Lombard health official in an interview with the daily newspaper „Quotidiano Nazionale“ (Wednesday edition).
“The virus had spread several weeks before we discovered it. We couldn’t narrow down the epidemic focus. An atomic bomb exploded here, ”said Gallera. The unreported number of infected people could be up to nine times higher than the official numbers.
Blood sampling from volunteers started
For a study on the spread of the coronavirus in the population, the San Matteo hospital in the Lombardy city of Pavia started taking blood samples from volunteers. The aim is to find out what percentage of the population has been in contact with the virus without knowing it.
In Lombardy, epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in Italy, the number of fatalities rose by 241 in 24 hours on Tuesday to 11,142. There are 12,077 people in the Lombard hospitals, 1,122 of them in intensive care, 21 fewer than on Monday. The number of people who tested positive in Lombardy at 61,326.
