Towards a rocking of the coronavirus epidemic in Spain? The Iberian country recorded in 24 hours the death of 809 people due to the epidemic of Covid-19, a figure down for the second consecutive day after the record of 950 Thursday, according to the report released on Saturday April 4 by the authorities .

The total number of deaths recorded reaches 11,744 in the second most bereaved country in the world by the pandemic, after Italy. The number of new officially confirmed cases also slowed to 7,026, bringing the total to 124,736.

Some 3,706 people were declared cured within 24 hours, for a total of 34,219.

The Madrid region remains the most affected, with 40% of deaths (4,723) and 29% of cases (36,249), followed by Catalonia (north-east), where 2,508 people died.

Alert status extended by two weeks

The head of the socialist government Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday that he would extend the state of alert and the general confinement of the population by two weeks, decreed on March 14, until April 25. For this, it still has to obtain the approval of Parliament next week.

The government had strengthened measures against coronavirus last Sunday by stopping all non-essential economic activities until April 9, the date of the start of Easter weekend.

Spain is also still engaged in a race against the clock to procure the medical equipment which is sorely lacking in its overwhelmed hospitals, in particular respirators.

About fifty arrived from Germany Friday, within the framework of the request for aid of Spain to its NATO allies. Another shipment was to be sent from Turkey, but was eventually requisitioned by the Turkish authorities.

"For the time being (this material) will not leave Turkey because the (Turkish) government considers it a priority" for its own patients, but it will once again be made available to Spain "within a reasonable time", assured the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, Friday evening.

With AFP

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