Coronavirus cases in Spain total 124,736, now more than in Italy

Spain's confirmed coronavirus case tally reached 124,736 on Saturday, more than Italy's total of 124,632, Xinhua news agency quoted latest figures from the two countries.

Spain reported 809 new deaths between Friday and Saturday, 123 fewer than the 932 deaths registered between Thursday and Friday, bringing the tally in the country to 11,744.

The growth of new cases in Spain also continued to slow down as the total number of confirmed cases climbed to 124,736 from 117,710, an increase of 7,026, down from the 7,472 new cases recorded on Friday.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed on Saturday that he would ask for the State of Alarm to be further extended to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The three weeks of lockdown in Spain to date "have slowed the spread of the virus; they have slowed the number of people going to hospital and they have allowed the number of people leaving hospital to increase," he said.

"They have saved thousands and thousands of lives," Sanchez noted. Nonetheless, he warned "if the rise in new cases was steep, the decline is not going to be easy."

He also advised that when the State of Alarm ends, the government would continue with restrictions on movement.

In Italy, the coronavirus pandemic has claimed 15,362 lives by Saturday, while the total number of cases increased to 124,632, according to the latest data released by the country's Civil Protection Department.

To date, Spain and Italy are the two countries in Europe hardest hit by the pandemic.

-- BERNAMA