Spain registers overnight death toll of 849
Spain registered 849 fatalities linked to coronavirus overnight the best number in a day since the epidemic started, although the upsurge in percentage conditions was slightly less than in the last days, medical ministry said on Tuesday.
The death toll rose to 8,189 on Tuesday from 7,340 on Monday, while the number of instances rose to 94,417 on Tuesday from 85,195 on Monday.Their Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in a televised address to the country on Saturday night, announced that non-essential personnel must stay in the home for two weeks, the most recent government measure in the fight coronavirus.
He said staff would receive their usual salaries but would need to constitute lost hours at a later date. The measure would last from March 30 to April 9. On Sunday, Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz said the measure was "flexible" and employees would be paid but will be expected to constitute their lost days before December 31.
"We must reduce mobility to the level of Sundays," she said, adding that considering the Easter holidays, measures would cover eight working days.She put into Prime Minister Sanchez's demands the EU to react, saying "we need a Europe in which workers' rights are reinforced".
Unions welcomed the measures and business groups CEOE and CEPYME said that while they might comply with the brand new rule, "it'll generate an unprecedented huge impact on the Spanish economy, especially in sectors such as for example industry".
The slowdown "may result in a deeper crisis in the economy that could become social", they warned in a statement.On Sunday, health emergency chief Fernando Simon repeated a warning that intensive care wards were becoming saturated, but said cases were stabilizing and "the rise in new cases has been falling for a couple of days".
In Madrid, birdsong drowned out traffic on deserted streets on Sunday morning as police reinforced patrols, stopping buses and cars to check on passengers had cause to be out of their homes. The amount of beds at a makeshift hospital to take care of coronavirus patients in the IFEMA conference center will soon reach 1,400, Madrid's regional government said.
It also announced an official period of mourning for individuals who have died. Flags will fly at half-mast and a daily minute's silence will be held.Schools, bars, restaurants and shops selling non-essential items have been shut since March 14 and almost all of the populace is house-bound as Spain tries to curb the virus.
