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Spain extends lockdown as coronavirus deaths drop for a second day

The Local Spain/AFP
The Local Spain/AFP - [email protected]
Spain extends lockdown as coronavirus deaths drop for a second day
People applaud on their balconies to thank healthcare workers dealing with the COVID-19 coronavirus in Ronda on April 3, 2020 during a national lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavir

The Spanish Prime Minister announced on Saturday the extension of the country's lockdown until April 25 in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. It comes on the same day another drop in coronavirus-related deaths was recorded.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced in a televised speech on Saturday that "the cabinet on Tuesday will again ask for authorisation from parliament to extend for a second time the state of alarm until Saturday April 25 at midnight".

Non-essential workers in some sectors will however be able to return to their workplaces on April 9 as the government doesn't currently intend to extend the bill which allowed Spain's economy to be put on hold.

If Spain's parliament approves the extension, this will make Spain's state of alarm 45 days long in total, and Spain's PM warned the public that more lockdown days are likely to be added by April 25.

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"More days under state of alarm will follow, but they won't be as long, Sánchez said regarding the standard 15-day lockdown extension period.

"We will begin to transition and get back to our old lives, socially and economically.

"For some of us these are the most difficult days of our lives."

"With the utmost caution, we believe that this is the time that our health system needs to recover," he added.

Hospitals, in particular the intensive care units, have been overwhelmed by an influx of coronavirus patients.

Spain recorded a second successive daily drop in coronavirus-related deaths with 809 fatalities, according to official figures published on Saturday.

The number of deaths in Spain peaked on Thursday at 950.

The total number of deaths in Spain now stands at 11,744, second only to Italy.

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The number of confirmed new cases in Spain also slowed with 7,026 taking the total to 124,736, although the real number of cases is likely far higher.

Recoveries over the last 24 hours stood at 3,706, taking that total to  34,219.

The Madrid region was the worst affected accounting for 40 percent of the deaths, 4,723, and 29 percent of the cases at 36,249. The northeastern region of Catalonia was in second place with 2,508 deaths.

 

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