Date Published: 18/04/2020
ARCHIVED - Total deaths from Covid-19 in Spain pass 20,000
ARCHIVED ARTICLE Recoveries have increased to nearly 75,000
The Spanish Ministry of Health reported 565 new deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours on Saturday lunchtime, bringing the total figure to date up to 20,043 (a 2.9% increase in the last 24 hours).
Figures are gathered by each of the 17 Autonomous Communities (regions) of Spain on the evening before and collated by the Ministry for presentation at lunchtime the following day. These figures relate to Friday 17th but were presented on Saturday 18th April.
The number of new cases reported is 4,499 which brings the total up to 191,726 (1.9% increase) of those who have been infected since the beginning of the crisis.
The good news is that the total number of patients cured has risen to 74,662 with 3,166 new recoveries in the last 24 hours.
Yesterday
the government changed the reporting system so the autonomous communities must now also report the results of the new rapid test kits. Although the Health Ministry recognises that it will take a few days to adjust to the new system and that the figures therefore may appear a little strange for the first few days, the tests have already identified a further 1,194 people with positive antibodies who had no symptoms at the time of the test, so this indicates that they have fully recovered from the virus without experiencing severe symptoms, although it is impossible for the ministry to know at what point they were infected.
This brings the total number of known cases to 192,920.
Remember: LOCKDOWN MEANS LOCKDOWN. STAY AT HOME. STAY SAFE AND DO YOUR BIT TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS.
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What to do if you are in the Region of Murcia and believe you may have contracted the virus
The regional government has set up a special helpline to supply information to members of the public (900 121212) if they suspect that they may have contracted the virus rather than going straight to hospital or to a medical centre.
Sensible precautions
The advice being issued to members of the public by medical authorities all over the world coincides on the following points:
- Wash hands frequently with either soap and water or a sanitiser gel
- Catch coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues – and throw the tissues away immediately after use before immediately washing your hands!
- If you don’t have a tissue, use your sleeve – and wash the item of clothing used at the next opportunity
- AVOID touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
- AVOID close contact with people who are unwell
- Don´t panic!