Spain extended its coronavirus lockdown on Thursday and said it was fighting a “real war” over medical supplies to contain the world’s second-highest virus death toll, turning to China for many critical products, where officials reported fraud and massive price increases.
A further 655 people died overnight, pushing Spain’s toll from the respiratory disease to 4,089, second only to Italy and further beyond China where the outbreak began.
Elderly nursing home residents have been particularly hard hit. In Madrid, the region worst affected by the virus, authorities pledged to assess each residence and take urgent action as infections and deaths among their vulnerable population mounted.
In Madrid, Spain’s capital and biggest city, located in the country’s worst-affected region, an ice rink has been converted into a morgue and 13-time Champions League winners Real Madrid said their Santiago Bernabeu stadium would be used to store medical supplies.
Coronavirus cases rose by 18% to 56,188, a slower rate than in the past few days. Health emergency chief Fernando Simon said the start of mass testing would reveal more infections, even as Health Minister Salvador Illa cautiously told parliament the data “make us think we are starting a stabilization phase.”
With the world’s fourth-highest number of cases, Spain is feeling the pinch of a global shortage of protective equipment.
“We are in a real war to get hold of ventilators, face masks and quick test kits,” Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero told Telecinco television. “All the countries are fighting to secure domestic production, fighting to get supplies from China,” she said.
Spain has ordered 432 million euros ($471.4 million) of goods from China, asked NATO for help and pledged to support factories adapting their production lines to make more goods at home.
