Spain’s coronavirus death toll hits 10,000

The coronavirus death toll in Spain passed 10,000 Thursday, a somber milestone in the country’s race to contain the virus’s spread.

The country’s health ministry recorded 950 new deaths over the past 24 hours, the biggest 24-hour spike the country has seen since the outbreak began.

Spain has confirmed 110,238 coronavirus cases among its nearly 47 million citizens. Of those, 26,743 have recovered so far, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

The country has now joined Italy in becoming the only two countries to report a five-figure death toll from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Despite the devastating new tally, Spanish officials provided some optimism that the country’s curve is flattening.

Spain saw 3,056 new cases since Wednesday, marking a sizable decrease in daily cases reported since its peak last month when the country saw nearly 10,000 new cases in one day.

“The data shows us that the curve has stabilized,” Health Minister Salvador Illa said during a Thursday press conference. “That we have achieved the primary objective of reaching the peak of the curve and that now we are starting the phase of deceleration.”