MADRID — Spain’s health ministry says the nation has surpassed 60,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths, the fourth-highest toll in Europe.
The ministry reported 565 new deaths in the previous 24 hours, taking the total death count to 60,370 since the start of the pandemic. Those official figures don’t include what many experts consider a significant number of deaths that were never confirmed by tests for the coronavirus.
Despite more than 31,000 new infections, Health Minster Carolina Darias says the infection rate is “starting to show a downward tendency.” Spain’s hardest-hit regions have intensive care unit occupancy rates of up to 70%, prompting Darias to add “some hard weeks are ahead.”
Darias says Spain expects to receive its first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine next week. The government public health board plans to decide on Thursday which age groups will be approved. Several European countries have opted to not authorize it for people over 65, citing lack of sufficient data about effectiveness in older people.
Spain has reported 2.8 million confirmed cases, the seventh-highest in the world. The 60,000 deaths trail Britain, Italy and France, and rank ninth globally.
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