The novel coronavirus outbreak in Spain, already among the harshest in the world, will continue to expand, with more cases and deaths over the next few days, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
"Confirmed cases and deaths will increase in the next days. We have to remain strong until the end of next week," Sanchez said in a speech on Saturday evening. Most Spaniards "have never had to face something as harsh as this," Sanchez said, while also commending the behavior of most fellow Spaniards in obeying a nationwide lock-down imposed under a week-long state of emergency.
Earlier on Saturday, Spain reported a 32% increase in the number of deaths and a 25% increase in the number of confirmed cases, which reached 24,926. The country already has the second worst tally of deaths in Europe, behind Italy, and the fourth world-wide.
The country will do whatever it takes to fight the pandemic, Sanchez said. While he didn't announce any significant measures, he did say that the armed forces will start working to disinfect old people's homes in the Madrid region, epicenter of the outbreak in Spain, and that the country will import six million coronavirus tests. He also said that the health and industry ministries are organizing the domestic production of health material to guarantee supplies.
