Spain’s coronavirus death toll surpasses China’s

Spain’s death toll from the coronavirus has surpassed the official figure from China, becoming the second highest in the world.

Deaths have risen by 738 in just 24 hours to a total of 3,434 – a record spike for Spain.

In comparison, China has officially reported 3,285 deaths, while Italy – the worst affected country – has 6,820.

Figures released by the health ministry on Wednesday show that in just 24 hours, Spain’s national death toll rose by738. It number of cases soared by 7,973.

These are the highest figures for Spain in a single day. The country now has 47,610 confirmed cases.

Catalonia accounts for close to 10,000 of those, while the Basque Country and Andalusia both have more than 3,000 cases. But the worst affected region is the area around the capital Madrid, which has recorded 14,597 cases.