Number of Infected in Spain Rises to 204,178, Death Toll Reaches 21,282

The country is currently second in the world and first in Europe in terms of confirmed cases, right after the United States. The death toll in Spain, however, is lower than in Italy, where at least 24,114 died because of the pandemic.

Spain has confirmed 3,968 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, with 430 new fatalities, according to official data.  At the same time, at least 82,514 people recovered from the disease. 

The country has been on lockdown since 14 March in order to curb the rate of infection. In some areas, including Madrid, however, Spanish authorities have eased restrictions, adding that the measure won't result in a surge in coronavirus cases.

Staff from La Paz hospital applaud after a minute of silence to remember Joaquin Diaz, the hospital's chief of surgery who died of COVID-19, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain, April 20, 2020

© REUTERS / Susana Vera

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez previously noted that the nation is not entering a phase of de-escalation and that the state of emergency is still in force. Meanwhile, the number of new cases is gradually decreasing, as at the end of March, Spain was seeing between 6,000 and 8,000 new infected every day.