The pace of coronavirus deaths in Spain ticked up for the first time in five days on Tuesday, with 743 people succumbing overnight, but there was still hope the national lockdown might be eased soon.
Tuesday’s toll from the health ministry compared to 637 people who died during the previous 24 hours, taking the total to 13,798, the second highest in the world after Italy.
Still, the proportional daily increase of 5.7% was about half that reported a week ago.
“It is normal to have some oscillations ... What matters is to see the trend and the cumulative data,” said Maria Jose Sierra, deputy chief of health emergencies, adding that latest data included some delayed notifications from the weekend.
Total cases rose to 140,510 - the highest in Europe and second in the world after the United States.