Spain surpasses Italy in number of confirmed coronavirus cases
Italy sees its lowest daily death total in weeks. Amy Kellogg reports from Florence.
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Spain on Sunday recorded its lowest daily increase in the coronavirus death toll in nearly a month – a day after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced he’d allow children to venture outdoors for the first time since the country went into lockdown in mid-March.
The Spanish health ministry recorded at least 410 coronavirus-related deaths within the past 24-hours, marking the lowest daily increase in deaths since March 22, according to the Associated Press.
In total, Spain has recorded 20,453 deaths and 195,944 confirmed cases by Sunday.
Despite a slowed contagion rate inspiring eased lockdown measures across the continent, Europe still reached a new grim milestone Sunday after the coronavirus death toll surpassed 100,000.
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Spanish children will be able to leave their homes to "get some fresh air" beginning April 27, Sánchez said Saturday, adding that Spain has left behind "the most extreme moments and contained the brutal onslaught of the pandemic,” the BBC reported.
In his televised briefing, the prime minister said the nationwide lockdown would still be extended until at least May 9, given progress on a downward curve was “still insufficient and above all fragile" and could not be put at risk by any "hasty decisions.”
Volunteers, wearing face masks and gloves, distribute food bags at the "Dragones de Lavapies" soccer association in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 8, 2020. Amid the coronavirus lockdown, volunteers meet at the soccer youth club to distribute food to hundreds of families at risk of social exclusion. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Since Spain was first placed under lockdown on March 14, adults have been able to leave their homes for essential work and trips to the grocery store and pharmacy.
Under the harshest lockdown measures in Europe, children, however, have not been allowed to even accompany parents on daily walks, according to the New York Times, raising concerns from the Spanish Children's Rights Coalition and regional authorities about potential lasting effects on their mental and physical health.
Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias received criticism for admitting his three children have access to their home garden, while millions of families in Spain are confined to under 430-540 square feet apartments, the BBC reported.
"These little heroes are climbing the walls," Opposition leader Pablo Casado tweeted. Spain’s 8 million children have not been permitted to leave their homes for five weeks.
A local police distributes face masks to commuters at Atocha train station during the coronavirus outbreak in Madrid, Spain, Monday, April 13, 2020. Confronting both a public health emergency and long-term economic injury, Spain is cautiously re-starting some business activity to emerge from the nationwide near-total freeze that helped slow the country's grim coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, a mother to a 3-year-old and a 9-year-old, last week urged the Spanish government to “free our children,” claiming her youngest has reverted back to diapers despite starting to use the toilet and has become more apathetic without being allowed to play outdoors.
“If adults can go for a walk with a dog, and now some nonessential economic activities are resuming, why do our boys and girls have to keep waiting?” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Like many fathers and mothers, what worries us most is the psychological and emotional health of our boys and girls. We are tired of being told we are soldiers and this is a war, instead of talking about how to take care of life and take care of each other.”
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Sánchez said he would speak to regional leaders Sunday to discuss details about easing lockdown restrictions for children. He suggested the new measures would only apply for children under age 12 and would be "limited and subject to conditions to avoid contagion.”
After a two-week total industry freeze, the Spanish government allowed construction and manufacturing to resume last week in an effort to kickstart the economy, but most Spaniards continued self-isolating, and stores, bars, and public spaces remained closed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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