Confirmed coronavirus cases in Spain pass 100,000 mark

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Spain passed the 100,000 mark on Wednesday, with the health ministry saying that 102,136 people have tested positive for covid-19, with 7,719 new cases and 864 deaths in the previous 24 hours.

In all, there have been 9,053 deaths so far due to the virus, according to the Spanish authorities, while 5,871 people have been admitted to hospital for treatment. 22,647 people have recovered from the disease.

Madrid continues to be the region in Spain with the most confirmed coronavirus cases, with 29,840 cases and 3,865 fatalities. Catalonia is next with 19,991 cases and 1,849 deaths, followed by Castile-La Mancha and León, with 7,047 and 6,847 cases, respectively.

"We have reached the peak"

In the Spanish government’s daily press conference, Fernando Simón, head of Spanish health emergencies said that he believes Spain has reached the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.

"It looks we have already reached the peak and that we are going down."

For Simón, the challenge now is to avoid the collapse of Spain's health system, by "dramatically" reducing the number of patients in hospital and in intensive care. "The data seem to indicate that we are heading in the right direction," he added.

Simón was taking part in the press conference remotely again after it was confirmed on Monday that he had tested positive for coronavirus. In fact three out of the original five members of the Spanish government’s coronavirus technical team have now tested positive.

Torra recovers

Meanwhile Catalan president Quim Torra has recovered from covid-19 after he tested negative, it was revealed on Wednesday afternoon. He will, however, continue his confinement in the official presidential residence of Casa dels Canonges in Barcelona.