New coronavirus cases in Spain drop slightly on Friday

With 7,472 new cases of covid-19 confirmed in Spain on Friday, the lowest such figure seen in the last four days. 

March 30 saw 6,398 new cases in the country, followed by 9,222 on March 31, 7,719 on April 1, and 8,102 on Thursday, April 2. 

The number of confirmed covid-19 coronavirus cases in Spain has surpassed that of Italy for the first time and is now the country with the second highest number of cases in the world, behind the United States. 

Authorities say that the situation in the country is beginning to stabilize, and that the measures put in place to fight the spread of the disease are working. 

"Unfortunately we've overtaken other countries, like Italy, in the number of cases, but the trend is showing us that we are achieving the objective," Spain’s head of health emergencies, Fernando Simón, explained in a press conference on Friday. 

Simón spoke via video link from his own home after contracting the coronavirus himself on Monday. 

"There's still the risk of the situation escalating if we don't follow the right steps," he continued. 

Regarding an extension of the state of alarm, Simón explained the authorities listen to his team of health experts, but the decision ultimately does not rest with them.

Appeal for unity

Spanish president Pedro Sánchez made an appeal for unity on Friday.

Speaking during a visit to a factory outside Madrid that is producing 100 ventilators a day, Sánchez asked all the different administrations "to have a shared objective of saving lives and beating this virus."