WHO says Covid-19 pandemic in Spain 'definitely slowing down'

The World Health Organization sees "evidence" that the Covid-19 pandemic in Spain is "definitely slowing down."

These were the words expressed on Thursday by Bruce Aylward, the senior advisor to the WHO director-general, who headed the organization's mission to Spain this past week to gather information on the outbreak in the country.

While Aylward claimed there were reasons to be hopeful as current epidemiological data show signs of improvement following a month of lockdown measures, he found the "rapid outbreak" of the virus throughout Spain in early March surprising.

When asked whether the Spanish government was slow to respond to the public health crisis, Aylward avoided commenting on specific policies and when they were implemented: "All countries are trying their best."

And although the WHO representative noted the shortage of medical equipment and tests, he did commend the authorities' efforts to counter this issue as well as the "impressive" work that is being carried out to stabilize the pandemic.

Aylward took the opportunity to praise the "heroic" and "innovative" actions of medical professionals on the frontline of the disease.

Coronavirus figures in Catalonia and Spain

This comes as Spain, on Thursday, has seen a slight rise in Covid-19 deaths and new diagnoses in the last 24 hours, with 551 more coronavirus-related fatalities bringing the total to 19,130 and a further 5,183 confirmed cases raising the overall figure to 182,816.

On Wednesday night the Catalan health department began announcing the coronavirus deaths declared by funeral homes, which include not only those who have perished at medical centers as the official figures do, but also those who have died at home or other places such as care homes.

Funeral homes in Catalonia have noted 7,097 Covid-19 deaths since the beginning of the crisis, while official figures stand at 3,855 fatalities.