In more than two months Spain has recorded the biggest daily spike in COVID-19 cases, just as the country opens its doors to millions of visitors from all over the globe for its summer season.
Thursday saw 580 new infections, climbing from 390 recorded late Wednesday, with the Catalonia and Aragon regions leading the surge. The total number of coronavirus cases since the start of the crisis in March has reached 260,255.
Local health authorities in Catalonia have urged about four million people, including from its capital Barcelona, to stay home, appealing to them to act in accordance with safety protocols as the region is hounded by a growing number of fresh coronavirus clusters.
Seven fatalities have so far been recorded in the last week, increasing the total figure of deaths to 28,420. The mortalities have been registered in Castilla La Mancha (four), Madrid (two), Catalona (one), Castilla Leon (one), Pais Vasco (one) and Navarra (one).
In the rest of Spain, the daily diagnosis figure does not top 30 cases in any area, with Castilla-La Mancha, Andalucia, and Navarra registering 20 or more.
The latest report by the Ministry of Health disclosed that 11,728 people have been taken to the Intensive Care Unit, 18 in the last seven days; and 125,937 have required hospitalization, 228 in the last week.
More than 170 localized virus outbreaks have surfaced across the country since the government lifted its nationwide lockdown - one of the most rigid in Europe, on June 21, with Catalonia at the epicenter of the newly reported outbreaks.
The Catalan capital - home to around 1.6 million people and one of the most visited cities in Europe - saw its coronavirus cases spike three-fold compared from last week. Local officials have also implemented some prohibitions in three areas of a Barcelona suburb that houses around 260,000 residents.
Barcelona residents, including its suburbs and areas in Segria and Noguera were urged to buy their basic necessities online and leave their homes only if they need to report for work, visit a doctor or engage in other essential activities.
Sports and cultural events will also be restricted but museums will remain open in Barcelona. Restaurants and bars can continue operating, but with a limit of half their usual indoor capacity, and with a 2-meter distance between tables outdoors.
Meanwhile, the culling of nearly 100,000 mink at a farm in Aragon was ordered after a wife of farmworker was infected with coronavirus in May. The husband and six other farm employees have since tested positive for the virus.
