COVID-19 deaths top 90,000 in Spain

Spain passed the benchmark of 90,000 COVID-19 deaths on Monday, according to the latest data published by the country's Ministry of Health.

The ministry confirmed 202 deaths over the period from 2:00 p.m. local time (1300 GMT) on Friday and the same time on Monday, raising the total number of deaths to 90,136 in the country since the start of the pandemic.

Over the 72-hour period, 292,394 new cases were reported, lifting the total number of infections to 7,457,300, while the 14-day incidence of the virus climbed 267.2 points to 2,989.47 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Meanwhile, the occupancy of intensive care beds by COVID-19 patients climbed to 23.58 percent, with 13.4 percent of all beds currently occupied by people suffering from coronavirus.

The data was published the same day that children returned to school in Spain after the Christmas holiday, with the Health Ministry reporting that 32.1 percent of the 3,350,000 children aged between 5 and 16 have been vaccinated.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told local media on Monday that his government would purchase 344,000 doses of the Pfizer anti-viral drug which has shown it can reduce hospitalizations of patients infected with COVID-19 by around 88 percent. (ANI/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )

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