Spain Passes 10,000 Coronavirus Deaths

Spain passed another sad milestone as it struggles to contain its coronavirus outbreak on Thursday, reporting that more than 10,000 have now died in the country as a result of the virus.

The Health Ministry said it recorded 950 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day increase the country has seen so far. Its total death tally is now 10,003, meaning it joins Italy as the only countries to report a five-figure death toll.

But there was cause for muted optimism in the country, whose devastating outbreak is slowing.

As death figures rise, the rate of new infections in Spain has fallen to its lowest rate since the start of the crisis. An increase of 3,056 cases was reported in the past day, just a 4.3% jump and a notable improvement on the dire situation in the country during mid-March.

Officials said the data shows that Spain's curve of cases is coming under control, and that the drastic emergency measures put in place to lock down the country are working.

"The data shows us that the curve has stabilized," Health Minister Salvador Illa said in the government's Thursday press conference. "That we have achieved the primary objective of reaching the peak of the curve and that now we are starting the phase of deceleration."

Deaths lag behind new infections as a measure of the speed of a country's outbreak. And even the stark 10.5% rise in fatalities Spain reported Thursday is similar to Wednesday's increase, and smaller in percentage terms than any recorded in the past two weeks.