Mortuary employees wearing masks carry the coffin of a COVID-19 victim during a burial at the Fuencarral cemetery in Madrid on March 29, 2020. (Baldesca Samper/AFP via Getty Images)

1,650 CCP Virus Patients Die in Spain Over Weekend

Spain reported 1,650 new deaths from the CCP virus over the weekend as one of the hardest-hit countries in the world continued trying to get a handle on the outbreak of the illness there.

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China before it was transmitted worldwide.

Spain’s death toll from COVID-19 climbed to 7,340 as of Monday, from 5,690 early Saturday.

Spain also saw large increases in total cases, to 85,195, and patients in intensive care units at hospitals for the new illness, to 5,231.

The country’s Ministry of Health said the number of cured or recovered rose to 16,780, a jump of nearly 4,500 from Saturday.

Members of Spanish Military Emergencies Unit (UME) wearing protective suits stand outside a bus used to transport patients from the San Carlos Clinic Hospital to a temporary hospital set-up for CCP virus patients at the Ifema convention and exhibition center in Madrid, on March 29, 2020. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images)

Spain’s mortality rate of 8.6 is one of the highest in the world as hospitals are overwhelmed with patients, particularly in Madrid. Official rates don’t include the number of people who show mild symptoms and never get tested, health experts have said.

Maria Jose Sierra, the ministry’s deputy emergency chief, spoke at a press conference on Monday, replacing the usual appearance by Health Emergency Chief Fernando Simon.

Simon tested positive for COVID-19, Sierra told reporters.

“He showed a peak of fever yesterday, he is very well but he is at home in isolation because he is positive,” she said.

Officials have seen a drop in the average increase in cases since March 25, Sierra stressed, adding: “From the day that the general social distancing measures began throughout Spain, from March 15 to 25, the increase in average cases was about 20 percent and since that day it is 12 percent.”

People wearing masks rearrange their shopping bags for three households during the CCP virus outbreak in Madrid on March 29, 2020. (Susana Vera/Reuters)

The government told people working in non-essential jobs to stay at home starting March 30 and continuing through April 9.

President Pedro Sanchez announced the move on Saturday, saying the measure was aimed at “helping reduce the risk of contagion and easing pressure on intensive care units at hospitals.” Workers affected by the pandemic are being supported by funds designated by the government while some companies are switching to making crucial equipment like masks.

Schools, restaurants, and other establishments have been closed since March 14, when the country implemented a lockdown.

Spanish tourists in other nations have been regularly flown back to Spain, including from Guatemala, Cameroon, and Ecuador. In some cases, tourists are being housed inside Spanish embassies and consular offices if they’re not immediately able to be transported back to their home country.

Over 200 Spanish tourists who want to leave India were staying at a hotel and the Cervantes Institute in New Delhi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Arrangements were made for tourists in Ecuador but they were ultimately able to leave without delay.