Spain death toll drops to lowest level in 19 days

Spain’s single-day death toll from the coronavirus dropped to its lowest level in 19 days as officials plan to ease some restrictions following the country’s vicious outbreak. 

Spain’s health ministry reported that 510 people died from the highly infectious virus between Friday and Saturday, a drop from a single-day high of 950 reported earlier this month.

The country still saw a slight uptick in new cases with 4,830, a rise from 4,576 reported the day before.

Spain has confirmed 161,852 infections and 16,353 deaths since its outbreak began, leading all of Europe in the number of confirmed cases.

Spain has worked to combat the coronavirus with a monthlong national lockdown and roadblocks to try to block nonessential travel. 

The country is now mulling winding down some of its restrictions to try to inject new life into its economy, allowing workers in construction and manufacturing to return to work on Monday, according to Reuters.

Health Minister Salvador Illa maintained that the country wasn’t in a “de-escalation phase,” and the new guidelines allowing some nonessential employees to return to work come as the nation’s leadership eyes plans to extend its national emergency beyond the current April 26 deadline, The New York Times reported.