New Country Racks Up More Coronavirus Deaths Than China

In Spain, where hotels have been converted into makeshift hospitals and an ice rink in Madrid is being used as a morgue, the death toll climbed sharply again Wednesday to surpass even the virus death toll in China. Spain reported 738 more deaths for a total of 3,434 overall. Spain now has the world’s second-highest tally of coronavirus deaths after Italy. Infections in Spain also rose 20% from a day earlier to 47,610.

In typically bustling Barcelona, figures walking around with blankets, mattresses or tents punctuated the eerie emptiness. Spain's homeless told the AP they feel more abandoned than ever as everyone else hunkers down at home. "It is as if there has been a nuclear explosion and (people) are all sheltering in the bunker. Only us, the homeless, are left outside," said 36-year-old Gana, who uses only one name. Read the full story for more on Italy's toll, and suspicions that a February event in Milan "poured rocket fuel on the crisis."

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